The Press.
London, England, 1855-01-27 00:00:00

THE BRITISH AND RUSSIAN LOSSES.

An official account of the loss incurred by the
British forces engaged in the Crimea up to Dec. 31,
1854, was published on Wednesday last. The details
are as follow :
CASUALTIES IN THE WAR WITH RUSSIA UP TO
DEC. 31, 1854.
Officers. Men.
Killed In action .. 00 .. 1,243
Died of their wounds .. 26 .. $lO
Died of disease, ke. 87 .. 9,224
Total

.. 213

4,777
919

`Making a grand total of ..

.. 400

THE PRESS.

The total number of wounded up to the same period has
been:—

296 Officers-4,199 Men.
And the number remaining in hospital on the same data was :-
48 011icera-4,u81 Men.
Respecting the Russian losses the subjoined state-
ments have been made public:—

According to accounts from Odessa, stated to be derived
from official sources and documents, the total number of
men put hors de combat, from the 'kith of September (ex-
clusively, consequently, of the defeat of the Alma) to the
27th of December, does not exceed 26,703, including pri-
Boners taken, and deaths from disease or other causes not
resulting from wounds. The following are the particulars :
Killed, or died of wounds .. 7,301
Wounded .. 13,826

Prisoners .. .. • . 1,1117
Died of disease, accident, &c. .. 4,019

26,763

Two items more must be added to this account, which
will considerably swell the total. First comes the loss at
the Alma, which in Prince Menschikoffs report was given
at 1,762 killed, and 2,720 woundet and contused ; or a total
of 4,482. But not a doubt exists that this return, which
also omitted prisoners taken, was far beneath the true loss,
and that upwards of 0,000 men were absent from roll call
on the day following the defeat. Secondly, it is evident
that the above details relate to the losses of the troops, and
do not include those of the navy and marines, which are
given by the Russian Naval Magazine at 3,863, up to the
'29th of November. But, as the sailors and marines have
been mainly exposed to fire in the fortress batteries, and
have taken a prominent and honourable share in sorties
since the last•mentianed date, it may be fairly affirmed
that their loss, including deaths by disease, down to the
27th of December, has fallen little short of 4,500 men.
The detail, then, would stand thus :

Losses at the Alma, of all kinds .. 6,000
Ditto, from Sept. 26 to Dec. 27 26,763
Ditto of navy, from Oct 17 to Dec. 27 .. 4,b00

97,263

The strongest possible grounds exist meantime for cal-
culating the total losses, under the divers heads given in
the first detail, at more than 40,000 men, of whom at least
three-fourths—that is, 30,000 men—have not rejoined, or
cannot rejoin. Indeed, if we look to the official paper re-
turns of the strength of battalions when marching from
Bessarabia, or even when preparing for action in the
Crimea, and compare them with the number declared to
have been brought into action when defeat has ensued, it
is incontestable that there exists a difference in minus of
from thirty to forty per cent. Thus the battalions of the
6th corps (18th and 17th divisions), and others at the
Alma, 1,000 strong on paper, were officially declared not
to have exceeded 700; and the battalions of the 4th and Bth
corps, likewise 1,000 on paper, not to have mustered more
more than 600 when going into action at lnkermann. If,
therefore, the Russians themselves admit their losses in
men put hors de combat by sword and sickness to amount
to 85,106, it may safely be affirmed that the calculation of
40,000 is rather under than above the actual minimum.
Takiug, however, the Russian returns as a basis for cal-
culation, and dividing the amount by the number of days
(from the 24th of September to the 27th of December in-
clusive), the result will give a diurnal loss of 869. It may
be added that the Russians admit a loss of 580 officers, in-
cluding 140 naval.

BLOCKADE IN THE BLACK SEA.
The following telegraphic despatch has been re-
ceived at the Admiralty from Rear-Admiral Sir
Edmund Lyons :

Being informed that considerable consignments of mu-
nitions and contraband of war have taken place from
neutral ports of the Mediterranean to those of Odessa
and Kertch, the admirals of the English and French
squadrons have determined on establishing an effectual
blockade of the principal Russian ports in the Black Sea,
and to notify the strict enforcement of this blockade from
the Ist of February, 1t355. Steps have been taken to pro-
vide for an efficient force being, prior to that date, stationed
before the principal porta which are to be blockaded, fur-
nished with due authority for the purpose, in the names of
the two Governments.