The British Expedition to the Crimea Author: William Howard Russell The Project Gutenberg EBook of The British Expedition to the Crimea, by William Howard Russell This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: The British Expedition to the Crimea Author: William Howard Russell Release Date: July 10, 2014 [EBook #46242] Language: English *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BRITISH EXPEDITION TO THE CRIMEA *** Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images available at The Internet Archive) [Every attempt has been made to replicate the original as printed. No attempt has been made to correct or normalize the spelling of non-English words. Some typographical errors have been corrected; a list follows the text. (note of etext transcriber)] THE BRITISH EXPEDITION TO THE CRIMEA BY WILLIAM HOWARD RUSSELL, LL.D. _NEW AND REVISED EDITION_ WITH MAPS AND PLANS LONDON GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS THE BROADWAY, LUDGATE NEW YORK: 416, BROOME STREET 1877 +---------------------------------------+ | THE INDIAN MUTINY. | | | | In crown 8vo, cloth, price 7_s._ 6_d._| | | | MY DIARY IN INDIA, | | | | _In the Year 1858-9_. | | | | BY | | | | WILLIAM HOWARD RUSSELL, LL.D. | | | | SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF "THE TIMES."| +---------------------------------------+ NOTICE TO THE READER. EDITION OF 1858. The interest excited by the events of the Campaign in the Crimea has not died away. Many years, indeed, must elapse ere the recital of the details of that great struggle, its glories, and its disasters, cease to revive the emotions of joy or grief with which a contemporary generation regarded the sublime efforts of their countrymen. As records on which the future history of the war must be founded, none can be more valuable than letters written from the scene, read by the light documents, such as those which will shortly be made public, can throw upon them.[1] There may be misconception respecting the nature of the motives by which statesmen and leaders of armies are governed, but there can be no mistake as to what they _do_; and, although one cannot always ascertain the reasons which determine their outward conduct, their acts are recorded in historical memoranda not to be disputed or denied. For the first time in modern days the commanders of armies have been compelled to give to the world an exposition of the considerations by which they were actuated during a war, in which much of the sufferings of our troops was imputed to their ignorance, mismanagement, and apathy. They were not obliged to adopt that course by the orders of their superiors, but by the pressure of public opinion; and that pressure became so great that each, as he felt himself subjected to its influence, endeavoured to escape from it by throwing the blame on the shoulders of his colleagues, or on a military scapegoat, known as "the system." As each in self-defence flourished his pen or his tongue against his brother, he made sad rents in the mantle of official responsibility and secrecy. Even in Russia the press, to its own astonishment, was called on to expound the merits of captains and explain grand strategical operations; and the public there, read in the official organs of their Government very much the same kind of matter as our British public in the evidence given before the Chelsea Commissioners. Much of what was hidden has been revealed. We know more than we did; but we never shall know all. I avail myself of a brief leisure to revise, for the first time, letters written under very difficult circumstances, and to re-write those portions of them which relate to the most critical actions of the war. From the day the Guards landed in Malta down to the fall of Sebastopol, and the virtual conclusion of the war, I had but one short interval of repose. I was with the first detachment of the British army which set foot on Turkish soil, and it was my good fortune to land with the first at Scutari, at Varna, and at Old Fort, to be present at Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, to accompany the Kertch and the Kinburn expeditions, and to witness every great event of the siege--the assaults on Sebastopol, and the battle of the Tchernaya. It was my still greater good fortune to be able to leave the Crimea with the last detachment of our army. My sincere desire is, to tell the truth, as far as I knew it, respecting all I have witnessed. I had no alternative but to write fully, freely, fearlessly, for that was my _duty_, and to the best of my knowledge and ability it was fulfilled. There have been many emendations, and many versions of incidents in the war, sent to me from various hands--many now cold forever--of which I have made use, but the work is chiefly based on the letters which, by permission of the proprietors of the _Times_, I was allowed to place in a new form before the public. W. H. RUSSELL. _July, 1858._ PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1876. For several years the "History of the British Expedition to the Crimea," founded on the "Letters from the Crimea of the _Times_ Correspondent," has been out of print, and the publishers have been unable to execute orders continually arriving for copies of the work. At the present moment the interest of the public in what is called the Eastern Question has been revived very forcibly, and the policy of this country in entering upon the war of 1854, has been much discussed in the Press and in Parliament. "Bulgaria,"[2] in which the allied armies failed to discover the misery or discontent which might, at the time, have been found in Ireland or Italy, is now the scene of "atrocities," the accounts of which are exercising a powerful influence on the passions and the judgment of the country, and the balance of public opinion is fast inclining against the Turk, for whom we made so many sacrifices, and who proved that he was a valiant soldier and a faithful and patient ally. The Treaty of Paris has been torn up, the pieces have been thrown in our faces, and a powerful party in England is taking, in 1876, energetic action to promote the objects which we so strenuously resisted in 1854. "Qui facit per alium facit per se." Prince Gortschakoff must be very grateful for effective help where Count Nesselrode encountered the most intense hostility. He finds "sympathy" as strong as gunpowder, and sees a chance of securing the spoils of war without the cost of fighting for them. Since 1854-6 the map of Europe has undergone changes almost as great as those temporary alterations which endured with the success of the First French Empire, and these apparently are but the signs and tokens of changes to come, of which no man can forecast the extent and importance. The British fleet is once more in Besika Bay, but there is now no allied squadron by its side. No British minister ventures to say that our fleet is stationed there to protect the integrity of Turkey. If the record of what Great Britain did in her haste twenty-two years ago be of any use in causing her to reflect on the consequences of a violent reaction now, the publication of this revised edition of the "History of the Expedition to the Crimea," may not be quite inopportune. W. H. RUSSELL. TEMPLE, _August, 1876_. _Note._--_In addition to the despatches relating to the landing in the Crimea, the battles of the Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, and the Tchernaya, the assaults on the place, &c., there will be found in the present edition the text of the most important clauses of the Treaty of Paris in 1856, the correspondence between Prince Gortschakoff and Lord Granville on the denunciation of the Treaty in 1870, &c._ CONTENTS. BOOK I. THE CONCENTRATION OF THE BRITISH TROOPS IN TURKEY--THEIR CAMPS AND CAMP-LIFE AT GALLIPOLI, SCUTARI, AND IN BULGARIA.....1 BOOK II. DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION FOR THE CRIMEA--THE LANDING--THE MARCH--THE AFFAIR OF BARLJANAK--THE BATTLE OF THE ALMA--THE FLANK MARCH.....69 BOOK III. THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SIEGE--THE FIRST BOMBARDMENT--ITS FAILURE--THE BATTLE OF BALAKLAVA--CAVALRY CHARGE--THE BATTLE OF INKERMAN--ITS CONSEQUENCES.....140 BOOK IV. PREPARATIONS FOR A WINTER CAMPAIGN--THE HURRICANE--THE CONDITION OF THE ARMY--THE TRENCHES IN WINTER--BALAKLAVA--THE COMMISSARIAT AND MEDICAL STAFF.....177 BOOK V. THE COMMENCEMENT OF ACTIVE OPERATIONS--THE SPRING--REINFORCEMENTS--THE SECOND BOMBARDMENT--ITS FAILURE--THIRD BOMBARDMENT, AND FAILURE--PERIOD OF PREPARATION.....231 BOOK VI. COMBINED ATTACKS ON THE ENEMY'S COUNTER APPROACHES--CAPTURE OF THE QUARRIES AND MAMELON--THE ASSAULT OF THE 18TH OF JUNE--LORD RAGLAN'S DEATH.....282 BOOK VII. EFFORTS TO RAISE THE SIEGE--BATTLE OF THE TCHERNAYA--THE SECOND ASSAULT--CAPTURE OF THE MALAKOFF--RETREAT OF THE RUSSIANS TO THE NORTH SIDE.....303 BOOK VIII. THE ATTITUDE OF THE TWO ARMIES--THE DEMONSTRATIONS FROM BAIDAR--THE RECONNAISSANCE--THE MARCH FROM EUPATORIA--ITS FAILURE--THE EXPEDITION TO KINBURN AND ODESSA.....376 BOOK IX. THE WINTER--POSITION OF THE FRENCH--THE TURKISH CONTINGENT--PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEXT CAMPAIGN--THE ARMISTICE--THE PEACE AND THE EVACUATION.....429 APPENDIX.....501 THE BRITISH EXPEDITION TO THE CRIMEA. BOOK I. CHAPTER I. Causes of the quarrel--Influence of the press--Preparations--Departure from England--Malta--Warnings.