The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-10 00:00:00

THE NEWS FROM THE SEAT OF WAR

The Siecle says :
....._

" By the letter from Constantinople in the Moniteur,
which, after all, merits as much credit as the Russian des-
patches, is confirmed the news which has come to hand
by private means. The daring movement of the Russians
on Balaklava was vigorously repulsed ; the positions, a
moment taken from the Turks, were retaken with promp-
titude ; and the English, who appear to have suffered
most, had 400 men hors de combat, a trifling loss in com-
parison to the number of men engaged on both sides.
The journal of the siege has besides corrected the exag-
gerations of the private telegraph relative to the number
of guns empb yed by the Allied armies, and the number
of projectiles fired by them in the course of a day
against the fortifications of Sebastopol. It results also
from the journal of the siege that the attempt at spiking
the guns, spoken of in a Russian despatch as having
succeeded, failed miserably. The Russians did not spike
any guns on the redoubts of Balaklava, but they un-
spiked some pieces, which they were unable to keep, and
turned them against the English cavalry. Far be from
us the thought of under-valuing the military merit of the
Russians. A good part of the glory of our armies
results from victories gained over them, in the time of
the first republic, at G-astricum; in Holland by General
Brune ; at Zurich, by Massena, ; on the Linth by Gene-
ral Soult ; and in the time of the first empire,
at Austerlitz ; at Eylau, at Friedland, and on the
Moscowa. We were the first to direct attention to the
phrase of Marshal Ney—' The Russians are so solid that
it is not enough to kill them, they must be afterwards
pushed down in order to fall.' But we distrust their
military and other despatches, because there commences
the domain of politics, and because on that groand the
Russian Government is as firm in the practice of misre-
presentation as its soldiers are solid on the field of
battle."

THE NECESSITY OF PATIENCE.
Galignani says

" It is only now that they can reason calmly and feel
the necessity and propriety of patience. If after having
heard so much of the strength of Sebastopol, they
had not been assured that all that had been said on
this subject was false, they would never have ma-
nifested impatience of the duration of the siege.
A month, six weeks, or even two months would
not have appeared an unreasonable time for the accom
plishment of so great a work as the taking of Sebastopol.
What would have been thought then will, we trust, be
now that the illusions so injudiciously encouraged have
been dispelled. More difficulties than were anticipated
by even the least sanguine have perhaps presented them.
selves ; but there are none to warrant discouragement.
The great danger to be feared was that the delay of the
siege would enable the Russians to bring up such large
reinforcements as to interrupt the siege operations, and
lead to a battle in which there would be great nunserica
superiority on the side of the enemy. This fear has not
been realised. The Russians, indeed, have received
reinforcements, but not in sufficient number to cause the
least uneasiness to the Allies, and every day fresh troops
are landed to augment our force."

THE RUSSIAN TROOPS IN THE CRIMEA..
We read in the German Journal of Frankfort :
" The following, according to Russian accounts of
November 3, is an exact statement of the number of
Russian troops at present in the Crimea, in the proximity
of Sebastopol, independently of those which are at
Kertch and Perekop, and the surrounding countries.
After the battle of Alma, Prince Menschikoff's army
was reinforced by the arrival of the troops of General
Chotumoff, Liprandi, and Korff, and fresh troops are
constantly coming up. Besides the men belonging to
the ships, there are at present at Sebastopol and in
its neighbourhood the following regular troops
under the orders of the commander-in-chief of the
6th corps of infantry, General Gortschakoff 111 ; the
16th division of infantry, commanded by General line-
zinski, and composed of 16 battalions ; the 17th division
of infantry, composed likewise of 16 battalions, and
commanded by General Kiriakoff ; as the 18th division
of the 6th corps of infantry is at present in the Caucasus,
Prince Gortscl*koff 111. has received in its place a bri-
gade of the 14th division of infantry, commanded by
General Schobekrieski, and the 13th brigade, composed
of 4 battalions with the 6th corps of infantry, to which
belong also a battalion of sharpshooters and another of
chasseurs, who are at Sebastopol. These troops, which
form 46 battalions, would be 46,000 men strong, if each
battalion had its full complement of 1,000 men. But as a
portion of them have been on the Danube, and as war
and sickness have reducedthe number, the battalions can
be estimated at only from 600 to 800 men each. There
is, moreover, the division of General Liprandi at Se-
bastopol, forming part of General Dannenberg's corps,
and also composed of 4 regiments, or 16 battalions. The
infantry of the active army at the disposal of Prince
Menschikoff at Sebastopol is 62 battalions, that is,
43,300 men, allowing 700 men for each battalion ' • to
these must be added the artillery of 144 pieces. He has
a very large cavalry, comprising the 6th division of light
cavalry, composed of two regiments of Hulans and two
of Hussars under the command of Lieutenant-General
Lanskoi, the division of Hulans of Gen. Korff composed
of two regiments, and a reserve of two regiments of light
cavalry of Gen. Ryzoff ; making in all 10 regiments of
regular cavalry of 1,000 men each, with artillery in pro-,
portion. To.these must be added the Cossacks of Lieut.-
Gen. Chotum off, cotnprisi9g at least 8 pulsk, or 4,000
men and 6 batteries. All these troops may be esti-
mated together to 60,000 effective men, including some
small corps, such as the squadron of Tartars, &c. They
would amount to 80,000, if the regiments had their full
complement,

INCIDENTS OF THE SIEGE.
The following are interesting extracts from pri-
vate letters from the camp :

THE LATE HON. COLONEL HOOD.
"I hope," writes an officer of the Grenadier Guards,
"ere long to be able to give you some good news to
counterbalance the great loss we have experienced.
Colonel Hood, who went on duty this morning, com-
manding the Guards in the trenches, was killed by a
round shot while moving from a battery along the trench,
which in that part was not above two feet high. I can-
not tell you how much he is regretted by us all. He
had led us to victory at the Alma, and I am quite certain
there was not a man, officer or soldier, who had not the
most perfect confidence in him ; for on that occasion he
bad shown the greatest coolness imaginable under fire,
which he communicated to every man under his com-
mand, and which contributed so much to the gallant
conduct of the regiment in that action. His loss has
cast a gloom over us all."