The Express.
London, England, 1855-04-21 00:00:00

THE ARMY BEFORE SEBASTOPOL.

(Twit :as erscuL

OP THII DAILY

KIWI )
CAMP ABOVE SEBASTOPOL, APRIL 7.
The siege works are making rapid program,
especially in the centre and on the right; and so
close is becoming, day by day, the approximatiofi
between the lines of defence and attack throughout
their whole extent, that either a halt or a contest will
be very shortly inevitable. Each morning finds the
approaches carried nearer to the fortifications, and at
the same time some works thrown out by the enemy
to meet or counteract them. In the course of then
operations interruptions constantly occur on both
sides. One working party making efforts to attain a
certain point, hears in the darknsu a working party
of the enemysapping up toward the same object, and
an attempt is made to stop their progress ; or, per-
haps, the two parties actually meet, and a collision
ensue,. Sometimes an impediment thrown up on one
side must be removed to enable the necessary progress
to be made on the other side : sometimes a work
made by the enemy is coveted by our engineers to be
introduced into a work of their making, and an
attempt follows to take it. In all such instances a
struggle ensues, and as these operations are chiefly
carried on under cover of the darkness, night-attacks
are becoming more and more frequent the nearer the
contending parties corns to each other.

... _
In the early part of the siege operations, when the
attack was divided into two sections, that on the left
being undertaken by the French, that on the right

by the English, many circumstances concurred to
enable our allies to advance their trenches with much
greater rapidity than we could do. The westernmost
of the several ravines which lead down to the south
harbour then formed the line of demarcation between
the French and English works. At first the French
directed their approaches against the centre of the
town, or southern extremity, being chiefly opposed
by the guns of the Flagstaff Bastion and the Garden
and Tower Batteries. They were also exposed to an
oblique fire from the Redan and other works on the
arsenal side of the south harbour. Bat from the supe-
rior numerical force available for these operations,
and the undivided attention they were sble from their
position to give to them, as well as from the nature
of the ground, not only their sig-zags of approach
and parallels advanced with great rapidity in the
main direction, but they also prolonged the attack to
the left, until at last their trenches environed all
that part of the town which looked toward the
plateau. The line of attack was then completed on
this side from Quarantine Bay to the deep ravine
separating the French and English attacks at a
point a little south of the head of the Admiralty Har-
bour ; and the parallels were so advanced that at some
points they were separated from the enemy's works
by scarcely more than fifty or eighty yards.
On the right the English undertook not only the
attack against the line of defences surrounding the
Arsenal and Admiralty yard and the whole Kara-
belnaia suburb, from the south harbour to Careening
Bay, but also to guard the approaches to the heights
overlooking the roadstead from Careening Bay to the
Inkermann valley and those above the north end of
the Tchernaya valley. Commencing from the loft
of the English attack, Greenhill, which com-
prehends an extensive slope between the two
principal ravines leading down to the south harbour,
was armed by the works known, from the name of
the engineer who superintended their execution, aa
Chapman's, or the Greenhill, batteries. On the right
of this again, upon Frenchmaa's-bill, a slope of undu-
lating land included between the more eastern of the
two ravines last alluded to, and a winding ravine
which also terminates in the valley of the south har-
bour, were placed the works known as Gordon's bat-
teries. This ravine, curving round from the right,
and forming in part of its course a separation between
Frenchman's-hill and the Redan hill,where, however,
it becomes very shallow, is known in the English
camp as the " middle ravine ;" while that separating
Frenchman's-hill from Greenhill is called the " left
ravine." Continuing our glance to the right, on the
high ground between the middle ravine before
named and another deep ravine leading down to Ca-
reening Bay, were some detached works, of which
that known as the Right Lancaster, or fivesgun
battery, was the principal. The main ravine
,leading to Careening Bay, as it approaches
ha termination, becomes very deep, and its
sides generally precipitous. This is usu illy spoken
of as the right ravine. Numerous ravines of
a secondary character enter and are lost in this
mine, some following the general direction
of the main channel, others descending into
it nearly at right angles. Be) ond the right
ravine, in the early part of the siege, no works
at attack were undertaken; but, after the battle of
Inkermann, the ground became better explored, and
various work., both for defence and attack, were
erected. The works of defence were undertaken con-
jointly by the French and English—the French tak-
ing the high ground to the right of the ravine called
the Inkermann ravine, or the " Ravine des Zonaves,"
the English occupying the high ground to the left,
and making both defensive works, and also some
very important works of attack above the right ravine
and toward the roadstead.
Such were the relative positions of the allies, when
the ravages of sickness among the British troops
were so extensive that their force became utterly in-

adequate to defend, much more to carry on, as- cir-
cumstances required, the long lines of works from the
south harbour to Inkermann. The Highland Bri-
gade of the First Division had been drawn to Bala-
klava, and the Brigade of Guards, greatly diminished
in strength, joined it subsequently. A new distribu-
tion of the siege labours took place. The French re-
tained their left attack, and also undertook all that
portion of the right attack beyond the right ravine or
Careening Bay ravine. They also extended their
army of observation along the right flank, so as to
the approaches from the Inkermann valley.
his arrangement has left the English troops free to
direct all their energies on the works of what is now
called the "centre attack," the works on Greenhill
and Frenchman's-hill, and it is now generally ac-
knowledged that this is the direction in which the
principal attack against the fortress must be urged.
The enemy also proves the great importance he
attaches to this point by daily increasing and
strengthening his defences on the Malakhoff and
Redan hills, and extending them in every advan-
tageous position around the arsenal.
The same remarkable energy which the Russian
engineers exhibited on the left in throwing up works
to meet the rapid advance of the French operations
in that direction, in repairing those which were
damaged, or replacing by new works those which
were rendered untenable, is now actively displayed on
the right. Old works are strengthened, new lines
thrown up, fresh defences are advanced with won-
derful determination and perseverance ; while outside

all, an army of riflemen esconce themselveq in pits,
and occupy every ay.iilable bit of coal. r, and with in-
defatigable alertness seek to protect each point of the
fortifications from observation and approach. The
enemy has advantages on the right to aid him in
vigorously carrying on his works, many of which he
die not possess to the same extent on the left. Guns,
military stores, and munitions are close at hand to
the works in progr. BS. By means of the Admiralty
Harbour, Dockyard Creek, and the Carer/tit* Port,
his communications with the yew .% engaged in the
transport duties across the roadstead are tenditated.
Working parties, reliefs, and reinforeenientx Are mike
quickly obtained; for the Careening Harbour.% the
ordinary place of debarkation for .the.troope broilglic
hum the encampments on the other. sjduruf *I Tos4
stead.
The change in the distributi;ii d tit."'
hitak
led to new arrangements in the ituixtf OW .
force. The Second Division, which • • ' no?
camped on the extreme right towards Inkermann, has
been brought down to the centre, and is now en-
camped between the Light and Fourth Divisions.
The regiments of this division assist those of the
Light Division in the operations on Frenchman's-hill,
while the Third and Fourth Divisions take the duties
at Greenhill. The First Division remains under Sir
Colin Campbell at Baleklava. There is a rumour
• - the

10.—Admissions on my-
that when the expected.Sootch regiments arrive there
elitis, 2017 T weal eine., will be a new formation of diviaiosa ; one division to
malt or lax Scotch regiment., and the R, igaae of