BATTLE OF CHERNAYA AND THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL.
During the month of July and the early part of August the allies were
occupied in pushing on their trenches, in obtaining fresh armaments and
munitions, and adding to their batteries. About this time I was present
at several interesting councils connected with these preparations, and
partly with the consideration of suggestions from home. In my journal
is a record as follows:--
First Conference, August 3, 1855. Present: Generals Pélissier, Simpson,
Niel, Thiry, Barnard, Airey, Sir H. Jones;[42] Colonels Dupuis,
Steele, and Adye. Subject: 'Whether, in case the town should not
fall before the winter, it may not be necessary to raise the siege?'
General Pélissier refused to entertain the idea, and the meeting
broke up unsatisfactorily. The conference took place at the English
head quarters, and during the discussion one of the French generals
having made some remarks as to the great losses daily in the trenches,
General Pélissier turned to him and said, 'Did you ever hear of a war
without losses? We are not here to make war _à la_ Monsieur Cobden!'
After the meeting, in passing through General Simpson's room, Pélissier
took up a book, and asked me what was the inscription on its cover. It
was a Bible, and I told him the words were 'Society for the Promotion
of Christian Knowledge.' He laughed, and said it was a good society,
but whether he was a subscriber I do not know.
Second Conference, August 5. Present: Artillery and engineer officers
of both armies only. Subject considered: 'A telegraphic despatch from
England, Can the town be destroyed? Can it be taken? What will you do
next?'
Answer: No amount of fire, both vertical and horizontal, would destroy
the town--that is to say, the forts, docks, basins, and all that give
importance to Sebastopol.
Answer to second question: This question is one for the
Commanders-in-Chief to decide. The meeting stated the general condition
of the trenches for their information. The third question was also for
the Generals-in-Chief.
Third Conference, August 7. 'Two hundred mortars being expected from
France and England, can the town be destroyed by this means and an
assault obviated?'
Answer: No.
Fourth Conference, August 14. The French state that their batteries on
the Mamelon and Careening Bay are ready to open. Proposed, therefore,
that we open on the 17th all round, and then push forward our
approaches.
In the meantime, and before the final preparations for the assault of
Sebastopol were quite complete, the Russians determined to make one
more effort to raise the siege by an attack on the position of the
allies on the Chernaya. It was a desperate movement on their part.
In the first place, the Fedhukine heights were held by 18,000 French
troops with 48 guns, and the Sardinians on the hills to their right
near Tchergoum were 9,000 strong with 36 guns, and in rear were 10,000
Turks in reserve. The heights themselves, which were well adapted
for defence, had been strengthened by entrenchments, and the river
Chernaya, as well as a narrow canal, acted as wet ditches along the
front, and rendered an assault very difficult. It so happened also
that a few days before the battle the allied generals had received
information through spies of the intentions of the enemy, and were
therefore fully prepared.
On August 12 I was sent to Balaclava to call upon General La Marmora,
who wished that some English guns should be placed at his disposal,
and by his invitation rode with him to the heights occupied by the
Sardinian army, and received his directions as to the position to be
taken up by the battery in the event of an assault. At daylight on
August 16 the Russians advanced with great courage to the attack.
General Pélissier, in his General Order to the French army on the
following day, estimated the forces of the Russians as being 60,000
strong, with a numerous artillery and considerable masses of cavalry.
Notwithstanding all the obstacles, the enemy succeeded in temporarily
capturing the _tête-du-pont_, and in advancing for a considerable
distance up the heights; but, after five hours' fighting, were
ultimately driven back and defeated all along the line, losing more
than 6,000 men, some of whom were drowned, and leaving 2,200 wounded
and prisoners behind. General Pélissier specially alluded to the good
service rendered by the English heavy battery, which took part in the
action in co-operation with the Sardinians. C troop Horse Artillery was
also present towards the close of the battle.
On the following day the allies commenced another bombardment, and
in three days alone threw 10,000 shells from mortars into the doomed
city, independently of the fire from the heavy guns. The batteries of
the Malakoff and Redan were reduced to ruins and were almost silent.
The end was approaching. The English artillery at this time, having
been largely reinforced, were about 7,000 strong, and, in addition to
200 pieces of ordnance in the trenches, they had 92 guns horsed and
ready for the field. Under cover of this great bombardment, work in
the trenches was actively carried on, and the French approached close
to the counter scarps of the Malakoff. Their losses, however, were
reckoned at 100 daily. In view of the crisis which was at hand, the
Russians, towards the end of August, constructed a bridge of rafts
across the harbour; an evident symptom of a possible withdrawal of the
garrison and surrender of the city.
At the beginning of September a final meeting of the French and
English officers of artillery and engineers took place, and a
careful memorandum was then drawn up for the consideration of the
Commanders-in-Chief. After recapitulating the general condition of the
trenches, and pointing out that the French were within twenty-five
yards of the place, they recommended that the whole of the batteries
should re-open at once and maintain a vigorous fire for three days, and
that the assault should then be given without delay; the Malakoff to be
first attacked and captured, and then the Great and Little Redans, and
the works near the Bastion du Mât, so as to divide the Russian forces
as much as possible.[43]
The end had come at last. On September 5 the bombardment re-commenced,
and the Russians were speedily driven to seek refuge in their numerous
underground shelters, in the midst of crumbling ruins and dismantled
batteries. On the morning of the 8th the troops of the allies marched
quietly down to their allotted positions; and at noon, all being
ready, General Mac Mahon led his division straight to the Malakoff,
and in a few minutes entered it and hoisted the tricolor. This was
the preconcerted signal, and then the other columns also rushed to
the assault. On the extreme right, the French in great force attacked
the Little Redan and works near the harbour, but, after a prolonged
struggle and heavy losses, failed to maintain their ground. The
English troops, composed of parts of the Light and Second Divisions
and accompanied by a ladder and spiking party, advanced on the salient
of the Great Redan, entered the work, and held it for some time. The
interior of the work, however, was swept by the fire of artillery and
infantry in rear, and they were ultimately forced back with great loss.
At the same time, far away on the left, the Bastions Centrale and Du
Mât were stormed by French columns, but also without success--in fact,
the three subordinate assaults on the city all failed.
Mac Mahon, however, having once gained possession of the redoubt
surrounding the old Malakoff tower, held it in spite of the furious
efforts of the Russians for hours to drive him out. As one cause of the
failure of the subsidiary attacks, it is as well to point out that they
were all open works, swept by batteries and interior entrenchments;
whilst, on the other hand, the ground round the Malakoff had been
converted by the Russians into a closed redoubt which, whilst it may,
at the outset, have added to the difficulties of its capture, still,
when once taken, gave the French under Mac Mahon the advantage of
comparative shelter.
The losses on all sides were very severe, and were as follows:
French 7,567
English 2,271
Russians 12,913
------
22,751
Thus ended, after a siege of eleven months, the series of battles in
front of Sebastopol. The Russians, aware that their position on the
south side was no longer tenable, during the night set fire to the
city, exploded their magazines, sunk their fleet, and, having withdrawn
the garrison by means of the floating bridge across the harbour,
then destroyed it, leaving their arsenal, docks, and large remaining
supplies of guns and stores in the hands of the allies. As Pélissier
said in his order of the day, 'Le boulevard de la Puissance Russe dans
la Mer Noir n'existe plus.' In the afternoon of the 9th Fort Paul blew
up with a great explosion, and then all was still. What a comfort it
was, after months of incessant anxiety, that the uproar had for a time
ceased, and that there was nothing to do!
During the next few days we buried the dead, wandered about the
desolate city, took stock of the armaments and reserves, and were
occasionally shelled by the enemy at long range from the north side of
the harbour. One large hospital which I visited presented a dreadful
spectacle. There were hundreds of dead bodies of Russians lying in the
beds; of men who had been wounded before the retreat, and then left at
the last to die unheeded and alone. In a few of the beds were found
wounded men still living!
With the fall of Sebastopol the Crimean war had virtually reached
its termination, although several months elapsed before this was
recognised. The Emperor of the French still hankered after a campaign
in the interior; but the season was late, and the corner occupied
by the allied armies formed a bad base for operations in the field.
Marshal Pélissier, obstinate and determined as ever, would have none
of it, and wrote to Paris: 'Thank God! it is not difficulties which
frighten me.... But here the situation is not the same. I see the
obstacles, but I do not perceive the success, nor even the hope of it.
I should be perplexed to form a plan of campaign, still more to carry
it out.' In short, the fall of Sebastopol had destroyed the power of
Russia in the Black Sea; and therefore the occupation of the Crimea,
whilst it would entail great losses and considerable risk, would be of
no special value.
The two allied Commanders-in-Chief, Simpson and Pélissier, were men of
very different character and also of general appearance. The one was a
tall, thin Scotchman; the other a short, stout, thick-set Norman. The
first time they met after the capture of the city, Pélissier rushed
up to the English general and embraced him with great fervour, having
almost to climb up to reach his cheek. The English staff were amused at
this demonstration, and said to Simpson, 'Why General, Pélissier kissed
you!' And his reply, with a strong national dialect, was: 'Well, it was
a great occasion, and I could na' resist him.'
As there was nothing specially to be done--at all events, until the
English and French Governments had made up what they were pleased to
call their minds as to future operations--I was fortunate enough in
November to obtain a few weeks' leave, and went off to Malta for a
holiday. On arriving at Constantinople I embarked in a small store
steamer, in which there was only one passenger besides myself--a
private soldier on his way to England. So, we talked of the war, and
on my asking who had ordered him home, he replied: 'The Minister for
War, sir.' On my asking why, he said, 'I'm in charge of his brother,
sir.' This seemed rather incomprehensible, so I added, 'Where is his
brother?' 'Sure, he's in the hold, sir.' This bewildered me still more;
but it appeared that the soldier had been present at the funeral of
Colonel the Honourable Lauderdale Maule, who died of cholera at Varna
just before we left in the autumn of 1854, and had been sent to exhume
the body and bring it to England at the request of his brother, Lord
Panmure.
When I returned to the Crimea at the end of the year, although active
operations were necessarily suspended for the winter, we were busily
occupied in blowing up the docks, forts, and barracks, and in carrying
off the Russian guns out of the arsenal (about 2,000 in number) and
thus completing the destruction of Sebastopol. Preparations were also
being made for a renewal of hostilities in the spring in some other
part of the Russian Empire. But in reality a change was coming over
the scene, and, instead of action, reaction had set in. In the first
place, France was tired of the war. Her finances were exhausted and
her troops anxious to return home. On the other hand, Russia also was
crippled, both as to men and means. England, so tardy at the outset
and so unprepared, was indeed the only Power which apparently had the
will or vigour left to continue the contest. Our troops during the
second winter were well clothed, housed, and fed, and as healthy as
at home; and their numbers were daily increasing. At the beginning of
1856 we had upwards of 50,000 men and 96 field guns in the Crimea, with
considerable reserves both at Malta and in England. The administrative
departments, also, were becoming models of efficiency; and the
transport branch, which hardly existed at the outset, had no less than
28,000 animals collected and ready for the field.
In the meantime the Turkish contingent had occupied Kertch and Enikale,
at the entrance to the Sea of Azov; and in January 1856 I was sent
by Sir William Codrington (who had succeeded Sir James Simpson as
Commander-in-Chief) on a mission to General Vivian in command of the
troops there. A French officer accompanied me, and we were conveyed
in H.M.S. 'Stromboli,' our instructions being, in the first place, to
make a rapid survey along the coast of the Crimea in order to ascertain
if the Bay of Kaffa, or its neighbourhood, were fortified and held in
strength by the Russians; and, if not, whether it offered facilities
for landing. On arrival at Kertch, we were directed to confer with
General Vivian as to the defences and to inquire whether he desired
reinforcements or assistance of any kind, naval or military, and then
to return forthwith to Sebastopol. The fact was, that information had
been received that Kertch was shortly to be attacked by the Russians in
force, and the Commander-in-Chief was desirous of ascertaining General
Vivian's views on the position. I remember when handing him the letter
from Sir William Codrington, he confirmed the rumour of the expected
attack, and as to holding out said, 'I can tell you at once; I shall
be able to hold out for about five-and-twenty minutes.' He did not,
of course, intend his words to be taken literally, but explained that
in his opinion the place was not tenable against a powerful assault.
Extensive earthworks had been constructed and armed on some of the
heights; but they were commanded by others, and there was an entire
deficiency of water in the outlying forts. However, after remaining a
few days at Kertch, information was received of the probabilities of
peace, and in February the representatives of the allied powers having
met at Paris, towards the end of March an armistice was proclaimed, and
the war came to an end.
So ended the great Crimea campaign, of which my narrative necessarily
gives but a short and imperfect sketch. To the present generation it is
now a mere matter of history, and few remain of all those who took part
in a contest which, at the time, so deeply affected the people of this
country, and, indeed, of the whole of Europe. The long siege, with its
battles, vicissitudes, and sufferings, forms, however, a remarkable
page in the annals of war. Of my own corps, 13 officers were killed[44]
and 29 wounded. Altogether, no less than 10,508 officers and men of the
Royal Artillery served during the campaign, of whom 1,520 died, either
killed in action or from wounds and sickness.
Many weeks elapsed before the allied armies had altogether quitted the
Crimea; and in the meantime we wandered about and formed acquaintances
with the Russians, who were always civil and good-natured. At the end
of the harbour of Sebastopol were extensive marshes, filled with frogs,
which kept up an incessant croaking. The French soldiers were in the
habit of catching and eating them in large quantities, but the English
despised such food. It was said that the frogs, after a time, learnt
to distinguish between the two nations, and that when our men appeared
in their _red_ coats the frogs chirped away merrily, but when they saw
soldiers in _red_ trousers approaching, down they went, and remained
perfectly mute till the danger had passed away. _Se non è vero, è ben
trovato._
I did not leave the Crimea until June, and then embarked with a battery
of Horse Artillery for home. The weather was beautiful, and, after
passing through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, we were steaming along
past the Greek Islands when my servant one morning came into the cabin
and said I had better get up. As it was only just daylight I did not
take the hint. Presently, however, he looked in again, repeating his
suggestion. On my asking why he disturbed me at such an early hour,
he replied: 'I beg your pardon, sir, but the ship is on fire!' This
altered the situation; I lost no time in jumping into my clothes, went
on deck, where I perceived smoke coming up through the hatch-ways.
Going on to the bridge I inquired of the captain, who informed me that
the fire was in the powder magazine! It seems that having all the
ammunition boxes and stores of a battery of Horse Artillery on board,
the ordinary magazine was insufficient, and a temporary arrangement had
been made on the lower deck. It is supposed that by some accident a
box of lucifer matches had ignited, and set fire to the whole concern.
Captain Dyneley, R.H.A., with a few men at once went below, and passing
down buckets of water the fire was gradually extinguished, the boxes
hauled up and laid on deck, several of them considerably burnt. It
was a critical half-hour, but nothing could be more quiet and steady
than the conduct of all on board. In the midst of our trouble the
'Charlemagne,' a French line-of-battle ship, came up close to us,
crammed with troops, and offered help. We, however, explained that we
had plenty of men on board, and in a short time we were able to say
that all danger was at an end, and separated with three cheers from
both vessels. That was my last adventure connected with the Crimean
war.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 42: General Dacres was at Constantinople sick.]
[Footnote 43: General Simpson's despatch of September 9, 1855,
specially alludes to this report, which, he says, was agreed to and
acted on.]
[Footnote 44: Names of artillery officers killed: Brig.-General
Strangways, Major Townsend; Captains Oldfield, Fitzroy, Childers, Dew,
A. Gordon, and Snow; Lieutenants Cockerell, Walsham, Luce, Mitchell,
and Asst.-Commissary Hayter.]