BATTLE OF ALMA
'Though till now ungraced in story,
Scant although thy waters be,
Alma, roll those waters proudly;
Roll them proudly to the sea.'
_September 20._--In the early morning the allied armies formed up in
position as on the previous day's march, in readiness for the battle.
It was then discovered that Colonel Lagondie was absent from head
quarters, and inquiries were made without result. As it was supposed
he might have remained during the night with his French comrades, a
message was sent to Prince Napoleon. The prince, however, said that
Lagondie had arrived the previous evening with Lord Raglan's message,
and then left. The mystery of his absence remained for the time
inexplicable. Soon after the battle of the Alma, however, Menschikoff's
carriage, containing a number of his papers and letters, was captured,
and amongst them a note from a lady in Sebastopol saying how much
pleased they were with the charming French colonel he had sent in to
them, and hoping he would soon send some more. This at once cleared
up the mystery of our friend Lagondie; and it subsequently transpired
that on leaving Napoleon at dusk, being short-sighted, he had missed
his way, and had ridden straight into the Russian cavalry and was made
prisoner.
Considerable delay occurred on the morning of September 20, before our
troops were prepared to advance, owing to numerous cases of cholera
and fever amongst the men during the previous night, and the necessity
of conveying them to the shore, for embarkation in the transports.
The French, being close to the sea, had a considerable advantage in
this respect. During the morning Marshal Saint-Arnaud, with a large
staff and an officer carrying a silk tricolor standard, rode along the
front of the British Army to confer with Lord Raglan, and was loudly
cheered by our men. Whether the French marshal was a great general or
not, I had no means of judging; but when we consider that he was then
suffering from a mortal disease--of which, indeed, he died a few days
later on board a French man-of-war--I think that he evinced a brave
and heroic spirit under such circumstances in leading and commanding a
French army in a great and successful battle.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF ALMA.]
At about eleven o'clock the allied armies advanced, the whole front
covered by a cloud of skirmishers. The order of battle was an
_échelon_ from the right. General Bosquet's division led off, marching
along the sea shore, with the Turkish force in rear. Then came the
divisions of Canrobert and Prince Napoleon, with that of General Forey
in rear in reserve. The English then took up the _échelon_; the second
division under De Lacy Evans being next to that of Napoleon, then the
Light Division under Sir George Brown, followed in a second line by
the troops of Sir Richard England and the Guards and Highlanders under
the Duke of Cambridge, the batteries of artillery in the intervals of
brigades--the fourth division under Sir George Cathcart and the cavalry
under Lord Lucan being held in reserve on the outward flank, which was
three or four miles from the shore.
As the armies thus advanced to the attack we were able to take a more
complete survey of the Russian position, and whilst the ground in
front of the French was seen to be precipitous and difficult, it was
evident that the main body of the Russians was in position, and partly
entrenched, on slopes which the English forces were about to storm.
It has sometimes been argued that the English ought to have attempted a
movement turning the Russian right; but when it is considered that our
base was the sea, it is, I think, evident that the only prudent course
in attacking a strong, partially entrenched position on the other side
of a river, was the _échelon_ movement as described. It was about noon
when the first gun was fired; Bosquet's brigades crossed the river near
its mouth, and commenced climbing the precipitous slopes, their advance
being assisted by the fire of some vessels of the fleet. The enemy,
however, were not in great force at this point, and the French gained
the crest with comparatively few casualties. The divisions of Canrobert
and Prince Napoleon as they reached the river crossed in succession,
and were vigorously opposed as they swarmed up the heights. Great
difficulties also were encountered in bringing up their artillery; but
a flank movement of Bosquet's troops along the crest finally enabled
the French Army to make good the ascent, although with considerable
loss, and the Russians were compelled to yield the ground.[4]
So far the battle had satisfactorily progressed, but a sterner and
far more terrible struggle had commenced on the left. The two leading
English divisions as they approached the river and came within long
range of the enemy's guns were deployed into line, and, whilst waiting
for the completion of the French attack, were ordered to lie down.
The English batteries came into action; but the enemy's guns were
both powerful and numerous, and on commanding ground, so that at the
beginning we were rather at a disadvantage.
Urgent messages having been received from the French, it was apparent
that the moment of action had at length arrived, and Lord Raglan
then gave the order for the advance of the whole army. The village
of Burliuk on our side of the river, in front of Sir De Lacy Evans'
division, was set on fire by the enemy, and led to the temporary
separation of his two brigades, one passing it on either side. Lord
Raglan, having given the order, passed with his staff through the
burning village to the right, and by a narrow lane came suddenly down
to a ford of the river. In riding through the village we passed the
body of Lieutenant Cockerell, a young officer of artillery, who with
his horse had just been killed by a round shot from the heights. A
sharp skirmish was going on between the Russian outposts and the
Zouaves of Napoleon's division as we reached and crossed the ford. At
that moment Lieutenant Leslie, of the Life Guards, orderly officer
to Lord Raglan, fell from his horse, shot through the shoulder, and
was laid under the bank on the opposite side. The horse of Captain
Fortescue, R.A., was killed at the same time by a bullet in the
head.[5] Lord Raglan pressed on, and passing some French skirmishers
in the vineyards, soon reached high ground, from which he had an
excellent view of the Russian position. Perceiving the important
advantage he should gain by artillery fire from this spot, he consulted
General Strangways and then sent me back for some guns. Fortunately
Captain Turner's battery was just crossing the ford, and two guns
were quickly brought up, followed shortly by the others. Their fire,
directed against the Russian columns and batteries, who were now
heavily engaged with the advance of the Light and Second Divisions,
had a powerful effect, not only materially but morally, as showing the
Russians that whilst their front was being stormed their flank was
already turned. Lieutenant Walsham, R.A., was killed whilst with these
guns.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF ALMA, 20TH SEPTEMBER, 1854]
In the meantime the two leading divisions, covered by skirmishers,
moved steadily across the plain. Their ranks became somewhat
disarranged by the gardens and vineyards as they approached the river,
and still more so as they waded across the stream, which was fordable
at many places. They, however, found a momentary shelter behind the
broken ground on the opposite bank, and then the great crisis began.
It was a moment of intense anxiety as the men of the Light and part
of the Second Divisions jumped from their cover, and with a rattling
fire commenced the charge. The ground over which they had to pass was
of the nature of a smooth, steep glacis, and was swept by infantry
and artillery fire. Three of our batteries, however, had converged
towards the bridge over the Alma, and gave material support to the
advancing troops. Up to this time every advantage had been on the side
of the enemy. The scale, however, now began to turn. As the English
line approached the Russian columns, its formation, straggling and
irregular as it was, enabled it to open a continuous line of fire. The
enemy's forces could be seen opening out and endeavouring to deploy;
but it was too late--our regiments were close upon them. Then the
Russian masses began to shake; then men from the rear were seen to run;
then whole columns would turn and retire, halting and facing about at
short intervals, but, with artillery smashing on their flank, and with
Codrington's and Pennefather's brigades still streaming upwards, the
enemy's troops could no longer hold their ground, but fled disordered
up the hill. The converging fire of their batteries, however, still
made a fearful havoc in the English ranks, and a wide street of dead
and wounded, the whole way from the river upwards, showed the terrific
nature of the fight. Breathless, decimated and much broken, but with
victory crowning their efforts, the centre regiments at length dashed
over the main entrenchment and captured two guns. But the battle was
even then by no means over. The Russian reserves moved down, and
Codrington's brigade, whose force was almost expended, was obliged to
give way, and victory for a moment seemed doubtful. Succour, however,
was at hand. The three regiments of Guards, with the Highlanders on
the left, the whole under the Duke of Cambridge, were now advancing up
the hill in grand array. Some slight delay occurred until Codrington's
brigade had fallen back and cleared the front, during which time the
casualties were numerous, but then the chance of the Russians was over
and their whole army retreated in some confusion. Lord Raglan in the
meantime had left his position on the hill and joined his victorious
troops, and by his orders five batteries of artillery were concentrated
and fired on the broken columns of the enemy until they were out of
range. It was a great victory, not only in its immediate result, but in
its general effect on the Russian army.
Our losses in killed, wounded, and missing were very severe--amounting
to 2,006 officers and men. About half of the entire number occurred in
the Light Division alone.
The following diagram gives the position of the infantry regiments
chiefly engaged, and of the casualties in each:
19th 23rd 33rd 7th Fus 95th 55th
226 210 239 222 193 115
Coldstream Guards Scots Guards Grenadier Guards
80 181 122
The joy and excitement of the English troops were intense as Lord
Raglan rode along the line formed on the heights they had just won. On
coming to the Highland Brigade rather an amusing incident occurred. Sir
Colin Campbell addressed the Commander-in-Chief, and begged him to do
him a favour. Lord Raglan, in reply, said it would give him pleasure
to serve him in any way. Sir Colin then said: 'My lord, you have in
years gone by shown me kindness when I was a young officer, and now I
am an old one. My request is that, so long as I am at the head of the
Highland Brigade, I may be allowed to wear the Highland bonnet.' This
delighted the Scotchmen, and great cheering followed.
In addition to the two guns captured, two Russian generals were taken
prisoners and about 900 of their wounded men were left on the field.
The total loss of the Russians in the battle is stated to have been
upwards of 5,000. The battle ended about four o'clock in the afternoon,
the head quarters camp being pitched near the river, and Lord Raglan
then went in search of his orderly officer, Lieutenant Tom Leslie, and
with the help of some guardsmen, with a stretcher, brought him to his
tent. Lord Raglan asked me if I knew Tom's mother, and on my replying
in the negative, he said: 'A charming woman. I must write to her. How
proud she will be to hear that he has a bullet in his shoulder!'
Several years after the battle, when in India, I met an old artillery
man at Delhi, who claimed my acquaintance, and reminded me of the
incident of bringing up Turner's guns from the ford. He said he was one
of the drivers of the battery at the time, and that I rode up to him
in the river and said: '"Johnson," says you, "you'll not spare whip
nor spur till you get to the top of that hill, for Lord Raglan wants
you."' I cannot vouch for the absolute correctness of his personal
reminiscences, but the main fact is correct enough.
The two days following the victory were passed in collecting our
wounded (upwards of 1,400), and carrying them in hammocks and
stretchers to the beach for embarkation. Amongst others I remember
saying a few words to Baring of the Coldstream Guards, as he was
carried away from the field. He had lost an arm. Reserves of ammunition
were also landed from the transports to meet the expenditure, which,
however, was not large, the infantry having fired about six rounds a
man and the artillery fifteen rounds a gun. The Russians' muskets,
lying about the field in thousands (many of them with the old flint
lock) were broken, and the accoutrements, knapsacks, &c., collected in
heaps and burned.
The Russian Commander-in-Chief having omitted to send in a flag of
truce, or to make any inquiry as to his wounded left on the ground,
they were collected in a field and as far as possible attended to. An
English medical officer, having volunteered, was left in charge of
them as we marched away; a message being sent to Prince Menschikoff
informing him of the arrangement.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 4: General Canrobert was slightly wounded during the attack.]
[Footnote 5: Nearly two years afterwards, when peace was signed, I
re-visited the scene of the battle, and found the skeleton of the horse
lying in the lane, with its skull pierced by a bullet.]