TAKING OF THE MALAKHOFF-FALL OF SEBASTOPOL

as from outside, a sudden onslaught should drive the invaders from the harbour and town of Balaklava and compel them to raise the siege.

Liprandi's force, therefore, precipitated itself on the position held by the allies on the river, and the brunt of it had to be borne by the French, who were, however, supported by the indomitable courage of the Sardinian contingent, which had been placed on the right. The Russian commanders had, according to their usual practice, served out large rations of coarse brandy, and the men charged down upon the French position with wild impetuosity, but only to be met with a determined vigour that drove them back with terrible slaughter across the bridge, where the already broken mass became a panic-stricken crowd struggling vainly to return.

The battle began while the mists of early dawn hung heavily upon the valley of the Tschernaya, and by nine o'clock the Russians were in full retreat.

The number of the French killed was comparatively small, but that of the Russians was estimated at about 3000 killed and 5000 wounded. Four hundred prisoners were taken. On the bodies of the dead were found four days' rations, but no water, so confident had their leaders been of securing their hold upon the Tschernaya. "The men dead in the field," General Bernard wrote to Colonel Phipps (18th August), "looked worn and miserable; the grenadiers of the guard were there, men 6 feet 4 inches and well dressed, but thin and worn also. The generality were badly clothed and badly fed, many very young." This was regarded as a proof that the destruction of the stores on the Sea of Azoff had begun to tell. If the forces already on the spot bore such evident marks of being badly fed, there was little to be apprehended from any further reinforcements of men which Russia might be able to send to the front, as they must increase the embarrassment of the enemy, from the already failing supplies of provisions.

The end of the war was nearer than most people supposed. The utter defeat of the force intended to engage and overwhelm the position on the Tschernaya left the siege

185

operations of the allies uninterrupted. The bombardment was continued, and on the 5th of September, 1855,-just twelve months from the day on which the allied armies sailed from Varna, was renewed with greater vigour than ever, and was continued for the two following and a portion of the third following days. The cannonade of the French alone extended over a space of four miles; the English fire was more concentrated. This continuous bombardment was the prelude to a determined attempt to seize the Malakhoff and the Redan. Twenty-five thousand French and five thousand Sardinians were concealed in the trenches, as the foremost works were called, and in other places where they could await the word of command to spring out and rush to the assault of the Malakhoff, which was the more important fortress. The attack was to be made about mid-day, as at that time the Russians were known to seek repose and many of them left the ramparts. At twelve o'clock the firing ceased, and the word was given for the assault. The attacking party dashed out, passed the ditches, scrambled up the hill; and in a quarter of an hour the tricolour was floating on the old tower of the Malakhoff. A party of engineers quickly placed the first-gained height in a position of defence, and when the Russians in dense masses came moving onward they were met by the French troops sent by General Bosquet from the other side to support the assaulting party. The struggle was then fierce and stubborn. General Regon, who led the engineers to the summit of the height, said, “I entered the Malakhoff at the head of the sappers with the Zouaves of the first division of the second corps d'armée. We climbed the ditch like cats, dislodged the enemy, forced the lines and carried the redoubts with an enthusiasm and rapidity perfectly French. Our standards, planted on the parapets, were assailed and vigorously defended for more than six hours." The engineers and Zouaves succeeded in holding the redoubt, and the Russians were at last finally repulsed. The key of the position was taken, and a fire was directed from it to the rear of the Redan, where the English had been less successful.

To take this was, it seemed, a more difficult | opened. A picket party creeping stealthily task, but it might have been captured had our men been better supported. General Simpson had committed to Generals Codrington and Markham the task of assaulting it. The attack was delayed till the Russians were engaged at the Malakhoff, and the signal was given directly the French tricolour was seen floating on the height. A thousand of our men of various arms went out to traverse that long 200 yards to the Redan-a road of fire. They were mowed down like reeds by the close discharge of the artillery. Those who at last forced their way into the place were exposed to the same resistless hail, and unless they were soon reinforced it was evident that they must all perish or be driven back. But no messengers could go back on that road to ask for aid, one by one they fell before they reached the spot where General Codrington was to be found. At last Colonel Windham, who commanded the handful of men who still remained, determined to make the attempt himself, and he succeeded, but it was too late, and while he was speaking to the general the remnant of his followers had been driven out by the greatly superior force of the enemy. Meantime the struggle at the Malakhoff was severc and the result uncertain, and Pelissier sent a message to General Simpson, begging him to effect a diversion of the Russian force by making a second attempt on the Redan. The answer was that the trenches were so crowded that no second attacking force could be organized. Thus the first attack failed because it was made by too few, and a second could not be attempted because there were too many. General Canrobert had failed in an attempt to seize the south-western defences of the town, but the attack had served the purpose of diverting the sole attention of the Russians from the Malakhoff, the capture of which was itself an important achievement, though it was dearly purchased. The loss to the besiegers on this terrible day was about 10,000 killed and wounded; that of the Russians must have been far greater. The next day was Sunday, and the attack on the Redan was to be renewed, but before the day had dawned a new scene in the dread drama of war had

to the Redan after nightfall found the place
deserted. A series of tremendous explosions
in the arsenals, and numerous fires, proclaimed
that the enemy was preparing to leave the
doomed city. The Times' correspondent, de-
scribing the scene with graphic brevity, says,
"Soon afterwards wandering fires gleamed
through the streets and outskirts of the town,
point after point became alight, the flames
shone out of the windows of the houses, rows
of mansions caught and burned up, and before
daybreak the town of Sebastopol, that fine
and stately mistress of the Euxine, on which
we had so often turned a longing eye, was on
fire from the sea to the dockyard creek. At
sunrise four large explosions followed in quick
succession, and at 5:30 Fort Alexander and
the grand magazine, with all their deadly
stores, were blown into the air. The former
exploded with a stupendous crash that made
the
very earth reel." All this time the Russians
were marching with sullen tramp across the
bridge, which Gortschakoff had caused to be
constructed for the retreat, and boats were
busy carrying matériel off from the town, or
bearing men to the south side to complete the
work of destruction, and renew the fire of
hidden mines, or light up untouched houses.
After the Russian retreat had been effected
the bridge was removed and thus a deep arm
of the sea was left between them and their
antagonists. "When the town could be safely
entered, heaps of wounded and dead were
found lying in stores to which they had been
carried after the assault. Of all the pictures
of the horrors of war ever presented to the
world, the hospital of Sebastopol was the most
horrible, heartrending, and revolting. It can-
not be described, and the imagination of a
Fuseli could not conceive anything at all like
unto it. How the poor human body can be
mutilated and yet hold its soul within, when
every limb is shattered, and every vein and
artery is pouring out the life-stream, one
might study here at every step, and at the
same time wonder how little could kill. In
a long, low room, supported by square pillars
arched at the top, and dimly lighted through
shattered and unglazed window frames, lay

GENERAL WILLIAMS "OF KARS.".

was ultimately done, but not till after long | ordered the Turkish Bashi-bazouks to cut delay and repeated letters from Lord Clarendon to Lord Stratford de Redcliffe. It took six weeks and fifty-four despatches to obtain the promise that this rank should be assigned to the waiting general, and ten weeks more for the Turkish government to sign the firman carrying the promise into effect. For a long time the pay of the army had been in arrear, the sick in hospital were in a dreadful condition, the soldiers were ill-fed and neglected. Directly General Williams received his brevêt he sent three dishonest pachas to Constantinople for trial, appointed Dr. Sandwith as superintendent of the hospital, which was soon put in efficient order, and encouraged the people of the surrounding country to send in supplies, for which they at last believed they would be paid without being robbed by the officer who gave the order. Captain Teesdale, one of his staff, reorganized and restored the discipline at Kars, while the general himself put Erzeroum in a position of defence.

The Russian general Mouravieff was approaching with a large force, and General Williams was obliged to hasten to Kars, which he provisioned for four months and prepared to defend to the utmost. He had entreated the Turkish authorities to send him further supplies, which would have enabled him to hold out for two months longer, but the sultan, for whom England and France had united in a tremendous struggle, was at that time demanding that his own private income should be doubled; and the supplies, after much delay, only reached Yenekoï, a place about fifty miles distant, whence they could not be transported except by cavalry, for which the general had applied in vain to his own government. These provisions were appropriated by the advancing Russians, who seized Yenekoï, or Kars might never have been surrendered. General Williams, however, directed all his efforts to prepare for the attack, and a series of earthworks was constructed. The Russian army, under Mouravieff, amounted to 50,000 men, a portion of whom were deputed to watch Erzeroum, and Kars itself was completely invested. To diminish the number of mouths, General Williams

their way out through the Russian army, and this they did though with some loss. .It was now August, and the general had been a year achieving the organization of the defence and the establishment of a better system for the administration of the army. All the resources of the hour were utilized to prepare for the enemy should he attempt to take Kars by assault. On the 29th of September the trial was undergone and triumphantly met. Mouravieff advanced his army before daylight and strove to force a way into the town, but behind the earthen ramparts the Turks fought with desperate valour, and after repeated efforts the Russian host, beaten back at every fresh attempt, was compelled to retire, leaving 5000 dead upon the field. The brave fellows who had made defences of their own bodies, or had, in the face of the Russian fire, rebuilt their earthen fortifications as soon as they were demolished, would only have been sacrificed had they rushed out and come to close quarters in the open space beyond; all that could be done was to hold out as long as possible. The small supplies of biscuit, flour, and soup made from horse flesh, were soon doled out in rations only sufficient, and at last not sufficient, to prevent actual starvation. The supplies were soon exhausted, many died of famine or lost their reason. There was no hope of assistance. The sultan was engrossed in the endeavour to provide for his desired increase in salary. Selim Pacha, the nearest Turkish general, would not advance to the rescue. Omar Pacha was too far off to render immediate assistance. It was useless to remain there to die, and on the 24th of September General Williams sent Captain Teesdale with a flag of truce to ask a conference with Mouravieff. The conduct of the Russian general was that of a brave and noble soldier. He might have demanded that the garrison should surrender at discretion, but he testified his admiration of the ability with which a persistent resistance had been maintained, and the garrison was granted the full honours of war, all the military authorities leaving the place under arms, and depositing arms and flags in a spot previously agreed upon,

PALMERSTON'S LESSON TO AUSTRIA.

while to General Williams was accorded the right to designate to the Russian commander a number of persons who might return to their homes. Moreover, the English officers were treated with courteous hospitality by the Russian general and his staff, and plentiful provisions were sent in to the starving garrison.

Sir William Fenwick Williams of Kars met with a cordial reception in England when he arrived after the war was over, and £1000 a year pension was settled on him along with the title.