Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 6.djvu/416

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372 THE BATTl.R OF INKERMAN. CHAP. VI. 4th Period. The enemy once more in the as- cendant. turn his right fkiiik, that at the close of this Fourth Period he was still holding fast at the Barrier. The Barrier, however, was now the very fore- most spot near the centre of the field to which the Allies remained clinging, and on their right front they were not even trying to maintain the conflict. The enemy still oppressed them with his overwhelming artillery ; and upon the whole, it, before long, resulted that despite his last sig- nal discomfiture he once more had the ascendant. But now — and with what to the Eussians seemed absolute suddenness — a new power came into action. IV. Execution In the earliest hour of the fight, Lord Raglan, Bagian-8 we saw, Ordered up a couple of eighteen-pounder bring up two guus ; and, if he refused to be thwarted by the pounder usc of such a word as ' impossible,' his firmness now met its reward. It was only in fact from an error affecting the transmission of the order that his purpose encountered a moment's obstruc- tion.* Far from interposing any hindrance,

  • The order, instead of being carried to Colonel Gambler —

the officer in command at the Siege Park — was brought by mis- take to Fitzniayer, who commanded the two field-batteries then defending the vital position of the Home Ridge. It was of course quite 'impossible' that Loi'd Raglan could have meant Fitzmayer to abandon his command in the heat of the battle, to go out of action at a specially critical time, and repair to the distant Siege Park for the purpose of superseding the able offi- cer there in command, and arranging means for dnigging up the two heavy guns. Accordingly, it was to that notion that Fitz-