The Press. — London, England, 1854-10-14 00:00:00

OCTOBER 14, 1854. open to us the gates of Sebastopol." His confidence in the lines of the Alma was so great that, according to the report of a prisoner, he horsewhipped the officer who announced to him that General Bosquet had reached the western extremity of the heights. It was rumoured that, upon witnessing the defeat of his army, Prince Menschikoff tried to commit suicide, but was prevented by the by standers. The natives of Black Russia are nearly all flat-footed, which makes them incapable of lung and rapid marches. Amen with this defect is not admitted into the British army, and the fact of so large a part of the Russian army being thus naturally constituted explains in some degree the great losses which attend its march. COMPARATIVE MORTALITY IN THE BATTLE. The actual loss on the sides of the allies was 606 killed and 2,699 wounded. There were engaged in the battle not less probably than 100,000 French, English, Turkish, and Russian troops. No doubt this is a heavy list of killed and wounded, but the public will be greatly misled if it believe that such a loss equals the average of great battles. When the English met the French in the Penin sula we lost a much greater proportion by their impetuous bravery. The Russians prove less destructive to us than the French did in the great war. At the combat on the Col de Maya, in July, 1813, when the total number engaged did not exceed 15,000 men, the grand total of killed and wounded was 2,900 ; while of the 92nd Regiment two thirds went to the ground. In the first battle of Santarem, where the whole force engaged did not equal the number of British troops on the Alma, the total of killed and wounded on the side of the English alone was 2,600. In the five days' fighting on the Nive the loss in killed and wounded on both sides was upwards of 10,000 men. The Russian loss at Alma is estimated at 1,500 killed, 2,000 wounded, arid 6,000 who have deserted rather than support the contest before the walls of Sebastopol. It must be remembered that the killed and wounded are principally, if not entirely, due to the deadly aim of our infantry. The artillery could only come into action to wards the end, from the difficulty of the position. The Russians were led to the attack by the most distinguished officers in person; hence the great proportion of Russian officers killed, and especially those of the highest rank. Six Russian generals are reported to have been killed and wounded at the battle of Alma. The loss of the Russians, up t) the 22d, is given by this correspondent at 7,000 men. General Kwiecinski was mortally wounded, and General Kaffaleffski badly; a General Prince Gortschskoff only slightly. One of Prince Menschikoffs aides de-camp lost an arm. THE TURKISH FORCE. The Ottoman division at the battle of the Alma .bad only 2,000 men engaged, with the 2nd French division, on the enemy's left. Their part was not so active as those brave soldiers would have desired, and General Bosquet had the greatest difficulty to make them remain in the position assigned to them. They only lost 230 men, killed and wounded. The Turkish Government regrets, it is said, that its troops bad notbeen placed in the post of honour, that is to say, with the third division. THE CHOLERA. After the battle, and notwithstanding the inspirit ing effect of victory, the cholera broke out afresh among the men. One regiment, during the night of the 21st, lost fourteen on the field. This is to be attributed to the fatigue the men undergo, the salt provisions, and sleeping on the ground of a night. The latter was a great hardship, for the dews were heavy, and the nights intensely cold. WANT OF HOSPITAL STORES. It is with feelings of surprise and anger that the public will learn that no sufficient preparations have been made for the proper care of the wounded. Not only are there not sufficient surgeons—that, it might be urged, was unavoidable; not only are there no dressers and nurses—that might be a defect of system for which no one is to blame; but what will be said when it is known that there is not even linen to make bandages for the wounded ? The greatest commiseration prevails for the sufferings of the unhappy inmates of the Scutari hospital, and every family is giving sheets and old garments to supply their wants. Why could not this clearly foreseen want have been supplied ? Not only are the men kept, in some cases, for a week without the hand of a medical man coming near their wounds, but when they are placed in the spacious building, where they were led to believe that everything was ready which would ease their pains or facilitate their recovery, it is found that the commonest appliances of a workhouse sick ward are wanting, and that the men must die through the medical staff of the British army having forgotten that old rags are necessary for the dressing of wounds. THE MARCH TO BALAKLAVA. On leaving the bivouac south of the Katscha river, we marched to the river BeWok, through toe village of the same name. It is extraordinary that the Rus• sians should not have attempted to stop us at eithe place, for there are stronger positions even than on the Alma ; but the Russians are so completely cowed by our brilliant victory, in which they own to a loss of 6,000 or 7,000 men, that, we may venture upon acts and movements that could not be done without madness under other circumstances. On September 25th, having had a false alarm during the night of an approach of the Cossacks, we were under arms at .-....._ THE PRESS. five o'clock, ready for a move. A reconnaiseance was made towards the Inkerman Lights, with the view of finding a crossing practicable for the army. Colonel Alexander only found a single causeway over a morass, and a bridge over the river with a force on the opposite side. Lord Raglan, with Sir J. Bur goyne's advice, then determined upon one of the boldest flank marches perhaps ever performed in the face of an enemy. The whole country between the Belbek and the Tschernaya, which runs into the Sebastopol inlet, is covered with one uninterrupted extensive jungle or forest, intersected by no road but that leading towards Sebastopol, and another narrow one on which it would have taken perhaps days for a large army to advance. We received orders to march south-south-east through this forest, in order to strike the high road from Simferopol near Khutor Mac kenzie. The wood was so thick that the men could hardly see each other : not only did men of the same Jrigade get mixed together, but Highlanders and Guards, Guards and line, formed for an hour an apparently inextricable mass of confusion. In the midst of it we heard firing and several rounds of cannon in our front. We continued our march, and soon found that the cause of the firing was the Scots Greys and some of our artillery in advance coming upon the high road near Khutor Mackenzie, where they intercepted a Russian army of some say 15,000 men and a large convoy of provisions and ammunition. So cowed were the Russians and taken by surprise, that half their army cut off towards Simferopol, the rest to Sebastopol. We all came out of the wood about two or half-past two, at the very spot where this took place. Every waggon was destroyed, the flour given up to our men, powder scattered, cartridges destroyed, camp equipments thrown over the precipices, clothing, accoutrements, barrels, and articles of every description strewn along three miles of road, along which we marched towards the bridge over the Tschernaya. The whole appear ance of the road was more like the result of a battle than anything else. Their army, in short, was cut in two, and so divided that they must have spread terror and increased the already great demoralisation of the Russian forces, both in Sebastopol and in other parts of the Crimea. After halting at this spot for an hour and a halt', to rest the men after their fatiguing forest march, we continued along the high road to the bridge across the Tschernaya, a march of six or seven miles further, leading to Balaklava, and we reached our bivouac at half-past eight p.m., having been under arms more than four teen hours. The next morning early we pushed on towards Balaklava, and halted at the entrance of the pass. The Rifles were sent forward to crown the heights on each side of the bay, supported by a brigade of the light division ; on each side, also, these again were supported by the two brigades of the Ist division, the Guards going to the right and the Grenadier Guards taking possession of the village of Radakoi. Here they remained while the Rifles and Artillery attacked the small post, which is of very little strength—an old ruined Genoese castle. A few shells soon brought them to reason, and the white flag was hoisted. Lord Raglan had a very narrow escape, for, on turning an angle of the road with all his staff, a shell from the fort flew among them and wounded one of the staff. When this little affair wes settled the troops retired, except two com panies of the Grenadier Guards, who were sent to protect the houses of the inhabitants and the small town of Balaklava. So little did the Russians expect us that the wives and children of many officers who are in Sebastopol had gone there for safety. The harbour is quite landlocked, with rocky and very precipitous hills on each side, but so deep that even the Agamemnon steamed in without danger. MEETING WITH THE FLEET. When we were at our Bolbek bivouac, and it was decided we should come on and take Balaklava, young Maxse was sent back to the mouth of the Katscha, where the fleet was lying. Having to ride through the country which we had crossed, he only took a verbal message from Lord Raglan, for fear of his falling into the hands of the Cossacks. He reached the fleet at four on the morning of the 27th, and before twelve the fleet was off Balaklava. The meeting of the fleet and army here was most cordial. Sir Edmund Lyons met Lord Raglan on the quarter deck of the Caradoc. Lord Raglan's face was beam ing with joy at the success that has hitherto attended Our arms. The official outline of these subsequent proceedings is given in the following despatch from Lord Raglan, which reached the War-office on Tuesday night : Ralaklava, Sept. 28, 1854. My Lord have the greatest satisfaction in acquainting your grace that the army tinder my command obtained possession of this important place on the 2tith inst., and thus established a new and secure base for our future operations. The allied armies quitted their position above the Alma on the morning of the l:lyd, and moved across the Katacha, where they halted for the night, and on the following day passed the Belbeeke ; 967 It then appeared that the enemy had established a work which commanded the entrazce of the river, and debarred its use for the disembarkation of troops, provisions, and material; and it became expedient to consider whether the line of attack upon the north side should not be aban doned, and another course of operation adopted. It having, after due deliberation, been determined by Marshal St. Arnaud and myself that we should relinquish our communication with the Katscha, and the hope of establishing it by the Belbeck, and endeavour by a flank march to the left to go round Sebastopol and seize Bala klava, the movement was commenced on the 25th, and completed on the following day by the capture of this place by her Majesty's troops which led the advance. The march was attended with great difficulties. On leaving the high road from the tie!beck to Sebastopol the army had to traverse a dense wood, in which there was but one road that led in the direction it was necessary to take. That road was left in the first instance to the cavalry and artillery; and the divisions were ordered to march by com pass, and make a way fur themselves as well as they could; and, indeed, the artillery and the light division pursued the same course as long as it was found to be possible, but as the wood became more impracticable the batteries could not proceed otherwise than by getting into the road above mentioned. The headquarters of the army, followed by several bat teries of artillery, were the first to clear the forest, near what is called, in Major Jarvis's map, Mackenzie's farm [on the published maps Khuton Alekenzia], and at once found themselves on the flank and rear of a - Russian divi• sion, on the march to llablie-Serai. This was attacked as soon as the cavalry, which had di verged a little into a by and intricate path, could be brought up. A vast quantity of ammunition and much valuable baggage fell Into our hands, and the pursuit was discontinued alter about a mile and a half, it being a great object to reach the Tschernaya that evening. The Rus sians lost a few men, and some prisoners were taken, amongst whom was a captain of artillery. The ili.trch was then resumed by the descent of a steep and difficult defile into the plains, through which runs the Tschernaya River, and this the cavalry succeeded in reaching shortly before dark, followed in the course of the night by the light, first, second, and third divisions, the fourth division having been left on the heights above the Belbeck till the following day, to maintain our communi cation with the Katseha. This march, which took the enemy quite by surprise, was a very long and toilsome one, and, except at Macken. zie's farm, where two wells yielding a scanty supply were found, the troops were without water, but they supported their fatigues and privations with the utmost cheerfulness, and resumed their march to this place on the morning of the gtith. As they approached Ilalaklava nothing indicated that it was held in force; but as resistance was offered to the ad- vance of the Rifle Brigade, and guns were opened from an old castle, as the head of the column showed itself on the road leading into the town, I deemed it prudent to occupy the two flanking heights by the light division and a portion of Captain Brandling's troop of Horse Artillery on the left; movements terminated by the surrender of the place, which had been occupied by very inconsiderable numbers of the enemy. Shortly after we had taken possession we were greeted by Captain Mends, of the Agamemnon, and soon after by Sir Edmund Lyons himself. His co-operation was secured to us by the activity and enterprise of Lieutenant Masse, of her Majesty's ship Agamemnon, who reached my camp on the Tschernaya on the night of the 25th with despatches, and who volunteered immediately to retrace his steps through the forest, and to communicate to Sir Edmund the importance I attached to his presence at the mouth of the harbour of lialaklava the nest morning, which difficult service (from the intricacy of the country, infested by Cossacks) he accomplished so effectually that the admiral was enabled to appear off this harbour at the very moment that our troops showed them selves upon the heights. Nothing could be more opportune than his arrival, and yesterday the magnificent ship that bears his flag entered this beautiful harbour; and the admiral, as has been his invariable practice, co-operated with the army in every way possible. We are busily engaged in disembarking our siege train and provisions, and we are most desirous of undertaking the Attack of Sebastopol without the loss of a day. I moved up two divisions yesterday to its immediate neighbourhood, when I was enabled to have a good view of the place; and Lieutenant• General Sir John Burgoyne and General Bisot, the French chef de genie, are occupied iu reconnoitring it closely to-day. The march of the French army on the 2.5 th was still more fatiguing and prolonged than ours. Being behind our columns, they could not reach Tschernaya till the next day, and I fear must have suffered sadly from want of water. I regret to have to acquaint your grace that Marsha St Arnaud has been compelled by severe illness to relinquish the command of the army. I saw him on the 25th, when he was suffering very much, and he felt it his duty to resign the next morning. I view his retirement with deep con cern, having always found in him every disposition to act in concert with me. He has since become much worse, and is I fear in a very precarious state. Fortunately, he is succeeded by an officer of high repu tation, General Canrobert, with whom I am satisfied I shall have great pleasure in acting, and who is equally desirous of maintaining the most friendly relations with me.—l have, &c., (Signed) Rao His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, &c. Accompanying this narrative of military events Lard Raglan sent a letter in which be adverts to in dividual gallantry, and singles out for praise and recommendation thou officers who bad performed