94 THE ENEMY'S GREAT NIGHT ATTACK. CSap. thus vacated, there came down soon afterwards IV. . a fresh detachment — one furnished by the 7th Fusiliers, zavaiich- Directed by Enseigne Zavalichine (whose fire, inc's flank J ° v mov.ment. though from ' English ground,' had been hitherto poured on French troops), the attack planned against our right flank was opening with some shots from his skirmishers, when under the orders of Boudistcheff, and designed to take ef- fect on our front, a heavier onslaught began. Bomiist- Greatly favoured of course by the darkness, chefPsat- , _ , . • -. . tack. but also by the roar of a wind overpowering the sound of their march, a body of Eussian troops moved out from the lines of Sebastopol, and as- cended the Woronzoff Ridge* Undertaking a front attack on the extreme right wing of our advanced parallel, the column opposed its strength to the detachment of our 97th Regiment — a de- tachment comprising no more than some 70 or 80 men, but commanded by a brave, warlike officer — by Captain Hedley Vicars. charge by The column advancing in silence had not Vicars with . ° to or so men seemingly come up so close as to be vet driving of the 97th. ° J r J t> — Major Gordon — who saw them made, and were afterwards officially eulogised by General Eyre, ' the general officer of the ' trenches.' Lord Raglan to Secretary of State, 27th March 1855.
- 'A force so far as I could judge of at least 800 men.' So
writes Colonel Kelly, relying upon such personal observation as was possible in the darkness, but also upon a Russian despatch which purported to give a detail of the forces engaged by the enemy. The estimate, however, cannot be reconciled with Todleben's account
