The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-21 00:00:00

THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

THE news communicated by the electric telegraph
is of a highly interesting character, embracing the
announcement of a signal victory obtained over the
Russians, on the morning of Thursday last, on the
Tchernaya. The Russians, from 50,000 to 60,000 in
number, at daybreak attacked the allied position, but
were repulsed with great slaughter by the French
and Sardinians, aided by the British cavalry. The
loss of the enemy is estimated at between 4,000 and
5,000 killed, and 400 of them have been taken pri-
soners. The loss of the allies is reported as very
small. The Sardinian contingent fought with great
bravery, and in no small degree contributed to the
success of the day.
The bombardment from the French and English
batteries was to be re-opened on Friday morning, and
this, it was generally understood, would be the pre-
lude to a general attack on the principal Russian po-
sitions. _ _ _

The journal of the siege, as that is communicated
in the letters of the special correspondents of the
London daily papers, does not offer great variety of
incident, as compared with what has been narrated
from time to time. The correspondent of the Times,
writing from the camp before Sebastopol on the 30th
of July, says :

Since the sortie of the 23rd inst. nothing of importance or
even of interest has occurred here. The desultoryfire to which
we are accustomed continues by day, usually swelling into a
roar of artillery for a portion of every night. The casualties
continue much as before, not very heavy, although some days
are unlucky, and on the night of the 28th the Guards had 25
or 30 men killed and wounded. Cholera cases have become
very rare. Fever and diarrhoea are what most prevail, but not
by any means to an alarming extent. Upon the whole, the
sanitary condition of our army must be deemed satisfactory,
far more so than many predicted that it would be at this sea-
son. As regards rations, these continue abundant, and of
excellent quality. Four Russian deserters came in kesterday.
The Duke of Newcastle has arrived at Balaklava, -and has
been up to the front.
Jury 31.—The firing during the last few days has been on
our side far more lively than it had been for some time ; this
increased firing has, however, a defensive rather than an offen-
sive character. The Russians, seeing our works daily approach
closer to theirs, are trying by their single gun practice to
annoy us. The orders have accordingly been given to return
the fire from our batteries whenever it becomes too annoying.
Once already this was tried before, and it moderated somewhat
the ardour of the Russian gunners. No firing of the Rus-
sians, be it good or bad, slight or heavy, is able to impede the
progress of the works. The surface of the ground in the
neighbourhood of the Malakhoff works mid the Redan is pre-
senting every day a more chequered appearance. The railway
is perhaps the best test of the gigantic activity which is pre.
vailing; numbers of mortars and large quantities a ammu-
nition come up daily by it, and vanish agaiu silently, to be
replaced next day by others. It is as if the trenches were an
unfathomable abyss, such an incredible mass of mortars, guns,
shell, and shot do they seem to swallow p. When they will
be satiated, and when the word " enough" will be said, seems
fromwhen a
offensive French officer
siege
as uncertain as Crimean weather. I heard a few days ago
oopferaarttiiionlesrYWouitha be
atPeallgiasiinerr,
ebsumeinegd,assakiedd,
' Well, I don't know; the Russians are losing every day 3GO

or 400 men by sickness. If we wait a week, they will have
lost a brigade ; if we wait a month they will have lost a corps
d' ar rn e'e ." But, if the Russians lose many men by sickness,
they seem to ha careful to replace them again. Numbers of
stories are afloat about the formidable forces which have come
and are still coming down this way, and apprehensions of an
attack on the Tchernaya line are daily gaining more ground.
In the meantime, not even the most powerful telescopes are
able to discover anything of the approach of this formidable
force, and the Russians content themselves with firing a shot
now and then from the batteries on the Mackenzie ridge at
the harmless sheep and cattle sent by the French over the
Tchernaya to graze, or on the horses going down for water.
Ancresx.2.—T'ne news of the day is the recall of General
Canrobert. No cause is assigned, but it is felt that his posi-
tion was awkward, as subordinate to Generals Pelissier and
Bosquet, whom he lately commanded. The recent rains have
brought a slight return of cholera. The day before yesterday
the 72nd buried ten men of that complaint, but the 72nd is a
recent arrival out here, and may, therefore, be expected to
suffer more than others. As a general rule, wet weather ap-
pears to bring cholera, and heat dysentery. At present there
is little fever. The French are constructing batteries to com-
mand the Russian fleet, and so to facilitate an attack on the
Malakhoff. One of these batteries is to consist, lam assured,
of 28 mortars ; there are two smaller ones of six or eight
pieces. As soon as all are complete, it appears the opinion of
the French that the Malakhoff will again be assailed. These
say that their approaches are now brought to within about a
hundred metres (110 or 115 yards) of the enemy's position,
and that the engineers can go no further. The distance ap-
pears to be, and probably is, rather greater than that. On the
31st July the 30th Regiment and 3rd Buffs wire reviewed by
General Markham. The Duke of Newcastle is in camp, quar-
tered in General Bentinck's tent.
AI7GUST 4.—There has been a good deal of firing these last
two nights. The night before last the Russians made a sortie,
but were driven back.

_
The correspondent of the Daily News, writing on
the 4th of August, says :---
No event of much importance in the siege operations has
occurred since the last mail left. The nights have been ge-
nerally too light for much progress to be made in advancing
the approaches toward the princpal points against which the
operations are now directed, but the new batteries have been
forwarded, and the approaches already existing have been
placed in a more favourable condition for future necessities.
Our allies have taken advantage of a few hours of darkness
to throw up, unobserved by the enemy, an important branch
approach on the Malakhoff advance. A very complete system
of telegraphic signals has been established between the fleet
and our works in front, and from facilities of observation
obtained by vessels placed in certain positions with regard to
the enemy's works, the information which may thus be fur-
nished is not unlikely to prove occasionally of a very valuable
nature. Our allies still speak with confidence of the Malakhoff
position being gained by them before the imperial fete day of
the 16th August.
-

The BalakThava correspondent of a London journal,
under date of the 4th August, says :
The approaches are daily coming nearer to the town. Im-
portant operations are spoken of, but nothing possitive can
be said on the subject. New batteries, the effects of which
are expected to be very great, have lately been constructed,
but only the staff.of the artillery know their exact position.
The fire of the Russians is becoming more and more lively.
The cannonade does not cease for an instant. We are now as
near the enemy as it is possible to be, but our losses are not
so great as might be expected.
A strange pastime has been found by our officers and men.
Large quantities of soda-water and lemonade are used in this
hot weather, and the bottles serve as a destructive missile.
They are filled with gunpowder, and the cork having been
pierced, a match is attached to it, and thrown into the
Russian defences, where they often do much harm. The
Russians, on the other hand, use a great deal of champagne,
and the bottles are used in the same manner.

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