Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 6.djvu/149

THE MAIN FIGHT. 105 The attack on Mouut Inkermau was not at the chap. first regarded as being what men call a ' battle,' . '__ nor indeed did it seem for a while that the com- ^^' ^'**'*<^ bat going on would prove to be one vitally momentous. Although Lord Kaglan had come Penne- 11111 • 1 1 fathei-'s very early, and although he remained on the control not Pij superseded ground, it did not result that General Peiinefather s by loki ° . Raglan's control of the defence was forthwith superseded presence on the field. by the arrival of his chief. The General, tem- porarily commanding the Division, and clieerily conducting the fight, was, as it were, on his own ground ; whilst, on the other hand, the mist lay so thick that a newly arriving chief, who in such conditions had hastened to assume the immediate governance would have been perplexing his sub- ordinate by a blind, random exercise of authority. Far from so interposing, Lord Eaglan, whilst prof- fering all the aid that Pennefather could ask, still left him to pursue his own plans without being disturbed by orders. When General Canrobert came up, he even appeared to go further in the same direction, for he courteously offered to place his forces at Pennefather's disposal. VII. But consistently with the determination to Lord leave an undisturbed power for the moment in order to the hands of Pennefather, Lord Eaglan was able guns from 11-11 *-^'® siege- to discover and apply a resource by which the train park Russian artillery, now overweighting our field- pieces, might itself in turn be outmatched. He