Chapter XXIV, of Cassells Illustrated History of England, Volume 8 page 3

The day after this combat, and while the news of it was ringing through the allied camp, Lord Raglan and General Canrobert agreed upon a plan for surprising the Russians on the Tchernaya at Tchorgoun; for Prince Gortschakoff had again sent only small bodies over the river, and it was believed that the whole force on both sides of the stream might be captured. It was therefore arranged that on the 20th, while yet dark, General Bosquet should lead 12,000 men from the French camp, to co-operate with 3,000 from the British force at Balaclava, under Sir Colin Campbell, in this enterprise. The French troops turned out at midnight, and about two in the morning Sir Colin drew up his Highlanders and the 14th and 71st, with three hundred horsemen and two batteries, and proceeded on this way. The weather was keen and bitter. A north-east wind was blowing, and a thick rush of snow beat upon the faces of the men. The Rifles who covered the column could not see twenty yards ahead. It was most fatiguing to move along. Yet onward in the darkness and snow Sir Colin forced his column. He reached Kamara, snapping up three Cossacks sentries, and mounted the Hasfort Hill, which overlooks Tchorgoun. It was still dark, but the enemy had been alarmed. Nevertheless, they were so ill- prepared for this sudden visit of enemies, that they must have fallen an easy prey to a vigorous attack. Why was it not made? After midnight, seeing the snow falling, and feeling the wind rising, General Bosquet had ordered his troops back to their quarters. Sir Colin had, in spite of the weather, performed his part. General Bosquet had not sent word that he would not venture out. He had contented himself with sending an aide-decamp to General Canrobert. He sent none to Sir Colin Campbell. Canrobert sent Major Foley to inform Sir Colin; but Foley lost his way, and found himself near Lord Raglan's quarters at five in the morning. Proceeding thence with another aide, Foley did not arrive at Kadikoi until long after Sir Colin had moved out, and therefore they followed as well as they could. They found the British on the heights above the Tchernaya, standing in the midst of the thickly-falling snow, looking at the Russians now gathered in strength, and mightily amazed at the spectacle of an enemy out in that weather. When the staff officer came up to Sir Colin, and told him that Bosquet had not moved, " the hot blood of the old soldier was aroused, and he used no measured terms to indicate his sense of the conduct by which his command had been exposed to such risk of disaster. ' But sir,' continued the officer, ' when General Vinoy heard you had started, he at once put his brigade in motion, and he is now pressing forward as hard as he can to your assistance. He said he would take on himself all responsibility.' " Sir Colin had a very high opinion of Vinoy, who, he said, reminded him of the soldiers of the old Empire, and " he slapped his thigh, exultingly. ' There! ' he said, ' I knew it; General Vinoy is a soldier - General Vinoy is a gentleman î I knew I could trust him, no matter what happened.'" Sir Colin withdrew his half-frozen but sturdy men; and, as he was crossing Canrobert's hill to re-enter his lines, he was joined by the trusty Frenchman. We know from Russian sources that had Bosquet persisted in the original plan, the Russians would have been utterly routed, if they had not been all taken; for they were undoubtedly surprised, and were an hour getting under arms. This little incident sealed the friendship of Campbell and Vinoy, a friendship which may be said not to have ceased with death, for in Lord Clyde's will there is substantial proof of his affection for his French comrade; and, in addition, if we mistake not, there is in Windsor Castle another proof; for there, in the Queen's private apartment, hangs beside a portrait of Lord Clyde a portrait of General Vinoy, painted and hung there by Her Majesty at the request of the noble old soldier.

The French were now making considerable progress with their works on the ridge running down from the Inkermann battle-field to the Careening Creek, and haying on the inner flank the Careening Ravine, and on the outer the Great Harbour. They were obliged to work down this ridge, because the enemy, if allowed to possess it, would take the works of approach down the Malakoff Ridge in flank and rear; therefore, in order that the principal attack on the Malakoff might be carried on, both ridges had to be occupied. The Russian engineers were not blind to what was going on. They saw with apprehension the adoption of this new line of attack upon the vital point in their defences, and for this reason they made counter approaches. In front of the Malakoff there was a round hill, of nearly equal elevation. This hill was originally named after Captain Gordon, because he wished to occupy it from the first, in order thence to assail the Malakoff. It afterwards became known by the French name of the Mamelon. The Russians already had an outpost there, but not yet, of any strength. As soon as the French broke ground on the ridge, though afar off, on Thistle Hill, where they constructed the Victoria Redoubt, the Russians, who had pulled down the ruins of the old stone town, applied themselves to the construction of the great Malakoff Redoubt, distinguished from all the other works about Sebastopol, not only by its vast size, but because it was a true redoubt closed at the gorge or rear face. Seeing the importance of holding the Careening Ridge, as a means of retarding the main attack by establishing a flanking fire, they sent a large force there in the middle of February, and began to make lodgements, first just above the Careening Creek, and next farther up the ridge towards the French lines. On the night of the 22nd of February they succeeded in constructing a large work within four hundred yards of the French lines. This was done by placing gabions, large, roughly-woven baskets, in a row, filling them with earth, and placing another row on the top of the first. Morning dawned, and disclosed this new obstacle, with its miniature outposts of rifle screens, made of loose stones. General Canrobert surveyed it from a distance, and seeing at once how it would obstruct the progress of the attacks on both ridges, gave orders that it should be attacked and destroyed during the night.

All day long on the 23rd the Russians were visible to the officers in our trenches completing the new work. At night General Mayran was ordered to proceed with five battalions and destroy this gabionade. The leading columns of attack, as usual, were two battalions of Zouaves, under Colonel Cler, and these were to be supported immediately by a battalion of Marines, and on their left by two regiments of the Line. The task was not an easy one, for the enemy were watchful, the ground was rough, and the distance from the trenches considerable. Nothing daunted by the arduous character of the enterprise, Cler's Zouaves issued from the trenches, descended into the Careening Ravine, and made their way up its steep banks to the plateau. They were followed by the Marines and the Line. Moving swiftly and silently, these strong and agile soldiers had come close up to the Russian work, when its crest was lighted up with flame, and they were struck by a shower of bullets. But this did not stay their steps. Pressing on without a halt, the Zouaves dashed into the ditch and over the parapet, and leaped into the midst of their foes. A fierce combat with bayonet and bullet ensued and raged in the rear of the work, both sides showing manful vigour; but the Zouaves prevailed: the Russians, yielding, were pursued, and at length driven off the ridge. While the Zouaves took post in advance, and the Marines held the left flank, the Linesmen, under the orders of the Engineers, began to overturn the newly-made parapet. But the Russians, in the town batteries, no sooner became aware of the success of the French, than they opened on them a crushing fire of shot and shell, shedding a lurid glare over the scene by burning Bengal lights. The French troops of the Line and the Marines, unable to bear this, retreated in such haste, that the brave Cler and his Zouaves were left exposed without support. And now the Russian reserves, ascending the ravine, fell upon them in front and flank, and gnashing their teeth with rage, the Zouaves were forced to retire; but although they lost men at every step, they gave ground in good order; and beyond the Russian work they were not pursued. The French lost about 300 men, chiefly Zouaves. These choice soldiers were led into action by twenty-nine officers, of whom no fewer than five were killed and fourteen wounded. General de Monet was also severely wounded, in both hands, in the arm and shoulder; nevertheless, he would not quit the field. The next day there was a burial truce, but as few bodies were found, it is supposed that the Russians suggested this temporary cessation of fire in order that the Grand Dukes Michael and Nicholas might safely inspect the works and trenches of the allies. On the 25th the Russians sank four more large ships in the harbour, showing that they still feared a visit from the allied fleets, or that they were preparing foundations for the raft bridge, which they subsequently threw over the roadstead.

By the end of February signs of a brighter future were visible in the allied camp. The weather was still cold; sometimes snow fell, and sometimes rain; but occasionally the sun shone brightly, and even the birds began to chirp and sing and flutter over the less occupied wastes. The hospitals were full, but the health of the army was better, for the men were getting more rest, and, being well fed again and amply clothed, grew robust and hardy. Huts were springing up on all sides, and the sick had now a wooden roof over their heads. The railway had crept some distance up towards the front, and being immediately made use of, the labour of carrying shot and shell and stores as far as Kadikoi was spared the overwrought transport. The Cossack vedettes, watching from the mounds in the plain, were astonished at the sight of the long strings of trucks rushing up and down the line. Balaclava had been cleared of the sutlers, and its shores were lined with wharves. The period of doubt and of the harder trials imposed upon the troops had passed away. The allies were numerous and well appointed. Spring, they knew, would bring fresh succours, for, in addition to the British flag and the eagles of the French, the Italian tricolour, surrounded by a gallant little host from the Subalpine states, would soon flutter in the breezes of a land bearing on its rocks the ruins of the early settlements of the Genoese.

On the 2nd of March an event occurred which sanguine men thought would bring the war to a speedy end; and they thought this the more because negotiations for peace were at that moment pending in Vienna. The event was the rather sudden death of Nicholas, Czar of all the Russias. He died in the middle of the day, and five hours afterwards the news had been flashed along the electric wire to every European capital. Many will remember the thrill of astonishment which shot through the public mind when the news was made known. Then came a sense of relief at the death of this powerful sovereign, and prime cause of a bloody war. His heir, Alexander II., who immediately ascended the throne, was described as mild and pacific by nature; nevertheless, he did not fail to tell his awe-stricken subjects that he would incessantly pursue the aims of Peter, of Catherine, of Alexander I., and of his father; aims incompatible with the peace of Europe, and the independence and integrity of Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, as well as Turkey. The news reached the allied camp on the 6th, and perhaps the " sensation " in this quarter was greater than in the capitals of Europe, for here were men engaged in frustrating one of the grandest of the comprehensive aims of Catherine and Nicholas. But really, it was not the Czar only with whom Europe was contending; it was the ambition of the Russian nobles and the traditional policy of the house of Romanoff. There was a kind of poetical justice in this sudden death of the man whose arrogance had brought calamity on his subjects. Liable to a fatal apoplectic attack, it was predicted in the summer of 1853 that he would not survive the summer of 1855, but, like all his brothers, die before he was sixty years of age. "Let but a few reverses overtake the Emperor," said Dr. Granville, the author of thi3 prediction, "and his death, like that of all his brothers, Will be sudden." So it proved. Shaken by Silistria, Alma, Inkermann, Eupatoria - a defeat at the hands of the Turks completed the series of shocks; and after a very brief illness he expired. The Emperor Nicholas was not a great man in the highest sense; but, having an iron will, tireless energy, and an ambition as boundless as the resources of his empire, he built up an influence in Europe greater even than that exerted by Alexander, who, as a conqueror, surpassed his brother. Alexander, more fortunate in his wars, died of lassitude; Nicholas expired under the rude blows inflicted on his pride; for he had been frustrated in the execution of a long-prepared design to extend the limits of his sway over the whole of European Turkey.