The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-16 00:00:00

A RUSSIAN COUP DE MAIN.

On the night of the 20th the Russians attempted a coup
de main. About a hundred of them, all volunteers, arrived
by the embrasures in one of our batteries. The lieutenant
of artillery on duty, M. Clarin, cried out Qui vivo I and
received the answer, AVous somnto Anjlais; nC tirez pas.
The next moment the Russians dashed forward. The
lieutenant, however, at once gave the order to hii men to
fall on the assailants, and a hand-to-hand contest ensued.
Tho Russians at last fled, leaving seven men dead, and four
taken prisoners, and amongst them an officer speaking
,French perfectly well, and who died the day after of six
bayonet stabs which he received. The other three pri-

souors have stated that our mortars, in particular, do the
fortifications of the town much damage.

The Czar, I learn, say,: the writer of a letter at Marseilles,
is said to have commanded the garrison to hold out and dis-
pute every inch of ground to the last man ; and the later
information I shall now place before you will prove the
correctness of this report. But Brat, as to the battle of
Bilaklava :—On the morning of the 25th October, an army
commanded by General Luders, of not less than 35,000
men, attacked the outworks of the Allies, protected by
Tuaisians, who were compelled to retreat. Immediately
General Bosquet's division and the English corps advanced
to meet the enemy. The engagement commenced with a
splendid cavalry charge, executed by the Obasseurs
d'Afrique and the light cavalry of the English. Nothing
cßiotidttilsh cabomvoay wasrlrebrill l
brilliant
pthosingeweight and metal of the
as our own was impetuous.
The Russians retired in order. The victory was for the
Allies. The English suffered most. Soon after two other
sorties were made from Sebastopol,
both of which wore
vigorously repulsed by the Allies, our enemies on each oc-
casion suffering immensely,
whilst the loss on our side was
but trifling, considering the numbers engaged. The only
real disaster during these events has been the loss of a regi-
went of cavalry, Which I am sorry to say WAS nearly de-
stroyed from having advanced se as to come within the fire
of the Russian artillery. Here I must observe that the cavalry
force of the Allies is not by any means competent togain per-
manent advantages over the clouds of Russian horse, who can
outnumber us beyond all proportion. We want, too,
reinforcements of all arms. Remember, we have not only
to conquer, but to destroy !

A letter from before Sebastopol, dated the 28th ult., in
the Semaphore of Marseilles, says :
When you receive this letter matters will be terribly
advanced, if not terminated. It is from a fear of pledging
myself to too much that I do not venture to affirm that all
is finished. The duty of the artillery will soon cease; our
infantry will then have theirs to perform, and are all im-
patience to see their turn come round. The day before
yesterday a Russian column advanced towards Balaklava
near the heights occupied by the English, opposite ours.
Unfortunately, the English had entrusted these heights
and the redoubts which they had constructed to battalions
of Tunisians. Those poor devils, at the approach of the
Russians; withdraw, leaving the redoubts in the hands of
the enemy. The English were magnificent in their display
of courage, but unfortunately they far a moment lost their
customary sang freid, and a iogiment of Hussars got them-
selves cut to pieces by the enemy's artillery at the bottom
of a ravine, when pursuing a regiment of Russian Lancers.
The artillery of the Russians did Rot spare their own men
more than the English, firing on the general mass. Yes-
terday the Russians wanted to continue, but the English
drove them back with great loss. The weather continues
to be magnificent.

The following is an extract from a letter of an officer
of the 17th'Lancers :

"My dear Father,—As usual, lam hard pressed to save
the post, as, being always in momentary expectation of
being turned out, it is just as much as we have time to do
to get our horses fed and watered, and eat our own rapid
meals. lam at present commanding-officer of the 17th
Lancers, which gallant little regiment now consists of 50
men and horses fit for duty, and three officers.
" I fear that before you receive this letter yOu will have
heard some bad news of the light cavalry brigade. How-
ever, not to keep you in suspense, I will begin by saying
that I am safe and well in my own person, having come
out from that gallant, brilliant (but, as all add, useless)
charge, under a tremendous fire of all arms from front and
flanks, and a perfect forest of swords and lances, untouched,
with only a sabre cut oa poor old Sir Brigg's (his charger)
head, just over the right eye.

"On the 25th, about half-past five a.m., when about to
file in from our usual morning parade, we heard the report
and saw the smoke of a gun from a Turkish redoubt, and
soon perceived the Russians advancing, supported by heavy
artillery, in number believed to be about 20,000 infantry
and 3,000 cavalry.
" At the first sight of them the Turks ' out and run,,
forsaking their guns, and the Russia= quickly brought