The return up the valley was just as ridiculously dangerous as the charge down it, as Private William Pearson of the 4th Light Dragoon recalled in a letter to his mother. Leaving their dead and wounded behind, this is what the remains of the brigade proceeded to do. However, with even more Russian troops and cavalry bringing up the rear behind the guns, it quickly became clear to those members of the Light Brigade who had somehow managed to get this far that the guns could not be captured nor held, and the only option available was to wheel their horses round and gallop right back up the valley they had just charged down. Why else would an elite British cavalry unit be doing this?ĭespite suffering heavy losses, the brigade was able to reach its objective, crashing into the Russian defences and slashing away at the defending troops with their sabres. Many of the Russian troops watching this astonishing spectacle assumed the men of the Light Brigade must be drunk. Sabres aloft, the Light Brigade galloped hell-for-leather towards their target, never flinching or turning as men and horses were mown down all around them. The watching Russians couldn’t quite believe what they were witnessing. Read more about: Popular Culture 10 Facts about Russia's History with Crimea If true, it was to no avail as Nolan was killed by a shell which exploded in front of his horse before he could reach Cardigan. Nolan rushed forward in front of Cardigan, leading to later speculation that he was desperately trying to stop the charge after realising the brigade was about to attack the wrong target. To the astonishment of the watching Russians, the brigade broke into a canter and then a full gallop. The order was given to advance and the Light Brigade headed into the valley with Cardigan in front. With the realisation that they were about to embark on what for many would surely be a suicide mission, the men of the Light Brigade gritted their teeth and steeled themselves for what lay ahead. I do not wish to boast too much but I can safely say that there was not a man in the Light Brigade that day but what did his duty to his Queen and Country.’ĭespite their confusion, not one objection to Raglan’s orders was raised. ‘I could see what would be the result of it, and so could all of us,’ wrote Private Thomas Williams of the 11th Hussars, ‘but of course, as we had got the order, it was our duty to obey. ‘When we received the order, not a man could seem to believe it,’ wrote Private Thomas Dudley of the 17th Lancers shortly after the charge.’ He was not alone in his disbelief. This was a reconnaissance and skirmishing unit, not an armoured assault force. When the order was received to charge the Russian guns head-on, the 670 men of the Light Brigade couldn’t quite believe what they were hearing. Presuming Raglan wanted an assault on the heavily defended Russian artillery position at the bottom of the valley, Lucan then ordered the head of the Light Brigade, Lord Cardigan, to immediately attack the wrong target. “There, my Lord, is your enemy! There are your guns!” Nolan replied with a sweep of his arm. Confused as to which guns the Light Brigade were supposed to attack as Lucan could not see the guns from his position down in the valley below the Causeway Heights, he asked Nolan what guns Raglan wanted the Light Brigade to take. Raglan gave the order for the Light Brigade to capture these guns.Ĭaptain Louis Edward Nolan of the 15th Light Dragoons was chosen to pass on Raglan’s order to Lord Lucan, the head of the Cavalry Division. After the British successfully held back a Russian cavalry charge and the Heavy Brigade forced an enemy retreat early on in the battle, the commander of the British Army, Lord Raglan, worried that large naval guns left behind on the Causeway Heights area of the battlefield might be dragged away by the retreating troops and used against his forces later in the day. The Light Brigade’s date with destiny occurred on the 25th of October 1854 at the Battle of Balaclava. Its counterpart, the Heavy Brigade, was made up of armoured men on heavy chargers used for full-frontal assaults on enemy positions. Hughes’ regiment was part of the British Army’s Light Brigade – a lightly armoured cavalry unit designed for skirmishing, attacking enemy positions and cutting down retreating troops. A year later Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire were at war with Russia in what would become known as the Crimean War. Hughes was a shoemaker before he joined the 13th Light Dragoons in 1852. Read more about: Black History The wonderful adventures of Mrs Seacole in many lands
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