The battles of the world

by J. Douglas Borthwick

SLUYS, NAVAL BATTLE OF.—In this battle Edward III gained a signal victory over the French. The English had the wind of the enemy, and the sun at their backs, and began the action, which was fierce and bloody—the English archers galling the French on their approach; 230 French ships were taken; 30,000 Frenchmen were killed, and two Admirals; English loss inconsiderable.—Fought, June 24th, 1340.

SMOLENSKO, BATTLE OF.—One of the most memorable battles fought during the Russian campaign of 1812, between the French and Russian armies. Fought, August 17th, 1812. The French were three times repulsed, but at last gained the victory, and on entering Smolensko, found it in ruins, on account of their bombardment.

SOBRAON, BATTLE OF.—In India.—Fought, February 10th, 1846, between the British army, 35,000 strong, under Sir Hugh Gough, and the Sikh force on the Sutlej. The enemy were dislodged after a dreadful contest, and all their batteries taken; and in attempting the passage of the river by a floating bridge in their rear, the weight of the masses that crowded upon it caused it to break down, and more than 10,000 Sikhs were killed, wounded or drowned. They also lost sixty-seven cannon and some standards. The British lost 2383 men.

SOLEBAY, NAVAL BATTLE OF.—Between the fleets of England and France on the one side and the Dutch on the other; the Allies commanded by the Duke of York. The Dutch were compelled to flee, having lost three ships, but the English lost four. In this obstinate and bloody engagement the Earl of Sandwich man-of-war blew up, and 1000 men were either killed or wounded. Fought, May 28th, 1672.

SOLFERINO, BATTLE OF.—This great battle, one of the most bloody ever fought, took place during the war of Italy and France against Austria. Fought, June 24th, 1859. The loss on both sides was tremendous. The Austrians mustered 250,000 men; the Allies 150,000. The number slain and wounded ranged from 30,000 to 37,000. The result of this battle was the Austrians repassed the Mincio, whilst the Allied headquarters were placed at Cavriana.

SORTIE FROM SEBASTOPOL.—The great sortie, during which the good Captain Hedley Vicars was killed, is well described in the following account:

“On the night of the 22nd of March, the enemy, about 7000 strong made a sortie from the works of the Mamelon, which the French, as already related, had so gallantly endeavoured to wrest from them. The distance between the advanced parallels of the opposing forces was not more than sixty yards; and the Russians were fully alive to the necessity of preventing, if possible, any further advance on the part of the Allies. The French and English Generals were equally aware of the importance of the position, and not less than 6000 or 7000 French soldiers were nightly marched down to the trenches; our working and covering parties numbering about 1500. Advancing stealthily in two columns, the enemy attacked the head of the French sap, and were gallantly met by a division of the 3rd Zouaves, under Chef de Bataillon Balon. Three times was the attack made, and three times repulsed, not without great loss both to assailants and defenders. Finding themselves unable to force the French lines in this direction, the enemy changed his front, and threw himself against the left of the French position; but here, too, our brave Allies were equally on the alert, and a sharp volley assured the adventurous Russians that but little success was to be hoped for in that quarter. Rapidly extending their attack, they succeeded in occupying the nearest English parallel, and thence poured a murderous fire into the French lines. General D’Autemarre, the officer in command, seeing the fierce nature of the attack, now ordered up the 4th battalion of the Chasseurs-à-Pied, who, in a vigorous bayonet charge, drove the enemy from his position.

While this was going on in the French trenches, to the right of our lines, our troops were also engaged in repelling an equally determined attack. A portion of the Russian columns advanced under cover of the darkness, and succeeded in approaching the English lines. The first intimation our men had of the threatened attack was from the advanced sentinels, who quietly fell back with the intelligence that a large body of the enemy was approaching our position. The English troops engaged that night in the trenches consisted of detachments of the 7th, 34th, 77th, 88th, 90th, and 97th regiments, under the command of Colonel Kelly, of the 34th. The advanced posts on the right nearest the French lines were composed of men from the 77th and 97th, led by Captain Vicars, who, hearing the approach of the enemy, ordered his men to keep silence. On came the Russians, and when within a few yards of the English trenches, they rushed forward and leaped into the works. They were immediately met by the brave defenders of the lines, who, hitherto motionless, now made an irresistible charge upon the advancing foe, and after a few moments of desperate hand-to-hand conflict, literally pitched them from the parapet. Captain Vicars, who led his men with distinguished courage, met his death in this vigorous repulse. Major Gordon, of the Engineers, who commanded the detachment on the right, was severely wounded. While the attention of the defenders of the trenches was thus drawn to the conflict in this direction, the enemy made another attempt to penetrate our lines farther to the left, where two mortars had been established for the defence of the trenches. Here they succeeded in gaining a footing, notwithstanding a most brilliant resistance from a few men of the 90th, who actually drove them from the battery, though they were unable effectually to oppose their advance. The 7th and 34th, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Tylden, were now brought up to the scene of action, and gallantly met the fierce assault. After a severe contest, the Russians gave way, and were precipitated from the works. A general attack was now made upon the retreating masses, who fled utterly beaten. The French followed them so far as to be enabled to destroy some of the rifle-pits they had established on the slope of the Mamelon, which had been the means of such constant annoyance to our Allies. In this pursuit Colonel Kelly was killed. The Russian loss must have been very great. On our side, the casualties were not more than 38 killed and wounded; the French lost over 300.

On the next day an armistice, for the purpose of burying the dead, was requested by General Osten-Sacken, the Russian Commander. This was granted, and for two hours, on the 24th, the guns ceased firing, and the officers and men of the opposed armies enjoyed a brief respite from their deadly contest. There was a natural desire on each side to approach as nearly as possible the lines of the other; and the soldiers mingled freely in the open space between the Allies on the one side and entrenched sides of the Mamelon in front. Burial parties were formed and the dead and wounded of either army borne away by their comrades. Meanwhile the officers chatted and exchanged cigars, and the men passed equivocal compliments—such as their very limited acquaintance with each other’s language would permit; the Russians making kind inquiries as to when the Allies would favour them with a visit at Sebastopol; and our fellows requesting them not to trouble themselves with special preparations, as they intended to make themselves quite at home when they did come. The dead and wounded, in every variety of attitude, were a frightful spectacle, even to those inured to scenes of strife and bloodshed. At length the armistice expired, the white flags disappeared from the parapet of the Mamelon, the stragglers hastily ran to the protection of their works, and in an instant the boom of hostile cannon again thundered on the ear, and clouds of white smoke again obscured the scene of the brief truce.”