Lord Raglan himself, in company with brave St. Arnaud, reconnoitred the enemy's position during the last halt, and after that, towards one o'clock, the signal for battle was given. We must follow the French, for they had the honour of commencing this bloody affray.
General Bosquet's division, then, which had been hugging the sea-shore, was divided into two brigades. One of these was ordered to leave their knapsacks behind—alas! many a poor fellow never saw knapsack more—and, fording the stream, ascend the first path I have mentioned. This brigade was followed by the Turks. The other brigade ascended opposite Alma Tamak, and the artillery were taken up this road also. Farther inland, General Canrobert's division got on by the road opposite the farm, and, next to Canrobert's, Prince Napoleon's division.
But note this early: that the seaside brigade of Bosquet's and the Turks never got near enough to the enemy to fire a shot. So that disposes of them. Indeed, if you imagine the field of Alma to be a chess-board, you can suppose this brigade and the Turks as useless.
Canrobert's guns had to follow Bosquet's left brigade a mile to the west of him, and he himself was a mile to the west of Telegraph Hill.
He has seized the colours, and his wild slogan can
be heard high above the roar.
Well, now, many of my readers will at once ask the question: Why didn't the Russian general destroy, block up, or defend these roads? Perhaps he forbore to defend them because he would have placed himself within reach of the ships' guns; but a little engineering skill might have rendered them entirely impassable, to artillery at all events.
While the French were ascending to the right then, even as it was, the guns of their fleet were throwing their shot and shell far on to the plateau beyond them.
And now the British began to move onwards to take up the ground they were to occupy. There were, therefore, confronting our British soldiers at least 21,000 men, with eighty-four guns on hastily-constructed batteries.