Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/52

22 FIGHTS ON WEST FLANK OF SEBASTOPOL. CHAP, battalion, ho rallied the fugitives scattered in the Zarogodnaia Ravine, restored them to order, in- spired them with fresh warlike ardour, and in- trepidly led the whole body, then gladly accepting his guidance to another attack on the Cimetiere counter-approach, and delivered this return on- slaught with so great a vigour that the French once again were driven out of the Work, and even pursued in their flight along the trench they had opened on the night of the 21st. Without waiting for the need that might be occasioned by the next alternation of fortune, General Khrouleff reinforced his battalions whilst still victorious with a fresh body of troops not less than 600 strong. flfthattack Not shaken, however, in purpose, the French work: brought up their reserves — troops including the Voltigeurs of the Guard — and executed a deter- mined attack on the long- disputed counter-ap- proach. The onslaught, however, was met with strenuous resistance, with strenuous counter- attacks; and the strife that resulted was main- tained on each side with rare obstinacy. ' The ' bayonet mcUes' says Pelissier, ' were terrible. ' Two other battalions of Voltigeurs of the Guard, ' the 9th Chasseurs a pied, and the 8th of the Line, ' were called to the ground.' The strain put on the French raised a need for, as sea-captains word it, ' All hands ! ' Till now, held in readiness to ' transform ' the entrench- ment when captured, the men of their ' working- ' parties' were swift to lay down their tools, to