The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-24 00:00:00

T 11-E BATTLE OF INKERMAN.

(Front es Special Correspondent of the Morning Herald.)
BRITISH Caul', Nov. 7.—We have again had a pitched
battle with the Russians—a battle which, for duration and
loss of life, is only to be equalled by the tremendous con-
flicts of Napoleon at Austerlitz and Leipsic. In a word,
the enemy, with an overpowering force, attacked the right
of our entrenched oamp at daybreak on the morning of
Sunday, the sth of November. Their immense superiority
of numbers enabled them to carry several strong positions,
and penetrated into the centre of the camps of the Light
and 2d Divisions ; but the opportune arrival of reinforce-
ments enabled the Allies to recover their lost ground, and
eventually repulse the attack with such loss to thenemy
as is, porhaps, unparalleled in the history of modern
warfare.
The English have lost no less than aeven general officneerer
killed and wounded, an unusually large proportion of
ell:leers, and about 2,400 men. The Freuch, who reinforced
us, and turned the fortune of the day, have lost, as at Alma,
about 1,400. The loss of the enemy is literallyappalling.
No words can convey an idea of the manner in which they
have been slaughtered. Between 15,000 and 20,000 of theii
in some pces three and fou,
dead remain upon the field,
deep. While the battle was raging on the right, a sortie
was made from Sebastopol on the left of the French line.
It was repulsed after a tremendous engagement, in which
our allies lost about 1,000 killed and wounded, and the
Russians nearly 3,000.
ase The fighting lasted about eight hours. No terms of praise.
aro too high for the desperate courage which the enemy
*hewed in this assault upon our lines. Their conduct and
coolness, under fire, literally seem inexplicable.
On the morning of the 4th the enemy approached Bala-
klava en two bodies, about 35,000 or 40,000 strong ;—of
course, as they nearly always are, day aid night, the de-
fenders of the batteries had to get ander arms, and fired
several shells into the enemy's columns. The latter gave
not the least sign of a wish to attack; on the contrary, be-
yond moving out of range aid remsiaing drawn up in or-
der of battle, they barely appeared to notice us.
The night of the 4th passed much the same es other
light' in cavil); that is, we talked over what the trenches
had done that day, the geasral prospects of the siege, the
large force of the enemy in our rear, and the probability of
an "'slots" from the besieged garrison. T. our surprise
the enemy appeared iaolined to let us have a quiet night,
and only a guts now and thea was fired from Sebastopol.
A little after three, on the morning of Sunday the sth,
when a heavy fog shrouded everything from view,
the various garrisens of the redoubts at Balaklava
were roused out by the neje° of large masses of
troops approaching. This time scouts were instantly
sent out, and returned with the intelligence that a
large army was moving against them, though, ow-
ing to the darkness and the thickness of the fog, it
was impossible to say on what point the attack would be
directed. To the surprise of all, the right of our position
at Balaklava was not even threatened, and this was the
only point from which danger is really to be apprehended.
The left or north of the Balaklava defences are remark-
ably strong, as they rest on the steep plateau of land on
which our camp is fixed, so that any army advancing
against Balaklava on the left, would be exposed to a tre-
mendous flanking fire from the redoubts is rear of our
lines. Yet it seemed from the sound as if it was on this
point that the attack of the enemy was directed, and all
our doubts were set at rest by the batteries oa the left of
Balaklava, and also those in rear of the camp, opening tire.
What they fired at—beyond a noise—it is difficult to say,
for the merning was dark, cold, and foggy; so foggy, with
that particalar white wet mist of a winter's morning, than
it was impossible to see ten yards beyond the mnzales of the
guns. Yet the noise of the cavalry and. artillery could be
plainly heard, and in its direction oar batteries sent shell
after shell. At about half-past three the Russian artillery
returned the fire. From the flashes of their guns they
appeared to have advanced into an angle of the plain,
between a Are from our camp line* on their right, ano
our Balaklava batteries facing them. Directly the
vague indirect flashes of their guns were made out
our artillery fired in that direction, and the enemy ap-
peared to be trying to return it. The cannonade was
hot enough, and lasted about half-an-hour, yet I
scarcely think a man fell on either side. The fog WAS se
thick that aim was out of the question, so the guns were
fired on "spec," and to show the enemy we were preparee,
for them. At about four o'clock a cloud of skirmishers
advanced to the brow of the hills en which the rear of our
camp lines rest. The Barden skirmishers never approached
nearer to this breastwork than 500 er COO yards, and at
this very safe distance a hot fire wee kept up by them in
the direction of the breastwork. The Zouaves, of .:nurse
returned the musketry, but with just the same results ar
those which followed the cannonade—viz., no results at all
Both sides were almost out of range, and mist decideals,
out of sight ; its fact, as your readers have foreseen, thi
whole attack upon the rear of our lines was a mere feint
to draw off attention, while s serious and desperate
attempt was made to force our camp, and tarn the
whole of our position en the right, near Tchernaya.
Ia the camp the continued cannonade in the rear hat.
excited some disturbance. The troops were got undo
arms; but, knowing the strength of the position in the
rear, none were moved. The fire meanwhile had much
lackenod, when suddenly, and near five o'clock, to th,
surprise, and I think also a little to the consternation o.
all is camp, a most tremendous cannonade was opened Iron
the heights near Inkorman, full upon the right of our po-
sition. As I have said, the two-gun battery on the hid
over the Tchernaya was held by a strong party of the 55th
With the first fiting in the rear they had turned out: an,
were watching the cannonade from a distance, when some
of the men remarked a peculiar rumbling noise on the base
of the steep hill. The fog and darkness were so dense that
it was quite impossible to distinguish anything ton feet
below the battery. Yet still the noise round the hill cone
tinned. I have already described the high steep hill
facing the battery and overlooking it. No one suepectet:
or believed it possible that the enemy could get guns n;
this in a single night, so the place had been but little re-
girded. Yet it was from this spot that the Russians
open° i the fire from about ten guns full on the Two-gut,
Battery and the Light and 2d Divisions, which lay about
half-a-mile in the rear. The instant the cannonade began,
and the first emotions of utter astonishment and surprise
were passed, the 55th piequet kept close under the earth-
'Perk of the battery, and the Fillet flew over them, do*
but little injury. The enemy had, some way or other,
managed to get up their guns during the night, but havinr,
to point them in the dark and fog, took but a blind aim,
yet nevertheless their shot and shell flew in all direction,.
for the space of nearly 20 minutes, while the cannonade is
rear of the line at Balaklava was also redeubleel, so that it
seemed impossible to say which would prove the true an,
which the feint attack, or whether they were both true of
both feints. The latter opinion was adopted by many.
who said that the enemy would never dare attack us ie
our entrenchments, but rather distract our attention while.
a sortie was made from the town upon the trenches. A,
if to confirm this surmise, the instant the cannonade it
the rear recommenced, all forts, redoubts, and batteries
round Sebastopol opened with a tremendous roar, which
seemed to shako the earth.

Of oonrse, the troops remained ander arms, but did net
attempt to move; every one knew that before the real at-
tack commenced the artillery would cease and the sitar;
crackling fire of musketry begin. Until that was heard,
there wan no knowing on which of the three points the
enemy intendel to advance. The report of the muskets
was therefore anxiously listened for, and it soon wa'

heard. .
The picquet of the 55th had been all this time I 7 is
ender cover of the walls of the Two-gun Battery enth:
right. The fire of the Russian artillery, though much di-
rented on the battery, had done little or no harm, and the
men still lay under cover when the guns „mod. The
instant they had done so, and the men of the 55th were
enabled to hear what was moving in their ewe immediate
neighbourhood, the noise of an immense body of amen
advancing was heard close upon the batteries. The
Picipset instantly prepared to defend the place, and
then in the hour of need the great deficiencies of the bat-
tery were discovered. In the first place it had no gnus,
and in the second place no steps were made to enable the
infantry to fire over ita high parapet. Had there been
either one or the other, the Russians would never have
taken the place. As it was, our men were obliged to
erowd sloe* to the two narrow embrasures, and fire through
them as they best could. Before they had taken their
places at theee ports a single minute, all the kill close
ryeann2cdi the battery was found to be surrounded by the &a-
but th*z '1".111Y. The fog prevented ear follows seeing far,
Hamilton:we:ere
atelilltldtoe plainly that some 5,000 or 6,000
The instant thea y close at hand.
through the fog, though
caught sight of the battery '
exertion, in
climbing the
seemed utterly spent by their
the hill, they rushed forward with n
dash we hardly gay:
of numbers,
for. Nothing daunted
by the immense disparityln
they closed within 10 feet° antuuber3, the 55th waited till
00.friduithen gave one tremendous
and
firing
enemy in the dust ; and
volley, which stretched ..2..
musketry
fast as he could, kept 1
then each man, loading
thrylupon eaoh Itussial,
up an incessant discharge of
as ha approached. The Itusmat,
and then, with wonderful courage,
lii
ie minutes they
X"' for
a I"lnint)
taller instant
fd up and returned
a close and deadly fire. In less than
its emu-
again attempted to storm the battery.
gallant 554t:'"'
rushed on and poured over its banks, and
brasures, in over-powering rig numbers. There I:ausgit
gent
of desperate struggle, during which our
hand to hand and foot to foot with their numerousfon ht
assail-
ants. It was but a moment, and iu the neat they repulsed
the attack and preserved the battery. But their numbers
diminished every instant, while those of the enemy in.
creased. Soddenly tho Russians made another charge,
and this time with more effect.
The remnants of the 55th picquet abandoned the battery
just in the nick of time, for the 11th regiment of Russian
infantry had crossed the Tchernaya at another point, and
were trying to take our men in rear and flank.
The, brave 55th fell back among the bushes, fighting
to the last, till they came to another picquet under
the wall, on the old post road, which,.. like itself,
had lost half its men, and were fighting desperately to