65438+1 At 5: 00 am on October 25th, General Liprandi led about 25,000 soldiers across the Giornaya River, ready to attack the polyhedral fortresses1,No.2, No.3 and No.4 occupied by the Turkish army in the Cosway highlands. Luke saw the enemy attack and immediately sent his adjutant (ADC) to inform Lagrande. The Russian army quickly "captured the fortress occupied by the Turkish army with seven rifle teams, and the Turkish army fled in panic." Then, the Russian army raided all the way along the southern valley and entered the territory guarded by the British army-Balaclava.
Laagland arrived at the cliff edge of Shabanling at 7: 00 a.m., and then asked the adjutant Captain Evatt to convey his order to Baron George Cascade, commander of the 4th Division, and asked the Division to send troops to assist the Turkish army in defense immediately. However, Cascade refused to do that, insisting that "most of my soldiers are only suitable for fighting in the trenches of the camp". Even when he was later told that the Turks were "completely retreating", Cascade refused to take any action to help defend them. After repeated persuasion by Captain Evatt, the general agreed to send troops to help. Cascade knew very well that his soldiers were attacking the enemy in an inappropriate state; However, this is still a typical example of blatant defiance of superior orders.
Lagrande then ordered Luken to attack and assist the Turkish army: "The cavalry marched forward and seized the left-hand second-line polyhedron fortress previously occupied by the Turkish army." The cavalry has just been deployed under the unfinished six-sided fort. Then I saw Cossack cavalry swarming over Cosway Heights into the southern valley. Cossack cavalry were forced to retreat to the highland side when they saw Kadigan's 13 Qingqi regiment whistling with cold light and shining swords. Lagrande then issued his second order to Luken: "Immediately send eight squadrons of the Heavy Mountaineering Corps to Balaclava to rescue the defeated Turkish army." Russian cavalry split into two roads and bravely rushed into the southern valley again. However, their progress was blocked by two extraordinary actions, and they had to go back to their original place and stick to it.
The first is the red warning line. Seeing that the infantry was sandwiched between the powerful Russian cavalry and the British Balaclava base, Baron Major General colin campbell, who commanded the British 93rd (Plateau) Regiment, lined up his infantry in two long queues-the latter was the famous "red cordon"-to stop the Russian army from advancing. Two hundred years' experience tells us that the only way for infantry to stop cavalry in the open battlefield is to form a square defensive formation, but Campbell is uncharacteristically discharging a linear formation and shouting, "93rd Regiment! Never back down! Be sure to hold on! " At this time, his leadership and the team spirit of highland people played a powerful role, inspiring the 93rd regiment to firmly occupy the position.
This should be regarded as the first victory of heroism at that time. With the brave spirit of the commander and a new type of impact rifle, Type 53 Enfield rifle, the Highlanders fired bullets at the fragile bodies of Russian cavalry to prevent them from being killed in the charge. In short, under Campbell's command, with the great progress of military technology, an action on the verge of collapse was rewritten into an exciting victory. The second is the heavy brigade charge. The Russian Second Cavalry Column commanded by General Nezhoy was repelled by Brigadier General Starlite's heavy brigade. The heavy brigade carried out an unconventional attack on a pair of diving Russian troops. The Russian troops not only took advantage of the trend, but also surrounded the British cavalry from the flank. This time, the clever combination of the leader's due ability and tactical application produced unexpected results, because Starlite chose an attack site that the Russian army never thought of. The Russian cavalry was surprised: they were quickly defeated and fled back to the northern valley. As a result, the heavy brigade that charged regained the reputation of the British cavalry.
When the heavy brigade fought fiercely with the enemy in the South Valley, the Qingqi brigade was at the western end of the Shoubei Valley. With the great defeat of the troops, Russian cavalry had to cross the Cosway Highland again and enter the northern valley, thus giving the Qingqi Brigade an excellent opportunity to defeat the Russian army. However, Cadigan failed to take the initiative to attack. Even though one of their subordinates, Captain Morris of 17 Lancers, repeatedly encouraged him, Cadigan was indifferent. What Morris didn't know was that Cadigan had "entered a special position on the order of Lieutenant General Luken, and he couldn't leave without the order to defend any attack from Russia." This is a typical example of sticking to orders, even if it seems unwise to do so. Interestingly, Luken later put his order in another way: "Well, you remember that Lagrande personally put you in this position to defend this important place. My instructions to you are to attack any enemy within your range. And all you care about is your column and infantry formation. " This is not the place to discuss whether Cadigan or Lucan is right or wrong. However, it is obvious that Luken failed to appoint an effective team and instill discipline in his subordinates, so he failed to complete the task. By 9: 30 in the morning, the British army had stabilized the potentially disastrous situation caused by the collapse of the Turkish army defending the Cosway highlands, but when the Russian army retreated, they missed an excellent opportunity to hit the Russian army hard. Both Campbell and Cartwright showed their outstanding leadership skills, that is, they dared to make full use of the quality and superior equipment of the army to win by surprise. But Cascade and Cadigan were too cautious and lacked offensive spirit. As far as Cascade is concerned, the result is the loss of Turkey's multifaceted fortress. Here in Cadigan, the result was to attack the defeated Russian cavalry with heavy brigades, thus expanding the great opportunity for the 93rd regiment to win.
Therefore, the No.4 multi-faceted fortress located near the southern valley and mountainous area was recaptured by the Starlite Heavy Brigade, and the northern valley was occupied by the Kadigan Qingqi Brigade. However, the cavalry in the northern valley could not observe every move in the southern valley. This fact is crucial. Looking down from the Shabanling, Laagland didn't seem to notice this at all, but he should have realized it when he gave the order later. From the front, Laagland can observe Russian cavalry regrouping at the end of the northern valley under the cover of an open rifle battalion. Laagland's original goal was to cut off the road to Balaclava supply station with infantry to ensure the safety of cavalry. The Qingqi Brigade was stationed in the six-sided fortress directly below him near the cliff. Laagland hoped that Cadigan's 4th Infantry Division would go out from the east along the front line of Cosway Heights and recapture Turkey's multifaceted fortress. The second front consists of the fist troops of Kadigan's 1 Division, which will cross the southern valley to support the 4th Division. But by 10, 15, the 4th Division had not yet reached the highland, and could not stop Russia from eating the Turkish rifle team.
The Duke of Lagrande then sent his third order to Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, "Cavalry, take advantage of every opportunity to recover the highlands. They will get strong support from infantry on two fronts. " Lagrande's orders are very vague, and there is no difference between cavalry and infantry marching on two fronts. This is another typical example of confusion caused by unclear orders. When a staff member on horseback conveys an order, he may change his meaning by oral communication. But obviously, from the very beginning, Laagland did not look at the problem from the standpoint of his subordinates, whether in the choice of terrain, whether soldiers could observe the battlefield or tactics, and whether soldiers could understand his intentions. It is possible that Luken thought it was to let him wait for the arrival of the infantry, and then advance together to recover the multi-faceted fort. If so, Luke is wrong. However, his misunderstanding is also understandable, because the orders he got were very vague. Laagland used cavalry conservatism in the early days, and later sent cavalry against infantry and artillery occupying stable positions in violation of military regulations without infantry support, which was a typical infantry practice.
From the perspective of Cadigan, west of the northern valley, he can observe the hills that cover Russian infantry and artillery. So he told Luke this information. From Laagland's point of view, the Russian army is prepared to destroy the Turkish army in the multi-faceted fortress on the high ground in Cosway. Because in the19th century, the failure of field guns was regarded as a disgrace, so failure was not allowed. Without infantry, the only army that can be used is the light cavalry. Under Raglang's instructions, General Arey wrote the famous fourth order to Luken: "Lord Raglang hopes that the light cavalry will quickly advance to the front line, follow the enemy and prevent the enemy from taking away the field guns. Artillery units can accompany the battle. The French cavalry is on your left. General Arey. Right away. " The fourth order is another evidence that Laagland is not allowed to use words, and the interpretation of this order has become a topic of heated debate. This order was conveyed by Alai's adjutant, Captain Lewis Nolan of 15 Light Squadron.
As the messenger of the commander-in-chief, he expects to understand these orders and explain their contents well. Nolan may have understood the meaning of the command, or at least he was confident that he understood the intention of the command. This is the moment of decisive battle. If the shame of losing field guns can be avoided, it is probably caused by Nolan's considerable excitement and eagerness to give orders. In fact, just as he was about to leave, he overheard Brigadier General Hugh Ross shouting, "I want to lead them myself, and I must bring them out safely." Lagrande told him at the back: "Tell Count Luken that the cavalry will attack soon." Nolan headed for the cliff and conveyed Raglan's orders to Marcus Annaeus Lucanus. In fact, this order is meaningless to Luken, because when the Russian army transferred the weapons of the occupied multi-faceted fort, Luken could not see the bottom. Laagland and his staff didn't realize that the observation from the top of Shabanling Mountain was completely different from that from the bottom of Luken Mountain and Cadigan Mountain. In addition, Laagland's order also has many problems. Which line is Marcus Annaeus Lucanus going to? Whose front is it actually about? In the third order, Luke was not told how to wait for infantry support. Judging from his position, most of the two fronts mentioned in the order were blocked by polyhedral fortress No.4.
Unlike Laagland, Luken could not see the Russian army trying to remove Turkish artillery from the multi-faceted fortress in Cosway Heights. He can only see the guns on Fideokini Mountain and the valleys in the north. However, these guns captured in the redoubt were burned by his army all morning, so even though he didn't know that the Russians were cleaning them up, Luken certainly knew they existed. The order says, "Field artillery can accompany the action." What do you mean by "can do"? Luke, use it if you want. Or is Laagland not sure whether the field guns can cooperate with the operation? "The French cavalry is on your left." What does this part of the order mean? Were they told to follow Luken's army? Luke doesn't want to walk 50 miles with the French army. How can the infantry walk so far with the cavalry? Finally, the word "immediately" in the order. If Marcus Annaeus Lucanus intends to act together with the French army, it will obviously delay the French army for a lot of time, and it is obviously impossible to "immediately".
After receiving the order from Laagland, Luken began to "try to carry out this unnecessary attack." The only enemies he could observe were riflemen on Fideokini Mountain and the northern valley. Luke asked Nolan, "Attack, what are we attacking? Attack those riflemen? " "Where are we going?" Nolan pointed a gun at the position of Russian cavalry hidden behind musketeers in the far north valley and replied, "These are enemies, and of course these musketeers!" " "
It can be said that Luke, as a cavalry commander, should ask Nolan in detail to determine Raglan's real intention. In fact, he didn't do this, which led to many mistakes in his follow-up actions. It may also be that Luken thinks that there may be more important reasons for Laagland to send light cavalry to the northern valley, because he knows that the position of Laagland Station is higher than him and his understanding of the battlefield is more accurate than him.
However, it may be that Luken really knows what he is going to attack, and he is just playing dumb. Two days later, he hinted at this in his report to Lagrande. "When receiving the order to rush to the front to stop the enemy from taking away the guns abandoned by the army, from the perspective of supporting offensive operations, our division occupied favorable terrain. I ordered the Qingqi brigade to move forward in two ways and cover it with the heavy brigade. " All these show that Luken knows what he should attack, and that is the enemy of Cosway Heights. In that case, why did he order the Qingqi Brigade to charge the northern valley? It's very puzzling.
Count Cadigan later wrote: "The Qingqi Brigade suddenly received an order to start immediately; Then Count Luken came to us and ordered me to attack the Russians in the valley-I replied,' Yes, sir, but please allow me to tell you that there is a Russian battalion in the valley in front of us, and there are some battalions and riflemen on both sides'-Count Luken said,' I don't care so much, this is Lord Laagland's order, and the Qingqi brigade will attack immediately.' …
The development of the situation here has decided extremely serious consequences. The valley is about1500m long. According to the literal meaning of the order, that is to say: Qingqi Brigade will rush through the open area of 1500m without cover and seize the field guns. In the meantime, unless the Russian army does nothing, aren't these light cavalry without artillery support and equipped with knives and guns the targets of Russian artillery and rifles? Moreover, the Qingqi Brigade did not walk sideways or move in a zigzag shape, but rushed in a dense formation!
It should be noted here that there is an essential difference between cavalry attacking infantry flanks in combat contact and cavalry charging infantry positions from a long distance. The former can realize tactical suddenness, effectively break up the infantry formation and kill it, while the latter is tantamount to suicide. For example, the British 93rd Infantry Regiment was able to block Russian cavalry. Another more extreme example occurred five years later,1September, 860,1June, when the Mongolian cavalry commanded by Sengqin was defeated in the long-distance charge between Baliqiao in Beijing and the British and French allied infantry units. However, orders are orders.
As a light cavalry brigade with only five regiments and 673 lancers and light cavalry, Captain Nolan must finally realize that this attack is bound to fail. He turned and left, and rushed directly to Cosway Heights on the right, shouting and gesturing, trying to make the light cavalry retreat to the polyhedral fortress. He seems to be trying to tell Cadigan and other light brigades that they are charging in the wrong direction. However, before he really expressed his intention, he was hit by shrapnel and could never stand up again. In the face of sporadic Russian artillery fire, Qingqi Brigade carried a vertical spear and trotted at the speed of a horse, and the pennant at the tip of the spear fluttered in the wind. This Polish legion, which originated from Napoleon's army and was imitated by all Europe, is really exciting in both type and style. At this moment, the soldiers and horses of Qingqi Brigade have been hit by gunfire or stray bullets. However, the attack formation remains unchanged.
Soon, with the command of the officers, the hussars laid their spears flat and the horses began to accelerate and reach the sprint speed. At the beginning of the first attack of Qingqi Brigade, the Russian field guns stopped firing at an increasingly close speed, while the infantry waited quietly. The British cavalry braved the gunfire to keep in formation and rushed to the place 80 meters away from the Russian position. Russian infantry fired at the same time. At that time, smoke was everywhere, bullets were flying, and the Qing people were killed in large numbers in front of Russian positions. Even the commander, Earl Cadigan, fell from his horse and suffered a back injury, but he climbed to the high ground with a sword in his hand and still commanded the hussars to continue to charge. Many soldiers were knocked down on the way, but some rushed into Russian artillery positions and began to assassinate Russian troops with spears. However, Russian infantry killed them with bayonets and rifles. Cadigan "stood on the slope with a sword in his hand", ignoring his own life and death, because he regarded himself as a soldier in the front, not a major general. Although his back was injured, he refused to surrender and completely indulged in the heroism that "he didn't retreat to the valley with the hussars".
At the same time, Luke, who was in front of the heavy brigade, just walked to the entrance of the northern valley and witnessed the killing of the Qing Dynasty brigade. He immediately returned to Count William and said, "They have sacrificed the Qing Dynasty brigade. If I can help, they won't lose so much. " He told another commander this. But the problem is, they are all cavalry. How much help can he give? Immediately, Mr. Luken took the focused riding brigade to a place far away from Russian positions. But in this place, he is confident that he can stop the Russian army from continuing to hunt down the Qing Qi Brigade. Luke may have realized that the result of this will lead to a lot of criticism of the heavy brigade, but it also takes courage to stop the rest of the troops from carrying out unnecessary attacks. In fact, if the heavy cavalry also attacks, those armor can certainly resist the Russian shrapnel, but the heavy cavalry's relatively slow impact speed and heavy figure are likely to end up worse than the light cavalry.
Under the command of Colonel George paget, the second-line light cavalry-the 4th and 8th light cavalry regiments-charged the Russian army camp, sending only a few riflemen. They then went through the rifle battalion and continued to attack the Russian cavalry, but when they saw a Russian army several times bigger than themselves, paget shouted, "Stop attacking! Stop moving forward, or we will be finished. " The remaining two light cavalry regiments, now with less than 40 people, are just standing in situ facing the enemy. At this time, the Russians attacked them from behind and cut off their retreat. "March forward bravely," paget shouted to his soldiers. The cavalry couldn't resist the shooting of Russian riflemen, so they had to make meaningless efforts to retreat to one side of the valley, and were also destroyed by the fire on both sides. In 20 minutes, Qingqi Brigade lost 247 people and 497 horses, and it was no longer effective.
Bullets are still pouring at the rest of the soldiers of the Qinqi Brigade, but fortunately, the fire now comes from only one place in Cosway Heights. This is because the French Fourth Pursuit Division successfully attacked the Russian infantry battalion deployed on Mount Kini in Fideo. In addition, "a part of the pursuit division attacked the retreating Russian Youth Brigade from another direction, threatening the enemy's flank." Luken later wrote: "If there were no pursuers to suppress these infantry battalions, I think the heavy brigade would be wiped out."
The French commander who accompanied Lord Laagland could not help but sigh: "It's beautiful, but it's a pity that this is war." Indeed, it is extremely rare for a short and violent charge feat like a moth to put out a fire. Although the scale is small, it is shocking. Russell, a British army correspondent, reported the battle in The Times of London, causing public outcry in Britain. The whole Crimean war is turbid from the cause to the process, and it is regarded as a symbolic climax. Lord raglan, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, died soon after.