Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/63

THE BATTLE OK BALACLAVA. 41 high degree founded upon the cavalry, or whether, chap. for once, he went along with the herd in his __ estimate of what could be insured by a little upturn of the soil with a few Turks standing behind it. A main defect in the arrangements of the Allies was the one under which it resulted that those divisions of infantry on the Chersonese which lay the nearest to the plain below were not the troops of the nation which undertook to defend Bala- clava. Bosquet, with two divisions, was so posted on the edge of the Chersonese upland, that, judging from their position alone, his troops might have been naturally looked to as the first to descend into the plain for the defence of Bala- clava ; and, besides that General Bosquet was an ardent soldier, and a man most loyal in action, there is no reason for supposing that mere differ- ence of nationality alone would have made the French slow to come down to the aid of Sir Colin Campbell ; but the fact of the interposed force being under the orders of a commander other than Lord Raglan, made a dangerous break in the chain by which the Allies held together. It was only by persuading General Canrobert to allow it, that the nearest of the battalions on the Cher- sonese could be made to partake in a battle upon the plain of Balaclava ; and the exceeding scant- iness of the infantry force which Lord Eaglan had been able to spare for the immediate defence of the place made it a thing of great moment that the promptest possible despatch of reinforcements