The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-12 00:00:00

upon Balaklava and our rear been sufficiently persevered
in, General Besquot could not have moved his battalions to
the assistance of the English. Without this aid our troops
could not have maintained their ground against the vastly
superior numbers brought against them. The Russians,
encouraged by the presence of the sons of their Emperor,
blessed by their priests before entering into battle, and
drunk with religious enthusiasm and strong drink, rushed
with blind fury upon our troops. The foremost columns,
when once engaged in the struggle, could scarcely fall back ;
there was no space for them to deploy, and the thick
brushwood impeded their movements. Masses after masses
of men pressed up the hill sides, pressing onwards those
that were in front, and leaving no room for retreat.
Upon these dense crowds the Minie told with fatal effect,
and when once they were broken the most complete confu-
sion ensued. Hence the terrible slaughter in the Russian
ranks. The excitement of a first success having subsided,
they rapidly gave way, aid fled panic-stricken before the
impetuous and repeated charges of the French and English
troops. Their artillery was well served and inflicted great
loss upon the Allies. Bat again the fear of leaving a trophy
made the gunners uncertain in their movements, and in-
duced thins to retire too soon. More than once the horses
were led to the guns whilst the issue of the struggle was
still doubtful. Colonel Dickson well divined the beat mode
of defeating the enemy, when, neglecting the columns of
men, he directed his round shot upon their guns. The ar-
tillery once silenced or hesitating, the Russian infantry
no longer fought with confidence, but soon fell back in
disorder.

The British troops fought on this day with a calm and
steady courage that has never been surpassed. Led on by
their regimental officers they charged over and over again
the massive columns of the enemy, and drove there back
with the bayonet. When without ammunition, and borne
down by overpowering numbers, they were compelled to
retire, they formed again as soon as they were out of fire,
and rushed once more into the fray. We owe our preser-
vation to the indomitable courage and heroic conduct of
the soldier ; and well, therefore, was Inkerman called by
one consent on the field " the soldiers' victory."
The imminent danger we had incurred on the sth of
November opened the eyes of the nation to the precarious
position of the Allied armies, and to the desperate nature
of the enterprise in which we wore engaged. No longer
besiegers but the besieged, with a force nearly twice as
great as our own upon our flank, a fortress of enormous
strength and an arsenal with unlimited resources in our
front, and reinforcements and supplies pouring into a place
which we were unable to invest—it was only by enormous
exertion that we could continue to hold our ground we had
occupied. When the time had almost passed, ministers
began to make their efforts, and it may be hoped that after
all the sacrifices we have made we may succeed in cur
object.

The stnexpected resistance which they had met on the
heights of Inkerman almost paralysed the Russians. They
made one more attempt upon Bals.klava. From a hill
commanding the height occupied by the marines they
opened an ineffectual fire of field pieces. The day after, a
crowd was seen dragging a siege gun of large size up the
precepitous ascent. It had nearly reached the summit,
when the weight, overpowering men and• horse, hurled
them down into the ravine beneath. With these excep-
tions, and occasional sorties, principally directed against
the French batteries, and all vigorously repulsed, the Rus-
sians have not again ventured upon an attack. The allied
armies, at the same time, have remained on the defensive;
each satisfied to hold their position until fresh reinforce-
ments of men, and fresh supplies of the munitions of war,
should enable them to recommence the siege with some
prospect of success.
The approach of the stormy season further disclosed the
neglect and improvidence in the Government, and the gross
negligence and incompetency of the departments to which
the details and conduct of the war had been confided. Our
army was left without adequate clothing to protect them
from the inclemency of the weather; with scarce sufficient
food to sustain them ; and without an adequate medical
staff to care for those who were wounded in battle, or dis-
abled by sickness brought on by the privations and suffer-
ings to which they were exposed. From the absence of the
means of transport and the want of a proper road, the
operations of the siege have been paralysed, our horses
have been destroyed, the supplies, which (might have pre-
served the health and contributed to the comforts of tko

soldier, have been allowed to rot, and the sick have been
left exposed to wet and cold in miserable tents* at Bala-
klava. The French, more provident than ourselves, had
foreseen the difficulties and unavoidable sufferings of a
winter campaign. They had constructed reads between
their lines and the place of disembarcation, and had more-
over made depots for the commissariat in their camp, an-
ticipating the possibility of a temporary interruption,
from weather or other causes, of communication with the
harbour : provisions for the men, or provender for the
horses have thus been at all times at hand. Large sub-
stantial sheds of wood were easily built for their sick and
wounded, and afforded them effectual protection until
they could be removed to Constantinople, where well
ordered and well provisioned hospitals, furnished with all
that humanity and medical skill could devise, were ready
to receive them. Their shipping in Kamish Bay has been
admirably managed, and although greatly inferior to
ours in tonnage and in size, has never failed to furnish them
with necessary supplies, whilst proper and well-enforced
regulations have prevented confusion and preserved a com-
modious and unencumbered landing-place in the harbour.
Contrast the condition of our army, and the management
of the department connected with it with that of our
allies; the state of our roads, the sufferings of our sick,
the harbour and town of Balaklava, our hospitals at Scu-
tari, and the unparalleled sufferings of our men and ani-
mals. As in all the naval movements wo have hitherto
been behind them, so in all that tends to the efficiency and

comfort of the soldier, we have shown ourselves infinitely
their inferiors. These are humiliating reflections, and
still more painful when it is remembered that they are
caused by our own want of common foresight, and our ob-
nate determination to reject every warning and every
counsel.
Before wo conclude we cannot but refer to the ready and
truly considerate manner in which General Canrobert and
his officers have assisted us in our wants. By his willing.
ness to afford at all times that aid which our own negli-
gence and imprudence have compelled us to seek at his
hands, no less than by his eminent qualities as a com-
mander, and the generous way he has always borne testi-
mony to the courage and conduct of our troops, ho has
gained the confidence and esteem of our army, and has
strengthened that bend of union which now exists between
the two nations.
By the eud of the year the Allies, after extraordinary
exertions, were, it would appear, in a condition to com-
mence a second attack upon Sebastopol, and possibly, at
the time we aro writing, that event has actually occurred.
We devoutly hope, that it may prove successful. Indeed,
we can scarcely hope that if our preparations and resources
are such as we aro informed they are, the south side of the
place must succumb before our fire and a subsequent as-
sault. But we must be prepared for a heavy less and for
further difficulties. Whatever may bo the result of this
expedition—whether the fall of Sebastopol be but the first
event in a long and bloody war, or whether the nation
suffers a hollow and uncertain peace to be concluded,
utterly inconsistent with the vast sacrifices it has made—
the future historian of the campaign in the Crimea will
record with mingled feelings the iadomitablo courage and
long suffering of an English army—the incapacity and
neglect of an English Ministry—and the generous forbear-
ance and noble spirit of the English people.