The Press.
London, England, 1855-09-01 00:00:00

THE BATTLE OF THE TSCHERNAYA.

Full details of the Tschernaya engagement have
been received since our last publication, and con-
firm the previous accounts respecting the serious
character of the Russian assault as well as the heavy
loss sustained in the battle. The allies, it seems,
were completely taken by surprise on the occasion,
and it was only the daring gallantry of the French
and Sardinian soldiers which averted the most
serious consequences from this want either of
vigilance or caution on the part of the commanders.
The following description of the battle is given by
he correspondent of the Daily News

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For some time past rumours have been afloat every
night that an attack in force along the whole line would
be made on the morrow. For a long while, however, these
appear to have had no better foundation than the fact,
which seemed pretty well ascertained, that the Russians
had received large reinforcements, and, from hearing so
many warnings, which time did not justify, as is usually
the case, the French and Piedmontese fell into a state of
greater carelessness than if they had never received any
warning at all.' Still the air seemed thick with omens ;
nobody could fully satisfy himself that no danger was
imminent, though he could not make up his mind as to
when or in what shape it would present itself. The
deserters had so often proved false prophets that people
began to doubt all their stories, until on Wednesday even-
ing, the 16th August, three spies came in, who positively
declared that an attack would be made in force on the
following morning; and hardly had they ceased speaking
when General Allonville, commanding the French cavalry
at DeWitt, telegraphed that the heights around were
covered with troops, and that he wished to retire, from the
fear that he might be cut off, but could not, owing to the
road being blocked up by some hundreds of commissariat
waggons. He went on to give some details regarding the
attack, which made it evident that he had likewise received
some information, when a fog came on, and the telegraph
ceased working. The Turks remained under arms all
night ; but, strange to say, the French, who were must of
all interested in the matter, seem to have given themselves
no trouble whatever about it, but went to bed and slept
tranquilly. A peloton of I..hasseurs d'Afrique went out to
patrol during the night, and on the other aide of the river
fell into an ambuscade, and were all made prisoners, ez-
cept two men, who escaped and gave the alarm ; but even
this was treated as one of the ordinary incidents of night
duty in presence of the enemy. About an hour before
daybreak the French sentinels in front of the bride
thought they could perceive shadows gliding past them in
the darkness, and tired. There was nu reply, and silence
deep as death followed ; about the same time a few shots
were heard from the hill occupied by the Piedniontese
outpost, but, as the utmost stillness prevailed aflerwards
on every side, no precautions were taken till solar as the
first streak of light made itself visible in tie horizon
sharp fire was opened from a patty of skirmishers against
the tele de punt, and a regular assault made upon the Sar•
dinian picket. General de la !deniers was alr.,y on the
ground, and sent a battalion of bersaglieri to reiuforce the
post, so that they might defend themselves till the troops
could be got under arms, and the necessary arrangements
made. When the reinforcements arrived half the picket
was already hors Jr combat, and the assailants were up on
the parapet of the little redoubt, tiring down into them. 't o
prolong the conflict here would only have caused a useless
massacre, and the Sardinians consequently withdrew be-
hind an epaulement on the other side of the river, near the
aqueduct, and there defended themselves till the day broke
clearly, and the attack became general. On the side of the
French, the tete de punt was assaulted in great force, and
carried very soon after the enemy first showing himself
on the ground, notwithstanding the heroic resistance of
the 20th Regiment of the Line, which in one battalion
alone lost twelve officers. The bridge was now occupied,
two batteries of artillery were brought across, so as to
sweep the road leading between the two heights towards
Balaalava, and a strong column was pushed on to the
assault and mounted the declivity. Strange to say, al-
though General Pelissier had received full warning the
previous night, he refused to believe in an attack until
it actually commenced, and consequently no dispositions
were made, and nobody was ready. The Russians had
already reached the crest of the hill, while the French
were still asleep ; many officers were awakened by the
round shot passing through their tents; a sergeant had his
head taken off while writing the orders of the day fur the
division. At this critical moment two battalions alone of
the 2nd Regiment of Zouaves held the whole assaulting
column in check, and contested the ground inch by inch
till they were forced back upon their own tents. In the
meantime the alarm was soup ling, the troops got into
order, the artillery into position, and a vigorous onset
drove the Russians down the declivity, leaving it covered
with their dead and wounded.

All this occurred in the grey of the morning, which the
smoke of the action converted into something like positive
darkness, leaving everybody as yet in complete ignorance
as to the force they had to contend with, ur the dangers
they had to bear. In the short pause which followed,
however, and during which both sides prepared fur a re-
newal of the struggle, the sun came out from behind the
hills, the smoke rose, and the valley of the Tachernaya lay
before iis like a picture. The tract of table-land lying at
the foot of the Mackenzie heights was covered with masses
of cavalry, infantry, and artillery. About thirty guns were
ranged in a crescent outside the bridge, und thundered un-
ceasingly against the French position. On the bill from
which the Piedmontese picket had been driven were
crowds of men around a battery of field artillery, which
fired incessantly, though against what I could never
clearly make out. They had previously shelled two
battalions of Turks encamped in the hollow near the
Woronzoff road, and forced them to retire. This retro-
grade movement was the only part the latter bore iu the
whole affair ; but it is right to add they were under arms
already, in case the positions had been attacked. The
Piedmontese were drawn up in line behind a small emi-
nence close to the ford on the Tehorgoun road, and their
batteries on the heights to the right were vigorously reply-
ing to the Russian fire ; the three divisions of French,
Camouz, Erbillon, and Faucheux, were under arms, front
line a little way back from the brow of the bill, and a great
number of Zunaves were lying down in shelter behind a
small ridge. Below, on the plain, along the hollow on
which the English light horse died so gallantly last winter,
were ranged the English and French cavalry, squadron
after squadron, extending back nearly to the Turkish re-
doubts, ready to act in cue the enemy should force the
Piedmontese position and attempt to debonch upon the

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open ground behind. The pennons of the Lancers
fluttered gaily in long lines in the fresh morning breeze,
and when the sun rose high the scene became one of
parsing splendour as well as of passing interest. We
looked in breathless anxiety for the renewal of the con-
flict. The combatants had taken breath—their blood was
up, and the artillery evidently was simply playing an
interlude till the curtain rose upon another act in the
tragedy.
We were not kept long waiting. From behind the
cloud of smoke which hung around the Russian batteries
came two large columns of the enemy, marching in quick
time, about 200 yards apart and exactly parallel, a short
distance from the river, and in a line with the bank. As
they wound and twisted, mounted and descended, follow-
ing &he inequalities in the ground in long compact masses,
their bayonets glancing in the sunlight, they looked
exactly like two huge serpents creeping rapidly along,
their scales glistening, and their prey in sight. On
arriving within about eight hundred yards of the ford, one
halted, and the other turned off abruptly towards the
river. It was evident they were about to assail the French
position more to the right, on the side next the Sar-
dinians. On reaching the water, some passed on small
bridges hastily thrown over, the rest forded, and on gaining
this aide the column broke into loose order, and pushed
on towards the canal or aqueduct, which rises within an
embankment at the very foot of the hill. Before reaching
it they had to traverse about two hundred yards of smooth
green sward ; they were no longer exposed to the French
artillery, because the guns could not be depressed suffi-
ciently to reach them, but they had their flank turned to
that of tne Piedmontese, who had got the range to an
inch, and fired with an accuracy little short of marvellous.
The head of the column had hardly come up dripping
from the water, when they found themselves in the midst
of a storm of round shot, grape, and shell, beating upon
them relentlessly, unrelaxingly, mowing them down by the
score, and covering the survivors with clay and gravel.
But I must do these survivors justice, and say that they
bore up right gallantly, marched firmly onward and
upward, passed the canal, though the water was breast
high, pushed some yards still on the precipitous side of
the hill, though here every wound was mortal, for all who
fell rolled helplessly downwards into the aqueduct, and
were instantly drowned ; but at last halted, turned, and
fled—never stopping till they reached the rivet, when they
got shelter under the banks and amongst the old willows.
An officer remained for some time alone on the declivity,
vainly urging them to follow him. Reinforcements now
came up from the second column; they re-formed, but again
in loose open order, or rather no order at all, for they
marched exactly like a flock of sheep. This was done evi-
dently so that they might present less mass for the artil-
lery to play upon, but it was a great mistake, as will be
seen afterwards. This time they displayed more pluck
and resolution; they fell to be sure by the dozen, but they
never wavered nor faltered, climbed on slowly and labo-
riously, and at last reached the crest of the hill, and came
out on the level. When the head of the column attained
this point, the Zouaves, who were lying down behind the
ridge on the Russian left, jumped up and ran off to join
the main body, posted near the artillery on the centre of
the plateau, and at the same moment the whole of the
French, the artillery included, retired about a hundred
yards before the advancing enemy. The firing had ceased
except broken file-firing from the assailants, who now, un-
able to form in line, and mixed up in disorder, doubtless
perceived they should have either mounted in line or
halted and deployed before coming out on the open ground
above. For some moments I thought the French were
about to give way and retreat, and the Russians become
masters of the height, but I was soon convinced of my
mistake. One could see them, it is true, falling back on
all sides, and closing up into a small round mass, but in
the twinkling of an eye this mass opened out like a fan,
two black lines shot from it on each side across the
plateau, the centre closed up, divided itself, and the next
moment a sheet of flame broke from the whole line, fol-
lowed by a cloud of smoke, and the crash of the musketry
fell on our ears in a long, continuous, unfaltering whirr, like
the roar of a waterfall, drowned every second by the mightier
thunder of the artillery, which had made half a wheel
to the right, and raked the crest of the hill with a tempest
of grape. Strongly as one's sympathies might be engaged
for the French, it was impossible to repress for the mo-
ment a sentiment of pity as one looked upon the crawd of
Russians looming out through the smoke, as it rolled
across them, feebly returning the fire, unable to advance,
afraid to retreat, ten thousand deaths in front—ten thou-
sand more behind—help and hope nowhere. They paused
for a few seconds, seemed to hesitate, but were speedily re-
lieved from all embarrassment as to the course they should
pursue by the advance of the French, whose cheer rang
merrily through the morning air as they levelled their
bayonets and rushed to the charge. The Russians gave
one " hurrah," as if they intended to come up to the
scratch, but instead of suiting the action to the word, they
wheeled about and flung themselves down the hillside in
complete disorder, the Sardinian artillery again playing upon
them as before. Some hundreds threw down their arms
and surrendered to the French, sooner than run the
gauntlet once more across the aqueduct and the river. The
remnant of the column got under cover on the other side
of the stream, and remained there for some minutes, until
two battalions of Piedmontese came out upon the plain,
and throwing out skirmishers advanced upon the river.
The Russians now retired in haste, and not in very good
order, skirmishing as they went, until they reached the
high ground on which their cavalry and the reserve of their
artillery were stationed.
During the pursuit the Piedmontese made some pri-
soners. The moment was propitious for a charge of
cavalry, who might have cut them up completely. Major
Grovac, the second on the Sardinian etat major, accor-
dingly brought down their four squadrons, but the colonel
objected to charge in face of the Russian cavalry force,