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Lordhim to advance idland told OQO , T H...
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THE CAVALRY IN THE CRIMEA A1TO LORD LUCA...
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THE NEW REIGN IN RUSSIA. In another plac...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Brussel S Pamphlet. We Are Condemned...
hostility of the Uncle . During that tremendous war against the first Napoleon , England gathered strength from the struggle ^ and towered loftier in her isolation , when unparalleled dangers were to be enc " ountere . d . by ¦ unexampled efforts . ' m - In alliance with the second Empire she is losing all the power and all the prestige she won in combating the first . The day will assuredly come ( we do but anticipate it ) when the British people will demand an account of these things ; and then the Journal of the Four Winds will not be the last to sound the trumpet of alarm .
Lordhim To Advance Idland Told Oqo , T H...
OQO , T H B X . B A D BB . [ Saturday , - £ lO £ ""* ~ _^^_ - ^^ ^ - ^ - ^^^ -. ¦— ~ —^———¦¦^^—^ ^^^ " ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ¦
The Cavalry In The Crimea A1to Lord Luca...
THE CAVALRY IN THE CRIMEA A 1 TO LORD LUCAN . The campaign in the Crimea has hitherto afforded little scope for the use of the cavalry of either of the allied armies . The affair on the Bulganab was a skirmish of horse artillery . The Cossacks showed a great respect for Captain Maude ' s battery , and retired after a mere display of force . At the Alma the nature of the ground , and the backwardness of the Kussians , gave the handful of British horsemen no opportunity for a charge . But at Balaklava , on the 25 th of October , they made two charges * and they showed the enemy that his dread of the British sabre and lance
was certainly well founded , by performing one of the neatest , and one of the maddest and grandest charges ever executed by the horsemen of any country . Into the details of that act of unparalleled heroism we need not enter at this time of day . In every town , in every hamlet , in every cottage , the glory and the tragedy of that fatal charge are but too well known . A few hundred British horsmen , gallantly led , rushed headlong against an army in position , knowing that they went to certain destruction ; and returned * reduced
by two-thirds , indeed , but rich m that glory which is the soldier ' s most coveted reward . They will serve , as long as England is a nation , as the most conspicuous illustrations of two of our national virtues—courage in danger , and devotion to duty . But justice , and more than justice , gratitude to the men and omeers who performed that exploit is one thing ; justice to the officer who bade them , perform it is another . Lord Luc an was the auth » r of that charge . He has been -. 0 n
recalled ; he has appealed to his peers , and * to his military superiors , and he has placed himself on trial before the public , when the public , in the great interests of the moment , had almost forgotten him . His conduct , and his recal , are now matters of history ; and as such we can freely discuss them . But before we came to the main question raised , the military merits of Lord Lucan , so strikingly tested on the 25 th October , it will be necessary to state why he was recalled . o « ; , it e n 0 > f bt b
It will be remembered that Lord Raglan , in recounting the battle of Balaklava , said that the charge of the Light Brigade took place in consequence of a " misconception of instructions " on the part of Lord Lucan . This was a mild phrase , too mild indeed . Nevertheless it piqued Lord Lucan , and he remonstrated with his commanding officer in a way that necessitated either his recal or the withdrawal of iiis remonstrance . He declined , when called upon , to withdraw the romonstrance ; Lord Raglan forwarded a statement of the facts . , t 1 - 3 3 1 t 1 I I ,
and an ample vindication of himself , to the Minister of War , and Lord Lucan was recalled . On his return home Lord Lucan simultaneously demanded a court-martial , and stated his case in the House of Lords . The Commander-in-Chief declined to advise the Queen to grant him a court-martial , and on Tuesday he again appealed to the House of > ¦
Lords . On this occasion a despatch from Lord Raglan was placed in his hands , which , had he been less hasty in his proceedings , he would have seen before he mentioned the matter last week . That despatch places the whole affair , before the public , and . shows that Lord Lucan should have been recalled in 1854 , instead of 1855 . Let us state why . On the morning of the 25 th October , the Russians , under General Liprandi , assailed am carried the redoubts erected in advance of Balaklavaand occupied by Turkish troops ; _ _ ' . ^ - f * •*¦ 1 l
, and their cavalry , bounding forward , were met in full course by the Heavy Brigade , under General Scarlet , and driven back with loss ; one portion of them flying from the fire of the Highlanders , whom they attempted to charge . The Infantry from the camp were rapidly coming up , and Lord Raglan , hoping to save the guns in the redoubts , sent an order to Lord Lccan to advance the cavalry , and take every oDnortunitv of recoverine : the heights . " They
will , " he added , "be supported by Infantry , who have been ordered to advance upon two fronts . " But . Lord Lucan took no notice of this order ! He threw no men forward . He could not see the enemy , and he made no attempt to see them . The Russians were securing their position on the hills , and removing the guns . Lord Raglan was naturall y surprised at the inertness of the cavalry , which of course deranged his combinations . He then sent Captain Nolan with this written order : —
"' Lord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front , follow the enemy , and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns . Troop of Horse Artillery may accompany . French cavalry is on your left . . "' Immediate . __ " < R . Aibey . ' Let Lord Lucan himselF describe the scene that ensued on the arrival of the gallant Nolan : —
" After carefully reading this order , I hesitated , and urged the u selessnesa of such an attack and the dangers attending it . The aide-de-camp , in a most authoritative tone , stated that they were Lord Raglan ' s orders that the cavalry should attack immediately . I asked him , ' Where , and what to do ? ' as neither enemy nor guns were within sight . He replied , in a most disrespectful but significant further end of the
manner , pointing to the valley , 'There , my Lord , is your enemy ; there are your . guns . ' So distinct , in my opinion , was your written ' instru ^? i 6 npananB 6 ~^ olitive '" and ^ iirgem--were-the orders delivered by the aide-de-camp , that I felt it was imperative on me to obey , and I informed Lord Cardigan that he was to advance ; and to the objections he made—and in which I entirely agreed—I . replied that the order was from your lordship . " Lord Lucan had attended so little to the first order that he actually forgot its purport ; for he tells us that the cavalry were drawn up to support infantry , whereas Lord Raglan had expressly stated that the cavalry would be supported by infantry ; and , in point of fact , the Fourth Division , the Guards , and Bosquet ' s Division were on the march . But when , in a moment of passion , he ordered the Light Brigade to charge , in spite of Lord Cardigan ' s objections , he so far forgot , his duty as a commander , that he did not bring up the horse artillery ; he gave no notice to the French cavalry of whose position he had been informed ; he only moved up in support two regiments of the Heavy Brigade . More than this , he did not know the position and numbers of the enemy against whom he hurled the Light Brigade . The act was not that of a soldier who knows the art of war ; it was that of a man in a passion , blind to everything except the gratification of , his own irritated feelings . He earned his recal .
These comments may sound severe ; but they are'justified by the facts . It is clear that what Lord Raglan desired his general of cavalry to do , was to make a demonstration against the enemy . He was first ordered to advance ; finding he did not move , Lord Raglan ordered
him to advance rapidly , and told him to " try " and prevent the enemy from carrying away the guns . Instead of advancing , and trying what he could do , he ordered an attack at all hazards ! In point of fact he took his . orders from the lips of Captain Nolan , instead of acting on the written words of Lord Raglan ; and he destroyed the Light Brigade . Had he been cool enough to understand the English , _ _ "I _ 11 . 1 . « * i . * .
language ; had he known his place well enough to disregard the heated words of Captain Nolan ; had he known his duties , and felt that he could perform them ; had he been all eye and ear to what was going on in front of him ; in short , had he been a real general of cavalry , the Light Brigade would not have made that glorious charge , but the Russians might have been driven over the Tchernaya .
But where lies the original error ? There , we answer , where lie so many other errors and faults in this campaign—in our system of training and selecting officers . Lord Lucan , had he not been a Peer , would never have been trusted with a brigade , much less a division , of cavalry . Nobody can doubt but that
he was appointed through back-stairs influence ; and the blame of the Balaklava charge must fall , to a great extent , upon those , whoever they are , who appointed an incapable officer to the command of the British cavalry . If we want to make an example , let an example be made of those who appointed Lord Lucan , and of Lord Lucan himself .
The New Reign In Russia. In Another Plac...
THE NEW REIGN IN RUSSIA . In another place we have discussed the remoter and more uncontrollable- elements of the war which the new Czar inherits . We have shown how much easier it was for Nicholas to summon his hosts than it may be for Alexander to dismiss them again . We are unable to consider the question of p eace or war under one aspect only , after the manner of Mr . Bright ; but in order to testify to that gentleman the sincere respect we entertain for the sincerity of his purpose , a respect not at all diminished by difference of opinion , and to prove to him our own desire for peace , if a peace at once prudent and honourable can be obtained , with ample indemnity for the past and amplersecun ^ Tar ~ thne ~ future 7 ' we '" invite-his attention to the following summary of a communication received from a foreign correspondent , who augurs favourably for the restoration of peace from the disposition of the new Czar . We cannot say that we attach the same importance to the personal character of a man who may be but a fly on the wheel of that system which Pbter the First bequeathed to his successors . But we will let our correspondent speak for himself ; our readers will decide : — " The Emperor is dead , Vive VEmpereur ! There is nothing changed but the name , we shall bo told ; but it fortunately happens that the son does not always resemble his father , and it would be difficult to produce two such characters as that of Nicholas . Russia breathes again , and hopes : after the iron rule of Nicholas , Alexander II . will have an onsy task . The first question to be considered is , whether tins change of rulers will bring war or peace . On tins point we find the Times and the Morning lost at issue . While the organ of the City expresses tho desire to terminate the war , the organ of the 1 rime Minister is unwilling to deprive its patron of tno laurels he is to win by carrying on the war witu vigour . The Manifesto of Alexander II . declares that ho will pursue the policy of Peter tho First , or Catherine , of Alexander , and of his father . Now tho home policy of Alexander and of Catherine was a liberal policy . Catherine gave the Statut : Alexander emancipated tho serfs in tho Baltic provinces , anu gave a constitution to Poland . With regard to f «> ro » ff " policy , we must not forgot that if tho European 1 owers md lost all faith in the word of Nicholas , the son has not as yet in any degree compromised his sincerity . Material guarantees are less imperativo against » sovereign whoso honour has not incurred suspicion . And as , on tho other hand , wo know Jhat tho pre-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 10, 1855, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_10031855/page/16/
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