The Sun.
London, England, 1855-06-27 00:00:00

(From the Times of this day.)

The lucid despatches of Slr Edmund Lyons, combined with
the circumstantial narratives furnished by our own corre-
spondents in the East, have now enabled us to present our
readers with a connected and intelligible view of those suc-
cessful operations by which the war has been extended, to
the infinite damage of the enemy, over seas and along shores
hitherto secure add unassailed. A slight inspection of any
ordinary map will show that the Crimean peninsula, jut-
ting out into the Black Sea from the mainland, encloses
a portion of those vast inland waters towards the north-
east in such a manner as to form a second or inner sea,
which bears, in fact, about the same geographical rela-
tion to the Euxine that the Euxine itself does to the Me-
diterranean. This inner sea—called " the Sea of Azoff"

—is approached by a Bosphorus of its own, usually
designated the Straits of Kertch. Though its extent, com-
pared with that of the Euxine, is but small, its shores, being
wholly Russian, comprise the chief portions of the southern
seaboard of that empire, and, as all the eastern coast of the
Crimea is included in its circuit, it became of great conse-
quence to assert for the Allies in these waters the same su-
periority which had been established in the Black Sea. The
attention of the allied commanders had been directed to these
quarters some time ago, but it was not until last month that
an expedition was actually undertaken for the purposes in
view. Our ships traversed the Euxine in all directions, but
did not penetrate the Straits of Kortch.

On the 24th of May, however, a squadron comprising eight
English, four French steamers, and six screw gun-boats, and
carrying a land force of 16,305 troops, assembled at a ren-
dezvous about ten miles south of the Straits, and proceeded
to enter them without delay. The very demonstration itself
proved equivalent to victory. It was found that though the
Straits, like all other assailable points of the Russian terri-
tory, were tolerably well fortified, and some pains had re-
cently been expended in strengthening the defences, the va-
rious positions were all considered by the enemy as untenable
against the advancing force. About midway up the Straits
the troops were disembarked at a place called Ambalaki, on
the western shore, which is formed by the eastern promontory
of the Crimea. By their advance from this point all the Rus-
sian positions along the coast, including the important stations
of Kertch and Yenikale, the latter of which commands the en-
trance to the Sea of Azoff, would have been taken in the rear
and cut off from all communication with the interior. This
consideration, combined apparently with an exaggerated esti-
mate of the allied force, seems to have deterred the enemy
from any attempt at resistance, and post after post was aban-
doned before the advancing expedition. First, the batteries
at Ambalaki, and then the towns of Kertch and Yenikale,
were evacuated, so that the allies had nothing to do, after
bivouacking at Ambalaki for the first night; but continue
theirmarcb, and take possession of all the important stations
successively, up to Yenikale itself. In what strength the
Russian garrisons actually mustered it is not easy to ascer-
tain, but, if there were no more than 2,500 troops at Kertch,
it is clearly not probable that any effectual resistance could
have been offered.

After passing through Kertch the allied troops proceeded
to Yenikale, and there took up their quarters for a time, a
small detachment being left at the former town to complete
the destruction 4 the Government establishments No sooner
we the poop Of the Straits secured than a dying squadron