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

vatchtires

night was cold and damp, the were mere
tlaNhes, which gave little heat, and barely sufficed
to warm the rations. All night. arabas were arriving,
and soldiers who had fallen out or got astray came
up to the sentries to find their regiments. Sir
George Brown, Sir De L. Evans, the brigadier generals
and stall officers went about among their divisions
and brigades ere the men lay down, giving directions
for the following day, and lawn alter dusk the regi-
ments were on the ground, wrapped up in great-
coats and blankets to find the best repose they could
afier the day's exertions.

THE REVEIL.

At three o'clock in the morning the camp was
roused by the reveil, and 30,000 sleepers woke into
active life. The boats from the ships lined the
beach to receivi, the tents. The commissariat
officers struggled in vain with the very deficient
means at their disposal to meet the enormous re-
quirements fur the transport of baggage, ammunition,
and food, and a scene which to an unpractised eye
would seem one of utter confusion began and con-
tinued for several hours, relieved only by the steadi-
ness and order of the regiments as they paraded
previous to marching.
The French, iu advance on our right, were up be,
times, and the camp fires of the allied armies, ex-
tending for miles along the horizon and mingling
with the lights of the ships, almost anticipated the
morning.
Seven thousand Turkish infantry, under Suleiman
Pacha, moved along by the seaside; next to them
came the divisions cf Generals Bosquet, Canrobert,
Forey, and Prince Napoleon. Our order of march
was about four miles to the right of their left wing,
and as many behind them.
The right of the allied forces was covered by the
fleet, which moved along with it in magnificent order,
darkening the air with innumerable columns of
smoke, ready to shell the enemy should they threaten
to attack our right, and commanding the land for
nearly two miles from the shore.
After a march of an hour a halt took place for fifty
minutes, during which Lord Raglan, accompanied by
a very large staff, Marshal St. Arnaud, Generals
Bosquet, Forey, and a number of French officers,
rode along the front of the columns. The men spon-
taneously got up from the ground, rushed forward,
and column after column rent the air with three
thundering English cheers. It was a good omen.
As the marshal passed the 55th Regiment he ex-
claimed, " English, I hope you will fight well to-
day!" " Hope!" exclaimed a voice from the ranks,
"sure you know we will!" The troops presented a
splendid appearance.
THE RATTLE-FIELD.
A remarkable ridge of mountain, varying in height from
500 to- 700 feet, runs along the course of the Alma on the
left or south side with the course of the stream, and
assuming the form of cliffs when close to the sea. This
ridge is marked all along its course by deep gulleys, which
run towards the river at various angles, and serve to carry
off the floods produced by the rains and the melting of the
winter snows on the hills and table lands shove. At the
top of the ridges, between the gulleys, the Russians bad
eructed earthwork batteries, mounted with 3'2lb. and 241 b.
brass gulls, supported by numerous field pieces and
howitzers. These guns enfiladed the tops of the ravines
parallel to them, or swept them to the base, while the
whole of the sides up which an enemy, unable to Maud the
direct fire of the batteries, would be tnrced to ascend, were
filled with masses of skirmishers armed with an excellent
two-groove rifle, throwing a large solid conical ball with force
at 700 and 84X) yards, as the French learnt to their cost. The
principal battery consisted of an earthwork of the form of
two aides of a triangle, with the apex pointed ti wards the
bridge, and the sides covering both sides of the stream,
corresponding with the bend in the river below it, at the
distance of 1,000 yards, while, with a fair elevation, the
32-pounders threw, as we saw very often, beyond the houses
of the village to the distance of 1,400 and 1,500 yards.
This was constructed on the brow of a hill about 600 feet
above the river, but the hill rose behind it for another 50
feet before it dipped away towards the road. The ascent of
this hill was enfiladed by the fire of three batteries of earth-
work on the right, and by another on the left, and these
batteries were equally capable of covering the village, the
stream, and the slopes which led up the hill to their position.
In the first battery were thirteen 32-pounder brass guns of es •
quisite workmanship, which told, only too well. In the
other batteries were some twenty-five guns in all. It wee
said that the Russians had Ito► guns on the hills and 40,000
men (40 battalions of infantry 1,000 strong each of the
10th, 31st, 32nd, and 52nd Regiments).
The Russian sitillery was concentrated in the centre;
consequently the fire which encountered the French was
chiefly that of musketry. The fleets were anchored near
shore, but were unable to afford any assistance to the land
forces, owing to the great distance. A few of the smaller
steamers threw, I have heard, a few shells amongst some
Russian cavalry, but nothing further. The Russian left
wing was established about two milts inland, and the
centre at a distance of perhaps four miles from the beach.

THE PLAN OF OPERATIONS.
Our plan of operations was, that the French should
establish themselves under the fire of the guns on
the heights on the extreme of the enemy's left.
When that attack was sufficiently developed and had
met with success the British army was to force the

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