heavy masses of men clambering up the hill, they could do nothing, and
were forced to fall back, contesting every foot.
Almost simultaneously, the pickets of the light division were also
driven in, and General Codrington, who happened to be making his
rounds at the front, at once sent a hurried messenger to the camp with
the report that the Russians were attacking in force. The second
division was that encamped nearest to the threatened spot. General
Pennefather, who, as Sir De Lacy Evans was ill on board ship, was in
command, called the men who had just turned out of their tents, and
were beginning as best they could to light their fires of soaked wood,
to stand to their arms, and hurried forward General Adam's brigade,
consisting of the 41st, 47th, and 49th, to the brow of the hill to
check the advance of the enemy by the road from the valley, while with
his own brigade, consisting of the 30th, 55th, and 95th, he took post
on their flank. Already, however, the Russians had got their guns on
to the high ground, and these opened a tremendous fire on the British
troops.
Sir George Cathcart brought up such portions of the 20th, 21st, 46th,
57th, 63d, and 68th regiments as were not employed in the trenches,
and occupied the ground to the right of the second division. General
Codrington, with part of the 7th, 23d, and 33d, took post to cover the
extreme of our right attack. General Buller's brigade was to support
the second division on the left, while Jeffrey's brigade, with the
80th regiment, was pushed forward into the brushwood. The third
division, under Sir R. England, was held in reserve. The Duke of
Cambridge, with the Guards, advanced on the right of the second
division to the edge of the plateau overlooking the valley of the
Tchernaya, Sir George Cathcart's division being on his right.
There was no manoeuvring. Each general led his men forward through the
mist and darkness against an enemy whose strength was unknown, and
whose position was only indicated by the flash of his guns and the
steady roll of his musketry. It was a desperate strife between
individual regiments and companies scattered and broken in the thick
brushwood, and the dense columns of gray-clad Russians, who advanced
from the mist to meet them. Few orders were given or needed. Each
regiment was to hold the ground on which it stood, or die there.
Sir George Cathcart led his men down a ravine in front of him, but the
Russians were already on the hillside above, and poured a terrible
fire into the 63d. Turning, he cheered them on, and led them back up
the hill; surrounded and enormously outnumbered, the regiments
suffered terribly on their way back, Sir George Cathcart and many of
his officers and vast numbers of the men being killed. The 88th were
surrounded, and would have been cut to pieces, when four companies of
the 77th charged the Russians, and broke a way of retreat for their
comrades.
The Guards were sorely pressed; a heavy Russian column bore down upon
them, and bayonet to bayonet, the men strove fiercely with their foes.
The ammunition failed, but they still clung to a small, unarmed
battery called the Sand-bag battery, in front of their portion, and
with volleys of stones tried to check their foes. Fourteen officers
and half the men were down, and yet they held the post till another
Russian column appeared in their rear. Then they fell back, but,
reinforced by a wing of the 20th, they still opposed a resolute front
to the Russians.
Not less were the second division pressed; storms of shot and bullets
swept through them, column after column of grey-clad Russians surged
up the hill and flung themselves upon them; but, though suffering
terribly, the second division still held their ground. The 41st was
well-nigh cut to pieces, the 95th could muster but sixty-four bayonets
when the fight was over, and the whole division, when paraded when the
day was done, numbered but 800 men.
But this could not last. As fast as one assault was repulsed, fresh
columns of the enemy came up the hill to the attack, our ammunition
was failing, the men exhausted with the struggle, and the day was
well-nigh lost when, at nine o'clock, the French streamed over the
brow of the hill on our right in great force, and fell upon the flank
of the Russians. Even now the battle was not won. The Russians brought
up their reserves, and the fight still raged along the line. For
another three hours the struggle went on, and then, finding that even
the overwhelming numbers and the courage with which their men fought
availed not to shake the defence, the Russian generals gave up the
attack, and the battle of Inkerman was at an end.
On the Russian side some 35,000 men were actually engaged, with
reserves of 15,000 more in their rear; while the British, who for
three hours withstood them, numbered but 8500 bayonets. Seven thousand
five hundred of the French took part in the fight. Forty-four British
officers were killed, 102 wounded; 616 men killed, 1878 wounded. The
French had fourteen officers killed, and thirty-four wounded; 118 men
killed, 1299 wounded. These losses, heavy as they were, were yet small
by the side of those of the Russians. Terrible, indeed, was the
destruction which the fire of our men inflicted upon the dense masses
of the enemy. The Russians admitted that they lost 247 officers killed
and wounded, 4076 men killed, 10,162 wounded. In this battle the
British had thirty-eight, the French eighteen guns engaged. The
Russians had 106 guns in position.
Jack Archer and his comrades were still in bed, when the first
dropping shots, followed by a heavy roll of musketry, announced that
the Russians were upon them. Accustomed to the roar or guns, they
slept on, till Tom Hammond rushed into the tent.
"Get up, gentlemen, get up. The Russian army has climbed up the hill,
and is attacking us like old boots. The bugles are sounding the alarm
all over the camps."
In an instant the lads were out of bed, and their dressing took them
scarce a minute.
"I can't see ten yards before me," Jack said, as he rushed out. "By
Jove, ain't they going it!"
Every minute added to the din, till the musketry grew into one
tremendous roar, above which the almost unbroken roll of the cannon
could scarce by heard. Along the whole face of the trenches the
batteries of the allies joined in the din; for it was expected that
the Russians would seize the opportunity to attack them also.
In a short time the fusillade of musketry broke out far to the left,
and showed that the Russians were there attacking the French lines.
The noise was tremendous, and all in camp were oppressed by the sound
which told of a mighty conflict raging, but of which they could see
absolutely nothing.
"This is awful," Jack said. "Here they are pounding away at each
other, and we as much out of it as if we were a thousand miles away.
Don't I wish Captain Peel would march us all down to help!"
But in view of the possible sortie, it would have been dangerous to
detach troops from their places on the trenches and batteries, and
the sailors had nothing to do but to wait, fuming over their forced
inaction while a great battle was raging close at hand. Overhead the
Russian balls sang in swift succession, sometimes knocking down a
tent, sometimes throwing masses of earth into the air, sometimes
bursting with a sharp detonation above them; and all this time the
rain fell, and the mist hung like a veil around them. Presently a
mounted officer rode into the sailor's camp.
"Where am I?" he said. "I have lost my way."
"This is the marine camp." Captain Peel said, stepping forward to him
as he drew rein. "How is the battle going, sir?"
"Very badly, I'm afraid. We are outnumbered by five to one. Our men
are fighting like heroes, but they are being fairly borne down by
numbers. The Russians have got a tremendous force of artillery on to
the hills, which we thought inaccessible to guns. There has been gross
carelessness on our part, and we are paying for it now. I am looking
for the third division camp; where is it?"
"Straight ahead, sir; but I think they have all gone forward. We heard
them tramping past in the mist."
"I am ordered to send every man forward; every musket is of value. How
many men have you here in case you are wanted?"
"We have only fifty," Captain Peel said. "The rest are all in the
battery, and I dare not move forward without absolute orders, as we
may be wanted to reinforce them, if the enemy makes a sortie."
The officer rode on, and the sailors stood in groups behind the line
of piled muskets, ready for an instant advance, if called upon.
Another half-hour passed, and the roll of fire continued unabated.
"It is certainly nearer than it was," Captain Peel said to Mr.
Hethcote. "No orders have come, but I will go forward myself and see
what is doing. Even our help, small as it is, may be useful at some
critical point. I will take two of the midshipmen with me, and will
send you back news of what is doing."
"Mr. Allison and Mr. Archer, you will accompany Captain Peel," Mr.
Hethcote said.
And the two youngsters, delighted at being chosen, prepared to start
at once.
"If they send up for reinforcements from the battery, Mr. Hethcote,
you will move the men down at once, without waiting for me. Take every
man down, even those on duty as cooks. There is no saying how hard we
may be pressed."
Followed by the young midshipmen, Captain Peel strode away through the
mist, which was now heavy with gunpowder-smoke. They passed through
the camp of the second division, which was absolutely deserted, except
that there was a bustle round the hospital marquees, to which a string
of wounded, some carried on stretchers, some making their way
painfully on foot, was flowing in.
Many of the tents had been struck down by the Russian shot; black
heaps showed where others had been fired by the shell. Dimly ahead,
when the mist lifted, could be seen bodies of men, while on a distant
crest were the long lines of Russian guns, whose fire swept the
British regiments.
"I suppose these regiments are in reserve?" Jack said, as he passed
some of Sir R. England's division, lying down in readiness to move to
the front when required, most of the battalions having already gone
forward to support the troops who were most pressed.
Presently Captain Peel paused on a knoll, close to a body of mounted
officers.
"There's Lord Raglan," Allison said, nudging Jack. "That's the
headquarter staff."
At that moment a shell whizzed through the air, and exploded in the
centre of the group.
Captain Gordon's horse was killed, and a portion of the shell carried
away the leg of General Strangeway. The old general never moved, but
said quietly,--
"Will any one be kind enough to lift me off my horse?"
He was laid down on the ground, and presently carried to the rear,
where an hour afterwards he died.
Jack and his comrades, who were but a few yards away, felt strange and
sick, for it was the first they had seen of battle close at hand. Lord
Raglan, with his staff, moved slowly forward. Captain Peel asked if he
should bring up his sailors, but was told to hold them in reserve, as
the force in the trenches had already been fearfully weakened.
"Stay here," Captain Peel said to the midshipmen. "I shall go forward
a little, but do you remain where you are until I return. Just lie
down behind the crest. You will get no honor if you are hit here."
The lads were not sorry to obey, for a perfect hail of bullets was
whistling through the air. The mist had lifted still farther, and they
could obtain a sight of the whole line along which the struggle was
raging, scarce a quarter of a mile in front of them. Sometimes the
remnants of a regiment would fall back from the front, when a fresh
battalion from the reserves came up to fill its place, then forming
again, would readvance into the thick belt of smoke which marked where
the conflict was thickest. Sometimes above the roll of musketry would
come the sharp rattle which told of a volley by the British rifles.
Well was it that two out of the three divisions were armed with
Minies, for these created terrible havoc among the Russians, whose
smooth-bores were no match for these newly-invented weapons.
With beating hearts the boys watched the conflict, and could mark that
the British fire grew feebler, and in some places ceased altogether,
while the wild yells of the Russians rose louder as they pressed
forward exultingly, believing that victory lay within their grasp.
"Things look very bad, Jack," Allison said. "Ammunition is evidently
failing, and it is impossible for our fellows to hold out much longer
against such terrible odds. What on earth are the French doing all
this time? Our fellows have been fighting single-handed for the last
three hours. What in the world can they be up to?"
And regardless of the storm of bullets, he leaped to his feet and
looked round.
"Hurrah, Jack! Here they come, column after column. Ten more minutes
and they'll be up. Hurry up, you lubbers," he shouted in his
excitement; "every minute is precious, and you've wasted time enough,
surely. By Jove, they're only just in time. There are the Guards
falling back. Don't you see their bearskins?"
"They are only just in time," Jack agreed, as he stood beside his
comrade. "Another quarter of an hour and they would have had to begin
the battle afresh, for there would have been none of our fellows left.
Hurrah! hurrah!" he cried, as, with a tremendous volley and a ringing
shout, the French fell upon the flank of the Russians.
The lads had fancied that before that onslaught the Russians must have
given way at once. But no. Fresh columns of troops topped the hill,
