In practice there was little difference between the heavy and the light brigades. The Heavy Brigade, made up of five heavy cavalry regiments and the Light Brigade with five light cavalry regiments: the 4th and 13th Light Dragoons, the 8th and 11th Hussars and the 17th Lancers. The Cavalry Division embarked for the war with Russia in April 1854. He was an experienced officer with the reputation for failing to give timely and coherent commands. When called up for duty in the Crimea, the British Cavalry Division was under the command of Lord Raglan. Field Marshal Fitzroy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, 1855 (Roger Fenton photo, All World Wars website) Even before they arrived in Kalamita Bay 33 miles from Balaklava, the British troops were severely decimated by dysentery, cholera and even mistreatment by their own officers. The Crimean War began with England, France and Turkey allied against Russia, who had the largest army in the world.īrighton goes into great detail about the sea journey of the Light Brigade to Turkey. France also felt the extension of Russian sea power into the Mediterranean would threaten their overseas possessions. Military officials in London considered the possibility that the Tsar wished to expand his empire, taking Turkey as the first step. What is more probable was the Russian’s Black Sea Fleet proved itself at Sinope and the British who reigned supreme on the sea took it as a naval challenge. The action at Sinope gave Britain a reason for rushing to Turkey’s defense: to oppose the evil designs of a Russian tyrant on a weak neighbor. Diplomacy was used at first to negotiate but the final result was the Russian Black Sea Fleet left its base at Sevastopol and in a surprise attack on the Turkish fleet at Sinope, sank every ship. Nicholas I responded by sending troops to invade Turkish provinces under the claim of defending the Orthodox religion. Turkey returned the keys but scoffed at the Tsar’s claim to be the protector of Christians within the Turkish empire. The struggle became international when the Orthodox monks appealed to Tsar Nicholas I of Russia who saw himself as protector of Orthodox Christians around the world. Somehow, in 1852 the Catholic monks obtained the key to the main door and replaced the star but not without the deaths of several Orthodox monks. Candlesticks and crucifixes were used as weapons. The Orthodox monks refused and fighting followed. When the Orthodox removed the silver star fixed by the Roman Catholics to what they believed to be the precise spot on which the manger stood, the Catholics demanded it be replaced. The Orthodox held the key to the front door and the Catholics resented it. The church was in the joint care of Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic monks. Turkish troops patrolled outside the church to ensure the safety of the pilgrims. The Church of the Nativity is located in Palestine which at that time was part of the Turkish empire. What would eventually lead to the slaughter of the Light Brigade at Balaklava began with bloodshed and murder in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, which Christians believe stands over the site of the stable where Jesus was born. This fascinating book is available online and is highly recommended.īriefly, the official cause of the war was a violent squabble between monks in one of the world’s holiest places.
Only a small portion of their stories can be told here. This is possible because the author, Terry Brighton, a British military history, using his unique access to regimental archives, draws on twenty years of research to tell the story of the survivors, in their own words.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and facts are from Hell Riders The True Story of the Charge of the Light Brigade by Terry Brighton (2004).
The story for this anniversary is told as much as possible in the voices of the men who rode down that valley. An in-depth analysis of the battle is beyond the scope of this article.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of volumes have been written about the events during and leading up to that seven minutes. The more experienced cavalry men were adept at judging distances and knew at this pace, it would take them at least seven minutes to reach the enemy. When the first line was clear of the second, the order came to “Trot.” The bugles sounded again and the regiment increased its pace to about eight miles an hour. The Brigade moved forward when the officer’s trumpeter sounded the “Walk.” It was immediately taken up by the regimental trumpeters to the right and left, so that it could be heard by the whole body of cavalry. At 11:10 a.m., on October 25, 1854, one hundred sixty-one years ago, the almost seven hundred men of the Light Brigade stood waiting.
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