the killed and wounded, so that, unless one happens to be a General or a Colonel at least, it is very difficult to ascertain the fate of an officer who has ceased writing to his friends; the fate of a soldier it is next to impossible to learn. Our precautions were however useless, for a better fate has been reserved for us both. We then drew near a circle of soldiers, when a veteran remarked that no good would come to them today. "Why?" "As if you don't know as well as I do! we are to have no vodka, and how can we fight without it ?” The others all agreed with him. Truly, in our regiment, the men had no vodka, for our worthy Colonel thought it advisable to put the money into his own pocket, remarking that half these fellows will be killed, so it will be only a waste to give them vodka. The canteen-man of our battalion remained on the ground till the action began, when he decamped, leaving a barrel of vodka behind him, as he had no horses for the transport of his goods. Our men, however, soon finished the vodka, and were consequently in high spirits. I can answer for it that none of the other battalions had any spirits. As for the other regiments, I know nothing, nor can I venture an opinion, as I have heard so many conflicting statements on the subject.

CHAPTER III.

BATTLE OF ALMA.

Prince Menschikoff's position Number and disposition of his troops Mysterious proceeding of the French - Advance of the Allies-The battle-The retreat - Arrival at Sevastopol · Losses in the battle- Causes of the defeat.

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THE position chosen by Prince Menschikoff on the Alma, for the purpose of meeting, and, as he fondly hoped, of defeating the invaders of the Crimea, was a position of great strength: his army was disposed on the heights above the river, the banks of which are very steep and planted with trees on either side, which rendered the passage very difficult. On the right bank of the river there was the village of Bourliouk, with its gardens, stacks of corn, &c. A Tatar village is about one of the worst obstacles that can present itself to the manoeuvring of troops, because the streets are very narrow and crooked, but chiefly because the Tatars and Nogais are in the habit of digging large funnel-shaped holes before

*

* These holes are shown on the plan by circles near the houses.

their houses, where they store their grain. These holes are generally covered over with planks and a thin layer of earth, so that cavalry or artillery would be thrown into utter confusion if they were to attempt to advance through a village with obstacles like these.

Prince Menschikoff had the following troops under his orders :

INFANTRY.

First brigade of the 14th Division, with No. 3 battery of position, and No. 3 light battery. The 16th Division, with 16th brigade of Artillery, No. 1 and 2 light batteries, and No. 2 battery of position

Second brigade of 17th Division, with the regiment of Moscow (that arrived from Kertch at 8 a.m.), with the 17th brigade of Artillery, No. 4 and 5 light batteries, and No. 3 battery of position

4 reserve battalions of the 13th Division

2

The Rifle and Sapper battalions of the 6th corps

2 battalions of sailors from Sevastopol with 4 field-pieces

All together..

::

It was very amusing to see the advance of the sailors their four guns were taken out of the condemned ordnance stores at Sevastopol, with carriages tied together in many places with ropes. These guns were each drawn by two miserable horses assisted by eight men, and fre

quently, where the road was heavy or up hill, the whole battalion had to assist in hauling their guns. This was no doubt an idea of the Prince, for, being a naval man, he always showed a greater partiality for sailors than for the regular army; and I have no doubt, had we been successful, these amphibious warriors would have gained all the credit and reaped all the reward,

The cavalry consisted of the 2nd brigade, (hussars) of the 6th cavalry division, with the light battery of horse-artillery No. 12, the Don Cossack battery No. 4; all together 16 squadrons and 16 guns; and two regiments, or 16 sotnias, of Don Cossacks.

Thus the whole Russian force at the Alma was 44 battalions of infantry, 16 squadrons of cavalry, 16 sotnias of Cossacks,* and 96 guns, which were disposed as follows:-On the extreme right, in the valley, was stationed the cavalry, with the horse-artillery; next to them were the battalions of sailors with their four wretched guns. On the right flank there was erected a redoubt, in which was placed the No. 2 battery of position of the 16th artillery brigade;

* Taking the battalions at 750 men each, this would give 33,000 infantry and 3400 cavalry, including Cossacks.

to the right of this redoubt was the regiment of Ouglitz in columns of battalions in two lines, while to the left was the regiment of Kazan in the same order. These two regiments form the 2nd brigade of the 16th division. Behind them, on the hill, was stationed the 1st brigade of the 16th division as a reserve. To the left of the regiment of Kazan was the regiment of Chasseurs of Borodino (2nd brigade, 17th division), also in columns of battalions and in two lines, while between the regiments of Kazan and Borodino were stationed No. 1 and 2 light batteries of the 16th artillery brigade, which played chiefly on the river and on the village of Bourliouk. To the left of the regiment of Borodino were the four reserve battalions of the 13th division in the front line, and in rear of them our regiment (the regiment of Taroutine, 2nd brigade, 17th division), also in columns. In the rear of our regiment was the regiment of Moscow (1st brigade, 17th division) in reserve. The chief reserve consisted of the 1st brigade of the 14th division with five batteries of artillery, with the exception however of one battalion of the regiment of Minsk, and four guns that I stumbled so unexpectedly upon in the last chapter. These were still stationed at the village of Ulukul Akles, as it was said, for the purpose of catch