What´s all is about... at the end

[Karl Heidenreich]

The Charge of the Light Brigade
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
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1.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.


2.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.


3.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.


4.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.


5.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.


6.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.



Copied from Poems of Alfred Tennyson,
J. E. Tilton and Company, Boston, 1870

[RF]

Noble six hundred, yes, but an almighty cock-up as well, given the confusion of signals that caused this head-on attack....

[Karl Heidenreich]

I have heard that the charge was up not to a signal confusion but to an officer that was trying to prove the worth of cavalry as "the weapon". This officer pay with his life the test...

[marcelo_malara]

How many of them died?

[Gerard Heimann]

According to Wikipedia...."The brigade was not completely destroyed, but did suffer terribly, with 118 men killed, 127 wounded. After regrouping, only 195 men were still with horses". Out of 661 or 673 according to various sources.

[RF]

There was a confusion of signals because the British C in C didn't intend the Light Brigade to charge the Russian guns head on. That was supposed to be the job of the Heavy Brigade, the Light Brigade was the follow up support to continue the attack beyond the guns to account for any escaping gun crews, commanders, munitions and supply logistics behind the Russian lines.

Lord Cardigan, commanding the Light Brigade, placed his own interpretation on regimental orders and launched his attack without waiting for the Heavy Brigade.

And the attack succeeded, despite the heavy losses, with Lord Cardigan leading the attack from the front and surviving without a scratch.

[Karl Heidenreich]

The officer I mentioned was Louis Edward Nolan who was sure he will give the cavalry the place it deserve in the british order of battle. From time to time someone like him appear...

[RF]

I hadn't heard of Nolan, but the Battle of Balaclava as you say certainly has gone into fame.

Incidently, whilst we are on the Crimean War and confused signals, I believe that another battle in this campaign, Innkermann, featured the famous episode of the signal ''Send reinforcements, we are going to advance'' which was transformed into ''Send three and fourpence, we are going to a dance''....

[tommy303]

The version of the tactical blunder that I have read, is that the Russians had just overrun a British position and had captured some British guns and were in the process of hauling them away down the valley. Lord Raglan, the CinC, from his position on the heights could see this and issued orders through his aide to Lord Lucan, the cavalry commander, to advance promptly and take the guns.

Lt. Nolan was detailed to carry the message and duly presented it to Lucan. Lucan, who was in the valley passed the order to Lord Cardigan of the Light Brigade. Both men were puzzled as they were in the valley and could not see the Russians withdrawing with the British guns, as the valley branched out into two directions. The guns were being withdrawn up one direction while the other was occupied by Russian batteries and infantry.

Cardigan asked, 'guns, what guns?' and Nolan, becoming exasperated flung his arm in the rough direction of the enemy batteries and said, "there my Lord, there are the guns."

Lucan at that point told Cardigan, "the light brigade will advance at once up the valley and charge the enemy. I will follow with the heavy brigade in support."

Cardigan replied, "as you wish my Lord. Here goes the last of the Brunnendels"

As the light brigade advanced, Nolan joined a friend of his at the head of a squadron of hussars. The advance went normally until the brigade reached the junction of the two branches of the valley. Cardigan in the lead ordered an oblique left, I believe, to take the brigade into the part of the valley that had the prepared Russian positions, as Nolan had pointed in this direction. As the Brigade moved on in the new direction, it began to come under fire from time fuzed shell. Nolan, realizing the Brigade was advancing into the wrong valley, urged his horse forward and rode up along side Cardigan and attempted to tell him he was going in the wrong direction. Cardigan completely ignored him and amid the bursting of shells may not have heard Nolan's verbal warning. Later Cardigan stated that Nolan must have lost his head to ride forward and attempt to wrest command from the Brigade commander. Before Nolan could get a point across a fragment of a bursting shell ripped his chest open, mortally wounding him.

Lucan, in the meantime, must have realized there had been an error, as he halted the advance of the Heavy Brigade and by bugle call attempted halt the Light Brigade. However, the Light Brigade was already committed and had increased its advance pace from walk, to trot, and then to gallop and momentarily would go to charge. French light infantry, on their own initiative was able to take some of the flanking Russian positions, somewhat diminishing the cross fire and giving the doomed brigade some practical support and cover fire as the brigade began to withdraw after the charge.