Untitled - Stanford University

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THE 12th BENQAL CAVALRY.

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DESIGNED & PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

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A PRISONER A T THE BATTLE QF BLENHEIM.

CONTENTS FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . .

NORMAN PERIOD BATTLE OF HASTINGS . . . . . . . . .

PLANTAGENET PERIOD BATTLE OF CRCCY . . . . . . .

LANCASTRIAN PERIOD

STUART PERIOD BATTLE OF AGINCOURT . . . . . . . .

BATTLE OF BLENHEIM . . . . . . . . . BATTLE OF DETTINCEN . . . . . . . . . BATTLE OF QUEBEC . . . . . . . . BATTLE OF CORUNNA . . BATTLE OF WATERLOO . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . BALACLAVA BATTLE OF INKERMANN . . . . . . . . . LUCKNOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PEIWAR KOTAL . . . . . . . . BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR BATTLE OF OMDURMAN . . . . . . . . .

HANOVERIAN PERIOD

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VICTORIAN PERIOD

PAGE . . . . 7

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LIST OF COLOURED PLATES

HAROLD'S LAST STAND-BATTLE OF HASTINGS . Frontirpiece

CHARGE OF THE FRENCH CAVALRY-BATTLE OF CRBCY . . Facing page

KING HENRY V FIGHTS WITH HEROIC VALOUR-BATTLE OF AGINCOURT . ,, MARLBOROUGH LEADING THE ATTACK-BATTLE OF BLENHEIM . 7,

CHARGE OF THE 3RD DRAGOONS-BATTLE OF DETTINGEN J 9

SCALING THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM-BATTLE OF QUEBEC . 1 2

THE ATTACK OF THE BLACK WATCH-BA~LE OF CORUNNA . m J ?

NAPOLEON AND THE IMPERIAL GUARD-BATTLE OF WATERLOO . Y 7

THE MEETING OF SIR COLIN CAMPBELL AND GENERAL OUTRAM-RELIEF OF

LUCKNOW . e 7)

STORMING THE HEIGHTS-PEIWAR KOTAZ . Y Y

STORMING THE TRENCHES-BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR . Y ?

CHARGE OF THE ZIST LANCERS-BATTLE OF OMDURMAN . * Y2

SWORD A N D SABRE AT WATERLOO.

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140 ONLY a year or so ago, had one been honoured by the request to write a few introductory words to such a work as this, one would have had to speculate whether the ease of modern life and the softening influence of general education have still left men of the British race with the qualities which are here commemorated. Every nation needs from time to time to be reassured as to its virility. We have had our reassurance. One short year has sufficed to show that the military history of Great Britain is not a dead thing, but one so quick with life that there i s not a deed which adorns these pages but has been equalled or even exceeded by our brothers and om sons. Every lesson of old has been renewed and confirmed. Corunna showed that a British Army, retreating and outnumbered, was still as dangerous as a wounded tiger to its pursuer. But did Sir John Moore and his men prove it more clearly than Sir Horace Smith-Dorríen’s second corps when it faced round its feeble batteries to the fire of four German Army Corps and held up

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8 FOREWORD

Von Kluck during that long showery August morning ? Wellington was immovable at Torres Vedras which covered Lisbon, but was he more steadfast than French in those iron lines which barred the road to Calais ? Waterloo has been the classical example of the steadiness of the British infantryman, but did he not stand as firmly, and against far greater odds, when the Prussians reeled back beaten and exhausted from the salient of Ypres ? We have set up new records and new examples for the future.

And yet all that has been done has grown out of the past. It is the final fruit of these very deeds which are set forth in Major Wylly’s fascinating pages. The British Army is small, but it has some very great assets, and of these the greatest. of all is its tremendous tradition. The esfirit de cor;bs of the regiments is the growth of two hundred years, and who can shake that which i s so rooted in the past ? It was but the other day that the Guards and the 1st Kings, as they fell back with the second division in Belgium, passed over the graves of their own comrades who fell at Malplacquet. One step takes us from French to Marl- borough. Could they be anything but heroes when they thought of the ancestors whose place. they fllled ? At every crisis the war- c r y of the dead sounds clear in the ear of the living. How often, for example, have the Middlesex Regiment, every battalion of which has done such work in the war, strengthened its courage at the thought of the historic name, the Die-hards, which has so long been the proud title of the old 57th ! How often, too, has the memory of Albuera stiffened the line of the Fusiliers, or that of Inkermann reminded the Guards that no odds can dismay them ! Sometimes the military situation is exactly repeated. It was the 5znd Regiment which broke Napoleon’s Guard at Waterloo. It was the same ~2nd (now changed into the and Ox and Bucks

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‘ellington It was he wred the ¡le of the stand as ,ns reeled WC have

FOREWORD 9

Light Infantry) which broke the Prussian Guard in the Polygon Wood. So one great deed inspires another.

The military history of Rome or of Sparta is glorious, but it is dead. That of Britain is glorious, but it still lives and works in the minds and hearts of our soldiers. Good luck, then, to the man and God-speed to the book which carry on its traditions to strengthen those unborn in the days that are t o come.

ARTI-EUR CONAN DOYLE. CROWBOROUGH,

1915.

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NORMAN PERIOD

BATTLE O F HASTINGS, 14~13: OCTOBER, 1066

IMMEDIATELY on his accession t o the throne of England by the votes of his countrymen, Harold was faced with the threat of an invasion of his kingdom. A rival claimant appeared in the person of William, Duke of Normandy, who was a kinsman of the late King Edward the Confessor, and who swore t o support his right to the throne of England by force of arms. It is unnecessary here to discuss the respective claims of the two rivals, sufice it t o say that Harold was the most powerful English nobleman of the day, next

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only to the blood royal, and that he was personally the bravest and best beloved chieftain in England. The true foundation for his title to the crown, however, lies in his unanimous selection by his countrymen and in the love and confidence they felt in him.

Both he and William were men of high courage, of great bodily strength, and born leaders of men. Harold, we are told, was tall in stature and beautiful in countenance.” He was generous to the poor and frank and open in his bearing. William, on the other hand, was not prepossessing in appearance and was inclined t o corpulence. He was a mixture of good and bad qualities. He was considered one of the wisest princes of his time, was bold and resolute. He seems, however, to have been crafty, avaricious and despotic.

Throughout the spring and summer of 1066 all the seaports of Normandy, Picardy and Brittany rang with the sound of William’s preparations, and many adherents from the Rhine and the Alps flocked to his standard for the pillage and conque& of England. The whole of William’s shipping assembled at the mouth of the Dive, a small river between the Seine and the Orme, as early as the middle of August, The army which he had collected amounted to 50,000 knights and 10,000 men-at-arms. The winds, however, were for a long tirne adverse and the ships were unable to sail, and the Duke employed the interval in completing the organization and improving the discipline of his army. The Normans were at that time at the height of their military efficiency, and the army cd invasion was soon brought to a high state of perfection.

On the other side of the Channel, King Harold had not been idle. He, too, collected a large army and Aeet (the latter the legacy of King Alfred) a t Sandwich, with which he hoped to crush. the invaders. The adverse winds delayed William until September, but before that the Saxon fleet had been obliged t o leave Sandwich to refit and provision. At the same time news was brought to Harold that a Norwegian army, under King Harold Hardrada, the last of th. Scandinavian vikings, had landed in hrkshire, had completely defeated Earls Edwin and Morcar, the Governors of Northumbria, and that the whole country from the Tyne to the Humber had

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submitted to the Norseman. These tidings compelled Harold to abandon his position on the south coast and to hasten north to meet the Norwegians. By an extraordinarily rapid march he reached Yorkshire in nine days and took the Norwegians by surprise. The battle which ensued was fought at Stamford Bridge on the 24th September, and was a most desperate one. Harold, however, succeeded in utterly routing the Norwegians, and Harold Hardrada and the flower of the Norwegian nobility perished. The victory was decisive, but the Saxons paid for it dearly in the loss of many of their best officers and men, and still more dearly in the opportunity it gave William of Normandy of effecting an unopposed landing on the Sussex coast.

T t is always interesting to know the conditions under which warriors in those days fought. Plate armour had not been introduced at this period. The Normans, we are told, wore hauberks, or breeches and jacket in one garment, and consisting of chain armour, with an iron conical-shaped helmet with nose-piece, with iron frontlets for their horses. They were armed with lances, long cutting swords, shields, maces, and bows and arrows, and placed their chief reliance on their cavalry. The Saxons wore tunics of leather with iron rings, but most of their armour consisted of leather tunics only, or leather tunics with iron bosses sewn on them. Their legs were cross-gartered, and their weapons were swords, shields, javelins, maces and battleaxes. They depended chiefly on the compact mass of their infantry. Engines for hurling stones were used by both Normans and Saxons.

Whilst King Harold was defeating the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge the wind had veered to a favourable one for the Normans and gave them the opportunity they had long waited for. The invaders crossed an undefended sea and landed on an undefended coast. It was at Pevensey Bay, near Hastings, that the Normans disembarked on the 29th September, 1066. The first t o land were the archers, who at once skirmished along the shore, but found no one to oppose them ; these were followed by the knights, all armed, with their hauberks on, their shields slung at their necks, and their

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helmets laced. They formed up on the shore, mounted their war- horses and rode into the country. The last t o disembark was Duke William, who stumbled and fell on his hands as he did so. This was regarded as a bad omen by those about him, but William, quickly rising, with his gauntlets filled with the wet sand, exclaimed, (' See, my lords, I have thus taken possession of this land with both my hands ; and by the splendour of God, so far as it reaches it is yours and mine ! " Next day the Normans marched along the seashore to Hastings, where William formed an entrenched camp and set up two wooden castles, which he had brought with him in pieces from Normandy. Strong bodies of his cavalry over- ran the neighbouring country, pillaging and burning, and seizing all the horses and cattle.

King Har- old was at York when the news of the Norman i n v a s i o n reached him. He at once collected his d i m i n i s h e d f o r c e s and h a s t e n e d s o u t h . H e w a s r e i n - f o r c e d b y fresh troops from London a n d o t h e r p l aces . On r e a c h i n g L o n d o n he

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14 BATTLE OF HASTINGS

manned 700 ships t o prevent the escape of the Normans, and offered Winiam a sum of money if he would leave England without further bloodshed. William declined this offer with disdain, and called on Harold either to resip his crown, to refer the sovereignty of England to the arbitration of the Pope, or to meet william in single combat. Harold sternly replied that he would not resign his title or submit English affairs t o the arbitration of any Italian, nor would he accept single combat. Harold remained six days in London and then marched against William. The ruins of Battle Abbey to-day mark the place where Harold's army was posted, and the high altar of the Abbey stood on the very spot where Harold's standard was planted during the fight and where the carnage was the heaviest. Harold's army, which was far inferior in numbers t o that of the Normans, was drawn up with considerable skill along a ridge of rising ground and had an extensive wood at the back, while the position was strengthened both t o the flanks and rear by deep trenches and palisades of stakes. The Kentish men formed his first line, and t o the men of London was assigned the task of guarding the King's person and his standard. As an old Norman Chronicler states in his account of the battle : ' I Then he ordered the men of Kent t o go where the Normans were likely t o make attack, for they say that the men of Kent are entitled to strike first, and that whenever the King goes t o battle the first blow belongs to them. The right of the men of London is to guard the King's body, t o place themselves round him and to guard his standard ; and they were accord- ingly placed by the standard t o watch and delend it." Harold himself dismounted, with his brothers Gurth and Leofwin, and beside his standard, with his battleaxe in his hand, stood the last of the Saxon kings ready to conquer or die in the defence of his country against the foreign invader.

At nine o'clock on the morning of the 14th October, 1066, the whole Norman host advanced in three great lines. The first line was formed of archers and light infantry, the second consisted of heavily mailed men-at-arms, whilst the third line of knights, squires and yeomen was led by William in person. The length

BATTLE OF HASTINGS 15

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of this line was so great that it overlapped the other two. The Normans advanced to the assault with the greatest intrepidity, the first two lines attacking the Saxon position at different points, endeavouring to tear down the palisades and so force an entry for their cavalry. Clouds of arrows darkened the air, and a great noise and tumult arose, both parties shouting their battle-cries and sounding their trumpets, bugles, and horns. The Saxons successfully resisted the assault and did terrible execution with their javelins and axes, and many gallant warriors fell both before and behind their palisades. Harold and his brothers fought foremost among the Saxons, and Norman writers tell us how dreadful was the execution they inflicted with their battleaxes. William, finding himself unable t o make any impression on his stubborn foe, directed his archers t o discharge their arrows with a curve so that they might fall on the heads of the Saxons instead of on their shields. It was then that an arrow thus discharged struck Harold above his right eye and destroyed the sight of it. In his agony he drew the arrow out and threw it away, breaking it with his hands, and although half blind and suffering frightful torture the heroic Saxon King continued t o fight. The Saxons then leaped from their position and drove the Normans before them into a ravine, where men and horses and the killed and wounded rolled over one another in inex- tricable confusion. William himself had three horses killed under him, but mounting a fourth and rallying his men, returned t o the attack with redoubled fury. The Saxon palisades were torn up and an entrance forced into the position.

From that instant the tide of battle turned. The English fought desperately and threw themselves round their King and their standard. The Normans, however, proved irresistible, and Harold and his brothers were slain and their standard torn down and captured. Still the fight raged and continued till sunset, for the Saxon warriors €ought on with reckless valour and with the courage of despair. No prisoners were taken, and the Saxons did not finally take t o flight till the darkness had descended. By that time 15,000 Nor- mans, a fourth of their whole force, lay dead on the field of Hastings,

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and even a greater number of their gallant foe. All accounts agree in stating that the carnage on both sides was fearful.

Thus ended the battle of Hastings, unquestionably the most important that has been fought on English soil, on account of the great strength of the invaders, the perfect success of the enterprise, and from the fact that it is the last successful invasion of our country. The loss of this great battle to the English was undoubt- edIy mainly due to two causes : first, t o the previous Norwegian invasion, which compelled Harold to march north and thus leave the south coast undefended ; and secondly to the wound that Harold received in the afternoon of the battle, which must have incapaci- tated him from effective command, All the narratives of the battle eulogize Harold‘s generalship and the personal valour he displayed until he was struck by the fatal arrow. The skill with which his

army was posted is shown by the great loss it cost the Normans to force their position, and the stubborn valour with which the Saxons fought is proved by the desperate rally they made after the battle, in the forest in the rear, by which large numbers of pursuing Nor- mans were cut off.

Many a pathetic legend is related regarding the discovery of the body and the burial of the last King of the Saxons. It is said that the late King’s mother sought the Conqueror and begged for the dead body of her son, and that though she offered him ‘‘ Harold’s weight in gold that she might have the body to bury at the Holy Rood of Waltham.” William sternlv

BATTLE OF NASTINGS I7

agree

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doubt- -wegian 1s leave Harold

refused her request, brutally adding, ‘‘ Harold guarded the coast when alive, let him continue his guard now he is dead.”

According t o another version, Harold‘s mangled body was found on the field by the woman who loved him, Edith the Fair, who identified it by a mark on the flesh, and that she had it reverently buried under a cairn near the rocks at Hastings. Here the Saxon hero’s body is stated t o have remained until William finally relented, when it was removed and interred at Waltham Abbey, which had been founded by Harold shortly before his accession to the throne.

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PLANTAGENET PERIOD

BATTLE O F CRECY, 26~11 AUGUST, 134.6

WHEN Edward III landed in Normandy, in the middle of July, 1346, he was accompanied by his son, Edward Prince of Wales, then a mere boy of sixteen years of age, who was later to rise to immortal fame as the Black Prince, the Mirror of English Chivalry. The English King's army consisted of 4,ooo men-at-arms, IQ,OOX) archers, 12,0100 Welsh and G,ooo Irish light troops, and was led by twenty-f our commanders famous throughout Christendom for their valour and their skill. After resting some ten days the English army advanced into France, pillaging, burning, and sack- ing towns and villages, and, after some desultory fighting, forced

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the passage of the river Somme in the face of some 20,000 French- men, and on the 25th August, took up a position on the famous field of Crkcy, where King Edward decided t o await the French attack.

In the meantime the news of the English landing in Normandy flew t o Paris ; and Philip, the French King, hastily collecting an army of some 100,000 men, advanced against Edward. This huge force was continually reinforced during its march, but these numbers proved an embarrassment rather than an advantage, owing to the jealous competition amongst its leaders, and to the bad state of military organization which then prevailed. There were many foreign as well as French princes in the field over whom Philip had no proper authority, No one was willing to be commanded and the consequent indiscipline and disorder was appalling. Each commander hastened forward utterly regardless of any con- certed action, until at last, on emerging from a small wood, Philip’s disorganized hosts, to their surprise and confusion, suddenly found themselves in the presence of the English drawn up ready t o receive them, and there is little doubt that had Edward’s troops been su€ficiently numerous t o have justified their charging the enemy at that moment, the battle would have had an earlier and favourable termination.

Many improvements and alterations had by this time been made in the armour worn since the battle of Hastings. A visored bascinet or lzelmet was now used by knights. Plate armour had been introduced which was lighter than the old chain armour, breast and backplates had been adopted in place of the old hauberk, and a surcoat, emblazoned with the wearer’s arms, and a girdle were worn by knights over their armour. They had steel-jointed coverings for the legs and feet, as well as gauntlets. Crossbows were in general use, the range of which was about sixty yards.

The morning of the 26th August broke in a storm of thunder and lightning, accompanied by torrential rain, and found King Edward’s force drawn up on an irregular slope between the forest

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of Crécy and the river Maie, and some slight defences had been added to the natural features of the ground. The English army was arranged in three divisions : the Prince of Wales’s division, consisting of 800 men-at-arms, 4,000 archers, and 6,000 Welsh, was posted near the bottom of the hill, the archers being placed in front and supported by the Welsh and the men-at-arms, and occupied the right, and somewhat to its rear all the wagons and baggage and horses of the army had been packed in an enclosure of stakes ; the second division, under the Earls of Arundel and Northampton, was posted to the left, and consisted of some 7,000 men, whilst King Edward himself commanded the third division, which was held in reserve on a rising ground and was composed of 12,ooo men. The English King had decided that the battle, on his side, should be fought on foot, a decision which greatly contributed to the success of the day.

Philip’s army was divided into four columns, one of which was commanded by the Count of Alencon, another by the old blind King of Bohemia, the third by Philip himself, and the last by the Count of Saxony. Froissart states that when Philip beheld the English c c his blood was moved, for he hated them, and nothing could have prevented him from giving them battle,” and with passionate and savage haste he at once ordered a band of I ~ , O O O Genoese mercenary crossbowmen to instantly advance and endeavour by their missiles to break the firm front of the English archers, who were drawn up in the form of a harrow before the Prince of Wales’s men-at-arms. After some remonstrance on their part the Genoese were at length brought forward, and supported by a glittering body of cavalry, advanced with loud shouts and yells intended to terrify the enemy. The imperturbable English archers, however, paid no attention to the noise, but calmly awaited the attack. The Genoese continued their whooping till they came within range, but the heavy rain had slackened the strings of their crossbows, and their missiles fell short. Suddenly the sun shone out bright and clear behind the English position and in the faces of the French. Every English archer then drew forth his long-

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CHARGE OF T H E FRENCH CAVALRY Battle of Crecy

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bow from its case, stepped forward a single pace, and let their arrows fly so wholly and so thick that it seemed as snow.’’ The flight of arrows fell among the Genoese, killing and wounding many : some cut the strings of their crossbows, others threw them away, and the whole fell back in great disorder on the horsemen behind them.

Philip was furious when he saw the confusion of the Genoese, and ordered l i s cavalry in their rear to charge and cut them down. An indescribable scene of horror and disorder ensued, and amongst this rabble of frantic, disorganized men the English archers continued to pour an increasing Right of arrows. The Welsh and

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rssh, too, crept forward and stabbed and cut the throats of a large number of overthrown French knights and men-at-arms who lay helplessly rolling and struggling on the ground in their heavy armour. * In the meanwhile the Count of Alencon, separating his column into two bodies, to avoid the confusion on his front, swept forward t o attack the English division under the Prince of Wales. The gallant p u t h and his brave men met the impetuous charge of the FreiIch with the utmost steadiness and success. Every man fought where he stood and no man quitted his place to take a prisoner or t o pursue a foe, and the growing heaps of French dead were a tribute to the discipline, vigour and intrepidity of the English line.

It was at this time that the old blind King of Bohemia was slain. Comprehending from the reports he received that the day was ping against the French he directed his attendant knights to lead him into the fight so that he nlight deal one blow for the French cause. His faithful knights at once obeyed his command and tn7o of them, buckling the reins of their horses with those of their beloved monarch, galloped down into the field against the Prince of Wales, and the blind King was carried into the thickest of the fight. They were all slain and *‘ the next day were found in the place about the King with their horses tied together.” The Bohemian King’s beautifully worked banner was also found on the battlefield charged with three ostrich feathers, and bearing the German motto ‘( Ich dien,’’ which, some historians say, was brought to the young Prince, who adopted it as his well-known crest and motto.

The French cavalry had by this time disentangled themselves from the Genoese and, bearing down on the English, corn- n~nced to hem J?rince Edward round. With a stout heart and a steady countenance he and his companions withstood the shock, and the hand-to-hand fighting became more desperate than ever. Nearly 40,000 Frenchmen must at this time have pressed round the m~all body of English heroes, and seeing the straits they were in, the Earls of Arundel and Northampton advanced their

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i of a large ns who lay heir heavy arating his ront , swept 2 of wales* LOUS charge 3ss. Every ace t o take I of French ;repidity of

BATTLE OF CRfiCY

division in support. The Earl of W a r w i c k , who was with the Prince, ob- s e r v i n g fresh bodies of the enemy pouring down on them, d i s p a t c h e d a knight to King E d w a r d and begged for succour. “ Is my son dead, hurt,

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or to the earth felled ? ” inquired the King. Not so, sire,” replied the knight, “ but he is in a rude shock of arms and much requires your aid.” “ Return to those who sent you,’’ rejoined King Edward, “ and tell them to require no aid from me as long as my son is in life. Tell them also that I command them to let the boy win his spurs, for, God willing, the day shall be his, and the honour shall rest with him and those into whose charge I have given him.”

This message inspired the Prince and those about him with fresh ardour, and efforts surpassing all previous ones were made by the English to repel the forces pouring down against them, and the Frenchmen, hurling themselves upon the English, gained no success. Wounded, slain or thrown from their horses, they lay on the ground encumbered with their armour, whilst the Welshmen darted hither and thither through the fight slaying every Frenchman who was once smitten to the ground. The Prince of Wales, taking advantage of the confusion, led his line to the charge, which was pressed home with the utmost courage and resolution, and the French were thrown into even greater disorder. The Count of AlenCon and many French nobles and

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knights were killed, and the remainder, seeing the day was lost, gave ground. Terror and dismay spread throughout their ranks, and those who could extricate themselves from the battle sought safety in flight, pursued by an unremitting and remorseless shower of English arrows. Philip of France remained on the field till nearly dark and then, having only some sixty knights about him and being wounded and in danger of death or capture, turned his horse’s head and unwillingly fled from the field.

Besides the King of Bohemia, nine sovereign princes and eighty lords remained upon the plain, together with twelve hundred knights, fifteen hundred men - at - arms, and thirty thousand foot. Such was the loss on the side of France, whilst that sustained by the English seems t o have been insignificant, but nowhere in history can any accurate statement of the number be found. The overwhelming victory of the English

was due t o t h e in domit- a b l e courage a n d s t e a d y r e s o l u - t i o n of their in- f a n t r y a n d t o the cool skill and unerr i n g accuracy o f t h e a i m of t h e i r archers.

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LANCASTRIAN PERIOD

BATTLE O F AGINCOURT, Z ~ T H OCTOBER, 1415

SHAKESPEARE portrays Henry V, when Prince of Wales, as a somewhat wild and reckless, but at the same time brilliant and lovable youth, fond of rough jests with boon companions, but vigorous and valiant in war. The fancy of the people would seem to have been captured by the joyous young heir to the crown, who was popular with every one as " Prince Hal." Be that as it may, he had no sooner succeeded t o the throne in 1413, at the age of twenty-five, than he became distinguished as a statesman and a soldier of great ability. P

26 BATTLE OF AGINCOURT

Taking advantage of the civil war which then devastated France, Henry, soon after his accession, revived the claim of his grandfather, Edward III, to the throne of that country. The French Dauphin, it is reported, in derision of that claim and in contempt of Henry’s previous frivolity, sent him a box of tennis balls, as a hint that games were more suitable to his character and disposition than the rougher implements of war. Henry was furious at the insult and immediately commenced preparations for an invasion of France. His army was raised and equipped with much care and forethought, and consisted, it is said, of 6,000 knights and men-at-arms, and 24,000 archers. So efficient and well-equipped an army had never before been assembled in England for foreign service.

A plume in the summit of the helmet was a distinguishing feature in the armour of this period, and the shape of the helmet itself was greatly improved, and was surrounded with a chaplet. The breastplates were rounded, and hooks were fixed below the right breast as a rest for the lance, whilst a gorget protected the throat. Men-at-arms now carried a heavy, two-handed sword, whilst commanders as a rule wielded battleaxes. The English archers, says Monstrelet, were for the most part without any armour, and in jackets with their hose loose, and hatchets or swords hanging t o their girdles ; some, indeed, were barefoot and without hats.

Henry’s army disembarked in Normandy about the 14th August, 1415, effected its landing without molestation, and four days later marched on Harfleur, which surrendered after a month’s siege. The sick, wounded and prisoners were then sent back to England, and on the 8th October, with greatly diminished forces, Henry marched on Calais. His march seems t o have been practically unopposed, and on the 24th of that month, when near t o the village of hgincourt , the English found themselves close t o the enemy, who had posted himself in great force across the road t o Calais. Seeing that an encounter was unavoidable, Henry at once began to make his arrangements for the battle. Heavy

8 ’ ’

i -

i

rain fell throughout that night, which was to the English one of hope, fear, anxiety and suspense. They were weak with fatigue, wasted by the many difficulties and privations of their arduous march through a hostile country, and could not now have exceeded 2 0,000 men, whilst the French army is said to have been six times as numerous. The English spent the night in prayer and in getting their weapons ready; the French, on the other hand, were full o€ confidence, relying on the overwhelming superiority of their numbers, They did not even contemplate the possibility of defeat, and yet the village of Agincourt lay quite close t o the field of Crecy !

The 25th October (St. Crispin’s Day) dawned bright and clear, and Henry formed up his men in three divisions and two wings. The archers, on whom he rested his principal hope, were placed in advance of the m e n - a t - a r m s . ‘( Their well-earned r e p u t a t i o n i n f o r m e r battles,” says Lingard,‘ ‘ and their savage appearance on the present day, struck terror into their e n e m i e s . Many had stripped themselves naked, and others had bared their arms and breasts, that they might exercise their limbs with

28 ~ BATTLE OP AGINCOÜRT

more ease and execution. Beside his bow and arrows, his battleaxe or sword, each bore on his shoulder a long stake sharpened at both extremities, which he was instructed to fix obliquely in the ground and thus oppose a rampart of pikes to the charge of the French cavalry.” The King himself, mounted on a grey palfrey, and wearing a helmet of polished steel surrounded with a jewelled crown, and a surcoat emblazoned with the arms of England and France, rode from banner t o banner, encouraging and exhorting his men. Whilst doing so he chanced t o overhear a knight express the wish that they had more men. ‘ l Not so,” exclaimed Henry,

I would not have a single man more. If God give us the victory it will be plain that we owe it to His goodness. If He do not, the fewer we are, the less will be the loss to our country.”

The French were drawn up in the same order, but there was terrible disparity in the point of numbers between the two forces, for whilst the English files were four, the French were thirty men deep. The Constable of France commanded the first division, the Duke of Alengon the second, and the Earl of Falconberg the third. The distance between the opposing armies was barely a quarter of a mile, but the ground was wet and spongy, and the French, therefore, determined to await the attack of the English. Henry had confidently expected the French to attack, and though somewhat disconcerted at this inaction, seized the opportunity to send a detachment to lie in ambush on the French left, and another t o conceal themselves in some bushes on the French right flank. He placed his baggage in rear of his army under the protection of a small body of archers.

NO movement on either side was made for some time, when the French attempted to open negotiations for peace. The conditions they laid down were, however, peremptorily rejected by the English King, who, becoming impatient of the prolonged delay, a t about eleven in the morning, gave the command, Banners, advance,” and at the same time one of his knights, Sir Thomas Erpingham, threw his truncheon in the air as a signal to the English to advance. With loud shouts of “ St. George ” and amid

the. blare moved fol the Eng& provoke t movemen1 successful QUS plan t the -Eren( stable ol

bear dow English their sta let fly which t often b withstti conceal their a sistible ground tacking the de; madden the clot mediabl advant2 with t1 burst of Fran a short

Hel at-arms, the Fre: utmost

hoping bJ

BATTLE ÖE AGINCOURT 29

vs, his battleaxe xrpened at both y in the ground : of the French y palfrey, and vith a jewelled kf England and and exhorting knight express

claimed Henry, 3 us the victory He do not, the

but there war; the two f m m , rere thirty m m

first division, Falconberg the

pongy, and the 3€ the English, :k, and though E opportunity -ench left, and e French right mder the pro-

mtry. t t

was barely (2

the blare of trumpets the English moved forward. This advance of the English was probably a feint to provoke the French into a forward movement. If so, it was completely successful. Abandoning their judici- ous plan to await the English assault, the French cavalry, under the Con- stable of France, surged forward, hoping by sheer weight of numbers to bear down the insolent invaders. The English then halted and, planting their stakes in the ground, the archers let fly that deadly hail of arrows which the chivalry of France had so often before found it impossible to withstand. The English detachments concealed on the flanks issued from their ambush and attacked with irresistible fury. Floundering in the boggy ground, almost the whole body of attacking Frenchmen was destroyed, and the remainder, unable to face the deadly shower of arrows, lost control of their horses, which, maddened with fear and pain, plunged in different directions into the close ranks of their first division. It was a moment of irre- mediable disorder, nor did the English archers fail to take advantage of the opportunity. Slinging their bows behind them, with their swords, hatchets and maces in their hands, they burst into the confused mass of the enemy, slew the Constable of France and most of the principal French commanders, and in a short time totally dispersed the entire body.

Henry, who had dismounted and had followed with his men- at-arms, now ordered his archers to re-form, and at once: charged the French second division. The latter met the shock with the utmost courage, and a long, doubtful and sanguinary conflict

3s BATTLE OF AGINCOURT

followed. Conspicuous in his rich surcoat and jewelled crown, the English King fought with heroic valour, and his life was fie- quently in imminent danger. At one time he was surrounded by a body of French knights who had sworn to capture or kill him. One of them, with a blow of his mace, brought Henry on his knees, but he was instantly rescued by his guards and au his assailants slain. At last the Duke of Alerqon fought his way to the royal standard and, with a mighty blow of his sword, cleaved the crown on the King’s helmet. Henry, however, struck him to the ground and was about t o slay him when he called out, I yield ; T am Alençon.” The King at once extended his hand to raise his fallen foe, but the Duke was killed by a man-at-arms, and his death was followed by the flight of the survivors.

There still remained the third and most numerous division of the enemy to be dealt with. This division was fresh and unbroken, but its spirits had been damped by the fate of the other two divisions, and when it perceived the English preparing to attack, began to waver. Its irresolution was increased by the firing of a village in its rear by a detachment of the English. Only 600 of the division could be persuaded t o charge the conquerors, and all of these were either killed or taken prisoner : the remainder gave way and, without striking a blow, left their comrades to their fate and retired from the field, the victorious English being in no condition t o pursue them.

The battle lasted about three hours, and the slaughter on the side of the French was appalling, and is best described by a Chronicler with the English army who witnessed it. ‘‘ When some of the enemy’s van were slain, those behind pressed over their bodies, so that the living fell over the dead ; and others again falling on them, they were immediately put t o death, and in three places near Henry’s banners so large was the pile of corpses, and of those who were thrown upon them, that the English stood on the heaps and butchered their adversaries below with their swords and axes.” At Agincourt the French lost ~o,òoo killed, and 15,000 prisoners, whilst the English are stated t o have lost only 1,600,

l

I

BATTLE OF AGINCOURT 31

i jewelled crowq his life was fre- was surrounded

o capture or kill rought Henry on uards and all his mght his way to i s sword, cleaved ever, struck him he called out, l tded his hand to T a man-at-arms,

urnerous division t was fresh and fate o€ the other ish preparing to ncreased by the e English. Only : conquerors, and

the remainder omrades t o their ;fish being in 110

survivors,

slaughter on the described by a ed it. ‘ I When -essed over their Lers again falling L in three places es, and of those Id un the heaps :ir swords and ed, and IS,OOO ost only r,Goo,

On the conclusion of the battle, King Henry called t o him the French King-at-arms and asked him to whom the victory belonged.

To YOU, sire,” he replied. And what,” continued the King, I r is that castle I see in the distance ? ” (‘ Agincourt ” was the reply. Then,” said Henry, ‘ c let this battle be known to posterity as the Battle of Agincourt.”

The glory of this victory was most unfortunately marred by a deplorable incident. Intelligence was brought to Henry that a powerful hostile force was attacking his rear and had already captured most of his baggage. The fighting was not yet over and complete victory not yet assured. In this emergency, fearing that the French yri- soners with the baggage might join this force and assist in its attack, the King hastily gave orders that all the prisoners should be put t o death. These orders were unfortunately generally exe- cuted before the mistake was discovered. The raiding force had been greatly magnified and only consisted of some 600 peasants, who, taking advantage of the position, had attempted t o plunder the baggage and drive away the horses of the English Army.

( C

STUART PERIOD

BLENHEIM, I ~ T H AUGUST, I704

IN I7or, shortly after the death of William III, this country found itself engaged in a war with France, as a result of the quarrel regarding the right of succession t~ the Spanish throne. Queen Anne at once made the Duke of Marlborough Captain-General of our land forces at home and abroad, and shortly afterwards the Dutch appointed him Generalissimo of all their forces. Most of the Prince Electors of Germany generally supported the claims of their Emperor and signified their adhesion to the Grand Alliœ ance,” the principal exception to this adhesion was the Elector of Bavaria, who took the side of France.

The theatre of the impending operations was the frontiers of the United Provinces and the lower reaches of the Rhine, and as the whole of the Spanish Netherlands was now in the hands of the French King, he was able to devote his entire attention to his northern enemies. Thus the military situatiQn at the commence-

ment d ritory ~l and her 45,000 TaUard to juin Villerol Electo1 as the; militia,

Tl of sav course. own CO should leaving Nothiz derful a mar until it the %a the gat whole c shal Tal Prince march neighbc

On the Fr1 full ma rom al at mid ders j( once ‘r Marlbc

BATTLE OF BLENHEIM 3 3

ment of the year 1704 was favourable to the French. The territory of the Elector of Bavaria stretched out between that of Austria and her Allies on the Lower Rhine, and the Elector himself with 45,000 troops was at Ulm, on the Danube. The French Marshal Tallard with 45,000 French troops was on the Upper Rhine, ready to join hands with the Elector, whilst another army, under Marshal Villeroy, was watching Marlborough in the north. To oppose the Elector and Tallard the adherents of the Emperor, or Imperialists as they were called, could barely muster zo,ooo men and some militia.

The Duke of Marlborough, in consultation with Prince EugBne of Savoy commanding the Imperialist forces, decided on a bold course. He determined to leave to the Dutch the defence of their own country, and that he himself, in conjunction with Prince Eugene, should strike at the Danube, where the most pressing danger lay, leaving in his rear the numerous fortresses and forces of the enemy. Nothing in mi1itar.y history can surpass the brilliancy of the wonderful march of Marlborough's from the Moselle to the Danube : a march which completely deceived all the French Generals until it was too late to oppose it. On the 10th July, after defeating the Bavarian forces at Schellenberg, which gave him the key of the gate into Bavaria, Marlborough crossed the Danube with the whole of his army, the Allies penetrating as far as Munich. Mar- shal Tallard at once marched to the assistance of the Elector, whilst Prince Eugène, who had been left to watch the French Marshal, marched on a parallel line, and on the 3rd August reached the neighbourhood of Schellenberg.

On the 9th August, Marlborough received intelligence that the French and Bavarians had effected a juncture and were in full march on the Danube. That night he dispatched z g squadrons and 20 battalions t o the assistance of Prince Eugene, and at midnight on the 11th August the two great Allied Comman- ders joined hands at Munster on the Kessel. This river was at once bridged by the Allies, and at dawn on the following day, Marlborough and Eugène made a personal reconnaissance and

B

f

34 BATTLE OF BLENHEIM

discovered the enemy in o c c u pation of some rising ground about two miles to the north-east of the village of Blenheim. The rest of the day was taken up by d e s u l t o r y skiimishing, andat about two o’clock on the morn-

ing of the 13th August, amidst a dense white mist, the whole of the Allied Army moved forward to attack the enemy’s position.

The right wing under Prince Eughe , consisting of 18 battalions and 74 squadrons, all foreigners, marched in four columns, and was intended t o attack the Bavarians under their Elector and the French centre under the Marshal de Marsin. The left wing, under Marlborough himself, was destined to attack Tallard, and was made up of 48 battalions and 86 squadrons, of which 14 battalions and 14 squadrons were British. A conglomeration of nationalities made up the Allied Army, which totalled approxi- mately 56,000 men with G6 guns, whilst the French and Bavarian forces were divided into two wings and consisted in all of 60,000 men with gò guns.

The British troops with the Allies consisted of the Ist, 3rd, 5th and 7th Dragoon Guards, the Scots Greys, the Carabineers, the 5th Lancers, the Grenadier and Scots Guards, two battalions of the Royal Scots, the 3rd Buffs, the 8th (King’s Liverpool), the

I

10th (L shire), t the 24t’ the 37t of Lord

ow aware conseq-r out for t o tak fusion Bavari flanks. of B k Marlbo try, t h Lord ( assault and W

AI on Pri cleared positior of such advanc it beca

At British heim, withst: village droppi annihi Britis1 daring

I

BATTLE OF BLENHEIM 35

vered

lation e ris- round

two ,o the :ast of age of n e inl. :st of ‘y was

..tory shing, about ’ clock morn- of the

bat- Imns, Lector : left llard, :h 14 :ation proxi-

J 3rd, neers, .alions I-), the

10th (Lincoln), the 15th (East Yorkshire), the 16th (Bedford- shire), the 18th (Royal Irish), the a3rd (Royal Welsh Fusiliers), the 24th (South Wales Borderers), the 2 6th (Cameronians), and the 37th (Hampshire) Regiments, and were under the command of Lord Cutts.

Owing to the dense mist the French and Bavarians were unaware that Marlborough’s army was on the march, and were, consequently, completely taken by surprise. Their cavalry was out foraging. These were hastily recalled, and both armies began to take up their battle positions. Owing to the haste and confusion when they formed into line of battle all the French and Bavarian cavalry were in the centre, with their infantry on both flanks. Their right reached to the Danube, having the village of Blenheim in front and the village of Lutzingen on the left. Marlborough drew up his left wing in four lines, the first of infantry, the second and third of cavalry, and the fourth of infantry. Lord Cutts was directed with 20 battalions and 15 squadrons to assault Blenheim, which had been placed in a state of defence, and which was held by 26 French battalions and 12 squadrons.

An unexpected check occurred. Marlborough had counted on Prince Eugcne for a combined advance, but when the mist cleared it became evident that the Prince was not in the required position. The ground over which he had to advance had proved of such an unexpectedly difficult nature that for several hours his advance was delayed, and it was not until half-past twelve that it became possible for the combined movement to take place.

At that hour the battle commenced. At the head of his British division the gallant Cutts rushed t o the assault of Blen- heim, where he was t o meet the h e s t troops of France. Not- withstanding the valour of his men he was unable to carry the village. The French artillery mowed down his troops, who were dropping by scores, and Cutts was forced to fall back to escape annihilation. Once more reforming under a storm of grape, the British dashed forward with a ringing cheer. With magnificent daring did the Guards, the Ioth, the m s t , the 23rd and 24th Regi-


rnents, under Brigadier-General Row, charge the palisades i11 front of Blenheim, but ‘L at thirty paces distant they were received by a deadly fire from the French. Row’s orders were that, until he struck the palisades, not a shot must be fired, and that the village must be carried with the steel.” .These orders were obeyed to the letter. The palisades were at length reached and ROW stuck his sword into them and was instantaneously killed. The British, who had advanced in silence, now poured in a volley with a shout, and rushing forward. attempted to pull down the palisades. So deadly, however, was the French fire that the British found it: impossible t o advance, and there was no alternative but t o withdraw out of the range of the enemy’s guns ; more than a third of the brigade had been destroyed, and their dead and wounded covered the ground. Whilst doggedly retiring, fighting to the last, the harassed troops were suddenly attacked by the French Gendarmes-&-cheval, who came thundering down on them with fierce shouts. Fortunately the 7th Dragoon Guards and Carabineers perceived the desperate situation of the British infantry and hastened t o their assistance. The Gendarmes-à-cheval received these squadrons with a futile fire delivered from horse- back. Far different was the action of the British horsemen. Sword in hand and at full speed they charged through, broke and put to flight the French. Various charges were made with

*/ varying success, attack followed attack, and slowly but surely the French were pressed back.

It was now past four o’clock. On the Allies’ right the battle had raged furiously. Prince E u g h e had thrice attacked and had thrice been repulsed, but continued to fight with obstinate determination. By five o’clock, however, the whole of the left wing of the Allies’ infantry had crossed the stream of the Nebel, dividing the hostile forces, taking up a fresh position, and the crisis of the day was at hand. It was difficult to determine on which side the advantage rested. Marlborough was, however, advancing, and Tdlard had not been able to do so on the Blenheim side, where a31 the British regiments, fighting splendidly, refused to

I

BATTLE OF BLENHEIM 37

lisades in :e received that, until . that the ere obeyed and ROM illed. The rolley with L the pali- :he British native but Ire than a dead and

g, fighting ed by the n on them nards and British in- es- &-cheval rom horse- horsemen.

x& broke nade with surely the

the battle d r e d and , obstinate I f the left the Nebel, I the crisis on which

rr advanc- iheim side, refused to

give ground, and held the French in check. So magnificently had the Allies fought that their long line was quite unbroken, all their reserves were intact, and Marlborough had two lines of cavalry at his disposal.

The Allies’ cavalry of over 80 squadrons, supported by some Hanoveri-an battalions and a battery, advanced. Opposed to them were 10,000 of France’s finest cavalry and IO battalions. With Marlborough at their head and with drawn swords the allied horse rode forward, was received with a murderous fire and recoiled; but as the fire slackened the trumpets sounded and Marlborough again dauntlessly led them to the attack. In splendid formation the squadrons raced forward, and wildly discharging their (‘ fusils ” the French cavalry turned and fled, leaving their infantry to their fate. Into the French foot crashed the allied horse and the IO battalions were “ entirely cut in pieces, none escaping but a few who threw themselves on the ground as dead to save their fives.”

The result of this onslaught on the French centre was the breaking up of the whole of the enemy’s line. The retreating foe were followed to the banks of the Danube, in which hundreds of panic-stricken soldiers flung themselves and were drowned ; the remainder threw down their arms and were captured. The centre


being thus shattered, the British troops, still holding the enemy in Blenheim, made an irresistible dash on that village. The fighting was for a long time terrific, but at last the French gave way and attempted to retreat. It was, however, too late, for they were by this time completely enveloped and were obliged to lay down their arms, and IZ squadrons and 24 battalions became prisoners of war.

Seldom has a victory been more complete, and the fruits of it were great. Marshal Tallard was a prisoner, whilst 40,000 of the enemy were killed, wounded, or captured, and 103 guns, 14 mortars, 229 colours and standards were talten, besides all the camp equipage. The loss of the Allies amounted to 4,500 killed and 7,500 wounded, and of these the British lost 170 killed and over 1,500 wounded.

DE: in u WhiC troo the the cam

the enemy The fight-

L gave way : they were I lay down e prisoners

HANOVERIAN PERIOD

DETTINGEN, 2 7 ~ ~ JUNE, 1743

DETTINGEN is remarkable for the fact that it is the last battle in which a British sovereign was present in person, and the last in which the honour of knighthood was conferred on the field. The troops of Great Britain, Austria and Hanover were fighting to support the claims of Maria Theresa to the throne of Austria; France, on the other hand, espoused those of the Elector of Bavaria. The campaign is known as the War of the Austrian Succession.

In the early spring of 1743 the British troops in the Nether- lands, numbering some rG,ooo men, began their march to the Rhine, under the command of Lord Stair, a veteran of nearly seventy years of age who had fought in most of the Duke of Marlborough's battles, and who was, therefore, well fitted to conduct the opera-

40 BATTLE OF DETTINGEN

tions of a British army in its first campaign on the Continent since the death of that great commander. Owing to immense difficulties in providing forage and supplies, it was some time before the British forces were able to join hands with those of Austria and Hanover on the banks of the River Maine between the Rhine and Frankfort. The Austrians were commanded by the Duke d'Ahren- berg, who soon quarrelled with Lord Stair, whilst the Hanoverians, though nominally under the latter's orders, were jealous of taking instructions from anyone but their own Elector, King George II, In all, the Allied Army numbered 40,000 men. Opposed to them Marshal Noailles, with his nephew the Duc de Grammont as second in command, had assembled an army of 60,000 men near Speier, and gradually advancing he eventually established himself on the left bank of the Maine opposite to the Allies, who were then concentrated

On the 19th June, r743, King George II, accompanied by his son the Duke of Cumberland, arrived and took over command of the army, He found it in a most unenviable position. Quarrels were rife amongst the various nationalities composing it, supplies were short and, on their side of the Maine unobtainable ; their supply magazines and reinforcements of about 12,000 men were at Hanau, a town lower down on the sanie bank of the river, and distant by road some thirteen miles. This source of supply was now cut off by Noailles, who had erected a fort on the river bank above Aschaff enberg, and threatened the Allies' communications to Hanau by throwing two bridges over the river at Seligenstadt, between Hanau and Aschaffenberg, Starvation stared the Allies in the face. After a week's hesitation and delay, King George had no alternative but to order a retreat down the river to Hanau. The only road to that town lay through a narrow plain, nowhere more than a mile wide, and situated between the Maine on the left and Some thickly wooded hills on the right, whilst along the opposite river bank the French had placed heavy artillery at five points.

At one o'clock on the morning of the 27th June, the Allies began their eventful retreat. Noailles had immediate notification of the

" about Aschaff enberg.

b

th1 a n

to ha

r n c

lec in a t Hi

P*' we ob( gi> of

BATTLE OF DETTINGEN 41

fact and at once put his long-matured plans into execution. The Duc de Grammont was ordered to cross the Maine at Seligenstadt, with a force of 30,000 men and to bar the road to Hanau by OCCUPY-

ing Dettingen, a mile nearer, where a small stream, running through a morass into the river, could only be crossed by a single narrow bridge on the Hanau road. There Grammont was told t o wait and exterminate the Allies as they crossed the bridge ; Noailles himself crossed the Maine at Aschaffenberg, as soon as the Allies had evacuated that place, with a second force to bar their retreat in that direction. Thus with Grammont in front and Noailles in their rear and with the French guns to pound the Allies throughout the whole of their march, the latter were in a most critical position, and the French Marshal exultantly exclaimed, '' I have them in a mouse-trap." He counted, however, on Grammont's obedience to the orders he had received, and in this he reckoned without his host.

When the retreat to Hanau commenced, the British cavalry led the van, followed by the Austrian cavalry, next came the British infantry and the Austrian infantry, and lastly, anticipating an attack from the rear, came the British foot guards and the Hanoverian infantry and cavalry, with whom rode King George.

At about 7 a.m., the village of Klein Ostheim was reached, where only a single road was available, and where the plain between the Maine and the wooded hills was at its narrowest. When the cavalry in the van had passed through this place it was halted, to permit the slower passage of the infantry, and was drawn up between the road and the river facing the latter, and the retreating force came now under fire of the guns so skilfully placed by Noailles.

For more than an hour the Allies were being industriously pounded, when intelligence reached them that the French at Dettingen were advancing in force : Grammont, in his impatience, had dis- obeyed his orders and quitted the impregnable position he had been given to hold. The Allies were at once ordered to deploy into line of battle as far as the confined nature of the ground would allow.

F

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The Allied troops were drawn up as follows from left to right : the 33rd, zrst, 23rd, n t h , n th , 8th and 13th Regiments, and on their right an Austrian infantry brigade, followed on by the Blues, the Life Guards, the 6th and the Royal Dragoons. As a second line, immediately behind the extreme left came in succession the 20th, 3znd, 37th, 31st, and 3rd Regiments, and in rear of the cavalry on the right were the 7th Dragoon Guards, the 4th and 7th Dragoons (4th and 7th Hussars), and the Scots Greys. The French had their infantry placed, as usual, in the centre, the cavalry of the Maison du Roy and the Gendarmerie de France occupying the right, and opposed to the British left, the remainder of their cavalry being on their own left flank.

n General Clayton, commanding the British infantry on the left, s e e i n g the mass of heavy hostile cavalry which confronted him, promptly sent for the 3rd Dragoons (3rd Hussars) to strengthen his flank next to the river. Their arrangements being completed the Al l i e s now advanced- an advance

I

BATTLE OF DETTINGEN 43

which was necessarily slow on account of the moxasses, knee-deep in mud, through which some of the British regiments had to move, the French guns all the time harassing them by their continual and effective fire. The actual battle, however, was begun by the French infantry in the centre, whose badly directed fire was answered by the British with that regular platoon fire for which they became so renowned, and which the French found impossible to withstand and so fell back in disorder. King George, full of ardour, was riding in front of the line when his horse suddenly turned tail and bolted to the rear. It was at last caught and stopped, and the King, dismount- ing, fought, and fought bravely, for the rest of the day on foot.

The British continued their slow and steady advance, but their left was now to sustain the furious onslaught of the enemy's heavy cavalry. Down charged the cavalry of the Maison du Roy, and to withstand the shock Clayton had only the 3rd Dragoons, the 33rd, zrst and ~ 3 r d Regiments, and right gallantly did these British troops face the music. Thundering down dashed the French cavalry and out to meet them rode the gallant 3rd Dragoons. Outnumbered by more than four to one this regiment, which had already suffered severely from the previous artillery fire, never hesitated for a second, but went straight for the foe and cut their way through the Maison du Roy, but not without heavy loss. The British infantry was charged at the same time by the Gendarmerie de France. Coolly as on parade they faced the charge and deliveredvolley after volley into the mass in front of them, who slowly and sullenly retired. A French infantry regiment now opened a galling flanking fire on the 3rd Dragoons and many of these brave horsemen fell. For a time it appeared as though the British left might be outflanked, and that meant disaster to the Allies. Rallying their shattered forces, the 3rd Dragoons again charged twice and cut their way through the French cavalry.

But now, say their regimental records, the 3rd had lost all their oficers but two, and more than half their men were killed or wounded, their standards were totally destroyed by shot and sabre cuts, and one of them was only preserved from capture by the


heroism of a private in the r e g i m e n t , named Thomas Brown, a native of Kirk- h e a t o n i n Y o r k s h i r e . T h i S gallant soldier, on the cornet. dropping the standard in conse- q u e n c e of receiving a wound in the w r i s t , a t -

tempted to dismount t o recover it, but in doing so lost two fingers of his bridle hand by a sabre cut, and his horse ran away with him to the rear of the French lines. Whilst endeavouring to regain his regiment he perceived the standard, which the French had succeeded in capturing by overwhelming numbers, being conveyed to the rear in custody of a gendarme. This man he attacked and killed, caught the standard as it fell, and fixing it between his leg and the saddle, succeeded in cutting his way back through the ranks of the enemy, receiving in doing so seven wounds on his head, face, and body, besides which three balls passed through his hat. For this gallant deed Brown was promoted to the post of a private gentleman in the Life Guards, an appointment which, at that time, was usually obtained by purchase.

When the French cavalry first commenced their charge, General Clayton, realizing the danger to his left, had urgently applied for cavalry reinforcements, and these were sent from the right of the British line. Headlong at a gallop came the 1st and 7th Dragoons and hurled themselves against the Frenchmen, but their charge was

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BATTLE OF DETTINGHN 45

;m of a te in the i m e n t , :d Thomas n , a na- of Kirk- t o n i n k s h i r e . ; gallant q on the :t drop- the stan- in canse- n c e of : i v i n g a .d in the # t > a t - lost two :an away !avouring hich the lumbers, ‘his man .d fixing his way so seven Is passed noted t o ointment

:, General )plied for ht of the Dragoons harge was

not su ccessful and the regiments were repulsed and forced to retire in order to rally Following them came the Blues, who met with a similar fat e.

Encouraged by this check to the British, the French cavalry now swung round for an attack on our infantry on the left of our line, held by the 33rd, zIst and ~ 3 r d Regiments. They met with a partial success, which was, however, only a momentary one, for though they managed to cut their way through our lines, these brave regiments stood firm, and rallying from the shock, faced inwards. Thus enclosed the Frenchmen found themselves in the midst of a severe cross-fire from which there was no escape, and they were shot down without mercy. After the battle was over the Xing rode up to the Colonel of the 21st, Sir Andrew Agnew, and addressed him as follows, ‘‘ I saw the Cuirassiers get in among your men this morning, Colonel,” to which Sir Andrew replied, in a peculiarly dry, pawky L .

Scottish-style, ri Oh, -aye, your Majesty, but they didna get oot 3,

agen. ’’ x -

More British cavalry, the 4th and 6th Dragoons, and two Aus- ‘ - x \

trian cavalry regiments now came a up. These twice attacked the French without success, but s . $

re-forming again and aided by the rallied squadrons of the Blues, the Ist, 3rd and 7th ;I

Dragoons, they charged once “? more, this time successfully, and ,! hurled back the flower of the

f

-.

Elsewhere- the battle had flagged. The French attack on

46 BATTLE OF PETTINGEN

seeming reluctant to face the terrible volleys of the British infantry. Suddenly the French Mousquetaires Noirs, leaving their battle-line, rode down between the two armies t o attack the extreme right of the British cavalry. The British and Austrian horse, however, closed in on them and, after some desperate fighting, almost entirely annihilated them. This achieved, the victorious cavalry turned their attention to the French infantry. Declining to stand, the French foot, who had not behaved particularly well throughout the day, turned and fled in confusion towards the Maine, and this, as far as the left and centre of the French was concerned, was the end of the battle, on the British left ; the fighting elsewhere still continued with unabated fury. At this juncture the British cavalry, burning to wipe out the stain of their former failure, pressed the French horse harder than ever on their front, whilst the Scots Greys assailed them on the flank. This time the British proved irresistible ; an utter rout followed and the whole French army was soon in headlong flight towards the river, where many, plunging in, were drowned.

There was no pursuit. Lord Stair urged it, but the King refused to sanction it, too thankful, perhaps, to have escaped from Noailles’s mouse-trap ; thus the remains of Grammont’s force was allowed to flee unmolested. Why Noailles failed to attack the British rear remains a mystery.

The French losses amounted to some 6,000 men killed, wounded, and prisoners. The brunt of the fighting at Dettingen fell on the British, whose losses, amounting to 265 killed and 561 wounded, far exceeded the combined casualties of the Allies. The British casualties mainly occurred 011 the left, the chief sufferers amongst the cavalry being the 3rd Dragoons, and amongst the infantry the 12th) the 2Ist and 33rd Regiments.

It is said that when the King reviewed his army, previous to leaving it in 1743, he noticed the deficiency in the ranks of the 3rd Dragoons by sharply asking whose regiment it was, and what had become of the remainder of it. “ Please your Majesty,” was. the reply of General Bland, I ‘ it is my regiment, and I believe the remainder of it is at Dettingen.”

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hood on L proceeded f avourit e j he set an in some m absolutely King wori before, ur public occ on the fa kindly, al fashion. ’ ’

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BATTLE OF DETTINGEN 47 After the battle King George bestowed the honour of knight-

hood on Lord Stair, Private Thomas Brown, and others, and then proceeded t o dine, on the field, off a cold shoulder Qf mutton, his favourite joint ! By his personal bravery and contempt of danger he set an example to his soldiers, and thus certainly contributed, in some measure, to the victory. Like all his race, George II was absolutely fearless. It is said that on the day of the battle the King wore the same red coat he had worn thirty-five years before, under the Duke of Marlborough. Thackeray says, On public occasions he always displayed the hat and coat he wore on the famous day of Oudenarde ; and the people laughed, but Itindy, at the odd old garment, for bravery never goes out of fashion.’’

In such a hurry was the King to reach his magazines at Hanau that he left his wounded on the battlefield and hastened to that place as quicltly as possible with his army. It is worthy of note that Marshal Noailles treated these wounded a b a n doned to his mercy with the utmost care and considera- tion.

’Y :.

HANOVERIAN PERIOD

QUEBEC, I ~ T H SEPTEMBER, 1759 I

THE Battle of Quebec or of the Plains of Abraham, as it is sometimes called, marked the culmination of a tremendous struggle which had been waging for many years between Great Britain and France for the possession of the magnificent dominion of Canada, and it was not until the British flag was hoisted over the citadel of Quebec that the contest was decided which finally established British supremacy in the North American Colony. The battle itself is doubly memorable from the fact that both commanders of the opposing forces fell in the hour of victory, and that victor

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BATTLE OF QUEBEC 49

and vanquished alike are still held in affectionate veneration by their countrymen.

Early in 1758, James Wolfe, then in his thirty-third year, was appointed Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the British forces to be employed in a projected’ expedition against Quebec. In spite of his youth Wolfe had already served with distinction in the campaign in Flanders, where he was adjutant of the 12th Regi- ment at the battle of Dettingen; during the rebellion in Scotland ; and more recently in command of a brigade at the capture of Louis- berg, and had invariably shown himself as possessed of every quality for high command.

The force of which he took command consisted of ten regiments or battalions, besides grenadiers and rangers. In the Ist Brigade, under Brigadier-General Monkton, were the r$h, 43rd, 58th Regi- ments and Fraser’s Highlanders ; in the 2nd Brigade, under Brig- adier-General Townshend, were the 28tl1, 47th Regiments and the and Battalion of the Royal Americans (60th Rifles) ; the 3rd Brigade, commanded by Brigadier-General Murray, consisted of the 35th, 48th Regiments and the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Americans (60th Rifles). In addition t o these troops were grenadiers from the zznd, qoth and 45th Regiments, called the Louisberg Grenadiers, and corps of light infantry from troops in the Louisberg garrison. Of colonial troops there were six companies of rangers, for the most part newly raised. The whole force at Wolfe’s disposal, including marines and artillery, was rather under 9,000 men.

It was not until late in June that Wolfe landed, without resistance, on the Island of Orleans, just below Quebec. This city was in a naturally strong position, being built upon a steep and lofty line 01 rocks rising on the northern bank of the St. Lawrence, whilst behind was a chain of rugged hills, the famous Heights of Abraham, destined to be the scene of Wolfe’s meat exdoit. These heights, being deemed inaccessible from the was the only place left unoccupied in his by the French commander, the Marquis de

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SATTLE OF QUEBEC

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below that city and on the left bank of the St. Lawrence, Wolfe at length, on the suggestion of Admiral Saunders, trans- ferred his main force to a position on the right bank of the river and above Quebec, hoping by this means to cut off supplies and reinforcements reaching Montcalm from Montreal. Icy blasts were now sweeping down the river and the hard Canadian winter was fast approaching, and it became necessary to make a desperate attempt t o capture Quebec before the bitter cold weather set in. The British commander, therefore, prepared to execute one of the boldest plans that could possibly be conceived, its apparent impossibility being its best chance of success. Wolfe resolved to land his troops by night under the Heights of Abraham and to gain the summit before daybreak.

ccessful he would force the French to give battle in a disadvantageous position, as the heights completely dominated Quebec itself. It was arranged between Wolfe and Admiral Saunders that while the General made the real attack, the Admiral should engage Montcalm's attention by a feigned one.

On the 12th September all Wolfe's plans were formed, the actual point of attack only being kept secret till the last moment. By great good fortune two deserters came from the French on that day with the intelligence that at the ebb-tide a convoy of provisions was coming down the river t o Montcalm. Wolfe at once saw that if his troops went down in boats in advance of this convoy he could turn the intelligence of the deserters to good account. Towards two o'clock on the morning of the 13th September the tide began to ebb. The British entered their flat-bottomed boats, the light

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BATTLE OF QUEBEC 5 1

infantry leading the way, the other corps followed by seniority, and fell noiselessly down the river with the current.

Before starting twenty-four volunteers had been called for, as a forlorn hope, for special and dangerous service. The response had been prompt, and t o these men was entrusted the honour of leading the van. For two hours the procession of boats steered silently down the St. Lawrence : not a soldier spoke or stirred. When at length the leading boats had almost reached Wolfe’s Cove, the spot where the landing was to be effected, they were suddenly challenged. A sharp “ Qui vive ’’ rang out through the darkaess. An officer of Fraser’s Highlanders, who spoke French, promptly replied ‘ l La France.” “ A quel régiment ? ’’ called out the sus- picious sentry. ‘‘ De la Reine,” was the response of the Highlander, who knew there was a regiment of that name with the French. He added that they were bringing provisions to the garrison, and the sentry was satisfied.

Led by the forlorn hope the British quietly disembarked. No sign of life came from the summit of the precipitous cliff, which was here about 250 feet high, but the obstacles presented by the nature of the ground seemed almost insurmountable. The sides of the cliff were so steep and dangerous that there was no means of climbing them except by clinging to the rocks or to the roots and branches of trees growing out of them, the only zigzag path up the cliff having been blocked by obstructions artificially thrown up. Even to Wolfe the ascent seemed almost impracticable : he told his oficers that he didn’t think there was any possibility of getting up, but they must all do their best.

Slinging their muskets, and some with their swords between their teeth, the light troops and Highlanders, headed by the forlorn hope, hurled themselves upon the cliff. Clinging to stumps and boughs, grasping projections of rock and hauling one another Over the most dificult places, with silent but painful toil the soldiers worked their way slowly up. Before the foremost gained the ~ ~ m m i t the rattle and fall of stones warned the French picket of their approach, and they at once fired down the precipice. our men's blood

52 BATTLE OF QUEBEC

was up, after daring so much they were not going to give way, and redoubling their efforts, in a few seconds they gained the crest.

Commencing a rapid fire the British drove the enemy back and finally compelled the picket t o take to flight. As soon as he heard the sound of the musket shots, followed by loud cheering, showing that his men were masters of the situation, Wolfe and the rest of his men ascended the cliff, scaling it as best they could while the winding path was being cleared of obstacles. In half an hour the last battalion of the 4,500 men that Wolfe by his daring had led on to the Plains of Abraham, was wending its way in single file up the face of the cliff. Great was Wolfe's joy and exultation to find himself and his army at the top, and leaving two companies of the 58th to guard the landing place, he at once moved down towards the city to the plains, where he halted and formed up for battle. It was by this time broad daylight, and the weather was misty and showery.

The British line of battle was formed as follows : the 35th Regiment held the extreme right over the precipice, at about three- quarters of a mile from the ramparts of Quebec ; next came the Louisberg Grenadiers, these, with the 28th Regiment, formed the right wing ; in the centre stood the 43rd and 47th Regiments ; on the left were the remainder of the 58th and Fraser's Highlanders. Wolfe himself, with Monkton, commanded the right of the line, Murray the left. Townshend tool: charge of the second line, with the 15th Regiment and the two battalions of the Royal Americans. The 48th Regiment formed the reserve in a third line, whilst the light infantry battalion occupied some houses and coppices, and covered the flank and rear.

Meanwhile Montcalm had been completely deceived by the demonstrations of Admiral Saunders's fleet below the town, and confidently thought the main attack on Quebec was being laade from that quarter. Suddenly, a little before six o'clock, some Canadians dashed into his headquarters with the astounding intelligence that the British were on the Plains of Abraham. Mont- calm could not credit this, but mounting his horse, galloped to-

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BATTLE OF QUEBEC 5 3

wards the plains. When the tableland came into view he saw, to his amazement and consternation, a band of scarlet stretched across the whole width of the plains. This red line was the British army, who were already engaged in some desultory skirmishing with the French outposts. Yes, I see them where they ought not to be,” exclaimed Montcalm, ‘ I but if we must fight, I will crush them,” and he at once determined t o meet his dangerous enemy in the open field.

At eight o’clock the heads of the French columns began to appear, ascending the hill towards the Plains of Abraham. Wolfe had been only able to bring up one gun, but this opened fire, and with considerable effect, upon the French, who retired behind the slope and waited for reinforcements. The French army commenced t o gather rapidly before the ramparts of the city, and pushed forward some Indians and sharpshooters among the woods that lined both sides of the battlefield. Some British light infantry were thrown forward to hold them in check, but our men fell fast under the overpoweriag fire of the enemy’s guns and muskets. This severely tried the discipline of the British, but not a shot was fired from the British lines, nor did a soldier move except to fill up some gaps in their ranks caused by bullet or grapeshot, Wolfe was indefatigable. He seemed to be at all parts of the field at once, inspiring his lnen both by voice and by example.

About ten o’clock the whole of the French centre bore down to the attack with loud shouts, and arms at the recover. Not more than 600 yards now separated the two armies, and Montcalm, mounted on a big black horse, and sword in hand, could be seen riding t o and fro among his men. This attack chief ly threatened the British right, and at about rgo‘ yards the assailing French opened a murderous and incessant fire from flank to flank. The 35th and the Louisberg Grenadiers suffered severely, and Wolfe himself, at the head of the 28th, was wounded in the wrist. Wrapping a hand- kerchief round the wound, he hastened from rank to rank exhorting his men. to keep steady and to reserve their fire until the enemy were within 40 yards. Obeying implicitly the orders of their be-

S4 BATTLE OF QUEBEC

loved leader, not a British soldier pulled a trigger, and with matchless endurance they sustained this terrible punishment. With arms shouldered as if on parade, and motionless, they waited grimly and calmly for the word of command.

When the head of the French attack had come within 40 yards Wolfe gave the order to fire. Instantly muskets were levelled, and a volley distinct as a single shot flashed from the British line. When the smoke rolled away, huge gaps appeared in the enemy's line; and the ground behind them was covered with fugitives hasten- ing from the field. Never before or since has a deadlier volley burst from British infantry. At the same time a counter-attack on the enemy's right was made by the 58th and Fraser's Highlanders, who, rushing on, with bayonet and claymore, inflicted terrible slaughter on the French and completely overpowered them. The gallant

army shattered, was undismayed : he rode through the broken ranks, cheering and encouraging his men by his dauntless bearing, and even succeeding in rallying them sufi- ciently to again present a front to the British.

Meanwhile Wolfe's troops had reloaded, and again poured in a fearful volley. The General then sprang to the front, sword in hand, and placing himself at the head of the Louisberg Grenadiers and the 28th Regiment, ordered the whole British line to advance. With majestic regularity the British swept forward, receiving and returning with interest the volleys of the French. The 43rd moved on in admirable order, and

A Montcalm, although he saw his

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BATTLE OF QUEBEC 55

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on the left the 58th and Fraser’s Highlanders overcame a stubborn and bloody resistance.

Just now Wolfe was a second time wounded, in the groin: he paid no heed to it, however, and pressed on at the head of his men. Almost immediately afterwards another ball passed through his lungs : he staggered forward a few paces, struggling to keep his feet. “ Support me,” he gasped to a Grenadier officer who was close to him, “ lest my gallant fellows should see me fall.” The brave effort was hopeless, and in a few seconds he sank and fell, and was carried a little to the rear.

While the British troops were carrying all before them, their young General’s life was fast ebbing away, and he presently lay back and gave no signs of life beyond a heavy breathing and an occasional groan. (‘ They run, see how they run ! ” cried out one of the general’s attendants. The words caught the ear of the dying hero. “ Who run ? ” murmured Wolfe faintly but eagerly. “ The enemy, sir,” replied the officer, “ egad, they give way everywhere.” “ Go one of you, my lads,” rejoined Wolfe, “ with all speed to Colonel Burton, and tell him to march Webb’s regiment (48th) down t o St. Charles River, and cut off the retreat of the fugitives to the bridge,” then, turning on his side, he added feebly but distinctly, “ Now, God be praised, I die happy.” His eyes then closed and in a few seconds, without apparent struggle or pain, his gallant spirit fled.

After the death of the heroic Wolfe, the command of the British devolved upon Townshend, both Monkton andMurray being wounded. His task was not a difficult one, for the victory was practically complete. In vain the brave Montcalm rode furiously from point to point strenuously endeavouring to rally his flying troops. He was himself borne along with them in their maddened rush for safety, and as lie neared the city a shot passed through his body. He kept his seat, and supported by two soldiers, passed into Quebec. He died late on the evening of the following day, rejoic- ing with his last breath that he would not survive to see the sur- render of Quebec, which he had so long and so heroically defended.

56 BATTLE OF QUEBEC

At about five o’clock in the evening of the 13th September the battle was over. Never was a victory more complete. Four days after the fight Quebec was surrendered to the British by its Gover- nor. In the afternoon of the 18th, the Louisberg Grenadiers, at whose head the immortal Wolfe had fallen, marched into the city, preceded by a single gun to whose carriage the Royal Standard was affixed.

The total number of troops, both French and British, engaged in this memorable battle, did not exceed IO,OOO men. The loss of the British amounted to 55 ltilled and 607 wounded of all ranks ; that of the French has never been definitely established, but was probably not less than 1,500 killed, wounded, and prisoners. Five

regular French battalions were almost destroyed, and one of their guns captured.

It must not be forgotten that the success of this battle depended, in a great measure, on the cordial CO - operation of the navy, whilst there is no finer example of British discipline than that given by those thin red lines standing face to face with death and patiently awaiting, unmoved and in grim silence, until victory had come within its certain reach.

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HANOVERIAN PERIOD

CORUNNA, I6TH JANUARY, 1809

I N October, 1808, the British Government resolved to send an expedition into Spain to assist the Spanish against the French, and conferred the command of the British forces upon Sir John Moore. The strength of the army to be sent for this purpose was to consist Qf 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry : Sir David Baird, with 15,000 men, was ordered to Corunna to await instructions from Sir John Moore.

It was thought by the British Ministry that such a force would be perfectly adequate ; they had been grossly deceived by Spanish Junta, who talked of successes that had never occurred

H

58 B-4TTLE OF CORUNNA

and of armies that merely existed on paper. The instructions, therefore, to Sir John Moore were that he was required, after entering the country, to concert his measure with the commanders of the several Spanish armies, secret orders, however, being given him that in no event was he to compromise the safety of the British army.

On his arrival at Lisbon, Moore distributed his forces in four divisions, under Generals Hope, Paget, Beresford and Fraser, who \Trere ordered to march to Salamanca by different routes, and 011 t’le 27th October ail these divisions \vere clear of Lisbon. Sir David Baird was instructed to advance to Astorga and there await further orders.

On his arrival at Salamanca on the 13th November, Moore found that the whole of the conditions had changed from those contemplated by the British Government. Instead of ICO,GOO Spanish soldiers to co-operate with him, he found that Napoleon himself had hurried to the scene of action, thus leaving Portugal to its fate, whilst the Spanish armies were practically non existent, having been successively defeated and dispersed by the French. As a result of these circumstances Moore resolved to prescrve his army by retreating to Portugal. The British Government’s repre- sentative in Spain, however, opposed every idea of retreat and insisted on Sir Jolm’s advacce to Madrid, now menaced by the French. Moore therefore determined to make one further generous effort in behalf of Spain, and resumed his forward movement on the 11th December, at the head of ody 25,000 men, while 150,ooo French troops wcrc stationed in different parts of the country.

On the 24th December Moore learnt that not only Marshal Soult with 20,ooo men was barring his advance, but that the whole French army had been called up from its different positions to surround him, and that Napoleon himself was advancing at the head of 50,coo soldiers. Even a victory under such circumstances would have been disastrous t o the British army; to advance or t@ remain in his present position would have been madness, and Madrid had surrendered without a blow, and was now occupied

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BATTLE OF CORUNNA 59

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by the French. Thus, in Moore’s own language, ‘‘ the bubble had burst, and he must have a run for it.” No alternative remained but for a speedy retreat into Gslicia.

It was on the evening of the 24th December that this memorable and masterly, but at the same time harassing and disastrous, retreat was commenced, and not a moment too SOOD, for the patrols of Napoleon’s army were already in sight, whilst Soult, at the same time, was advancing. Nothing could be more trying to the discipline 01 the British soldier, or to the spirit of their Commander, than this most difficult and protracted mareh of 250 miles, pursued by a swift and enterprising enemy, through defiles deep h, snow, across bridgeless rivers, amidst unparalleled sufferings of hunger and thirst. All discipline was gradually iorgotter, : troops and regiments were converted into mobs or bands of marauders. It was in vain that Sir John Moore endeavoured to quell these destructive excesses. The sufferings of the soldiers made thcm in- different t o the restraints of discipline, or the threats of their officers ; and whenever wine could be found they gave themselves up to it, until they fell unresisting by the sabres of their remorseless pursuers. There was only one circumst;mce which cculd restore them to discipline and obedience, and that was the appearance of the enemy and the promise of an engagement. No sooner did the French advance and evince a desire for battle than the broken ranks threw themselves immediately into their wonted order and prepared with alacrity for the combat.

In this state o€ disorder and suffering the British troops reached the neighbourhood of Corunna on the n t h J a n ~ c r y , t o which place the British transports had been ordered round from Vigo ; but as Moore looked eagerly towards the harbour, he saw nothing but an opeln expanse of water, for the fleet was still delayed at Vigo by contrary winds. He was therefore compelled t G take up a position at Corunna until the transports arrived, for fear of an attack by Soult before he was able to embark.

Vast quantities of ammunition were accumulated in Corunna, and &?&re was able t o issue €res11 ammunition to his troops and

60 BATTLE OF CORUNNA

to. re-arm them with new muskets, and on the morning of the 13th January he blew up the powder magazines. On the 14th the fleet of transports sailed into Corunna, and Moore at once began the work of embarkation. All the sick and wounded, large quantities of stores, the whole of the cavalry, over 50 guns, and all the ser- viceable horses were shipped. Teams for eight British and four Spanish guns were, however, kept on shore, and all the unserviceable animals were destroyed. The French army was close at hand and was determined to prevent the escape of the British.

A final battle was inevitabíe and Moore fixed upon the position in which he resolved to receive the enemy. The British infantry, to the number of 14,500, occupied a range of heights in the vicinity of the town, enclosed by three sides of the enemy’s position. Baird’s and Hope’s divisions were formed in line, Baird’s on the right ; the Guards, under Sir Henry Warde, were in column in support of Baird’s right, this being the weak spot of the position ; Fraser’s division was posted a short distance in its rear, while Paget with the’reserves was in rear of the centre ; and here the British army for two more days awaited the enemy’s attack.

On the 16th January, Moore’s army stood to arms before dawn. All the morning the two armies watched each other without movement, and Moore issued his final orders for the embarkation to take place that night, remarking, shortly before two o’clock, to his Military Secretary, ‘‘ Now, if there is no bungling, I hope we

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shall get away in a few hours,'' A few minutes later he learnt that the French were advancing in force,

The French, under Marshal Soult, and numbering 20,000 men, advanced in full confidence, and at their first onset drove in the pickets of the 50th Regiment and carried the village of Elvina ; they then made three attacks simultaneously upon as many different parts of the British position and obtained at first a partial success from their immense superiority of artillery. Sir Charles Napier, then a Major in the 5oth, thus describes the opening of the battle, and gives a fine description of Moore himself :

" Our line was under arms, silent, motionless, yet all were anxious for the appearance of Sir John Moore. There was a feeling that under him we could not be beaten, and this was so strong at all times as t o be a great cause of discontent during the retreat where- ever he was not. ' Where is the General ? ' was now heard along that part of the line where I was. This agitation augmented as the cries of men stricken with cannon-shot arose. I stood in front of my left wing, and my pickets were fifty yards below, disputing the ground with the French skirmishers ; but a heavy French column, which had descended the mountain at a run, was coming on behind with great rapidity and shouting, En avant, tue, tue, en avant, tue.' Their cannon at the same time ploughed the ground and tore our ranks. Suddenly I heard the gallop of horses, and turning saw Moore.

'( He carne at speed and pulled up so sharp and close he seemed to have alighted from the air, man and horse looking at the approaching foe with an intenseness that seemed t o concentrate all feeling in their eyes. The sudden stop of the animal, a cream-coloured one, with black tail and mane, had cast the latter streaming forward, its ears were pushed out like horns, while its eyes flashed fire, and it snorted loudly with expanded nostrils, expressing terror, astonishment and muscular exertion. My first thought was, it will be away like the wind, but then X looked at the rider, and the horse was forgotten. Thrown upon its haunches the animal came, sliding and dashing the &rt up with its forefeet, thus b e n h g the


General forward almost to its neck ; but his head was thrown back, and his look more keenly piercing than I ever before saw it, He glanced to the right and left and then fixed his eye intently upon the enemy’s advancing column, a t the same time grasping the reins with both his hands, and pressing the horse firmly with his knees. His body thus seemed to deal with the animal, while his mind was intent on the enemy, and his aspect was one of searching intenseness beyond the pcwer of words t o describe. For a while he looked and then galloped to the left without uttering a wsrd.”

The battle thus commenced on the British right, which post of honour and danger was held by Lord William Bentinck’s brigade consisting of the 4th, 4znd and 50th Regiments, the Guards being in rear of Bentinck’s brigade. The French and British were separated from one another by stone q7alls and hedges ; but ?doore perceived that the French line extended beyond the right flank of the British, and that a body of the enemy was moving up the valley to turn it. He at once gave orders to the 4th Regiment to wheel back to meet it, and at the same time directed General Paget with the reserve to support them, and the French assault on this wing was most gallantly repulsed.

Moore then turned to where the soth, commanded by Majors Napier and Stanhope, was warmly engaged, and t o his admiration saw that gallant regiment advance with the utmost clash against the French, leaping over an enclose and charging the enemy with ringing cheers. The General, ever an admirer of valour, enthusiastically exclaimed, ‘‘ Well done, the 50th ; well done, my Majors ! ” So irresistible was this charge that the French were driven out of Elvina with great slaughter, but Major StaEhope was killed, and Major Napier, advancing too far, was wounded and captured.

Turning to the next regiment, the q n d , Moore loudly cdled out, Highlanders, rcrnelnber Egypt.” The men heard his voice and responded to it with enthusiasm, and rushing dauntlessly forward bore everything before them until stopped by a wall, over which they poured :murderous volleys. Moore hinseif accompanied the Highlanders in this charge, and then ordered up the

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BATTLE OF CORUNNA

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Guards to the left flank of the 42nd. This order was misunder- stood, and the Highlanders, whose ammunition was nearly exhausted, thought that the Guards had been ordered up to relieve, and not reinforce, them, and commenced to withdraw. The General, dis- covering the mistake, said to them," My brave qznd, join your corn- rades ; ammunition is coming, and you have still your bayonets." They instantly obeyed, and all moved forward.

The French having brought up reserves, the battle continued to rage fiercely, and Moore was just giving orders to vigorously support the Guards and the 4znd by a counter-attack: to be delivered by Paget with the reserve, when the heroic soldier fell, Had this turning movement been carried to its conclusion the


French army must, in all probability, have been destroyed. Escape for Soult was impossible, as he had a swollen torrent behind him and only one bridge for crossing it. Moore was struck down in the hour of approaching triumph. A cannon-ball carried away his left shoulder and part of his collar-bone, leaving the arm hanging by the flesh. The violence of the blow hurled him from his horse and on to his back. He raised himself and sat up with an unaltered countenance, looking intently at the advancing Highlanders. He was carried in a blanket t o the rear, refusing to allow Captain Hardinge, one of his Staff, to remove his sword which was inconveniencing him. Such was his resolution and composure that Hardinge couldn’t believe the hurt was mortal, and expressed a hope to Moore that he would recover. Looking steadfastly at the ghastly wound for a few seconds he said, “ No, Hardinge, I feel that to be impossible.” On his way from the field he made the soldiers carrying him turn him round frequently to view the battle ; to his old friend, Colonel Anderson, he remarked, I f Anderson, you know I have always wished to die this way,” and bade Hardinge report his wound to General Hope, who assumed command, Sir David Baird having been severely wounded earlier in the day.

The British troops, undismayed by the fall of their beloved chief, continued the action under Sir John Hope. The reserve, on the extreme right, having at length overthrown the French column, approached the great battery on the French left ; and the British left wing having also repulsed the enemy’s attack, the whole army advanced beyond its original position, driving the French before it. By five o’clock the enemy, abandoning all hope of success against the British line, confined themselves to a distant cannonade under the protection of which the French Marshal withdrew his troops, and night coming on put a stop t o the pursuit by the British.

As it was, however, the enemy were thrown into such disorder that Hope found no difficulty in embarking his troops on the transports, judging it more prudent to carry out Moore’s original design, and by ten o’clock that night all the British were on the ships. The embarkation was effected with such ability and promptness that

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on the succeeding morning the transports were neariy all out at sea before the disappointed French could bring a gun to bear on them. Thus what should have been a crushing victory, involving the ruin of Soult’s army, became merely a successful rearguard action, enabling the British troops t o embark in safety.

We must now return to the last moments of the dying hero. Borne by six soldiers of the Guards and 4znd, Moore was carried into the town. He could only speak during brief intervals of agony, and his anxious question, which he frequently repeated, was, ‘ I Are the French beaten ? ” On being assured that that was the case; he exclaimed, I r I hope the people of England will be satisfied ; I hope my country will do me justice.” He then spoke affection- ately of his mother and relatives, inquired after the safety of his friends who were still engaged, and even mentioned those whose merits had entitled them to promotion, and a few moments after he died without a struggle. The rampart of the citadel of Corunna was selected as his fittest resting-place, and at the hour of midnight he was interred by the officers of his Staff, simply wrapped in his military cloak. The sullen thunder of the enemy’s distant guns made a fitting requiem for the dead warrior.

The French Marshal Soult, with generous admiration for a gallant foe, ordered a monument to be erected over the grave of Sir John Moore, whose fame is still kept alive by Charles Wolfe’s memorable verses :

Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, As his corse to the rampart we hurried ;

Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot O’er the grave where our hero we buried.

We buried him darkly at dead of night, The sods with our bayonets turning-

By the struggling moonbeam’s misty light, And the lantern dimly burning.

No useless coffin enclosed his breast, Not in sheet nor in shroud we wound him ;

But he lay like a warrior taking his rest, With his martial cloak around him.

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Few and short were the prayers we said, And we spoke not a word of sorrow,

But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead, And we bitterly thought of the morrow.

We thought as we hollowed his narrow bed, And smoothed down his lonely pillow,

That the foe and the stranger would tread o’er his head, And we far away on t h e billow !

c -c

Lightly they’ll talk of the spirit that’s gone,

And o’er his cold ashes upbraid him,--

But little he’ll reck, if they let him sleep on

In the grave where a Briton has laid him.

But half of our heavy task was done,

When the clock struck the hour for retiring,

And we heard the distant: and random gun

That the h e was sullenly firing.

Slowly and sadly we laid him clown,

From the field of his fame fresh and gory;

We carved not a line, ancl we raised not a stone, -

But we left him alone with his glory.

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i t

HANOVERIAN PERIOD

WATERLOO, I ~ T H JUNE, 1815

ON" the 16th June, Napoleon had in person attacked Marshal Blücher and the Prussians at Ligny and, after a long and obstinate fight, defeated him and compelled the Prussian army to retire north- wards towards Wavre. Wellington's troops were at that time concen- trating at Quatre Bras, about nine miles €rom Ligny, and on the same day, the 16th June, Marshal Ney, with a large portion of the French army, attacked the British at Quatre Bras. He failed to defeat them but succeeded in preventing Wellington from sending any assistance to Bl-iicher. When the news of Blücher's defeat reached Wellington he merely remarked, '' Old Bl'ciclw

68 BATTLE OF WATERLOO

has had a d-d good licking, and gone back to Wavre, eighteen miles. As he goes back, we must go, too. T suppose in England they will say we have been licked. I can't help it ! As they have gone back, we must go, too." During the Iyth, therefore, Wel- lington retired, being pursued but little molested by the main French army, to between Quatre Bras and Brussels. This brought him again parallel, on a line running from east t o west, with Blücher, who was at Wavre, about twelve miles distant, and having received a promise from the Prussian Marshal that he would march to his assistance, Wellington determined to halt and to give battle to the French in the position which from a village in its neighbourhood has received the ever-memorable name of the Field of Waterloo.

The ground occupied by the opposing armies was extremely small in extent of front compared with the numbers of men engaged. The British occupied a ridge of hills barring the road to Brussels, and their line did not exceed a mile and a half in extent. The French position was along an eminence parallel to the British lines at a distance of from 1,200 to 1,400 yards, and was not more than two miles in extent. The road from Charleroi to Brussels ran through the centre of both positions, the intervening country being highly cultivated with standing crops of oats, barley, wheat, etc.

So much has been written about the battle of Waterloo, nearly all accounts of which give the exact position of every British and French regiment in the field, that a recapitulation of such details seems unnecessary and might only prove wearisome. In his dispatch on his great victory Wellington briefly says : " The position I took up in front of Waterloo crossed the high roads from Charleroi and Nivelles, and had its right thrown back to a ravine near Merle Braine, which was occupied, and its left extended to a height above the hamlet of Ter la Haye, which was likewise occupied. In front of the right centre, and near the Nivelles road, we occupied the house and garden of EIougoumont, which covered the return of that Aank ; and in front of the left centre we com-

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BATTLE OF WATERLOO

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m u n icated with Mar- s h a l Blü- c h e r a t W a v r e , t h r o u g h Ohain, and the Marshal h a d p r o - mised me t h a t , i n c a s e w e should be a t t a c k e d , he would support me with one or more corps, as might be necessary. ”

T h e strength of the a r m y under the D u k e of W ellington

i n f a n t r y , 12,402 cav- a l r y , a n d

Was 49,608

._ 5,645 ar til- lerymen with 156 guns. Napoleon’s army consisted of 48,950 infantry,

’ 15,765 cavalry, and 7,232 artillerymen with 246 guns. Thus although the infantry of the opposing forces were practically equal in numbers, the French had a very large preponderance in cavalry


and artillery. But it wasn’t alone in the numbers but also in the quality of his troops that Napoleon had the advantage. The French were all war-hardened veterans, the éLite of the national forces of France : they were all of one blood, spoke a common Ian- page, and were all aflame with warlike enthusiasm. Of Welling- ton’s army scarcely Z ~ , O O O were British, and of these some 7,000 were Peninsular veterans, of the remainder many had never seen a shot fired in anger, were raw drafts from the Militia and still wore their Militia uniforms. He had also about 6,000 men of the German Legion, veteran troops 0% excellent quality. The rest of his army was made up of Hanoverians, Brunswickers, Nas- sauers, Dutch, and Belgians, some of whom fought well, but many were recent levies, and a great number were disaffected and more inclined to fight for than against the French.

Two points of the greatest importance in the Allied lines were the Château of Hougoumont and the farm of La Haye Sainte, for around these two places raged the fiercest fighting of the battle. The former was an old-fashioned house with outbuildings and surrounded with an orchard and wood. It stood about 250 yards in advance of the right of Wellington’s position, and was occupied on the evening of the 17th June by the light companies of the Ist Division of the British Guards ; the light troops of the 1st Regi- ment (Grenadiers), under Colonel Lord Saltoun, held the orchard and wood ; those of the Coldstream and 3rd Guards (Scots), under Colonel Macdonell, the buildings and garden. In the outer grounds and wood there was also a battalion of Nassau troops. The farm of La Haye Sainte was about 250 yards in front of the left centre of Wellington’s position, on the Charleroi road, parallel to and about goo yards distant from Hougoumont, and was occupied by a battalion of the German Legion under Colonel Baring. The farm was a strong stone-and-brick building with a narrow orchard in front and a garden in rear.

The night of the 17th was wet and stormy, and when the dawn of the 18th June broke, the rain was still descending heavily, which, as the morning advanced, was succeeded by a drizzling shower

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BATTLE OF WATERLOO

which gradually ceased. The French and Allied

71

armies rose from their sodden bivouacs and began to form, each on. the high ground which it occupied. At about ten o’clock Wellington passed along the Allied line and was enthusiastically cheered. He was mounted on his favourite chestnut charger, Copenhagen, and was followed by a numerous staff. At about eleven o’clock he rode through the wood of Hougoumont, where he met Colonel Macdonell, and told him the place would be very shortly attacked and that he was to defend it to the last extremity. We shall see how magnificently the British Guards carried out their instructions.

AS the troops of both armies were taking up their appointed positions the Emperor Napoleon, in his well-known costume, passed from flank to flank of the French lines amidst delirious shouts of (‘ Vive l’Empereur ! ” the infantry placing their shakos on their bayonets, the cavalry their helmets on their swords, whilst the French drums rolled out a thunderous salute. He then took a long view of the hostile lines and exclaimed, “ How steadily the English take their ground ! How well their cavalry form ! ”

Observe,” he said to Soult, I ‘ those grey horse ! Are they not noble troops ? Yet in half an hour I shall cut them to pieces.” ‘( Never,” said Napoleon afterwards at St. Helena, “ had my troops been animated with such spirit, nor taken up their ground with such precision. The earth seemed proud of being trodden by such combatants. Never yet, I believe, has there been such devotion shown by soldiers as mine have manifested to me ; never has man been more faithfully served by his troops.”

It was not till nearly noon that Napoleon launched his assault on the Allied lines. The battle commenced with a furious attack by Prince Jerome’s division of 6,000 men against Hougoumont. As this solid mass moved majestically down the hill it was preceded by a dense cloud of tirailleurs, who, running swiftly before it, broke into the wood, which was soon ablaze with flashes of musketry. The main body was greeted with a heavy fire from the British guns, which mowed deep lanes through it, and which was a t once fiercely responded to by the French artillery. It is diffi-


cult t o describe the fury of the contest in this quarter. i All day long the attack thundered round Hougoumont. The French advanced gallantly again and again to the assault, and succeeded in temporarily driving the light companies of the Guards, fighting stubbornly, from the wood into the château itself. A most murderous cannonade was opened upon the brave defenders of Hougoumont, but still the gallant Guardsmen undauntedly held their post. At one time the main gateway was burst open and the French broke in, but Colonel Macdonell, fighting hand to hand

with the enemy, succeeded by great personal strength in closing the gate in the face of the desperate French. The enemy continued undaunted in his attacks, but Hougoumont was defended with a calm and steadfast gallantry which defies description, and the Guards successfully resisted the repeated and fierce assaults of nearly 30,000 Frenchmen, not indeed in one combined attack but by successive reinforcements during the day. The cross discharge from the artillery was incessant, and the bursting shells set part of the building on fire, and many wounded Guardsmen and Frenchmen alike perished in the flames. Still the Guards held out, and the

BATTLE OF WATERLOO 73

t f 1 f x b

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French were killed in heaps round the house, in the orchard, and in the wood. The Guards, who at no time exceeded 2,000 men, maintained the post amidst the terrible conflagration within and the deadly fire of the enemy without. The loss sustained by the French in their reiterated attempts to carry this post was enormous, being estimated at about 10,000 in killed and wounded. In spite of grape, musketry, shells, and flames, and in defiance of the furious and repeated efforts of the enemy, again and again reinforced, the heroic British Guards resolutely held Hougoumont, from which they never moved till they issued from its precincts when the foe fled in confusion from the field of battle. There is no more glorious page in British military history than this defence of Hougoumont by the Foot Guards against overwhelming numbers of a brave, enterprising, and determined enemy.

Well might Sir Walter Scott write : Farewell, sad Field ! whose blighted face Wears desolation’s withering trace : Long shall my memory retain Thy shatter’d huts and trampled grain, With every mark of martial wrong That scathe thy towers, fair Hougoumont ! Yet though thy garden’s green arcade The marksman’s fatal post was made ; Though on thy shatter’d beeches fell The blended rage of shot and shell, Though from thy blacken’d portals torn, Their fall thy blighted fruit-trees mourn, Has not such havoc bought a name Immortal in the rolls of fame ? Yes-Agincourt may be forgot, And Cressy be an unknown spot,

And Blenheim’s name be new ; But still in story and in song, For many an age remember’d long, Shall live the towers of Hougoumont

And Field of Waterloo.

As a result of the determined resistance he met with at our advanced post of Hougoumont, Napoleon resolved upon attacking

K


the left of our main line, and therefore pushed forward part of his artillery to cover the advance of his attacking columns. His object was to turn our left, force the left centre, get possession of the farms of La Haye Sainte and Mont St. Jean and establish a force there, in order to cut off our communications with Brussels and to prevent our co-operation with the Prussians advancing from Wavre. At two o’clock, then, Napoleon launched a great infantry attack, led by General D’Erlon. It was one of enormous strength, numbering some 16,000 men, with a cavalry division on its flank, consisting of lancers and cuirassiers, ready a t the first opportunity t o charge the broken British troops. Seventy-two guns with the thunder of their fire covered this advance, and the French troops came on with loud cries to the attack. The French guns opened with a tremendous roar upon our lines and caused dreadful havoc to the British infantry, the shots falling wit11 terrific effect even amongst our cavalry in the rear. The British line at this point consisted of Picton’s division, which had already suffered severely at Quatre Bras on the 16th, and now consisted of barely 3,000 Inen. The French skirmishers, dashing forward, drove in the British skirmishers, and as the enemy’s main body began to ascend the British slope the French guns ceased fire for fear of injuring their own troops. The hostile infantry detached to attack La Haye Sainte soon became engaged and succeeded in forcing the German Legion, holding it, to retire within the buildings. Our guns, however, were dealing destruction to the enemy’s columns, who, regardless of this hail of iron, gallantly pressed forward to within forty yards of the ridge, where the undaunted Picton awaited them. Picton then ordered ICempt’s brigade (28th’ 32nd and 79th Regiments and the 1st Battalion 95th Rifles, now the Rifle Brigade) to deploy into line. It did

’ so, and moving forward poured a dreadful volley into the French, then in the act of deploying, which shattered their ranks and stemmed their further progress. Without giving them time to recover, Picton at once seized the opportunity and ordered the brigade to charge. With levelled bayonets and loudly cheerillg

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BATTLE OF WATERLOÒ 7s

the British came on at the double, and their charge was irresistible : the leading battalions of the French first halted irresolute and then sullenly fell back. It was in this charge that the gallant Picton fell. He was looking along his charging line and waving them on with his sword, when a bullet struck him on the temple and he fell back upon his horse, dead. He had been wounded at Quatre Bras, but had concealed the fact, which did not corne to light until afterwards.

During the same attack a French officer, whose horse had been shot under him, seized the regimental colour of the 32nd Regiment, which was carried at the time by Lieutenant Belcher. A desperate struggle for its possession ensued, and the Frenchman was in the act of drawing his sword when he received a thrust in the breast from a sergeant’s halberd and was instantly afterwards shot.

Although the head of the French columns was falling back, the main body was still steady, and the lancers and cuirassiers covering its flank were rapidly advancing. Lord Uxbridge then gave orders t o the Household Brigade of Cavalry (Ist and 2nd Life Guards, Horse Guards, and King’s Dragoon Guards), under Lord Edward Somerset, to a t once attack, and directed the Union Brigade (1st Royals, Scots Greys and Inniskilling Dragoons), under Sir William Ponsonby, to conform to their movements. The Household Brigade met the French cuirassiers in full charge : the two lines crashed together, and the sound of their impact was heard above the din of conflict. The French were swept away in an instant and were sent rolling down the slope. Shaw, the farnous Life Guardsman, was here killed. He was a first-rate swordsman and a man of gigantic strength, and is said to have cut down, through brass and steel, no fewer than nine cuirassiers in the we”l6e.

Meanwhile the Union Brigade had broken into the fight. The Royals dashed into the enemy’s column in their front, their long swords flashing as they hewed down the recoiling Frenchmen right and left. At the same time a wing of the 28th Regiment wheeled

76 BATTLE ÒE' WATERLOO

forward and poured a most destructive volley into the enemy's flank. The charge of the Inniskilling Dragoons, on the left of the Royals, was just as successful : with fierce impetuosity they carried all before them.

&4nother French column was pressing on Pack's brigade (Ist Royal Scots, 4znd, 44th and gznd Regiments), which was the other brigade of Picton's division. This brigade advanced steadily, receiving the fire of the enemy but retaining their own until within twenty yards, when they delivered a concentrated volley that completely staggered the French. At this moment the Scots Greys carne charging up from behind them, and the g2nd opened their files to let them pass through. As the Greys rode through the intervals of the gznd, Scotch horsemen through Scotch infantry, the Highland blood of both regiments caught fire. The pipers skirled shrilly, and loud shouts of " Scotland €or ever " rose wildly from both regiments. The Scotchmen went half mad with the lust of battle and pride of country, and many of the 92nd caught hold of the stirrup leathers of the Greys and racing forward with them burst into the French lines like an avalanche, The French were quite unable to withstand the crash, and took to flight.

During this charge of the Union Brigade two French eagles were captured. Captain Clark of the Royals took the one of the 105th French Regiment. He was riding iuriously in the charge when he caught sight of the officer carrying the eagle and who was trying to escape. He overtook this offìcer and, after a desperate fight in which Clark was severely wounded, succeeded in running the Frenchman through the body and captured the colour. The other eagle, that of the French 45th Regiment, was taken by Sergeant Ewart of the Scots Greys. He overtook the officer carrying the colour, and to quote his own words, " he and I had a hard contest for it. He made a thrust at my groin : I parried it and cut him down through the head. After this a lancer came at me. I threw the lance off by my right side and cut him through the chin and upwards through the teeth. Next a foot soldier fired at me, and then charged nie with his bayonet, which I also

BATTLE ÒF WATERLOO 77

1yk

hey of

B r i gade , was killed. Vandeleur’s Light Cav- a l r y B r i - gade now m o v e d d o w n t o the assistance of the heavy cav- a l r y , a n d behind its s t e a d y s q u a drons the broken remains of t h e t w o b r i g a d e s found re- fuge.

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Although the British cavalry suffered terrible punishment during their retirement, they had nevertheless achieved a remarkable success. They succeeded in wrecking an entire infantry corps, overthrew a cuirassier division, took 3,000 prisoners, captured two eagles, and destroyed forty guns. The French infantry, with the exception of the Old Guard late in the day, lost all confidence and made no further serious advance against the main British position.

It was now four o’clock. The Allied army had sustained several severe attacks, which had all been repulsed, and no advantage of any consequence had been gained by the French. Napoleon’s infantry had failed t o capture either Hougournont or La Haye Sainte, although his assaults on both places continued with unabated vigour. His attempt on the British left had failed, and the battle now resolved itself for a time into an artillery duel. In rear of our ridge lay our infantry in squares, and the havoc wrought among them was enormous. Terrible as the slaughter was, it would have been still more dreadful hadnot the shells, owing to the wetness of the ground, €requently buried themselves in the earth and when they exploded produced no other effect than that of casting up tremendous clouds of mud.

Napoleon now commenced a series of great cavalry attacks along the whole extent of tlze line, and for two long hours he threw the whole strength of his magnificent cavalry, led by Ney himself, “ the bravest of the brave,” against the British squares, in front of which were placed our guns. A t a slow trot down tlze French slope rode this huge mass of cuirassiers, carabineers, dragoons, and the cavalry of the Imperial Guard ; they gradually quickened their pace and swept up to the British ridge regardless of our artillery fire, every discharge of which dreadfully shattered their ranks. Full of excitement and enthusiasm, their trumpets sounding the charge, they galloped up to the cannon’s mouth shouting, (‘ En avant ! Vive l’Empereur ! ” Our gunners ran into the squares for safety, and seeing, as they thought, the guns abandoned, the Frenchmen shouted in triumph and, at a furious

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BATTLE OF WATERLOO L

79

gallop, crossed the ridge. Here they were assaiied by a rolling fire from our squares. Still these brave horsemen never faltered, but rode up to the squares under a leaden hail. Their leading squadrons were destroyed, but the remainder swept round our squares, pounded by their musketry fire, struggled through the intervals, only to be instantly charged by the British cavalry and driven back down the slope. Some of the Frenchmen would ride up to the squares and either cut at the bayonets or try to lance the outside files, but never succeeded in penetrating a square or in shaking the nerves of the imperturbable British soldier. No sooner had the broken squadrons been hurled back past our guns than the gunners ran out of the squares and fired grape upon the retiring host. The French guns again broke into a tempest of shot and shell, under the protection of which their scattered cavalry reformed in the valley.

The battle was maintained on both sides with inconceivable violence. Foiled in his first attack, Ney brought up reinforcements of a fresh cavalry division, and again advanced against the British. Squadron after squadron came on in waves over the ridge, and floods of furious horsemen galloped up t o the British squares, only t o be met with a devastating fire and hurled back. Our squares often wheeled into line to malre their fire more destructive t o the French cavalry when retiring, but when

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the Frenchmen again wheeled round to charge, our splendid infantry again formed into square. With such calm and lofty courage did the British receive the repeated furious rushes of the French, that our men began to jest at the disappointment and discomfiture of their gallant opponents. " Here come the d-d fools again," was an exclamation frequently heard in their ranks.

For two hours did these dauntless horsemen ride round the British squares and the ground was strewn with their men and horses-lancers, cuirassiers, carabineers, and heavy and light dragoons, yet not a square was broken, and nearly the whole of Napoleon's splendid body of heavy cavalry was destroyed in these fruitless attempts on the British squares. Ney's cavalry charge is thus described by Siborne :-

I t Like waves following in quick succession, the whole mass now appeared to roll over the ridge ; and as the light curling smoke arose from the fire which was opened by the squares, and by which the latter sought to stem the current of the advancing host, it resembled the foam and spray thrown up by the mighty waters as they dash on isolated rocks and beetling crags ; and as the living mass separated and rushed in every direction, completely covering the interior slope, it bore the appearance of innumerable eddies and counter-currents, threatening to overwhelm and engulf the obstructions by which its onward course had been opposed. The storm continued to rage with the greatest violence, and the devoted squares seemed lost in the midst of the tumultuous onset. In vain did the maddening mass chafe and fret away its strength against these impregnable barriers, which, based upon the principles of honour, discipline and duty, and cemented by ties of patriotism and the impulse of national glory, stood proudly unmoved and inaccessible. Disorder and confusion, produced by the commingling of corps and by the scat- tering fire from the faces of the chequered squares, gradually led to the retreat of parties of horsemen across the ridge ; these were followed by broken squadrons, and at length the retrograde movement became general. Then the Allied dragoons, who had been

BATTLE OF WATERLOO 81

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judiciously kept in readiness to act at a favourable monzent, darted forward to complete the disorganization of the now receding masses of the French cavalry.”

But in another part of the field fortune favoured Napoleon for a time. La Haye Sainte, as we have seen, had all this time been furiously assailed, and became a scene of the most awful carnage, Baring had sent for reinforcements and for more ammunition : the former was sent but not the latter, and as the pouches of the German Legion defending the post were nearly empty, they were forced to be sparing of their ammunition, Marshal Ney, perceiving that the fire from La Haye Sainte had slackened, made a further determined assault on the place with two columns of infantry. His troops made a rush at the open barn-door and succeeded in gaining access to the yard, some climbed upon the wall and fired down upon the Germans, who, for want of cartridges, were unable to return the fire. After a desperate struggle with the bayonet and with clubbed rifles, the defenders were obliged to retreat to the main building, where they made a most determined resistance. Shortly before six o’clock, however, they were compelled to abandon the post and t o fall back upon the main position. Napoleon now had the means for organizing another formidable attack on the Allies’ centre.

There was no time t o be lost if the British were to be destroyed before the arrival of the Prussians. As early as five o’clock a Prussian column, under Bülow, was beginning to press on the French right rear, near the village of Planchenoit, and Napoleon was obliged to send his Young Guard to occupy that village and prevent the enemy’s advance. This they did with the greatest gallantry and success.

La Haye Sainte, then, was no sooner in the possession of the French troops than they received orders to press as much as possible on that part of our line, to prepare the way for a further assault. They ran up two guns to the place, and from these they threw grape-shot into our men from a distance of about IQO yards, and all our regiments, particularly the z7th, suffered terribly,

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until by a concentrated fire from their rifles every gunner was killed beside the guns. The roar of musketry was increasing in intensity along the whole main line of our position, our centre sustaining enormous losses from the French skirmishers, who pushed boldly on, encouraged by the fall of La Haye Sainte. Our troops displayed the most resolute courage and endurance under this heavy punishment. The more desperate the fight, the more determined they were to hold the ground : they evinced an unyielding passive courage, the greatest characteristic of the British soldier.

It was now past seven o’clock, and still the work of slaughter went on. Napoleon had expended his infantry, cavalry, and artillery in vain endeavours to break the stubborn British lines, His Old Guard, alone, had as yet taken no part in the battle, and he now determined to make one of those supreme efforts by which he had so frequently snatched victory from the hands of his enemies. He decided to bring forward these magnificent, and hitherto invincible, troops in the hope that they would be able to decide in his favour the fortunes of the day. The thunder of the Prussian guns could now be heard on the French right flank. At about 7.30 p.m. Napoleon formed his Old Guard into two columns on the declivity behind La Belle Alliance, and placed Ney at their head. He himself rode forward to a spot by which his veterans were to pass, and pointing to’the position of the Allies exclaimed, ‘ l There, gentlenlen, there is the road to Brussels ! ” With frenzied shouts of “ Vive l’Empereur ! En avant ! En avant ! ” these intrepid troops descended the hill from their side into the valley between the opposing forces, whilst the French batteries roared with redoubled vigour over their heads upon the British line. The line of march of the colulnns of the Old Guard was directed between La Haye Sainte and Hougoumont against the British right centre. At the same time the French troops in possession of the former post commenced a fierce attack on the British position a little more to its left.

The magnificent veterans of the Qld Guard, who laad aever

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known defeat, advanced steadily and dauntlessly towards the ridge held by the British. They were exposed to a galling fire from our right, whole files being annihilated as fast as they carne within range of our guns. With fearless perseverance they continued t o press Sor- ward, and at length reached the summit behind which our men were lying. An officer who took part in the fight thus describes the scene at this critical moment : " As the smoke cleared away, a most superb sight opened on us. A close column of the Guard, about seventies in front and not less than 6,000 strong, their drums beating the f ins de ckclrge, the men shouting, ' Vive l'Empereur ! ' were within sixty yards of us."

This was the decisive moment, and the Duke, who had intently watched its crisis, exclaimed, '' Up Guards, and at them ! " On this the British 1st Regiment of Guards sprang to their feet and poured in a tremendous volley, again and yet again. The Old Guard tried to deploy, but our fire was too hot, and with prolonged and stirring cheers the British rushed forward at the point of the bayonet. The nerve of the French seemed to fail, they crumpled up, and fell back in disorder. In vain did the gallant Ney endeavour to rally them. His horse had been shot under him, but on foot, sword in hand, he attempted to lead back his faltering column and mingled in the thickest of the fight. It

is owing to their achievement in having routed the Old Guard on that day that the Ist Regiment of Guards Wac, given the title of Grenadiers.” They pursued the discornfitel enemy into the hollow, where the other column of the Old Guard was seen advancing, and to avoid being taken in flank, our Guards were ordered to fall back.

Meanwhile the second column of the Old Guard was coming up, the men as steady as on parade. Scourged by our guns and our musketry fire, they moved majestically forward, splendid and undismayed. The fate of the battle appeared to hang in the balance before that steady and unflinching advance, when a movement of that gallant corps, the Sand, under Sir John Colborne, practically assured the victory to the British. They swept down the slope of the position on t o the left flank of the Old Guard, which halted and opened fire. Colborne also halted the 5znd, which, on his command, poured a withering volley into the unpro- tected flank of the unfortunate Frenchmen. The p t Regiment and gSth Rifles came up to support Colborne’s attack. On the dense masses of the Old Guard, already shaken by the discharge of grape and shell from our guns, the combined musketry of these regiments told with fearful effect. In such a position not ;all the bravery and skill of the French veterans was of any avail, and this second column, like its predecessor, gave way, broke, and finally fled.

About this time the main body of the Prussians began to arrive on the British left. Seeing them Wellington exultantly exclaimed, ‘‘ There goes old Bliicher, at last. We shall beat them yet,” and immediately ordering a general advance of his whole line, launched his sorely tried and heroic battalions on to the French. The 10th and 18th Hussars charged some cuirassiers who were coming up to the relief of the Old Guard, overthrew them, and finally plunged into the broken French Guard itself. These veterans were retreating, all formation gone, each man slowly and sullenly retiring and fighting in detached groups, Some regiments of these hitherto invincible troops vainly endeavoured

L i

I '

l

I

to form squares. They were swept away to the rear, and their Commander, Cambronne, captured. A complete panic spread itself throughout the whole French army, and Napoleon, realizing that his star had set, fled from the last of his fields of battle. The victorious British and Prussians continued to press forward and overwhelm every attempt that was made to stem the tide of ruin.

The pursuit of the flying French was left to the Prussians, who drove the fugitives before them throughout the night. Cotton, in A V o i c e from Vaterloo, says :

c c The battle might be described as having been a succession of assaults, sustained with unabated iury, and often with a bold- ness and effect that much perplexed our troops and put their firmness t o the test. Every renewed attack diminished our numbers, and still the survivors yielded not an inch of ground, and even without orders lnade good the gaps. No other troops in the world would llave elzdured for so long a period so terrible a struggle. Our Imperial antagonist admitted that we went through and stood t o our work unlike any troops he had ever seen before, and the fact is well authenticated that Napoleon repeatedly complimented us on our incomparable steadiness and forbearance. But this is not to be wondered at, when our chief, he who hac1 so often directed our energy, affirmed that he had ' never seen the British infantry behave so well.' Our glorious contest had been maintained against the most renowned legions of Europe, who had never before shown such uninterrupted audacity and intrepidity. They were led by generals of undoubted skill and gallantry, who with their brave troops had won laurels in many a hard-fought battle, and who believed themselves to be what their ambitious chief had so often declared, invincible, and as such they were still regarded by most of the continental nations. At Waterloo we had to contend against soldiers of undaunted spirit, full of enthusiasm, and careless of life. Never did these heroic men, grown grey in victories, better sustain their reputation than on this occasion. The French are a brave people, and no troops in the world surpass, if any equal them, for impetuosity


of attack ; but many men will stand fire and face distant danger, and yet shrink from the strpggle when closing in desperate grasp with an enemy. Xt is not bravery alone which decides the battle, calmness is often absolutely necessary, and in this the most valiant are at times found wanting. Never did a battle require more cool and determined courage than that of Waterloo. Nothing can be more trying to troops than passive endurance of offence ; nothing so intolerable as t o be incessantly assailed, and not permitted in turn t o become assailants. A desperate struggle, in a well-contested battlefield, differs greatly from acting on the defensive, from holding a position, or from being attacked and not allowed to return the aggression of an enemy. There is an excited feeling when assailing which stimulates even the weak- hearted and drowns the thought of danger. The tumultuous enthusiasm of the assault spreads from man to man, and timid spirits catch a gallant frenzy from the brave."

i

WE rem6 which th€ imperishal entered UI in a small

We j of the we; the theat the fortrt reason of port she1

ì

VICTORIAN PERIOD

BALACLAVA, ZSTH OCTOBER, 1854

WE remember the Crimean War now chiefly as a campaign in which the British. army underwent much suffering and gathered imperishable honour ; but we are beginning to forget why we entered upon the war at all, and for what reason we chose to wage it in a small and remote portion of the territory of our opponent.

We joined France in making war with Russia to protect one of the weaker nations of Europe-Turkey ; and we made the Crimea the theatre of operations because that piece of territory contained the fortress and harbour of Sebastopol, important not merely by reason of its great docks, workshops and arsenals, but because the port sheltered the Russian fleet which, by a surprise attack during

S8 BALACLAVA

time of peace, had earlier annihilated the Turkish warships at Sinope.

The armies of the Western Allies had landed on the open beach to the west of Sebastopol, had fought a battle and won a victory on the banks of the Alma ; and then, marching round Sebastopol to the north, had established themselves on the plateau which at long range overlooks the great fortress. The plateau was not everywhere flat : it was bent almost everywhere by great ravines whereby the drainage from the uplands found its way to the sea ; it contained many small hills and knolls and underfeatures ; and immediately to the north of Sebastopol there rose an encirclement of hills upon which the outer works of the Russian defenders were placed. On the highest part then of the plateau, the British camp was pitched, exposed equally to the storms which came up from the Black Sea and to the icy blasts which swept down from the plains of Russia. Here our soldiers threw up their defences and traced their siege works, and here Britain’s last long-service army prepared to encounter Russia and her tried Ally, the winter, in those storm-swept camps which arose upon the plateau from Inkermann to the head of the harbour of Balaclava.

The British Cavalry Division in the Crimea, under Lord Lucan, consisted of two brigades, one of heavy and the other of light cavalry. The Heavy Cavalry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier- General Scarlett, was composed of the 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards, the Ist Royal Dragoons, the Scots Greys, and the Inniskilling Dragoons ; the Light Cavalry Brigade, under Brigadier-General Lord Cardigan, consisted of the 4th and 13th Light Dragoons (now the 4th and 13th Hussars), the 8th and n t h Hussars, and the 17th Lancers.

With the object of attacking our supplies, the Russians detached a strong force of cavalry, supported by infantry and artillery, and at about seven o’clock on the morning of the 25th October attacked the redoubts held by the Turks and succeeded in storming and carrying one after another, The Turks bolted like rabbits in the utmost confusion towards the position where Colonel Campbell

1

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had &a-\ the Rus to close Gallant to then must di

Aye, cavalry served in a W

mass c beyonc as the’ rush f c but we by the

third ! ness. ”

A c avak#

ridge Brí t ish Brigad lines, i of the

seconc Dragc

were

ing, IC

flying

killing

Royal

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ips at

can, igh t ier- :ds, . hg ord the .7 th

BALACLAVA 89

had drawn up the 93rd Highlanders in line, about half a mile from the Russians. The latter halted to enable their rear squadrons to close up, and prepared to charge and annihilate the brave 93rd. Gallant old Colin Campbell rode down the line of his men and said to them, I C Remember, men, there is no retreat from here ! You must die where you stand," to which his sturdy Highlanders replied, '' Aye, aye, Sir Colin, we'll do that.'' Down thundered the Russian cavalry. The Highlanders, without altering their formation, reserved their fire till the enemy were quite close and then poured in a withering volley. When the smoke cleared away a confused mass of men and horses were seen writhing on the ground, and beyond them the remaining Russian squadrons retreating as rapidly as thev had advanced. The Highlanders showed an inclination to

the hostile cavalry in the open plain, J

rush forward and exterminate but were checked and steadied by their veteran Chief shouting, " Ninety-third ! Ninety- third ! Damn all that eager- ness."

Another body of Russian cavalry, in pursuit of the flying Turks, surged up the ridge which concealed the British cavalry. The Heavy Brigade was drawn up in two lines, the first line consisting of the Scots Greys and Innis- killing Dragoons, and the second of the 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards and the Ist Royals. As the Heavies were moving from their position to re-form on the flank of the 93rd, the enemy's cavalry came after them over

90 - BALACLAVA

the ridge. General Scarlett at once grasped the situation, and wheeled his three leading squadrons into line, and ordering those in the rear to support, he prepared to instantly attack the enemy, who, for some unexplained reason, halted. The ( ( charge ” alone was sounded, and headed by General Scarlett, the Scots Greys and Inniskillings went straight at the enemy’s centre like a thunder- bolt. Nor were the rest of the Heavy Brigade far behind. Wheel- ing slightly to the left and right the Greys and Inniskillings attacked the Russian flanks. On they went, gathering momentum with every stride, and with a terrific crash the opposing forces met. ‘ l The Greys,” says Kinglake, “ gave no utterance save a low, fierce moan of rapture-the moan of outbursting desire. The Inniskillings went in with a cheer.’ J

Through and through the Russian ranks went the gallant Heavies ; by sheer weight and strength and invincible courage they pierced rank after rank. The rest of the Heavy Brigade followed no less gallantly, and in the brief space of eight minutes the Russian force was entirely demoralized, and what had been a strong cavalry body became a mob of fugitives, which spread itself over the plain and only finally rallied under their own guns. Thus ended the charge of the Heavy Brigade, whose casualties were less than fifty, whilst the Russians lost about 400.

The enthusiasm of the troops who witnessed this splendid achievement was unbounded. It was performed in full view of the Light Brigade, who expected every moment to be dispatched in pursuit of the flying Russians. Had this pursuit been ordered, it would have completed the Russian rout, and it is improbable that the later brilliant but unfortunate charge of the Light Brigade would then have taken place. Lord Cardigan declared that he had been ordered to remain in his position ; at any rate the opportunity was lost to the British.

In the meantime, during the lull which followed the Heavies’ engagenlent, Lord Raglan, wishing t o take advantage of the de- moralization of the Russians by seizing the Causeway heights, sent an order to Lord Lucan that “ the cavalry was to advance

rapic reco’ the RUS

on Thi!

at t cal?

cita sr , Luc my and

1: epl Lor Ru! of t wi t1

mus forb him f rox ir T 17t1 whi the Th(

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rapidly to the front and recover the guns,” meaning the guns captured by the Russians in the redoubts on the Causeway heights. This order was brought by Captain Nolan, who seemed at the time in a highly ex citable condition. “ Guns, sir, what guns ? ” said Lord Lucan to him. “ There, my lord, are the enemy, and there are your guns,” replied Nolan, pointing vaguely down the valley. Lord Lucan, stung by the reply, thereupon directed. Lord Cardigan to attack the Russian battery at the head of the Valley of Death ” with the Light Brigade.

BALACLAVA 9t

Although he clearly perceived the death-trap into which he must lead his Light Brigade, Lord Cardigan’s soldierly instinct forbade him to question the order of his superior officer. Placing himself quite alone at a distance of about two horses’ length in front of his staff and eight in front of the line, he gave the command,

The Brigade will advance.” The 13th Light Dragoons and the 17th Lancers formed the first line, the n t h Hussars the second, whilst the 4th Light Dragoons and the 8th Hussars constituted the third line. The whole Brigade only numbered G73 sabres. Then commenced that ride of death of such imperishable fame.

The Brigade was barely in motion when Captain Nolan rode obliquely across the front, waving his sword and gesticulating wildly in the direction of the Causeway heights. What his purpose was will never be known as he was almost immediately struck by

i

g2 BALACLAVA

the first shell fired by the Russians and was instantly killed, The lifeless body was borne back at a gallop between the intervals of the 13th Light Dragoons, with knees still firmly gripping the saddle. Meanwhile, gradually quickening their pace under the galling fire of the Russian batteries in their front, from the Fediu- kine heights on the left, and from the Causeway heights on the right, the Light Brigade swept steadily and dauntlessly onward.

Cannon to right of them, Cannon t o left of them, Cannon in front of them

Volley'd and thundered ; Storm'd at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell,

Rode the Six Hundred.

Conspicuous at their head, in the gold lace and slung jacket of the 11th Hussars and upon a magnificent chestnut horse, rode Lord Cardigan, whose resolute leading of the Brigade won the enthusiastic admiration of all who witnessed it, both friend and foe. Men and horses commenced to drop fast in the first line under the Russian fire, still the survivors closed up and rode on. At last the gaps became so frequent and so wide that the men could close up no longer, and" the whole line simply sat down and raced for the guns. Right into the Russian battery rode Lord Cardigan, closely followed by the 13th Light Dragoons and the 17th Lancers, who were quickly engaged in spiking

I

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l

BALACLAVA 93

ìlled, The S intervals ipping the under the the Fediu- ~ t s on the y onward.

head, in ket of the

magnifi- I Ide Lord

:h usias tic I

tessed it, lm and I fast in ian fire, I

up and became I

hat the ;er, and mm and 1

into the ardigan, h Light

eading o€

1

the guns and sabring the artillery men. Followed by the rest of the Brigade they broke right through the Russian guns and engaged in a hand-to-hand encounter with the enemy, who were endeavouring to surround them. There was a fierce and furious contest, but the Light Brigade was by now reduced to a strength of 195 men, and their fight had become a struggle for existence. Decimated and unsupported, only small bodies of the Brigade were able t o rally and break back through the surrounding Russian hordes, and exposed once more to a murderous fire rode back all that was left of the gallant Six Hundred.”

Flash’d all their sabres bare, Flash’d as they turn’d in air, Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while

All the world wondered : Plunged in the battery-smoke, Right thro’ the line they broke ; Cossack and Russian Reel’d from the sabre-stroke Shatter’d and sunder’d. Then they rode back, but not-

Not the Six Hundred.

Cannon t o right of them, Cannon t o left of them, Cannon behind them

Volley’d and thunder’d ; Storm’d at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had €ought so well Came thro’ the jaws of Death, Back from the mouth of Hell, All that was left of them, Left of Six Hundred.

Back in groups of six or seven, and even less, with ghastly wounds and exhausted horses, with grim and set faces, came Cardi- gan’s men, and formed up in rear of the Heavy Brigade. Our loss in this retirement would have been far greater but for the timely charge of the French 4th Chasseurs d’Afrique against the Russian troops and batteries on the slopes of the Fediukine heights.

94 BALACLAVA

Had the attack of the Light Brigade been supported, the affair might well have been a brilliant success, for the Russians had been badly scared and shaken. Lord Lucan had, apparently, every intention to support them with the Heavy Brigade, and advanced with the latter into the valley. Seeing the distance between the two brigades becoming ever greater, and perceiving that his men were suffering fronl the fire to which they were now exposed, Lord Lucan could not bring himself to sacrifice the Heavies, and withdrew his force till covered from the enemy’s fire.

C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre,” is reported to have been the remark of a distinguished French officer who witnessed the charge of the Light Brigade. Never was a charge made alike so gallant and so useless. The cavalry charged into a trap. It was a magnificent mistake, but it was a mistake that will always be regarded as a glorious page in the history of British Cavalry, and as such will ever be cherished with admiration and pride by their grateful countrymen.

When can their glory fade ? Oh, the wild charge they made !

All the world wonder’d.

TI LC In wi t0 wa thr COI

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lo

Vi

n;

INKERMANN

STH NOVEMBER, 1854

THE advance made by the Russians towards Balaclava convinced Lord Raglan of the necessity of strengthening his position opposite Inkerrnann, unless Balaclava was to be abandoned. As, however, without Balaclava the British army could not be fed, it was decided t o hold that place at all costs, and the position opposite Inkermann was covered by a continuous line of entrenchments stretching from the plateau across the valley, up the hills, to a mountain path communicating with the Woronzoff road near the sea, and garri- soned by about 8,000 men of the allied nations-British, French, and Turks. Curiously enough “ Inltermann ’I was not the proper name of the ground on which the battle was fought. Across the Tcher- naya and within sight of our pickets ‘( stood an old, grey, battle- mented ruin, on the edge of a precipice on the Russian side of the valley, about a mile from the head of the harbour of Sebastopol,” this was the real I ‘ Inkermann,” but somehow or other the ground in front of the camp of the British Second Division had acquired the name, and as Inkermann the site of the battle will be known as long as the English language lasts,

96 BATTLE OF TNKERMANN

The Russian armies in and about Sebastopol were commanded by Prince Mentschikoff, who had already been defeated at the Alma, and who now decided to make a surprise attack, in overwhelming numbers, on the Allies’ position. His object was to assault the right of the British lines, defended by the Second Division, and to occupy them, a simultaneous attack from Sebastopol itself being made on the French lines. It was hoped by these methods to hurl the invaders into the Black Sea. During the first few days of November about ~ O , O O Q additional Russian troops were brought into the beleaguered city by the north side, which was not invested. The scheme of this grand sortie was admirably planned and was fixed to take place early on Sunday morning, the 5th November, and so on the night of the 4th of that month the Russians, with over 40,000 men and 134 guns, prepared to attack the position, on Mount Inkermann, of the Second Division, which numbered in all 2,956 men with two field batteries.

The Second Division consisted of two brigades : the Ist Brigade was composed of the 30th (now the 1st Battalion East Lancashire) Regiment, the 55th (now the 2nd Battalion Border) Regiment, and the 95th Regiment (now the 2nd Battalion Sher- wood Foresters) ; the 2nd Brigade was formed by the 41st (now the Welsh) Regiment, the 47th (now the Loyal North Lancashire) Regiment, and the 49th (now the Royal Berkshire) Regiment. This division was commanded by General Pennefather. On the left of this division was the Guards Division, consisting of the Grenadiers, the Coldstream, and the Scots Fusilier (now the Scots) Guards, under H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge.

Rain had fallen almost incessantly since ten o’clock on the morning of the 4th November and the night following was cold and damp, and the morning of the 5th was foggy. The British relieving pickets had gone out and the old pickets had mostly returned to camp. Cautiously and noiselessly the Russian troops stole on towards the British lines and, at about 5.30 a.m., made a sudden rush upon our advanced posts. The first intimation our pickets had of their presence was suddenly finding themselves

almc atQ to 2

Cr es the fire kill

me the UP ant cal COT

lS3.C PO! cle for cal StU as cor ten nev will hisi

the set Br ad an re] cxu S?

i

BATTLE OF INKERMANN 97

almost surrounded by an overwhelming force. Fighting desperately and with grim determination the pickets were driven back to a small redoubt known as the Sandbag Battery, and the crest of the hill overlooking the valley was at once occupied by the Russian artillery, who opened fire on the British camp. The fire was continuous and effective, and many men and horses were kill e d.

In the meanwhile Pennefather’s Division, reinforced by some men of the 77th (now the 2nd Battalion Middlesex) Regiment and the 88th (now the Ist Battalion Connaught Rangers), had formed up to repel the attack, and were only just in time. They charged, and for a brief period drove the Russians back ; on again, however, carne the relentless enemy, in greater numbers than before, and compelled the 41st and 49th to give ground. The Russians were once more checked by the Guards, who had hurried up as quickly as possible to support their comrades. It soon, however, became clear that on the individual exertion of each soldier depended the fortune of the day, and nobly did the British soldier respond t o the call. Although faced by fearful odds he fell back fighting calmly, stubbornly and fearlessly : his spirit never faltered, and he remained as cool and collected as on an ordinary parade. Pennefather, commanding the Second Division, set his men an example of tenacious valour : overborne in front and with his flank turned, he never hesitated nor despaired of the day, and his brilliant defence will long live in history as one of the great features of that historic battle,

The Light Division under General Codrington now threatened the Russian flank from Victoria Ridge, and at last, at half-past seven o’clock, the first Russian attack was repulsed, thus some 3,700 British infantry with eighteen guns had not only driven back but actually driven off the field 15,000 Russians, with 10,000 reserves and thirty-eight guns. It seems almost incredible, but it must be remembered that the enemy ,attacked in deep columns and consequently suffered enormous losses from our fire ; that the mist was SQ dense that the Russians were uqable t;o form any idea of the

??

* BATTLE OF TNKERMANN

weakness of the force opposed to them; and finally, that nearly all the attacking battalions had already been defeated at the Alma and so quickly lost heart and became demoralized.

There was but a short respite, as very soon fresh grey - coated, flat-capped Russian troops, with guns, were preparing to attack our right and centre with 19,000 men, covered by the fire of p guns. To meet this onslaught Penne- father had barely 1,400 men in formed bodies under his command. His losses, it is true, had not been unusually heavy, but the majority of bis men were out fighting in front. He was, however, expecting reinforcements, and very soon two battalions of the Guards, 2,000 men of

the Fourth Division, and two French regiments were approaching the place of conflict ; and the fighting which had hitherto taken place was mere child’s play to those desperate struggles to which the Sandbag Battery was now to be the scene.

The whole Russian force had reached Mount Inkermann and 10,000 of them were sent forward against our right centre. These overwhelming numbers of fresh troops fiercely attacked the wings of the 41st and 49th Regiments and drove them out of, and captured, the Sandbag Battery. At this moment the Grenadier Guards

hurried the assi f uriousl drove t

all aro into t now b Fusijie and cl ba57ont asked of the to th& heavy was al soldier retreat attern] were I

success Tl

there t critical huge b tered 1 drove t That d times.

T1 troops; and al rain, i officer; soldier

heavy,

l

BATTLE OF INKERMANN 99

hurried up and, supported by a wing of the 95th, were ordered to the assistance of the 41st and 49th. The Guards and 95th then furiously attacked the Sandbag Battery and, after desperate fighting, drove the Russians out. The fire, however, continued to be very heavy, for, although repelled from the Battery, the enemy were all around it. Some Russians even managed to penetrate right into the Battery, but were promptly bayoneted. Reinforced now by some men of the 20th Regiment (now the Lancashire Fusiliers), the Guards, the 20th and the 95th burst out of the Battery and charged exultantly down the Quarry Ravine, shooting and bayoneting the flying Russians, who threw down their arms and asked for quarter. About roo Guardsmen and an equal number of the 95th who had remained in the Sandbag Battery now shouted t o their comrades to return, and the latter, looking back, saw that a heavy Russian column, its front and flanks covered by skirmishers, was almost on the line of retreat to the Battery. The British soldiers were scattered in every direction, firing at and pursuing the retreating Russians, and nothing now remained but t o retire and attempt to reach the high ground before the enemy. The men were out of cartridges and tried t o rally, but without much success.

The Russians were again in possession of the Battery, and there were no formed troops for the British to rally on. At this critical moment a French corps carne up at the double, led by a huge black, brandishing a rifle, and, accompanied by the scattered British, took the Russians in flank, rushed the Battery and drove the enemy back to the gorges from which they had emerged. That day the Sandbag Battery changed hands no fewer than seven times.

The next attack was made by the Russians with the same troops, reduced by their losses t o 6,000 men, with 9,000 in reserve, and along the whole front the unequal fight went on, in mist and rain, in copse and ravine till long past midday. Where their officers and non-commissioned officers were shot down, the British soldiers banded themselves together in small groups, under some

Pb0 BATTLE OF INKERMANN

selected leader, and stubbornly and fiercely fought the battle out.

At about eleven o’clock the turning point of the battle was reached. Some 5,000 British and 7,000 French troops were by this time on the field, and more guns, especially some 18-pounders, were now in action. A long artillery duel was maintained, with manifestly declining power on the enemy’s side, whilst our skirmishers, pressing forward, poured in a galling fire on the Russian gunners.

It was now that General Canrobert with three regiments of Zouaves, five of French infantry of the line, and with a strong force of artillery, commenced a vigorous attack upon the Russian flank, and the issue of the fight was no longer in doubt. At one o’clock the Russians commenced t o retire and by three o’clock they were totally routed, and fled t o the shelter of Sebastopol. The French, for some unexplained reason, failed to pursue, and the British were far too exhausted to do so. Lord Raglan had to content himself with the fact that, with a force at no time exceeding 8,000 men, he had, with but slight assistance from the French, repulsed six attacks made by a Russian general who had more than 60,000 men at his disposal. In the battle the Russians lost in killed, wounded and prisoners 11,959 ; the British lost 2,357, of whom 597 were killed, whilst the French losses were 143 killed and 786 wounded.

Thus closed the great battle which will be remembered as long as the British Empire endures. It brought into prominence all the best qualities of the British fighting man. Coolness, endurance, steadfast courage, resolution and presence of mind under overwhelming difficulties, marked every phase of this ‘‘ Soldiers’ Battle.”

Even when the battle was long over and night had corne there wits no rest or food for many of the weary men who were searching the bloody field for absent comrades, “for the wounded and dying out on that dreadful hill-side and in those red ravines, and for the dead who were at rest, the news of whose giorious’ fall carried sorrow t o many a happy home.”

In a which t h e in the t1 memory soldiers of the I(:

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BATTLE ÖP ÍNKERMANN 101

( c h a few short weeks most of those who had held ‘the ground which their valour consecrated for ever, perished in the hospital or in the trenches, or in the famished, storm-swept tents. Their memory should be dear to England, for never did she send bolder soldiers t o die for her than the men who confronted the myriads of the Czar on November 5th, 1854.”

LUCKNOW IST JULY-I~TH NOVEMBER, 1857

IT is not here proposed t o narrate the various causes which led t o the terrible bloodstained tragedy of the Indian Mutiny : they will be found set forth at length in any of the many histories dealing with that catastrophe. In these pages it is merely intended to give some accounts of the events which took place in the defence and relief of the Residency at Lucknow during that awful period, and of the courage, fortitude and unexampled devotion, under the most fearful adversities, displayed alike by British and loyal native soldiers, civilians, and delicately nurtured women, which make the name of Lucknow one that Britons will remember with pride t o the remotest generations.

T. wits t know sistet al3 r wer e cava of n capa arrit the milit

was once took diffi( mea

be i the I

amn Briti POSSI

lay

by a

of lo lines at 7

atta 2gt l

a vj fore tool

CQnI

LUCKNOW 103

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R

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Lucknow, situated on the right bank of the Goomtee River, was the capital of the newly annexed kingdom of Oudh, and was known to be fanatically hostile to British rule. The garrison consisted of one British regiment, the 3znd, numbering some 540 of all ranks, one weak company of the 84th Regiment, and there were, in addition, six regiments of native infantry, two of native cavalry, and two batteries of native artillery. Towards the close of March, 1857, Sir Henry Lawrence arrived at Lucknow, in the capacity of Chief Commissioner of Oudh, and shortly after his arrival he applied for and obtained from the Governor-General the military appointment of Brigadier-General, which gave him military authority over all the troops in Oudh.

The news of the mutiny at Meerut and of the capture of Delhi was known in Lucknow on the 12th May, 1857, and Lawrence at once commenced preparations to meet the coming tempest. He took steps t o render the Residency defensible, a task of considerable difficulty, as it lay in the heart of the city surrounded by buildings meant for the convenience of the staff of the Resident. These lay in plots of ground separated by mud walls, and could not all be included in the scheme of defence owing to the smallness of the garrison. I t was only possible to connect the various buildings by a breastwork and to dig a ditch round them. Provisions and ammunition were brought in, and al1 the civilians as well as the British troops were concentrated as close t o the Residency as possible.

On the 29th May the native garrison discarded all semblance of loyalty, niurdered their British officers, and moved out of their lines, which they fired. Although they perpetrated many outrages at various stations in Oudh, the mutineers refrained from any attack on the Residency itself. At length, on the evening of the 29th June, reports reached Sir Henry Lawrence that a not very considerable force of mutineers was about to march from Chinhut, a village about eight miles distant, on to Lucknow, and he therefore determined to make a reconnaissance in that direction. He took with him eight guns, about 130 native cavalry, 230 native

LUCKNOW

infantry, and 300 of the 32nd Regiment. This force met with a sharp reverse, the enemy being in far greater strength than was anticipated, and his native artillery and cavalry deserted to the enemy. The remainder of Lawrence’s force managed, with extreme difficulty, to cut their way back to the Residency, the 3znd losing 115 killed out of the 300 engaged.

On the evening of the Ist July, Lawrence ordered the troops at Muchhi Bhawsn, an old fort and arsenal about three-quarters of a mile from the Resi- dency, to evacuate and blow up that fortress in the course of the night. The train was laid and fired, and the garrison marched into the Residency, with their guns, at midnight, and shortly afterwards the explosion of 240 barrels of gunpowder and about 6,000,000 rounds of ammunition announced that the

orders had been duly carried into effect and the Muchhi Bhawan destroyed. On the same day the close investment of the Resi- dency by the mutineers commenced.

DEFENCE OF THE RESIDENCY, IST JULY-ZSTH SEPTEMBER, 1857 At the very commencement of the defence a dire calamity

overtook the garrison of the Residency. On the 1st July, an 8-inch shell burst in the room of the Residency, in which Sir Henry Lawrence was sitting, without injuring anyone. The whole of his Staff implored Lawrence t o move into other quarters as the Residency had then become the special target f o r the round shot and shell of the enemy. This, however, he jestingly declined to do, saying that it was unlikely that another shell would pitch in the same small rogm. Fqte decreed otherwise : for 0x1 the very

cext day 1 another she spot. Law 4th JdY, soldier ex1 entirely 07 mencemeni untiring p He was gr depressing

The c General In1 on the 1st forces of t h tu the revc extent the I insurgents

The d of a few thirsty fat in keeping

ram. It i garrison SE did so, h( gun-fire a1 unable t o of the defl

Une a was that c This fact desperate throughou of the 13tl of that re

days, unti

next day Lawrence was mortally wounded by the fragment of another shell, which burst in the same room exactly at the same spot. Lawrence lingered in great agony till the morning of the 4th July, when this most distinguished statesman and gallant soldier expired. The successful defence of the Residency was entirely owing to the foresight he displayed in the timely commencement of the necessary operations and to the great skill and untiring personal energy he exhibited in carrying them into effect. He was greatly beloved by the garrison, and his death had a most depressing effect.

The command of the garrison now devolved on Brigadier- General Inglis of the 32nd Regiment. The strength of this garrison on the Ist July was 927 Europeans and 765 faithful natives ; the forces of the mutineers at that time was about 7,000 men belonging to the revolted native regiments, but it is impossible to say to what extent the numbers of this body was augmented by the mass of irregular insurgents and plunderers who attached themselves to its fortunes.

The defence of the Residency was a most marvellous resistance of a few brave men against the overwhelming numbers and bloodthirsty fanaticism of thousands, yet this handful of heroes succeeded in keeping at bay all the mutinous hordes of Oudh for eighty-seven days, until the arrival of reinforcements under Havelock and Out- ram. It is little short of marvellous that this insignificant British garrison should have held its own in face of such terrific odds. They did so, however, and notwithstanding perpetual assaults, heavy gun-fire at close range, and mining operations, the enemy were unable to penetrate the entrenchments, or to carry a single post of the defenders.

One of the most exposed and important posts in the defence was that of the Baillie Guard, adjacent to which lay the Treasury. This fact was well known to the mutineers, who made frequent desperate efforts to storm the place. The Baillie Guard was bel$ throughout the entire siege by a band of faithful native Sepoys of the 13th Regiment of Native Infantry, under Lieutenant Aitken of that reginlent, whose coolness and daring were proverbial, and

o

106 LUCKNOW

who afterwards received the Victoria Cross for repeated acts of gallantry during the defence of the Residency. A yet more exposed position was the hospital, which lay between the Baillie Guard and the Residency. Shot and shell crashed into it from all sides : the upper story was soon completely destroyed and the wounded were removed to the basement. Even there they were not safe, and many wounded men were shot in their beds. There was, in fact, no spot in the entire defences where a dying man or any woman or child was free from danger. In addition to shot and shell, cholera and smallpox took a heavy toll of the devoted garrison.

* It is not possible to deal with all the details of the immortal defence of the Residency. In it soldiers, civilians and natives vied with one another to uphold the British flag. Delicate women shared ail the dangers and privations of the humblest soldier. Many women and children died from lack of the barest necessaries of life ; more than one infant was shot in its mother’s arms, and more than one woman fell a victim to the bullet of the enemy. Rescue indeed came at last, but death had been busy. Half the small garrison had fallen before the cheers of Havelock’s relief column told the harassed and war-worn defenders that succour had come and that the Residency was saved.

One cannot do better than quote from Outram’s dispatch on this magnificent defence. After commenting on the bravery,

fortitude, vigil- ance, and pati- ent endurance of hardships, privation and f a t i g u e displayed by the garrison, Sir James Outram added : I ‘ The

B term ‘ illustri- ous ’ was well

LUCKNOW 107

1 acts of e exposed ie Guard all sides : wuunded not safe, 3 was, in y woma11 nd shell, arrison , rnmortal natives

: women Many

aries of Id more Rescue 4 smdl 20lumIl l come

patch tvery, vigil- pati- rance ;hips,

and dis-

T the Sir

tram ' The Etri- Well

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and happily applied by a former Governor-General of India to the garrison of Jelalabad ; but some far more laudatory epithet is due, the Major-General considers, to the brave men whom Brigadier Inglis has commanded with undeviating success and untarnished honour through the memorable siege. The Lucknow garrison, of inferior strength, have, in addition t o a series of fierce assaults gallantly and successfully repulsed, been for three months exposed to a nearly incessant fire from strong and commanding positions, held by an enemy of overwhelming force, possessing powerful artillery, having at their command the whole resources of what was but recently a kingdom, and animated by an insane and bloodthirsty fanaticism."

FIRST RELIEF OF THE RESIDENCY, Z ~ T H SEPTEMBER, 1857 As soon as the enormous gravity of the Indian Mutiny was

realized, the Government of India was faced with the difficult problem of effecting the relief of the beleaguered garrisons at Luck- now and Cawnpore, where large numbers of women and children were surrounded by the ferocious mutineers, and in deadly peril. It was well known that at both places the garrisons were far too small and the defences totally inadequate. Colonel Henry Have- lock, who had recently commanded a brigade in the Persian campaign and who had seen an immense amount of service in India, was selected for the command of a force to relieve both these places. The force allotted to him, however, was far too weak for the purpose, only numbering altogether some 1,400 men, Havelock marched on Cawnpore, but arrived there too late to avert the terrible massacre at that place of women and children by that bloodstained monster Nana Sahib. He made two attempts to relieve Lucknow, in July and August, but his force was all too small, and at last, weakened

~ by losses in action and by disease he was compelled to halt at Cawn- pore for reinforcements. These reached him in September, but with the reinforcements came the unwelcome intelligence that he had been superseded by Sir James Outram, who was appointed Chief Commissioner of Oudh with supreme command of all the troops in that province.

108 LUCKNOW

Outram arrived at Cawnpore on the 15th September, and on the following morning published his famous order, so full of self-abnegating chivalry worthy of the ‘ I Bayard of India,” in which he waived his supreme military rank and left the command in the hands of Havelock until the relief of Lucknow had been accomplished, and announced his intention to serve as a volunteer with the relieving force until Lucknow had been entered.

The little army which Havelock commanded; and with which Outram rode as a volunteer, numbered 3,179 soldiers all told, and was composed as follows : the Ist Infantry Brigade consisting of the Ist Madras Fusiliers (now 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusi- liers), the 5th Fusiliers, and the 84th Regiment, with two companies of the 64th Regiment, was commanded by Brigadier- General Neill of the Ist Madras Fusiliers ; the and Infantry Brigade consisted of the 78th Highlanders, the goth Light Infantry and Brasyer’s Sikhs, and was commanded by Brigadier-General Harnil- ton of the 78th ; the artillery consisted of two light field batteries commanded by Captains Maude and Olpherts respectively, and a battery of 18-pounders under Major Eyre. To Captain Barrow was assigned the command of the cavalry, which consisted of 59 loyal natives of the 12th Irregular Cavalry, under Lieutenant Johnson, and rog Volunteer Cavalry made up of officers whose regiments had mutinied, indigo planters, refugee tradesmen, etc.

A bridge of boats having been thrown across* the Ganges, of the 19th September the relieving column commenced to cross over it to the Oudh bank of the river, from which the enemy was driven after a feeble resistance. By the following day the whole force had completed its crossing, and prepared for the advance on Luck- now, which lay only forty-five miles distant. The rainy season was not yet over, and for three days our men had to march through a flooded country in a torrential downpour of rain. On the morning of the I;zIst they had only marched five miles from camp when the enemy was seen in great force, with twelve guns, about the village of Mangalwar. Havelock sent part of his force to the left to turn the enemy’s right, this movement being promptly seconded by a

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LUCKNOW

dashing charge of Barrow's Volunteers, foremost among whom was Sir James " Outrarn, armed with a thick malacca stick. To quote from Forrest's History of the h d i a q z Mzdiny : A turn in the road disclosed right ahead a dense body of rallied rebels. ' Close up and take order,' shouted Barrow, and in a word they plunged forward and rode into the mass, sabring right and left, Outram's malacca in full play. Pursued and pursuers rolled pell-mell along the road to Bashiratgunj. Two guns behind an entrenchment barred the way. Barrow, his men following him, rushed the earth- work and over it, cut down the gunners and captured the guns. The rebels were pursued and sabred through the town till the great seraí beyond was reached. A hundred and twenty killed, two

I IO LUCKNOW

guns and the regimental colours of the Ist Bengal Native Infantry captured, attested the vigour of the pursuit."

This pursuit was relentlessly continued for eight miles, the enemy being given no time to destroy the bridge over the Sai, and that night the relieving column bivouacked a little beyond Bashirat- gunj. On the morning of the zznd, in drenching rain, Havelock's force crossed the Sai, meeting with no opposition, and towards the end of the march the dull thunder of the guns in Lucknow broke upon the ears of the advancing soldiers and put fresh life into them. By noon on the 23rd the column had marched over ten miles without opposition, and the soldiers, eager for the fight, began to grumble at their disappointment. The day was, however, not to close without some stern fighting, and shortly afterwards the force came in sight of the Alum-Bagh, a large enclosure on the road some two miles from the suburbs of the city of Lucknow and four miles short of the Residency. There the enemy, about 12,ooo strong, was drawn up to block the way, their left resting on the Alum-Bagh, and their right protected by a swamp.

Havelock's dispositions were quickly made. The Ist Brigade, with Eyre's heavy battery, was halted on the road to pound the enemy and the Alum-Bagh in front, while the 2nd Brigade was moved along the swampy ground to the left, to attack the enemy's flank and to roll it up ; Olpherts with his battery was sent to cover the movements of this brigade. At a headlong gallop, with some volunteer cavalry in front of it, the battery dashed past: the halted 1st Brigade, which cheered loudly as the guns swept by. A deep trench full of water was galloped through with no abatement: of speed, and as they scrambled out '' Hell-fire Jack " and his equally dare-devil battery again advanced at a hand gallop, then halted and opened a destructive fire on the enemy's right. Outflanked on their right, the mutineers began to break. One of their guns, however, still continued a hot fire, which bowled over several of Johnson's Irregulars. With a dozen troopers at his back, this intrepid officer galloped up the road, straight at the gun, sabred the gunners and pitched the gun and ammunition into the ditch,

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THE MEETING OF SIR COLIN CAMPBELL AND GENERAL OUTRAM Rellef of Lucknow

and then body.

The 5th Fusil' a ringing in throui Highland and HigI onslaugh the muti The purs Olpherts' House, c rnnning

The to a full desperat( and Out1 it was sir and amn the guar from the of the y8

E ar15 advance, deadly er numbers, Char Bag work, am execution stern the rush : th( neted th( column i Havelock

LUCKNOW III

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and then cantered quietly back till he met the advancing main body.

The enemy still dung obstinately to the Alum-Ba&, and the 5th Fusiliers were ordered to silence and clear the enclosure, With a ringing cheer the Fighting Fifth stormed the wall and swarmed in through the embrasures, meeting inside a company of the 78th Highlanders, who had also forced their way in. Northurnbrians and Highlanders vied with one another in the fierceness of their onslaught, and after ten minutes of desperate fighting not one of the mutineers remained alive within the walls of the Alum-Bagh. The pursuit of the routed rebels was taken up by our cavalry and Olpherts’ guns, and continued up to a building called the Yellow House, close to the Char Bagh bridge which spanned the canal running round the south of Lucknow t o the Goomtee River.

The following day, the z4th, Havelock determined to devote .to a full day’s rest for his weary men, and to preparation for the desperate and final struggle against overwhelming odds. Havelock and Outram discussed and planned the route to be followed, and it was arranged that the sick and Wounded, with the baggage, food and ammunition reserve should be left at the Alum-Bagh under the guard of about 300 European troops, mostly. footsore men from the different regiments, and commanded by Major MIntyre of the 78th Highlanders.

Early on the morning of the zSth, the relief column began its advance, and it was not long before the fighting commenced in deadly earnest. The enemy, confident in their overwhelming numbers, trusted to the resistance they intended to make at the Char Bagh bridge, where they had placed six guns behind a breastwork, and alJ. crammed to the muzzle with grape. These did fearful execution as our men came on, but undaunted, grim, resolute and stern the Madras Fusiliers broke over the bridge in a headlong rush : they cleared the breastwork, stormed the battery and bayoneted the Sepoy gunners where they stood. This charge won the column its thoroughfare over the canal. Pursuing his advantage Havelock dashed across the bridge with the fiery 78th and goth,

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I I 2 LUCKNOW

fighting every inch of ground amidst a hail of fire from houses, walls and gardens. They spiked the guns and hurled them into the canal. The mutineers, expecting the advance of the relief column would be made by the most direct route through the city to the Residency, had studded that road with guns, barricades, trenches and obstacles of all kinds. Havelock, fortunately, took another route skirting the northern bank of the canal and by way of the stately palaces on the river side.

Now began the crowning struggle of that eventful day. Day- light had commenced to wane, and after many hours of fierce fighting, 500 yards of streets still lay between our foremost troops and the Residency. In spite of the danger of the road, Havelock decided to push on wîthout delay. The final advance was headed by the 78th Highlanders and Brasyer’s Sikhs, who now formed the head of the column. Then from side streets, from the front and from the balconies and tops of houses a constant stream of bullets poured upon our men, who pushed doggedly forward, furious at their inability to retaliate. This cruel ordeal was unflinchingly endured until, at last, the battered arch of the Baillie Guard came in sight, and then with exultant hurrahs the Highlanders and Sikhs, headed by Outram and Havelock, raced through the gateway, amidst the cheers of the garrison. ‘ I It was a sight never to be forgotten,” wrote an eyewitness, l ‘ to see the handshaking and welcomes between the relievers and the relieved. Hirsute Sikhs and brawny High- landers were seen taking up the children in their arms and kissing them.” ‘‘ Big, rough-bearded soldiers,” says another account, “ were seizing the little children out of our arms, kissing them wîth tears rolling down their cheeks, and thanking God that they had come in time to save them from the fate of those at Cawnpore.”

Thus after a siege of eighty-seven days, endured with heroic fortitude, the Lucknow garrison was saved by the magnificent courage of a small body .of determined men who stormed every obstacle and fought their heroic way through every barrier between them and the goal of their desires. Although it was not strictly speaking a relief, but rather a reinforcement of the garrison, still

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it rescued the defenders from a position of imminent peril and from a fate it i s impossible to contemplate without a shudder. The total loss of Havelock’s force during the relief operations was 535 officers and men, out of which the 78th Highlanders lost 126~

Sir James Outrarn now assumed the command, and finding it quite impossible to withdraw in safety from the Residency, he proceeded to organize his forces and the defences. A garrison was established at the Alum-Ba&, and a practically second defence of the Residency commenced. During this defence the old position was never seriously attacked, even by mines. Provisions were plentiful, and some communication was opened with those outside. The practical safety of the garrison was secure, and all anxiety as to any successful attack by the enemy at an end. All that remained to Outrarn was to continue the defence until the expected relief of Sir Colin C a m p b e l l could arrive.

SECOND RELIEF OF THE RESI-

NOVEMBER, 1857 As soon

as Delhi had fallen i n t o our hla n d s a m i x e d c o l u m n ,

DENCY, IYTH

P

i 114 LUCKNOW

amounting to about 2,800 men, under Colonel Greathed of the- 8th Regiment, was dispatched in pursuit of the defeated rebels, towards Agra. This force consisted of two troops of horse and

. une battery of field artillery, the 8th and 75th Regiments, four squadrons of loyal native cavalry, and two regiments of Punjab infantry. Failing to overtake the main body of fugitives, Great- hed pushed on to Agra by forced marches, and there routed the enemy with heavy slaughter, and captured thirteen guns. During the short halt at Agra, General Hope Grant arrived in camp, wìth some 300 British soldiers, and took over the command of the column. He at once started for Cawnpore, where he arrived on the 26th October, and four days later, having been reinforced by a wing of the 93rd Highlanders and some infantry detachments, he crossed the Ganges into Oudh.

The relief of the Residency at Lucknow was now the principal objective, and Hope Grant moved towards that city. Having been strictly enjoined by Sir Colin Campbell, the new Commander- ín-Chief in India, to refrain from any serious operations until his arrival, Grant halted at Buntera, six miles short of the Alum-Ba&, and established comlnunications with the garrison of the latter place. On the 9th November, Sir Colin Campbell reached the camp at Buntera, placed Hope Grant in divisional command, and reserved to himself the general superintendence of the forthcoming operations.

During the halt at Buntera the brave Kavanagh carne into the camp from the Residency with dispatches and plans of Luck- now. This intrepid civilian had made his way through the hostile

after enduring the most terrible hardships and undergoing severa1 hairbreadth escapes. He himself describes his interview with the Commander-in-Che3 : ‘ I As I approached the door of the tent an elderly gentleman with a stern face came out, and going UP to him, 1 asked for Sir Colin Campbell. c I am Sir Colin Campbell,’ was the sharp reply, ‘ and who are you ? ’ X pulled off my turban and opening the folds took out a short note of introduction from

* lines in the disguise of a native, and succeeded in his enterprise

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Sir James Outram." This splendid feat of gallantry of incalculable service was rewarded with the Victoria Cross, the first that was conferred on a civilian.

With the information brought by Kavanagh, Sir Colin was able to finally determine his plan of operations. These were briefly as follows : to skirt the city to the right from the Alum-Bagh t o the Dilkoosha, on the Goomtee River ; t o follow the right bank of the Goomtee, seizing the barracks and the Secundra-Bagh ; to carry the Kaiser-Bagh and remaining buildings ; and after effecting a juncture with the Residency, to withdraw the garrison. No more difficult and delicate operation was ever faced by a commander, With a total force of about 4,500 men of all arms he had to rescue the garrison of the Lucknow Residency frQm the clutches of some 50,000 trained mutineers, occupying strong positions.

Leaving his baggage at the Alum-Bagh, under charge of the 75th Regiment, Campbell began his flank march towards the Dil- koosha at daybreak on the 14th November. His force consisted of Captain Peel's Naval Brigade from the Shartmon, with six ~4-pounders, two 8-inch howitzers, and 500 rocket tubes, sixteen field guns, a light field and a mortar battery, and some native artillery guns, in all thirty-nine guns and howitzers, six mortars and two rocket tubes. The regiments accompanying him were the 93rd, part of the 53rd and goth, some detachments and portions of the 23rd and 82nd, and two weak Sikh regiments : in all about 4,500 men.

No opposition of importance was met with, and the Dilkoosha was occupied and the enemy driven towards the Martinihe. On the approach of the British the latter place was also evacuated by the rebels, and our headquarters established there. On the 15th the advance halted to allow the rearguard to close "p, and at daybreak on the 16th the relief force was again in motion.

The most perilous part of the enterprise had now to be faced. After leaving details necessary to hold the Ahm-Bagh, the Dil- koosha and the Martiniere, the relief force was reduced to scxw 3,000 bayonets. Nothing daunted, however, these gallant men continued their advance until within two miles of the Residency,

1x6 LUCKNOW

when the Secundra-Bagh became visible, from the loopholes of which, and from the adjacent huts, a heavy fire was opened on our men. The advance was checked and the moment was critical. Sir Colin, regardless of the fire, pushed to the front, and ordering up some

’ 18-pounders, began trying to batter a breach in the walls. While the 18-pounders were doing this work the infantry, lying down behind an embankment, were impatiently waiting for the order to attack. After an hour’s battering, a loud cheer announced that a breach had been made in the wall. In an instant British soldier and Indian Sikh leaped to their feet and raced for the wall, and a gallant contest took place between the 93rd and the 53rd Regi- ments and the 4th Punjab Rifles. ‘‘ It was,” writes an eyewitness, ‘‘ a glorious rush. On went in generous rivalry the turban of the Sikh and the dark plume of the Highlander. A native officer of Sikhs, waving his turban above his head, dashed on full five yards in front of his men. The Highlanders, determined not t o be left behind, strained every nerve and limb in the race. Their officers led like gallant gentlemen, shaking their broadswords in the air.”

The foremost man climbed in through the narrow breach ; the 53rd broke in through a window. The scene which then took place baffles all description : the enemy caught in a trap fought with the courage of despair, The slaughter was fearful and was effected with the bayonet alone. The curses and yells of the mutineers, and the fierce cries of the British soldiers, ‘( Remember the women and children ! Remember Cawnpore ! ” rang through the air. The conflict raged for hours, the carnage was appalling, for no mercy was shown : every man perished fighting to the last. When the enclosure and buildings were finally cleared of their ghastly contents, no fewer than z,ooo mutineers were found to have been slain.

Some distance beyond the Secundra-Bagh, and a little off the track along which the British were advancing towards the Resi- dency, was the Shah Nujeef, a great massively built mosque and tomb girdled by a high loopholed wall and surrounded by jungle and trees. Campbell brought up Peel with his Naval Brigade to make a breach in the walls. That brave sailor ran his guns up to within twenty

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which,

Colin, some

W h i l e down order Chat

Mier nd 8 iegi- ness, the

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yards of the building and opened fire, In the words of the Commander-in-Chief, I' It was an action almost unexampled in war. Captain Peel behaved very much as if he had been laying the Shartnolrt alongside an enemy's frigate." The W defence of the stronghold was most desperate, the enemy maintaining a severe and incessant musketry fire which shot down Peel's gunners as they toiled to load and discharge their guns. The attack lasted nearly three hours, but no impression was made on those massive walls.

Nightfall was coming on and retreat was not to be thought of. Campbell sent orders to Middleton's light battery to advance as close as possible to the Shah Nujeef and to try and silence its musketry with grape-shot, and. then riding up to the 43rd Highlanders he told them that he had not intended to employ them again that day, but that the place must be taken before night, at all costs, and he relied on his favourite regiment to take it with the bayonet, and that he himself would lead them: Middleton's battery came up with splendid dash, galloped through a storm of musketry fire to within pistol shot of the wall, and poured in round upon round of grape. Peel's gunners redoubled their efforts. With flashing eyes and glittering bayonets the magnificent Highlanders rolled forward in an eager wave, with brave Sir Colin riding at their head. The men fell thick and fast, but the regiment never checked till the wall was reached and there the Scotchmen were brought to a stand by the loopholed wall twenty feet high.

At this critical moment Sergeant Paton of the 93rd came running up with the joyful tidings that he had found a breach in the rampart of the building, near the river. Accompanied by a company of Highlanders, the sergeant made his way to the breach and

I x8 LUCKNOW

clambered in, followed by the remainder. The garrison, taken by surprise, at once bolted, the main gate was thrown open, and the Shah Nujeef was in our hands. Sergeant Paton afterwards received the Victoria Cross for this signal service. Enough had been done for one day and a quiet night followed a day of fierce fighting.

On the following day, the 17th November, the advance was continued, and position after position carried, the last obstacle being the old Mess House of the 3znd Regiment, a short distance from the Residency. In the early morning Peel’s guns were engaged in bombarding it, and at about three o’clock the place was finally attacked and carried by Captain Wolseley (afterwards Field- Marshal Viscount Wolseley) with a company of the goth, and a detachment of the 53rd led by Captain Hopkins. The latter i s described by Malleson as I r one of the bravest men who ever lived, a man who literally revelled in danger.”

As Wolseley’s men, flushed with success, followed their gallant leader in pursuit of the fugitives, Hopkins with the 53rd entered the Mess House. He had but just gained the place when Lieutenant Roberts (afterwards Field-Marshal Earl Roberts) galloped up with a regimental colour and requested Hopkins to assist him t o hoist it on one of the turrets, as a signal to the Residency that the place had been captured. Together they ascended the winding stairs, climbed on to the roof, and, giving three cheers, planted the colour on the roof. Three times was the colour shot down : they were about to hoist it again when an order came from the Commander- in-Chief for them to desist. The signal had been seen €rom the Residency and Outram and Havelock sallied out to join hands with Campbell’s relieving force. They occupied building after building, and at last, late in the afternoon, relievers and relieved clasped hands in front of the Mess House. Sir Colin Campbell had achieved his object at the cost of a loss of 45 officers and 496 men.

It still remained to withdraw the garrison, the sick and wounded and the women and children from‘ Lucknow. This was a most difficult and hazardous undertaking to carry out through the lines of a hostile force about six times as numerous as his own, but Sir

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LUCKNOW I 19

Colin Campbell accomplished it without a single casualty or the abandonment of a single gun, So secretly and well was it done that the enemy were quite unaware of the movement, and their guns were firing angrily on the Residency for four hours after the last British soldier had left it. One of the heroic defenders, alas ! died soon after he had been carried out of the place which he had relieved and held so gallantly. Havelock died of an attack of dysen- tery, brought on by his many anxieties and fatigues. His life quietly left him on the morning of November 24th, and he was buried the next morning in the Alum-Bagh, the place he had himself won when advancing to relieve Lucknow. l * So long as the memory of great deeds and high c o u r a g e and s p o t l e s s self-devotion is c h e r i s h e d a m o n g h i s countrymen, so long will Have- l o c k ’ s lonely grave beneath the scorching E a s t e r n sky, hard by the vast city, the scene alike of his toil, his triumph and his death, be regarded as one of the most holy of the countless spots w h e r e Britain’s patriot soldiers lie.”

i

PEIWAR KOTAL

2ND DECEMBER, 1878

THE fight at Peiwar Kotal was not a great battle, it was merely a very sharp action in the second Afghan War between the Kuram column of the British force under Major-General Frederick Roberts (afterwards Field-Marshal Earl Roberts) and the Afghan army. It is, nevertheless, worthy of description on account of the great difficulties which had to be surmounted and the stiff nature of the hill-fighting.

The Afghans were drawn up behind a strongly entrenched position on the summit of the Peiwar Kotal, a pass at the entrance

F '

- .

PEIWAR KOTAL I21

of the Kumm route to Kabul. This position, after some days spent in reconnaissance by Roberts, was found to be capable of turning by a well-known but exceedingly difficult pass known as the Spin Gawai. Roberts determined to turn the Afghan position with the bulk of his force, consisting of 2,263 officers and men and eight guns, under Brigadier-General Thelwall, whilst to Brigadier- General Cobbe was entrusted the duty of protecting the camp, keeping open the communications and making a frontal attack : this latter force consisted of five guns and 1,051 men of all ranks. The Afghan army opposed to Roberts was estimated at about IO,OOO men, with whom was a well-equipped force of artillery.

Brigadier-General Thelwall's force was made up of the 29th Punjab Infantry, the 23rd Pioneers, No. I Mountain Battery and four guns of the Royal Horse Artillery on elephants, Brigadier- General Cobbe had under his command the 5th Punjab Infantry, the 2nd Battalion 8th Regiment, two guns of the Royal Horse Artillery, three guns of the Royal Artillery, and the 12th Bengal Cavalry.

At ten o'clock on the night of the Ist December, the troops selected for the turning movement: started, accompanied by Roberts. During the first stage of the march the road was fairly good, yet the progress of the troops was slow, as the column was greatly hampered by the accompanying ammunition mules and hospital litters, and it was midnight before the edge of the ravine leading to the Spin Gawai was reached. There was no time to be lost if the Spin Gawai Kota1 was to be attacked at dawn, and the leading regiments, the 29th Punjab Infantry and the 5th Gurkhas, at once plunged into the ravine.

Here the progress became most difficult owing to the large boulders, slippery with frost, which had to be negotiated. The cold grew more and more intense, and the darkness deepening in the thickly wooded ravine, it was no easy matter for the different regiments to keep in touch with one another. Regiments lost their way and had t o be overtaken and brought back. Still, progress was maintained, but it was, necessarily, very slow. In deep silence

Q

122 PEIWAR KOTAL

the men plodded along, climbing over ridges of rocks, stumbling over boulders and splashing through icy-cold water.

Suddenly, some distance ahead, two rifle reports rang out : they came from the head of the column and were fired from the ranks of the 29th Punjab Infantry. This regiment consisted largely of Pathans, and there is no doubt that the shots were de- liberately fired in order to warn their kinsmen, the Afghans, of the approach of the British. It was impossible at the time to discover the culprits, but the order of the column was at once changed, and the 5th Gurkhas and a company of the 72nd High- landers took the place of the 29th at the head of the column.

At last the foot of the Spin Gawai Kota1 was reached. It was six o'clock, and, although day was at hand, the darkness, caused by the shadow of the pines, was still very deep. Grop- ing their way step by step the Gurkhas, led by Major FitzHugh and Captain Cook, came upon the lower of three breastworks, and were at once challenged by an Afghan sentry, who fired his rifle and gave the alarm. The Gurkhas and the company of the 7znd at once dashed forward, poured over the barricade, and desperate hand-to-hand fighting ensued. In a few minutes the defenders were forced to give way and fell back, eighty yards, on to their second stockade, hotly pursued by the Gurkhas and High- landers. The rest of the wing of the p n d now appeared, having gradually forced their way up to the fighting line, and the two regiments surged forward to the attack of the second barricade. There was not much delay there, for the fighting blood of the Highlanders and the Gurkhas was aflame. Pressing on ardently up the side as quickly as the ground would allow, the third and last defence was soon reached. The fighting there was most severe. Hand to hand, with clubbed riffes and with the bayonet, assailallts and defenders swayed to and fro, but the enemy were at length overpowered by the fierce pressure of our troops, and turned and fled, About forty dead Afghans in as many yards marked the stubborn- ness of the defence. The p n d and the Gurkhas had now reached the summit of the knoll, and with them was Roberts and his staff.

i'

mbling

STORMING THE HEIGHTS l'elw'll Kotnl

--------- -- -

r

PEIWAR KOTAL 123

There was still not much daylight, but there was enough t o show that the enemy were ip swarms about the knoll crowned by the British troops. Captain Kelso, with two guns, was ordered to take post to the right, in a battery vacated by the Afghans. As Kelso was advancing he was shot through the head and his guns disabled. The Highlanders, with ringing cheers, were driving the enemy before them up the slopes into the dark pine woods, the Gurkhas at the same time pushing impatiently on, when suddenly the Afghans turned, closed up, and made a determined charge on them downhill.

This movement was detected by the Assistant Adjutant- General, Major Galbraith, and he directed the attentions of the men nearest him to it, when an Afghan crept up and levelled his

% rifle at him. Galbraith attempted to shoot him with his pistol, but it missed fire. Captain Cook of the Gurkhas immediately leaped at the Afghan, closed with him. and threw him down, and Galbraith’s pistol being restored to order, he was able to shoot the man. Having rescued Galbraith, Cook turned his attention to the enemy. Putting himself at the head of about twenty of his men, he charged the Afghans boldly and drove them back at the point of the bayonet. For these acts of bravery Captain Cook was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross.

li; m s now about seven in the morning. The enemy, dis- heartened at the loss of their positions, abandoned their attacks, and were now streaming across the Spin Gawai plateau towards the Peiwar Kotal, harassed, as long as they were in range, by the fire of our mountain guns. At 7.30 Roberts signalled the news of the capture of the left of the Afghan position to Cobbe, and instructed him I ‘ to co-operate vigorously from below in attacking the Peiwar Kotal.”

Being unwilling to give the Afghans time to recover from their Severe shaking, Roberts decided not to wait for the arrival of the 2nd Punjab Idfantry, the ~ 3 r d Pioneers and the Elephant Bat- ter-, which were still far behind, but to press on to the storming of the Peiwar Kota1 with the troops he had with him : so after a

PEIWAR KOTAL

I . I , short inter-

val the tiny c o l u m n of a b o u t 1,250 men m a r c h e d fo r ward , w i t h t h e 29th Pun- j ab Infan- t r y o n c e more lead- i n g t h e way. The troops soon crossed the plateau and b e g a n t o climb the steep ascent of the peak towards the Peiwar KO- tal. Their

progress was impeded by dense jungle and forest, fallen trunks of trees, and rocks, but urged on by the intrepid Roberts, the 29th gradually worked their way upwards, and after two hours’ toilsome climbing found, when they had gained the summit, that there was not a connecting ridge between the two Kotals : a deep and rugged hollow lay between them, and opposite rose another steep hill, covered with dense woods, and alive with the enemy.

Roberts’ disappointment was intense, for, in addition t o the difficulties that lay in front of him, he found, to his bitter chagrin, that he and his staff were alone with the untrustworthy zgth,

j 0 men r c h e d W a r d, h the

i Pun- Xnfan-

lead- t h e The

d the u and n t o

the scent peak S the K O - heir nks the Urs’ nit ils : ‘ose the

u n c e

5 soon

t

I

I

i

I I

PEIWAR KUTAL, “ 5

and that Highlanders, Gurkhas, and guns had all disappeared, having lost their way in the ascent.

This was indeed a situation of great and pressing danger, but Roberts’ indomitable courage and resolution never faltered for an instant. Instead of attempting, as most men would have been tempted to do, to withdraw, with imperturbable coolness he stuck to the summit of the hill and dispatched staff officers in every direction in search of the missing regiments and guns. It was all in vain, they could not be found. At last, determining t o remain no longer idle, Roberts turned to the 29th and exhorted them to seize the opportunity to retrieve the honour they had lost the previous night. Only the loyal Sikh companies of the regiment responded to this appeal, the Pathan companies remaining sullen and silent. Taking the Sikhs with him, Roberts led them down the hill t o reconnoitre, but the result only showed that the mountain in front formed an almost impenetrable obstacle to the advance of troops in that direction, and the whole party returned to the crest, where, to Roberts’ relief and joy, he found not only the Highlanders, Gurkhas, and mountain guns, but also the and Punjab Infantry and the 23rd Pioneers, the Elephant Battery being close behind.

Leaving the 2nd Punjab Infantry to keep the position on the hill, Roberts now decided to descend the Spin Gawai and to attempt, through the defile, t o threaten the enemy’s rear. Here commenced the third movement of the day the success of which, in conjunction with Cobbe’s frontal attack, completed the discomfiture of the enemy, and we must now turn our attention to the doings of those troops detailed for the attack on the Peiwar Kotal.

At 5 a.m. on the morning of the and December, Cobbe moved out of camp. The horse artillery and three field guns, escorted by a company of the 8th Regiment, took up a position about a mile higher up the valley, and the remainder of the &h, and the 5th Punjab Infantry were placed over on the right in front of the guns. After an artillery duel, which lasted for three hours, two of the enemy’s guns were silenced. Cobbe in the meantime was

126 PEIWAR KOTAL

L. signalled by R o b e r t s t o make a further advance and co-operate with him. c‘Thereupon,’’ says the Offi- cial History of the Second Afghan War, “ a ridge 300 yards nearer the enemy’s position was r a p i d l y se- cured by two companies of the 8th Foot,

under Lieutenant-Colonel E. Tanner, and by the 5th Punjab infantry, under Major McQueen.” The infantry then continued their advance from ridge to ridge, under a hot fire, until the 8th reached a point not more than 1,400 yards from the top of the pass. Here they were exposed not only to direct but to enfilade fire, and it was here that the chief losses of the day occurred. Several men were killed and wounded, and Brigadier-General Cobbe himself received a bullet in the thigh, which obliged him to give over the command to Colonel Berry Drew. The 8th remained quite un- shaken by the heavy fire to which they were exposed. The force under Drew was a small one, and the position critical in the presence of a strongly entrenched enemy. Drew, however, did not hesitate to lead his gallant men forward, and after laborious climbing they gained a crest within 800 yards of the Kotal, and picked off the Afghan gunners with their rifles. The latter stood bravely to their guns, and many were killed before they abandoned them.

~ PEIWAR KOTAL 127

. J I

, c

In the meantime Roberts’ turning movement began to attract the attention of the Afghans on the Peiwar Kotal, and finding their front under the fire of Drew’s rifles and guns, and their rear threatened by Roberts’ new turning movement, they began to withdraw hastily from their positions, and this retirement soon degenerated into a panic-stricken flight. Drew now decided to storm the Kotal, and ordered the guns and the 12th Bengal Lancers to support his advance.

The ridge occupied by the 8th was separated from the road leading to the pass by two deep ravines with precipitous sides. VVhilst crossing these, and until it reached the road, the regiment was subjected to a dropping fire. Under the shelter of the shoulder of a projecting hill the regiment was rapidly formed up for a final rush LIP the steep, rugged road leading to the summit of the pass, and it then dashed forward and gained it. There not a single Afghan was to be seen : they had evidently fled with the utmost precipitation, for they left behind them their guns, their camp equipage, and a large quantity of ammunition.

The 12th Bengal Cavalry, under Colonel Hugh Gouglz, was immediately dispatched in pursuit. Several additional guns were captured, which had been abandoned on the road, but every Afghan escaped to the mountains where they could not be followed. The victorious soldiers bivouacked for the night on the positions they had won with such gallantry and determination, at a total loss of ninety killed and wounded.

“ Roberts,” says Sir G. W. Forrest in his Life of that splendid soldier and best-beloved of commanders, “ had every reason to be thoroughly content with the day’s work. At Peiwar Kotal he first gave a signal illustration of that intuitive perception which distinguishes the greatest generals. He saw that the Kota1 must be captured. A front attack might lead t o disaster ; it certainly must lead to heavy loss of li%e, He made the most thorough reconnaissance of the country, and by intuition he decided on the best course to follow. In following it he took the legitimate risk which every general must take who wishes to win a complete victory.”

BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR

3

I ~ T H SEPTEMBER, 1882

IN the year 1882, Egypt, which was nominally a province of the Turkish Empire, was in a state of revolution owing to chronic misgovernment. The military party, under Arabi Pasha, assumed supreme power, and an organized attack on all Christians in the country took place. The situation became so critical that it was considered necessary to send the fleets of the Allied Powers to Alexandria, and at last, after a massacre in that city by an Arab mob, on the morning of the 11th July the British fleet bombarded the forts and, after silencing them, sent landing parties ashore to restore order. On the 13th July, two battalions from Malta, the Ist Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment and the 3rd Battalion

i

rince of the to chronic .a, assumed ians in the that it was

Powers to by an Arab bombarded x ties ashore from Malta, ;rd Battalion

BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBLR 129

King’s Royal Rifles, reached Alexandria, and were the first British regiments to land in Egypt to reinforce the sailors and marines,

The British Government now decided to employ armed force to uphold the authority of Tewfik, the Khedive of Egypt, and an Expeditionary Force, under command of General Sir Garnet Wolseley, was organized for that purpose.

The Egyptian Army had thrown off all allegiance to the Khedive, and under Arabi had taken up a strong position at Tel- el-Kebir astride the railway and barring the way to Cairo. Sir Garnet, on landing at Alexandria, took immediate steps to secure the safe passage of the Suez Canal, and, on the zrst August, landed the bulk of his force at Ismailia, half-way between Port Said and Suez. After one or two minor actions at Kassassin a d Tel-el- Mahut a, Wolseley advanced on Tel-el-Kebir .

Arabi’s position at Tel-el-Kebir lay at right angles to the railway and the Sweet Water Canal, It was about four miles in length, and was covered by a long line of solid entrenchments, bound with wattles, was flanked by powerful redoubts, and was held by a force about 30,000 strong, with 75 guns, After reconnoitring both sides of the Egyptian position on the 11th and 12th Sep- tember, Sir Garnet arrived at the conclusion that such a formidable place could not be attacked in the daylight without very heavy loss, and he therefore determined to attempt the hazardous task of approaching close to the position by a long night’s march, so as to be able to storm the entrenchments at dawn.

The force that Wolseley had was disposed in the following order : The Cavalry Brigade, under Major-General Drury Lowe,

marched on the extreme right. Their orders were to sweep round the northern extremity of the enemy’s works after the latter had been captured, and to charge the broken masses as they endeavoured t o escape. Next to the cavalry, and forming the right of the infantry, was the 1st Division with the 2nd Brigade in the first line, and supported by the Brigade of Guards. Next to the 2nd Brigade were massed 42 guns, under Brigadier-Genera! Goodenough. Then carne the 2nd Division, with the splendid

R

1 30 BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR

Highland Brigade leading, and supported by the 4th Brigade. Across the canal, along which moved the Naval Brigade of 214 men with six gatlings, marched the Indian contingent, who received orders to advance an hour after the leading brigades, owing t o the number of villages in the cultivated land south of the canal, from which the alarm might .be given to the enemy.

The distance from the British camp to the lines of Tel-el- Kebir was about 7+ miles, with no landmarks t o serve as guides over the trackless desert. Lieutenant Wyatt Rawson, of the Royal Navy, was therefore selected, owing to his knowledge of the stars, to pilot the force, and led the Highland Brigade. This gallant sailor was among the first into the enemy’s works and fell mortally wounded.

At 6.15 on the evening of the 12th September all tents were struck, all bugle and trumpet sounds forbidden, and an hour later, when darkness had fallen, the troops moved out in perfect order and took up the positions assigned to them on a range of sandhills about two miles from camp, in which the fires were left burning. The men were then halted, and threw themselves down on the sand to snatch a few brief hours of sleep. No fires were permitted, smoking was forbidden, and strict silence was ordered to be maintained throughout the operations of the night.

The march on Tel-el-Kebir commenced at one o’clock on the morning of the 13th September. The monotonous, muffled tramp of the dark moving masses through the desert sand, the faintly gleaming stars and the deep silence, only broken by occasional clatter of steel scabbard or the chain of gun-carriage, had a ghostly and deeply impressive effect. As the night advanced the troops were occasionally halted to enable the regiments to maintain touch and cohesion. At 4 a.m., when dawn was at hand, the final halt was made, about 800 yards from the enemy’s lines, to enable the fighting line t o be perfected before the final rush at the enemy.

Deep silence brooded over the Egyptian desert. Suddenly, just as the stars commenced to pale, a few shots were heard, followed by the sound of a bugle, from the enemy’s lines. In a minute

l

Bsigade. .e of 214 nt, who es, owing he canal,

F Tel-el- 3 guides of the

2dge of

md fell I. This

STORMING T H E TRENCHES Battle of Tel-el-Kehr

or twl Generi ley, '' t extent entrer in 01

hit h e seen lcnow1 forth of si Ord l b e e r that j n g briga not t bayo order

can 1: I10 t silení the nlur( were our 1

brok t his the D on; to n

l

BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR 131

or two,” says General Ham- ley, ‘ < the whole extent of the e ntrenchrnents in our front, h i t h e r t o un- seen and unknown, poured forth a stream of rifle fire.” O r d e r s h a d b e e n g i v e n that the lead- i n g B r i t i s h brigades were

, u -

not to fire a shot, but were to carry the entrenchments with the bayonet. * Nothing could be finer than the manner in which these orders were carried out.

The attack began on the left, and no more splendid spectacle can be imagined than the advance of the Highland Brigade, who had not even loaded their rifles. Bayonets were at once fixed, and silently and swiftly the Highlanders moved steadily forward to the attack with levelled bayonets and in an unbroken line. So murderous was the fire with which they were met that zoo men were soon shot down. Not a word was spoken or a shot fired until our men were within 200 yards of the enemy, then a wild cheer broke from the Highlanders and, to the shrill music of their pipes, this magnificent body of men broke into double time, charged the enemy’s works and burst over them like a torrent. Private Donald Cameron, of the Cameron Highlanders, was the first man to mount the parapet and the second t o fall.

Their gallant commander thus describes the fighting of the Highland Brigade :

I never felt anything so solemn as that night march, nor

132 -BATTLE OF TEL-EL-ICEBIR

1 believe that anyone who was in it will ever forget it. No light but the faint star, no sound but the slow, measured tread of the men on the desert sand. Just as the first tinge of light appeared in the east a few rifle-shots fired out of the darkness showed that the enemy's outposts were reached. The sharp click of the bayonets then answered the word to fix '-a few minutes more of deep silence, and then a blaze of musketry flashed across our front and passed far away to each flank, by the light of which we saw the swarthy faces of the Egyptians, surmounted by their red tarbooshes, lining the dark rampart before us. A solitary bugle rang out, and with a cheer and with a bound that would have done your hearts good to see, the Highlanders rushed in one long wave upon the works. Then first one, and then a few, then more figures were dimly discerned reaching the summit and jump-

ing down behind it, and then the battle went raging into 'the space beyond.

While this be- fell on the centre and right of the brigade, the left- where the Highland Light Infantry were - h a d a m o r e c h e q u e r e d fight. They came upon a very strong redoubt. No front a t t a c k could succeed -the ditch was too deep and the ramparts too high. The men filing off to each

r / side endeavoured to ' ' I , p J n --

- t

I l s ,

BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR I 3 3

force a way in on the flanks ; and here a stern hand-to-hand fight, attended with heavy loss, ensued, which was not finished untif Sir Edward Hamley reinforced them by a part of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and some of the King’s Rifles. On the right of the brigade, also, the advance of the BIack Watch was arrested in order to detach some companies against a strong redoubt. Thus it came about that, from both the flank battalions #of the brigade being delayed, the charge straight to their front lof the Gordon and Cameron Highlanders in the centre caused these to become the apex of a wedge thrust into the enemy’s line.

(‘ Here, too, I must do justice to the Egyptian soldiers. I never saw men fight more steadily. Retiring up a line of works we had taken in flank, they rallied at every re-entering angle, at (every battery, at every redoubt, and renewed the fight, Four Gor five times we had to close upon them with the bayonet, and I saw these men fighting hard when their officers were flying, At this time it was a noble sight to see the Gordon and Cameron High- landers now mingled together in the confusion of the fight, their ,young officers leading with waving swords, their pipes screaming, .and that proud smile on their lips and that bright gleam in the eyes of the men which you only see in the hour of successful battle. At length the summit of the gentle slope we were *

ascending was reached, and we looked down upon the camp o f Arabi lying defenceless before us. The fight was won, for by this time our cavalry was circling round the rear of the Egyptian position, and the smoke and cheers upon our right showed where Graham’s noble brigade was working its victorious way.”

Equally gallant and successful was the 2nd Brigade of the xst Division under General Graham. This brigade came under an overwhelming fire of musketry and artillery when about 800 yards from the enemy. The regiments advanced by long rushes, the Royal Irish leading, who were the first corps over the trenches. Not less dashing was the advance of the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Royal Marines. The Egyptian infantry were forced over the parapet and the British leaped down after them. Thencommenced

I34 BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR

a h a n d - t o - h a n d f i g h t w i t h b u t t- ends of rifles, and bayonets. T h e E g y p - tians fell in scores and the trenches were s o o n f i l l e d w i t h t h e i r d e a d a n d dying.

The first l i ne o f t he Egyptian entrenchments and all the redoubts were now captured, and our men, cheering with enthusiasm, stormed u p

the slopes of the second line of entrenchments without hesitating for a second, won the parapets and bayoneted the gunners before they had time to escape. The enemy fled, followed by a withering fire from our men. From the moment that Alison's brigade on the left and Graham's on the right had burst through the inner line of redoubts, the resistance of the enemy practically ceased. In bewildered mobs they fled in disorderly retreat, relentlessly pursued by our cavalry, who gave them no rest.

Whilst these attacks were in progress the Inhan contingent and bluejackets had been carrying out their movement most successfully on the enemy's left. " They advanced steadily in

Q!

silence, J ' Highlanl reached, ported 1 6th Ber

el-Kebir attribut Macphe rzst and by the before

army o

be mac

orders approac up all

recannr 2,000 exhort4 reconni the sig off. T heads. were S au dot Our so many men er away. fightin

did goo(

Th1

( c

shortly

beginni

a hand-ta- hand f igh t w i t h b u t t -

l ends of rifites,

scores and the tren ches were s o o n filkcl w i t h t h e i r d e a d and dying.

The ht:

Egyptian entrenchments and d t he redoubts were now captured, a d our men, cheering with enthasiasnz, stormed up

bout hesitating gunners before

d by a Wither-

;t through tbe my practically *

.y retreat, re- 1 0 Test. . ian contingent Ivement most d steadily ah

Llison’s brigade

BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR I35

silence,” says Sir Garnet Wolseley in his dispatch, ‘(the Seaforth Highlanders leading, until an advanced battery of the enemy was reached, when it was gallantly stormed by the Highlanders, supported by the native infantry battalions. The squadron of the 6th Bengal Cavalry, attached temporarily to General Macpherson, did good service in pursuing the enemy through the village of Tel- el-Kebir. The Indian contingent scarcely lost a man, which I attribute to the excellent arrangements made by Major-General Macpherson, and t o the fact that starting an hour later than the 1st and 2nd Divisions the resistance of the enemy was so shaken by the earlier attacks north of the canal that he soon gave way before the impetuous onslaught of the Sesforth Highlanders.”

The following is an account given by an officer of Arabi’s army of the battle of Tel-el-Kebir : *

c c On the 12th we were informed that a general attack would be made that night. We were all under arms and at our posts shortly after sunset. During the night scouts were sent out with orders to fire in the air as a signal if any body of troops was approaching. They three times reported all quiet. We had given up all expectations of attack : we were tired, and the officers were beginning to lie down, when three scouts were sent out as a last reconnaissance. We had expected the attack would begin at 2,000 yards. Our guns were sighted for this range. Arabi exhorted his officers to wait ten minutes for the result of this last reconnaissance, but hardly had he left the camp when they heard the signal. Instead of 2,000 yards, they must have been zoo yards off. We fired, but most of our shots must have gone over their heads. Almost at the same moment, it seemed so quick, they were scrambling over us-first over our right, then rolling- over all down the line like a wave. We never expected war like this. Our soldiers stood fire a t a distance very well. On the 5th August many were killed, and they were not afraid of shells ; but these men came close up to us, and the only way to save life was to run away. The native soldier has neAer exercised this close way of fighting. No soldiers but the English could fight like that.”

136 BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR

Thus ended the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, which was practically won by the infantry alone. Never was victory more complete o r decisive. Arabi's rebellion had collapsed at the first attack of the British, and Egypt lay at the mercy of the victors. Wolseley lost no time in reaping the full fruits of his victory. As soon as he was in possession of the enemy's works, he ordered his cavalry to continue the pursuit, and to push on swiftly to Cairo, in order to save that city from destruction and from the looting of Arabi's followers. The Indian contingent was to hasten to Zagazig, to occupy it, and seize the railways. Both enterprises were successfully accomplished.

The British losses were 57 killed, about 380 wounded, and 22 missing. The Egyptians lost altogether about 3,000 men.

Il ”’

I

q 38 BATTLE OF OhIDURMAN

.perfecting of his plans for the next and final stage of the campaip. The railway was pushed on, more gunboats were brought up, the artiflery was strengthened by additional howitzers and two siege guns, and finally a second British brigade was sent out from England t o take part in the great battle before Khartoum.

About the middle of August the whole of this army, consisting of one British and one Khedivial division, got under way and advanced towards Qmdurman, supported throughout its advance by the gunboat flotilla, which now consisted of ten steamers, and on tlze 1st September -encamped about six miles from that place, threw up a strong breastwork or zariba, and bivouacked for the night. Thinking the Dervishes might contemplate a night attack, the Sírdar employed a ruse t o dissuade them from it. He sent spies, who were t o profess themselves deserters from us, t o inform the Khalifa that we intended to make a night attack on the Dervishes. This ruse succeeded, and the Khalifa missed his opportunity.

The whole of our force stood to their arms half an hour before daybreak on the and September. Cavalry pickets were sent out t o locate the enemy and to discover his intentions. At 5.30 a.m. the gunboats and howitzers commenced a bombardment of Omdur- man. This bombardment had barely begun when the cavalry pickets came galloping into the camp with the welcome news thzt the enemy was advancing in force, ancl the British and Khe- divial troops formed up in double ranks behind the zariba.

About 6 a.m. the vast hordes of the Dervishes,- numbering some 50,000 men, came into view, advancing from the Jebel Surgar-n and moving across our front. Their numbers appeared countless, and extended, from east t o west, about three miles. On they swept like an avalanche in good order and without flurry. Wit11 waving banners, brandishing big-bladed spears and large two-edged swords, shouting their loud, fierce, fanatical war-cries, with their Emirs and chiefs riding in front, they moved rapidly towards the Srdar's forces. There were five great divisions of this huge host, the positions of the pea t chiefs being easily distinguishable by their banners, the Khalifa's large black flag being in the right

i

centre. tribes of and dm every m'

A i when th banners British fire, a n d column2 and sti ground of thek still ca renewec rifles t sought vishes 1 of men slaught

Th of the 1 out Wí exactlJ they c volley k g , orderec withou could yards fire. ' was cl: for a 1

a fold

l '

' I ,

BATTLE OF OMDURMAN '39

centre. This vast multitude consisted of the flower of the fighting tribes of the Sudan and were all picked for their courage, strength and devotion : fearless of danger, and contemptuous of death, every man carried with him into the fight the conviction of victory.

A great shout of exultation rose from the Dervish legions when they saw before them the Sirdar's small army : with swaying banners and flashing steel they broke into a run to close upon it, British and Kbedivial troops rose to their feet ; the guns opened fire, and a hail of iron and lead rained upon the enemy's advancing columns. Hundreds of Dervishes were slain at the first discharge, and still the guns continued their remorseless pounding. The ground was strewn with their dead and dying, but utterly regardless of their €rightful losses, the Dervishes still carne on unflinchingly and with renewed energy. Guns, Maxims and rifles blazed into the enemy as they sought t o charge home, still the Der- vishes got nearer : wave followed wave of men, the fight was terrible and the slaughter dreadful.

The fire discipline of the British throughout was s p l e n d i d : exactly as on parade they c h a n g e d from volley to independent ' - firing, as m i g h t be ordered, c o o 11 y and without hurry; nothing - could live within 300 yards of their deadly fire. The Dervish rush was checked, but only for a tirne : there was - - a fold in the ground

14.0 BATTLE OF OMDURMAN

about 400 yards distant from the British front, and here the enemy took cover and opened fire.

The Dervishes now tried t o cut off Broadwood and his cavalry, on the Kerreri Hills, but he kept leading them farther and farther north, thus preventing them from joining in the main attack on the Zariba, At about 8.15 a.m. this main attack failed, the Dervishes began to give way and suddenly fled to the shelter of the Jebel Surgam. The Dervishes were now split up into two large groups, the larger one under the Khalifa behind the Jebel Surgam, and the other out of sight behind the Kerreri Hills.

The Sirdar now judged that the moment had arrived to assume the offensive. He, therefore, decided to march t o Omdurman as rapidly as possible, and his force issued from the zariba and moved forward in echelons of brigades from the left. Macdonald’s mixed Egyptian and Sudanese brigade, being on the extreme right and the outside one of the echelon, had the farthest &o go, and was consequently left a mile behind the remainder of the force.

The zrst Lancers were trotting on ahead, with scouts in front and on the flank, when, somewhat t o the rear of the Jebel Surgam, they came, as they thought, on a body of about 300 Dervishes. Colonel Martin at once gave the order to wheel into line and charge. Knee t o knee the Lancers swept on until they were about 200 yards from the enemy, and then suddenly they saw the trap into which they had fallen. Between them and the 300 Dervishes there suddenly yawned a deep ravine filled with about 2,000 of the fierce foe. Led by their gallant Colonel, down a three-foot drop went the IzIst. Cutting, thrusting, shooting with revolvers, the regiment struggled through the surging mass of the enemy, and up the bank on the other side. The Dervishes fought desperately, and tried t o ham- string the horses and cut reins and stirrup leathers. The hand- to-hand fighting on the farther side of the ravine lasted for about a minute, then the horses got once more into their stride and the zIst drew away from the enemy and halted some zoo yards from them. The men were most anxious to charge back again, but the Colonel wisely forbade them, and made them dismount and open fire with

RMAN

h front, and here the cncny

Broadwood and his cavalry, leading them farther and n joining in the main attack his main attack failed, the lenly fled to the shelter t l i

now split up into two Inrp: L behind the Jebel Surgm, reri Hills nent had arrived to a w m u march t o Orndurrnau al; €rom the zariba and m o r d e left. Macdonald's mixed m the extreme right and e farthest to go, and rms nainder of the force, head, with scouts in frmt

of the Jebel Surgam, they t 300 Dervishes, CoIoncl to line and charge. Knee ey were about ZOO yards 7 saw the trap into tvhich 300 Dervishes there sud-

ou t 2,000 o€ the fierce foeh e-foot drop went the m t . rs, the regiment struggled and up t he bank OIL the sately, and tried t o ham- 'up leathers. The hand- ravine lasted for about a

1 their stride and the zrst ne 200 yards from them. :k again, but the Culoncl c ou nt and open fire with

their car? Dervishe: Khalif a' s the z Is t horses W

This they acq of herois de Mon look for and disr and de the swaI Swarbric tance, c; all setul Kenna a rnorency Cross, a t h e D Me dal. earnec though 1

disasme' t o l e a mountel kept h'

them o horse I

arrived Fo

service the prt the R

at bay

BATTLE OF OMDURMAN 141

their carbines. So deadly and SO accurate was this fire that the Dervishes swiftly retreated towards the Jebe1 Surgam, where the Khalifs's black flag still waved. Out of 320 men and horses of t he 21st who went into the charge, 60 officers and men and 119 horses were killed and wounded.

This was the first time the 2Ist had ever been in action and they acquitted themselves magnificently. There were many deeds of heroism in their ranks, but it will suffice to mention a few. Lieut. de Montmorency missed his troop-sergeant and rode back to look for him. He found the hacked body O€ Lieutenant Grenfell and dismounted to place it on his horse, which suddenly bolted and de Montmorency was left alone with his revolver amongst t h e swarming and ferocious enemy. Captain Kenna and Corporal Swarbrick immediately dashed out t o his assis- ,m

all returned safelv t o the reffiment. Captain

Cross, and Corporal $warbrick t h e Distinguished S e r v i c e Medal. Private Byrne also -%..

> - . . - I - ’ -.-=

-- I :: -

-?J$/

tance, caught his horse, brought it back, and

Menna and Lieutenant de Mont- morency received the Victoria

.I u

e a r n e d t h e Victoria. Cross : though wounded and , disarmed he refused

mounted officer, and kept his assailants at bay by knocking them over with his horse u n t i l h e l p arrived.

For its brilliant service in this battle m- @&

the present title of the Regiment, the

I

I42 BATTLE OF OMDURMAN

2Ist (Empress of India’s) Lancers, was conferred on it by Her Tdajesty the late Queen Victoria.

We must ncjw return to the Sirdar’s force marching on Omdur- man. After it had left the zariba about two miles behind, heavy firing was heard in the rear, and the Sirdar was informed that Macdonald’s brigade, separated by about a mile from the rest of the force, was being attacked by vast masses of Dervishes coming from behind the Jebel Surgam and the Kerreri Mills. That veteran war correspondent, Mr. Bennet Burleigh, in his Kl?avtoum Ca,mpaiga, 1898, thus grqhicdly describes Macdonald’s magnificent handling

of his brigade against overwhelming odds :-

“ By far the finest feature of that morning of battles was the action fought by Colonel Macdonald with his brigade. The Dervish forces that sought to crush him numbered fully zo,ooo men. To oppose thena he had four battalions, or in all less than 3,000 Soudanese and Egyptian soldiers. With a tact, coolness, and hardihood I have never seen equalled, Colonel Macdonald m a n œ u v r e d and fought his men. They responded to his call with confidence and alacrity begotten of long ac- quaintance and implicit faith in their leader. He had led several of the battalions through a score of fierce fights and skirmishes, always emerging and covering hilnself and his men with glory-, honour and victory. All of them

knew E their g Din, t they 7

Khedi arrive as the the ur and firing turni1 the : sides ‘che fl were and ’

straig have stson meal delig the 3 of th But his Twc One mer thej can and wit

ast for

dS

i

BATTLE OF OMDURMAN x43

knew him ; they were proud of him, and reposed implicit confidence in their general. Unmistakably the Khalifa and his son, the Sheikh Ed Din, thought that their fortunate hour had corne-that, in detail, they would destroy first Macdonald, then one by one the other Khedivial brigades. What might have been, had father and son arrived at the same time and distance on both sides of Macdonald, as they evidently intended, I will not venture t o discuss. Happily the onslaughts o€ the wild, angry Dervishes did not quite synchronize, and Colonel Macdonald was able to devote virtually his whole firing strength t o the overthrow of the Khalifa's division ere rapidly turning about first one, then another, of his battalions to deal with the Sheikh Ed Din's unbroken columns. The enemy on both sides got very close in, hundreds of them being killed almost at the feet of the men o€ the Ist Khedivial brigade. Dervish spears were thrown into and over the staunch and unyielding Soudanese and Fellaheen soldiery. The ' Gippies ' looked without flinching straight into the eyes o€ the Dervishes, and fired volleys that would have done credit t o a British regiment. The hulking, physically strong ' Fellah ' had a t last taken the measure of his enemy, and meant to prove himself the better man of the two. And he did- delighted with himself and his comrades, calling to them, chiding the Dervishes, and stepping out of the ranks to meet the onrush of those of the enemy who carne near, to stop it with bullet or bayonet. But chief of all was Macdonald, going hither and thither and issuing his orders as if on pàrade, with a sharp snap to each command. Two armies saw it all, and one at least admired his intrepid valour. One hundred black-flag Taaisha, the Khalifa's own Baggara tribes- men and part of his bodyguard, charged impetuously. Spurring their horses to their utmost speed, leading the footmen, down they carne straight for the brigade. Cannon, Maxims, and rifles roared, and, bold as the Taaisha rode, neither horse nor man lived to get within one hundred yards of our Soudanese and Gippies. Steady as a gladiator, with what to some of LIS looked like inevitable disaster staring him in the face, Colonel Macdonald fought his brigade for all it was worth. He quickly moved upon the best available

, i I 3 ,

I

8 '

' l

I44 BATTLE OF OMDURMAN

ground, formed up, wheeled about, and stood to die or win. He won practically unaided, for the pinch was all but over when the Carne1 Corps, hurrying up, formed upon his right, after he had faced about to receive the Sheikh Ed Din’s onslaught. The Lincolns,. who arrived later on, helped to hasten the flight of the enemy, whose repulse was assured ere they or any of Wauchope’s brigade were within r,zoo yards of Macdonald. Had the brilliant-the splendid deed of arms wrought by Macdonald been done under the eyes of a sovereign, or in some other armies,-he had surely been created a General on the spot. He boldly exercised his right of personal judgment in a moment of extreme peril, and the, result amply justified the soundness of his decision.”

With the defeat of the Dervish attacks on Macdonald’s brigade the battle of Omdurman was practically won. The Khalifa’s black flag had been captured, and the Dervishes were in headlong flight, hastened by well-directed shells from our guns, and hotly pursued by the Egyptian Cavalry. A t about 11.30 a.m. the victorious army moved forward once more and, after a brief halt outside t o give the troops a meal, headed by Sir Herbert Kitchener the brigades marched into Omdurman and bivouacked in the streets until the morning.

Thus ended the battle : the Dervishes were completely pul- verized, the whole of the Nile Valley was in our hands, and last, but not least, Gordon was avenged. The reconquest of the Sudan was the triumph of the slow, deliberate organization of a masteer- mind : every possibility had been foreseen and every precaution taken, which made the final triumph a comparatively easy task.

The casualties on our side were about 500, the largest percent- age being in the zrst and in Macdonald’s brigade ; of the Dervishes,, quite 15,000 were killed and about 4,000 taken prisoners.

c c- *.-

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WHEN SHAKESPEARE WAS A BOY AN D

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* "K FROM "CHILDREN'S STORIES FROM

THE ARABIAN NICHTS " 149

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HE RAPHAEL HOUSE L I B R A R Y - C O ~ ~ ~ W ~ THE RAPHA

FROM THE WATER-BAB IES ”

THE WATER-BABIES BY CHARLES KINGSLEY

ILLUSTRATED BY MABEL LUCIE ATTWELL T h e delightful adventures of the little chimney sweeper pictured with the idealism and artistic fancy to which the tale so readily lends itself. Charles Kingsley’s charming book is reduced in length by omissions of the digressions which are somewhat beyond a child’s appreciation, which abridgment in no way detracts from the completeness of the story, and leaves its beauty intact. Printed on rough art paper. 12 full-page colour plates and numerous black and white drawings. 144 pp. letterpress,

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