Battle of Balaclava
near Balaclava, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire
What happened
British commanders Lord Raglan, Lord Lucan, Lord Cardigan and Sir Colin Campbell fought a Russian army led by General Pavel Liprandi. During the Crimean War, British, French and Ottoman armies were besieging the Russian naval base of Sevastopol, and the British supplied their army through the port of Balaclava. Russian forces attacked and captured the forts guarding the port, but a thin line of Scottish soldiers, the 93rd Highlanders, held off Russian cavalry, and the Heavy Brigade of British cavalry drove more Russian horsemen back. Then an unclear order sent the Light Brigade of British cavalry charging down a valley straight at Russian guns, and it suffered very heavy losses.
Why it matters
Result: Indecisive. Leaders: FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan / François Certain Canrobert against Pavel Liprandi. Why it matters: The battle ended without a clear winner. The Charge of the Light Brigade became famous as an example of a mistaken order.
What came next
Raglan, Lucan and Cardigan each blamed the others for the disaster. A few weeks later, the poet Alfred Tennyson published 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'.
Did you know?
The 93rd Highlanders' stand against the Russian cavalry was later called 'the Thin Red Line'.
Timeline
- 1854Allied armies begin the siege of Sevastopol.
- 25 October 1854Russian forces attack Balaclava, and the Light Brigade makes its charge.
- 2 December 1854Tennyson writes 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'.
- 9 December 1854The poem is published in The Examiner.