The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-23 00:00:00

THE CRIMEA.

BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, Oct. 7.—Ten days have the
Allied Forces now been in sight of Sebastopol, and
not a cannon has been fired. Our heavy siege
guns are up, and apparently only waiting for ground
to be broken to commence their work of destruction.
The following is two days later news than that
published :on Saturday :—The Rus4ians have not
allowed a day to pass without firing round shot or
shell. The ominous silence which reigns in the
Allied camp must strike them with terror, and
Lord Raglan has wisely determined not to tire a
. ..

shot until all the guns are in position. Three hun-
dred cannon will open their tire at once, and the
town will be in ruins, it is calculated, before twelve
hours' bombardment.

The fire will be directed on the extreme right by
the British guns, and on the left by the French.
The centre, where the Russians have directed all
their late efforts, and which is commanded by seve-
ral forts and ships' broadsides, will not be faced.
I believe it has been determined to bring Sebas-
topol into subjection, and thus avoid, if possible,
the bloodshed of an assault. The Ist Royal and
6th (Itiniskilliug) Dragoons have arrived since my
last. Both regiments suffered severely at sea. Tile Ist
lost not less than eighty horses, and the Gth above
ty. Regimen ta possessing; spare horses will have to
remountsix the forlorn dragoon. The health of the
army is a little better, but the improvement is not
so great as could be desired. In the light division
cholera has broken out again after a temporary
respite, but in other divisions that and dysentery
• have diminished.
OCT. B.—This morning the Russians have com-
menced throwing in shells with considerable activity,
but with their usual unsuccess. Cholera has
slightly increased.
A. little alarm was caused yesterday by the re-
port of Cossacks having been seen in great num-
bers in the neighbourhood of Balaklava. In con-
sequence of this, all officers belonging to the ships
in harbour were refused leave to go on shore, but to-
day the usual permission has been granted. It is im-
possible to say when the guns will be planted, and
the bombardment of Sebastopol commenced. I
trust my next letter will report the opening of our
siege batteries. We have been hitherto favoured
with magnificent weather, and it is to be hoped
that the rainy season, almost due, will delay its
unwelcome presence a fortnight longer. By that
time Sebastopol will have fallen.
The many privations which our officers have
had to support and are sill suffering have been
borne with the greatest cheerfulness. The most
severe privation is undoubtedly that of clean linen
and a change of uniform. It is a touching spec-
tacle to see a young" sub " shivering in his coat,
whilst his solitary shirt, which he had just finished
washing, hangs dryin. g on a bush. Notwithstanding
the care and attention bestowed on the uniforms,
these have fallen victims to damp bivouacs and
dusty marches, and have now a particularly seedy
appearance, which the tarnished gold lace certainly
does not redeem. These, however, are minor evils,
which the medal of Sebastopol will soon obliterate.
To-day the enemy has confined himself to a few
shells only, all of which have fallen short.
The sailors attached to the ship guns have broken
up their encampment outside of Balaklava, and
have moved up towards Sebastopol. Jack, to
amuse himself, had scribbled with charcoal, over
the tents sundry ferocious devices, such as " Tra-
falgar lambs," " The Tiger's revenge, " Sinope
avenged," &c. The marines still occupy the heights
above Balaklava, and will probably remain there
to act as a rear-guard.
The Himalaya, under the experienced command
of Captain Kellock, sustained her well-earned repu-
tation in the last trip from Varna. The Himalaya
left Varna on the sth with 330 horses on board,
and arrived at Balaklava on the 6th without
having lost a single animal.

DESCENT AT YALTA.
On the representation of the French generals,
communicated to the British Commander-iu-Chief,
a joint expedition, consisting of the French ships
of war Napoleon, Pomona, and Megere, and the
English ships Sanspareil, Tribune, and Vesuvius,
were directed on the 2d of October towards the
little town of Yalta, on the south shore of the
Crimea for the purpose of obtaining bullocks and
other necessaries, ineldding wine for the use of the
French troops.
This expedition arrived off t'ieir destination at
nine a.m. on the 4th, and, in?eting with no opposi-
tion, landed their etachments of marines and
!iiiall-arm men, and took possession of the town,
the Englisli taking the right rimd their allies the
left. The former established themselves on a
plateau of ground commanding the approaches
and overlooking the town, and the French sent
out a small body on the roads to gain intelligence,
arc. Little Government property was found in the
town, the Russian employes having removed them-
selves and everything that was portable some days
previously. Timber for the construction of plat-
forms was brought off and landed at Balaklava,
and thirty-five tons of Government coals were seized
and sent on board the Vesuvius. Neither bullocks
nor wine were to be found, and so far the expedi-
tion was t coup manque. At eight p.m. the do-

tachments were embarked, and on the morning of
the sth were re-landed under the command of one
of the French captains and Captain the Hon. S. T.
Carnegie, of the Tribune. They marched some
distance inland without meeting any of the objects
of which they were in search, until they came to a
small chateau of Prince Woronzoff, where they
piled arms and rested.
The troops returned to the town in the afternoon,
and finding all solicitations useless to procure either
wino or bullocks, re-embarked at eight p.m., and
the ships returned to their respective stations.

THE ATTACK ON SEBASTOPOL.
The Debuts, in a notice of the last accounts from
the Allied Army of the Crimea, says :
"The special line of the siege has been divided equally
between the two armies from the fort on the south,
which is the centre. This fort is a new construction,
and is built on a height a little to the south-west of the
extremity of the military post. The town at this part
forms a point, and this lecality has retained the name of
Ak-Tiar (the white rock), the old Tartar name of Sebas-
topol, which was formerly a small town of no impor-
tance. We may, therefore, designate the south fort by
the name of Fort Ak-Tiar, and we have seen a letter
which calla it by that name. Sebastopol is about to be
hemmed in by two simultaneous attacks. By the word
attack, in military parlance, is meant the works which
are undertaken, and the batteries which are mounted
in order to dismantle the fortifications on a determi-
nate point. When the circuit of a place can be made
at will, a front is chosen against which the attack is
directed. Sebastopol, however, cannot be thus sur
rounded, on account of its harbour, unless by meai.s
of two armies of 80,000 men each, one for the
north side, and the other for the south,' and win,
would be strong enough to keep up their mutual
communication by the circuit of a harbour about four
miles in depth. From the moment when circumstances
or a concerted plan led the combined army to the
south side, the choice of a front attack no longer re-
quired discussion. The line is pointed out by the town
itself from the Quarantine port on the left, where the
French are posted, to the careening port on the right,
where the English are stationed, and which extends also
as far as the Tchernaya, and even as far as the ruins of
Inkerman, or the lower tows, although these ruins a: e
on the other side of the river. Each of the two arrnie,
will execute its attack by its own workmen and its
own batteries, and each with its own troops, engineers,
and materiel. It is rarely that a place is subject to two
great attacks at the sates time, on account of the

great number of workmen and guns which would
be required to obtain success. In the present case
the means of attack are immense, the spirit of the
troops is most energetic, each soldier is fully aware
of the grandeur of the enterprise—in short, a first
victory, and the emulation of two great warlike nation,
are pledges of success, in spite of all obstacles which are
to be surmounted, and all the attempts which the enemy
may make to impede the siege.

A BRUSH WITH THE RUSSIANS.

The Lloyd, of Vienna, of the 16th, says :

"According to accounts which have been received to
day from the Crimea, the general attack, which had
been announced for the 9th, did not take place on
that day, the preparations of the allies not having been
completed. On the 6th there was a rather smart combat
of advanced posts on the road from Khaur to the south
of Sebastopol. An English picket of about 120 men be-
gan to retire before a patrol of 200 Russian cavalry, but
afterwards, when on more favourable ground attacked
them, and after a short combat put them to flight, and
pursued them as far as the walls of Sebastopol. The
Russians had ten killed and several wounded ; the Eng
lish only lost two men. The cholera is raid to be still

making considerable ravages among the Russians. The
attack ea Sebastopol may be expected to begin every
moment, as all the batteries are now ready."

THE REINFORCEMENTS.

The Debats says If the Russians have already
received reinforcements, and if those which are an-
nounced to be on the road arrive in time, our army
is also receiving theirs. 20,000 men must have re-
cently landed at Balaklava from Varna ; the 4,000
men from Athens are on their way, and at Toulon
and in the Thames troops are daily embarking.
The Allied Army will soon, therefore, amount to
120,000 men ; there were not more at Austerlitz,
at Friedland, or at Moskowa."