Crimean war charge of the light brigade9/21/2023 ![]() His reasons for the misdirection are unclear, as he was killed in the ensuing battle. ![]() When Lucan asked what guns were referred to, Nolan is said to have indicated, by a wide sweep of his arm, not the Causeway redoubts but the mass of Russian guns in a redoubt at the end of the valley, around a mile away. The order was drafted by Brigadier Richard Airey and was carried by Captain Louis Edward Nolan, who carried the further oral instruction that the cavalry was to attack immediately. Raglan could see what was happening from his high vantage-point on the west of the valley, but Lucan and the cavalry were unaware of what was going on owing to the lie of the land where they were drawn up. This was an optimum task for the Light Brigade, as their superior speed would ensure the Russians would be forced to either quickly abandon the cumbersome guns or be cut down en masse while they attempted to flee with them. Immediate." Raglan in fact wished the light cavalry to prevent the Russians from successfully withdrawing the naval guns from the redoubts that they had captured on the reverse side of the Causeway Heights, the hill forming the south side of the valley. Lucan received an order from the army commander Lord Raglan stating that "Lord Raglan wishes the Cavalry to advance rapidly to the front, follow the enemy, and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns. Cardigan and Lucan were brothers-in-law who disliked each other intensely. ![]() Overall command of the British cavalry resided with Lieutenant General George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan. Equipped with metal helmets and armed with cavalry swords for close combat they were intended as the primary British shock force, leading frontal charges in order to break the enemy lines. The Heavy Brigade under James Scarlett was the British heavy cavalry force, mounting large, heavy chargers. The Light Brigade, as the name suggests, were the British light cavalry force, mounting light, fast horses, unarmored and equipped with lances and sabres optimized for maximum mobility and speed, they were intended for reconnaissance, skirmishing and cutting down infantry and artillery units as they attempted to retreat. Together with the Heavy Brigade comprising the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, the 5th Dragoon Guards, the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons and the Scots Greys, commanded by Major General James Yorke Scarlett, himself a past Commanding Officer of the 5th Dragoon Guards, the two brigades made up the entire British cavalry force present at the battle. The charge was made by the Light Brigade of the British cavalry, consisting of the 4th and 13th Light Dragoons, 17th Lancers, and the 8th and 11th Hussars, under the command of Major General James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan. (1825–1855) File:Charge of the light brigade -Our fighting services - Evelyn Wood pg451.jpg ![]() Blame for the miscommunication has remained controversial, as the original order from Raglan itself was vague.Ĭharge of the Light Brigade by Richard Caton Woodville, Jr. It is best remembered as the subject of the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, published just six weeks after the event, whose lines emphasize the valour of the cavalry in bravely carrying out their orders, regardless of the obvious outcome. Although reaching the battery under withering direct fire and scattering some of the gunners, the badly mauled brigade was forced to retreat immediately, producing no decisive gains and very high British casualties. Due to miscommunication at some level in the chain of command, the Light Brigade was instead sent on a frontal assault into a different artillery battery, one well-prepared with excellent fields of defensive fire. Lord Raglan, overall commander, had intended to send the Light Brigade to pursue and harry a retreating Russian artillery battery near the front line, a task well suited to light cavalry. The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. ![]()
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