The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-09 00:00:00

INVASION OF THE CRIMEA.

THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

THE FRENCH DESPATCHES.

The Minister of War has received the following
report from General Canrobert, Commander-in-
Chief of the Army of the East :

"BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, OCT. 22.

"Monsieur le Marechal,—Our works of approach
continue according to the plan indicated in my preceding
despatch of the 18th. I have not time to write to you
at length, but I have the honour to send to you the
journal of the siege, which will make you acquainted
with all the details of our operations.
"The difficulties with which ,we meet are of two
kinds,—those which result from the nature of the soil,
the solid stratum of which, already insufficient, diminishes
in proportion as we approach the place, and those re-
sulting from the number and the calibre of the pieces
of artillery which the enemy plants against us almost
in a right and very extended lino. In this respect,
the resources which he draws from his vessels stationed
in the port-2-men as well as materials—are almost inex-
haustible ; while ours, although augmented by the loans
which wo make from the two fleets, are necessarily li-
rrited. The 68-pounders, the 80 howitzers, and the 12-
inch mortars are, in short, almost the only artillery upon
which we can rely.
"This position renders the siege of Sebastopol one of
the most laborious operations which have been met with
for a long time, and the efforts which we are compelled
to make to carry them into effect will explain the delays
that have arisen.

"In the night of the 20th the enemy made an attempt
to spike our guns, which failed. A few men who, by a
surprise, entered our batteries, were killed there by the
officer in command.

"The losses which we have experienced from the fire
of the enemy are by no means so considerable as might
have been expected, considering the difficulties of our
position, which I have explained to you.
"I send successively, and by all the means which the
fleet places at my disposal, my wounded to Constanti-
nople, where our hospital resources have assumed a more
satisfactory character.
" The state of health of the army is satisfactory. The
maladies which have arisen have been produced by the
excessive fatigue which our brave soldiers have had to
undergo. The naval gunners who have landed have also
been attacked with illness. They evince a courage and
devotion which are remarked by the whole army.
" Accept, Mousier le Marechal, the assurance of my
respectful devotion.
" The General Commander-in• Chief,
OANROBERT."

The following articles are from the Moniteur of yes•
terday

" A Constantinople letter says :—" We left the Bay
of Kamischi on the evening of the 26th. The fire of the
besieged had much slackened, and the aim had become
more and more uncertain. It is believed at head-quar-
ters that the Russians begin to want artillerymen, and
that it is the infantry who work the guns. We are to-
morrow to enter a trench at 400 metres from that place.
" On the 25th the Russians, to the number of 20,000,
attacked our rear, which was defended by the Turks,
and took possession of the redoubt guarded by the latter.
The English commenced the attack, giving notice of it
to General Canrobert, who sent the'Secund Division and
a squadron of Chasseurs. Our cavalry, assisted by the
English cavalry, repulsed the enemy by a most brilliant
charge, during which the combat Was sustained for
nearly five minutes with the sword. The pOsitions were
retaken. - - _ -

" The English lost 124 men belonging to the Queen's
squadron which recently arrived. In all, their loss
amounts to 400 men. Our loss is not so great, but we
have to regret the deaths of two officers.
"It is believed at head-quarters that the assault will
be made on Wednesday or Thursday (the Ist or 2d of
November.) The inhabitants are in want of water, and
appear to be much discouraged."

FRENCH JOURNAL OF THE SIEGE.
The following is the journal mentioned in
General Canrobert's despatch :

Oct. 17.—At half-past six this morning, the signal
having been given, the fore opened simultaneously from
all the French and English batteries ; 53 pieces on the
part of the French (including the 4 that can be fired
from the Genoese fort,) and 73 on the part of the
English; total, 126 pieces.
The place answered them with much ♦ivacity also
from all the batteries that bear on the two attacking
parties ; their ordnance cannot be estimated at less than
250 pieces.
The fleets were net able to manoeuvre so early.
For three hours the firing was kept up with the same
animation on both sides, without any perceptible result,
when, at half-past nine, a bomb falling on the French
powder magazine of battery No. 4, burst through it and
blew it up. This explosion disorganised the battery,
and killed or wounded fifty men.
The firing was nevertheless kept up from the other
batteries ; three quarters of an hour after, a chest of
cartridges exploded in the No. 1 battery, manned by
seamen.

The General-in Chief left it to the judgment of the
general in command of the artillery to determine when
to continue the firing.
At half-past ten in the morning, our batteries, against
which the enemy's fire was concentrated, not being able,
from having been reduced to three, to answer the cannon
of the place without disadvantage, the general com-
manding the artillery gave orders to cease &in... The
fire of the enemy's batteries slackened immediately.
The fire of the English continued without any marked
advantage or the reverse • nevertheless, the shots from
besieged,the though well directed, did not produce any
marked afact.

About three o'clock in the afternoon an important
magazine of the great Russian battery, called the Redan,
opposite the English, exploded, leaving only three guns
capable of being worked.
At four o'clock a magazine in the rear of the English
exploded. This was the fourth explosion during the day.
At 1 o'clock in the afternoon the fleet had anchored
with the right of its line near the battery of the Genoese
fort, directing its fire upon the "Quarantine" Fort and
upon the town. The fire was answered with vigour. The
mass of shot thrown by the vessels occasioned great
damage. The whole theatre of action, however, was so
enveloped in smoke, that it was impossible to estimate
the results of the fire.
At night the fire ceased on all sides, and silence
reigned. The vessels returned to their anchorage with-
out having experienced any particular damage, in spite
of the persevering attacks of the enemy.
The loss we have suffered in these attacks consists in
12 guns disabled and two partially damaged. The em-
brasures and coffers of the batteries have also been here
and there knocked down, and the ditches have been filled
up in places.
After 4 o'clock in the afternoon the Russians sent out
detachments to discover whether the batteries were
abandoned. These detachments returned again.

During the day nothing remarkable took place on the
part of the corps of observation.
Oct. 18.—The night of the 17th and 18th passed over
tranquilly. There was no fire from the enemy's works.
Great exertions were made to repair the embrasures,
strengthen the coffers, and make the batteries again
ready for action.
This work was continued during the day in spite of
an active fire from the enemy, which, however, did no
damage. The batteries 1,2, 3,4, 7, and 8 were fit for
service en the morning of the 19th.
The engineers towards the end of the day advanced
was regulated
a übpatotnery a
their works towards the right parallel, opposite the bas-
tion called the Mat.
new rrhbeaasriariamteiniet of
following
ltohwe batterieserde r
No. 9 to be set up on the right :
Batteries No. 1,2, 3, 4. Kept up.
Battery No. 5
Battery No. 6
Battery No. 7
4 16-pounders.
2 mortars of 27 c.
4 mortars of 22 c.
4 Turkish mortars, 27 c.
3 Turkish mortars, 23 c.
The arrival of the last battalion of the let regiment of
the foreign legion completed the sth division (Levaillant)
which was landed on the previous days, and which con.
sists of the following troops :
First Brigade, General de la Mott-Rouge-21st of the
line, 42d of the line.
Second Brigade, General Couston-sth Light Infan-
try, 46th of the line.
Third Brigade, General Bazaine—lst regiment of the
foreign legion, 2d regiment of the foreign legion.
This division forms part of the besieging- corps. It is
encamped in the second line behind the fourth division.
In consequence of this arrival, the Ist division on
the 17th of October stationed itself on two lines to
the right of the cavalry and general head-quarters, in a
position half way between the corps of observation and
the besieging corps.
The English artillery continued ,its fire with chances
that appeared favourable.
Oct. 19.—During the night, between the ISth and
19th, the works were not disturbed. About half-past
ten, however, an alert seems to have taken place in
Sebastopol. Shouts were -heard, followed by a sharp
cannonade in every direction, and a lively fusillade ac-
companied by cheering. At the end of half an hour
silence succeeded and the works were resumed.
At half-past six in the morning the French artillery
began firing ;
.the English did the same, and the enemy
answered.
This firing was very heavy, notwithstanding a thick
fog, which cleared up about eight o'clock. The firing
became then more regular and accurate. Our fire was
maintained with chances that appeared to be at least
equal, and by the end of the day it had evidently gained
on that of the place. By two o'clock the tower of the
central bastion was completely ruined ; the embrasures
of the Mat bastion (right face) had greatly suffered.
About three o'clock the firing slackened gradually on
both sides. Our batteries were little damaged, and
could easily be repaired during the night.
Oct. 20.—The ruined embrasures of the right face
of the Mat could not be completely repaired during
the night. At daybreak, when the firing commenced,
two pieces alone could play for an instant. They soon
ceased. A part of this result must be attributed to the
very active and skilful fire of the rifle companies, which
did not permit the gunners to serveheir their pieces
the right,
The engineers are advancine- t works on
fronting the Mat bastion, as far as the ravine which goes
down into the harbour of Sebastopol, and separates us
• from tne gDgliali. The proximity cf the place and the

Battery No. 8

Battery No. 9