The Express.
London, England, 1855-06-16 00:00:00

_
OUR ARMY IN THE CRIMEA.

(MOM IRS OFICIAL ooaausvosuarr or TIM *KILT
POWS.)
CAUP ABOVii SEBASTOPOL, limo 6.
OOP lOW batteries have not yet opened their fire.
It le kere_ that the arrangements were made for
esereseregthe besherdinent on the 2nd instant,
sad it is mend, understood that the date was end-
daily pcmpated is account of some preparations me
the part of our allies not being completed. There
this difference between cur position and that of the I
Franch ; that whereas ear further advance under
present circumstances is completely obstructed by
natural and other difficulties, the ground is still open
to them, especially oa the right, sod every day wit-
tiness some important progress. With this progress
some fresh advantage is constantly secured in re
worksspect
to opening the new fire against the Russian .
There can be as doubt that whenever the bombard.
ment is renewed the firs will be most unparalleled
intensity sad power ; both as regards nearness of posh,
tion and calibre of metal. envenom) will leave the
second bombardment far in the background. There
will no doubt be a general opening, not merely for
the sake of its immediate and direct effect, but also to
divert the attention of the enemy from the points
more particultrly intended t r be assaulted.
All accounts agree that there is a vast amount
dinese and despondency in the garrison of Sebastopol.of
Private letters and other documents taken at Kertch
give a fearful account of the sufferings of the Russian
army, as well from wounds as sickness. The frequent
burials which are continuing to be noticed taking
place in the cemeteries on the north side confirm die
other information on this subject. It is now stated
that the tents long seen on the north side, in the im•
mediate neighbourhood of the general encampthme6nt
of the Russian army, are hospital tents. If is ,1
true the ambulance establishment of the enemy must
be vast indeed. The tents sre generally square and
spacious, having a four-sided pyramidal roof. It is
also said that all the towns and villages in the
southern part of the Crimea have a certain number
of sick and wounded distributed among them.
Private letters mention that a Russian medical
officer was taken prisoner at Kertcb, and according to
his statement it was ordered by the Russian govern-
ment that men who contracted scorbutic disease,
whether wounded or otherwise, were to receive ne-
cessary food, but not to receive medical attendance,
which could be given with more benefit in other
casts. This order came in consequence of their not
being a sufficiently numerous medical staff to attend
to all the cases. As many as 60,000 deaths are said
to have occurred since the opening of the siege, and
the numbers who have been disabled have been so
great, that exact accounts have been intentionally
prevented from being kept. Various statements are
therefore given on this point. A large hospital esta-
blishment bad just been completed at Tags wenn
the Sea of Aroff. The enemy will now be
of the benefit of this arrangement.
In ormation is said to have been obtained that the
Russians have secured a communication with the
Crimea, in addition and independent of the road
traversing the Isthmus of Perekop, by the construc-
tion of a bridge of boats across the Sivache. This is
said to be established across that part where the two
shores closely approximate—one end joining the
land of the Crimea, near to a village marked in the
maps by the name f Djaugara. At a little distance
south of this point the read joins the ordinary high
road leading to Simpheropol ; but considering the
distance and nature of the ground to be tra-
versed from the north of the Crimea to the
capital, and the difficulty of conveying heavy
stores and ammunition by waggons, however
perfect the trains may be, so far, it be-
comes a question whether the combined movements of
the armies now in progress must not shortly compel
the enemy to abandon his hold on the fortress which
has so long resisted all direct efforts at its destruc-
tion. This consideration more strongly forces itself
on the attention from the accounts of the disease and
despondency said to be prevailing among the Russian
forces.
The following is a diary of some of the events of
the last two days :
JUNE 3.—A reconnaissance in force was made to-day
by a combined body of French and Sardinian troops.
About eight battalions marched from the plain. They
were accompanied by some of the Ottoman troops. Leav-
ing Tchorgoun on the north, the force marched along
a valley and winding. road in rear of the mountains
looking upon the plain of Balaklava, and on part of
which was the village of Kamerai following closely
the course of one of the principal branches of the
Tchermiya river. They came upon the road leading
to Balder, a little west of the small village of Var.
mitka, and keeping this highway, halted at Balder
itself. After resting, the expedition returned to the
plain. It was ascertained that there was no Russian
force encamped in this direction ; a few Cossacks
only bad been seen on the hills. The scenery and
the luxuriant vegetation were surprisingly beautiful
and rich, but cultivation had almost entirely been
abandoned.
There was scarcely any firing from the batteries
during the early part of the day; it seemed as if the
intense heat had rendered the antagonists along the
whole lines powerless. Towards evening the enemy
repeated the discharge of shot and shell, in the direo.
tion of the spots where the reliefs used to inset, but
with no better success than on the night previous.
Two large shot were thrown completely over the
camp of the 34th Regiment, and tell a little in the
rear of the hospital huts. Should the bombardment
commence shortly, the Russians will find other marks
to fire at, besides the chance positions of the trench
guards. They have been firing with admirable pre-
cision against some of the works in both the left and
right attack ; they have ascertained the range per-
fectly. From the Mainelon they have thrown small
shells, one after another, into a small mortar battery,
which the French have near their most advanced
line in front of the Victoria redoubt. Over some of
these embrasures in the Korniloff bastion, in the
redoubt on the %melon Vert, and also in the Bar-
rack battery, the enemy are observed to have placed
a kind of roof, made of fasciae, and earth, seemingly
to protect their artillerymen from the splinters of
shells.
In the wane of the evening some experimental
practice was made in both attacks with the
of which large numbers have been lately
down to the batteries. I regret to say they turned
out a complete failure: in fact, so much more dan-
gerous to ourselves than to the works they were
intended to destroy, that it is doubtful if any more
of the present stock will be employed again.
They were tired both from Chapman s battery,
on the left attack, and from the 21. gun battery
on the right attack. In each instance it was
found that the majority burst immediately after
leaving the muscle of the mortar. The consequence
was that our men in the advanced works found them-
selves exposed to a shower of fragments of then
carcass shells which they had no mesas of escaping
from. Aa both the carcasses thrown from the lid
attack, as well as those from the right attack, were
directed against the buildings in the Karabelnia
suburb, the men in the advanced work of Freed-
man's-hill were subjected to a crossfire d these ins-
OHM Colonel Yea, now commanding the first
brigade of the Light Division, was sating as
grozin the right attack, and Lieutenant-
Mandy, of the 33rd Regiment, as
soloed of the trenches. Colonel Mundy had
goo from the advanced work to the general, who
was at his appointed place in the works, to represent
that some men had been injured and that all wen
incurring great hazard, and Colonel Yea was about to
send up to the battery to stop the practice, when
Colonel Mandy .saw another carcase burst, and appa-
rently coming an the direction of the place where
they were standing. He Wird time to seek for
shelter by crouching up in as angle of the parapet,
when a large fragment came whirling through the
air and struck him oar the shoulder. Fortunately the
piece of shell was divided from its direct course by
the shoulder-knot of the iheli-jacket which Colonel
Muscly wore at the thee. seal which seemed to lam
the Ws to film* areas sae, be t he received.° es.
veto a muted= in the sees mid side that he Yard,
and had to be carded up to camp. Meetly aftar•
weeds tho_Puotive wzieVart set lentil one
man, o soldier of the Uri
eadkilledfivereseiw Todd' "ens
meld 711.1 a IthehadshaZedliseawfromitkilliedo We:
large ftsMest ri an of the &sus. Two ma of the
Royal Artillery were amen dr wounded.
Nearly My Miser were Ind, sad the peaks

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