XLIV. CHAP. four guns.* * The fire and the breaking-down of the gun-carriage produced for the moment an ill effect upon the head of the French column, and one of its battalions fell back under the shelter of the acclivity. But this check did not last. The road blocked by the broken-down gun-carriage was quickly cleared, the guns were moved up rapidly, and swarms of skirmishers pressed up in all directions. Then the troops which were already on the summit moved forward, and lodged themselves upon a part of the plateau a little in advance of the steep by which they had ascended.** Measures taken by upon ob turning movement. upon the As soon as he began to hear guns in the direcKiriakoff tion of the West Cliff, Kiriakoff took from his reserving serves two of his "Moscow" battalions, and posted Bosquet's them, the one low down and the other higher up, on that part of the hill which looked down White Homestead. He also drew from his reserve eight light pieces of artillery, and placed them in battery facing towards the sea, so as to command, though at a long range, the part of the plateau which Bosquet crossed by the Hadji road. Kiriakoff did not take upon himself to make any other dispositions for dealing with the turning movement which threatened his left. * Half of the No. 4 battery of the 17th brigade of the Russian artillery. ** Sir Edward Colebrooke saw this operation from the deck of one of our ships of war, and describes it very well in his memorial. He was a skilful and very accurate observer of military movements. CHAP. XLIV. cliff. Amongst the French who were gaining the summit of the plateau, no one seems to have divined Horsemen the reason why a little body of Russian horsemen on the should have made its appearance on the cliff overlooking the sea, nor why, without attempting hostile action, it had tenaciously clung to the ground. Those troopers were the attendants of a man in great trouble. They were the escort of Prince Mentschikoff. XIII. of Bos turning upon the move- mind of with Mentschi Prince The enemy's survey of the Allied armies had The effect been so carelessly made, and had been so little di- quet's rected towards the sea-shore, that Bosquet, it seems, movement had already got near to the river before his ment was perceived. Prince Mentschikoff, Gortschakoff and Kvetzinski at his side, had been koff. standing on the Kourganè Hill, watching the advance of the English army, and giving bold orders for its reception; but presently he was told that a French division was advancing towards the unoccupied cliff on his extreme left. At first he was so shocked by the dislocation which his ideas would have to undergo if his left flank were indeed to be turned, that he had no refuge for his confusion except in mere disbelief, and he angrily refused to XLIV. CHAP. give faith to the unwelcome tidings.* For days he had been on the ground which he himself had chosen for the great struggle; but he was so certain that he had effectually learnt its character by glancing at its general features, that he had not, it seems, had the industry to ride over it, nor even to find out the roads by which the villagers were accustomed to ascend the heights with their waggons. He seems to have imagined it to be impossible that ground so steep as the cliff had appeared to be could be ascended by troops at any point westward of the Telegraph Height; but when at length he was compelled to know that the French and the Turks were marching in force towards the mouth of the river, his mind underwent so great a revulsion, that having hitherto taken no thought for his left, he now seemed to have no care for any other part of the position. In his place, a general, calm, skilful, and conscious of knowing the ground, might have seen the turning movement of the French and the Turks with unspeakable joy; but instead of tranquilly regarding the whole field of battle under the new aspect which was given to it by this manœuvre, he only laboured to see how best he could imitate the mistake of his adversary how best he could shift his strength to the distant unoccupied cliff which was threatened by Bosquet's advance. The nature - *Chodasiewicz. XLIV. sures for with it. march. of the ground enabled him to make lateral move- CHAP. ments in his line without much fear of disturbance from the Allies; and as soon as he saw that the His meaFrench were detaching two-fifths of their army in dealing order to turn his flank, he wildly determined to His flank engage a portion of his scanty force in a march from his right hand to his left — in a march which would take him far to the westward of his chosen ground. For this purpose he snatched two light batteries from his centre and his right, gave orders that he was to be followed by the four "Moscow" battalions which were the reserve of his left wing, and by the three "Minsk" battalions which formed part of his "Great Reserves," and then with some squadrons of hussars rode off towards the sea. koff on the cliff. It was certain that a long time would elapse Mentschibefore the troops engaged in this vain journey could be expected to get into action with Bosquet; and, meanwhile, the power of the whole force engaged in the flank movement was neutralised. But that was not all. Prince Mentschikoff's mind was so strangely subverted by the sensation of having his left turned, that, although it must needs be a long time before he could be in force on the West Cliff, he could not endure to be personally absent from the ground to which he now fastened his thoughts. So when, with his Staff and the horsemen of his escort, he had got to the ground overlooking the sea, near the village of Ulukul Tiouets, and had seen the first groups of XLIV. CHAP. the Zouaves peering up on the crest of the hill, he still remained where he was. His batteries at length coming up, there begins a cannonade his and artillery. Whilst he sat in his escort drew fire from saddle, the appearance of his At this time, it would seem, he gave either no orders, or none of a kind supplying real guidance for his generals. Lingering upon the ground without troops at hand, he impotently watched the progress between of Autemarre's brigade. His light batteries soon came Bosquet's up; but neither these nor the squadrons of hussars which formed his escort were the best of implements for pushing back General Bosquet into the steep mountain-road by which he had ascended; and in the hands of Prince Mentschikoff they were simply powerless. However, his guns, when they came up, were placed in battery, and Bosquet's guns being now on the plateau, there began a cannonade at long range between the twelve guns of the French and the whole of the light artillery which Prince Mentschikoff had hurried into this part of the field. At the same time the French artillery drew some shots from the distant guns which Kiriakoff had placed looking seaward on the Telegraph Height; and the annals of the French artillery record with himself. pride that the twelve pieces which Bosquet brought up with him engaged and overpowered no less than forty of the enemy's guns. Nor is this statement Bosquet maintains |