Charge of the Light Brigade

W.G.Ewald

Defence Professionals/ DFI member of 2
Professional
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
14,139
Likes
8,594
Charge of the Light Brigade - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. 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. Due to miscommunication at some level in the chain of command, the sabre-armed Light Brigade was instead sent on a frontal assault into a different artillery battery, one well-prepared with excellent fields of defensive fire. 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. It is best remembered as the subject of the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, whose lines emphasize the valour of the cavalry in carrying out their orders. Blame for the miscommunication has remained controversial, as the original order from Raglan itself was vague.
 

Hari Sud

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2012
Messages
3,701
Likes
8,331
Country flag
That battle at Balaclava was a complete defeat of the British cavalry. But great propaganda maker the British are including Tennyson and later stories of orders misunderstood or bad generals etc. are cover up for the defeat.

They have made countless movies to explain their defeat. But defeat is a defeat, no matter how you tell it. It was British 1962 (Chinese defeating India) except Balaclava was much worst.

I wish Maxwell Neville wrote about their own national defeat instead of writing cock and bull stories of Indian defeat at the hand of Chinese in 1962.
 

LurkerBaba

Super Mod
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
7,882
Likes
8,125
Country flag
OT
I wish Maxwell Neville wrote about their own national defeat instead of writing cock and bull stories of Indian defeat at the hand of Chinese in 1962.
To be fair, people believe him because he claims to have seen the Henderson Brooks report. GoI just release the damn report and be done with it
 

W.G.Ewald

Defence Professionals/ DFI member of 2
Professional
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
14,139
Likes
8,594
But great propaganda maker the British are including Tennyson and later stories of orders misunderstood or bad generals etc. are cover up for the defeat.
The Charge Of The Light Brigade

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Memorializing Events in the Battle of Balaclava, October 25, 1854
Written 1854
Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
 

civfanatic

Retired
Ambassador
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
4,562
Likes
2,570
I would have liked the Russians to have won this war, if for nothing else than the shauenfreude value.
 

W.G.Ewald

Defence Professionals/ DFI member of 2
Professional
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
14,139
Likes
8,594
I would have liked the Russians to have won this war, if for nothing else than the shauenfreude value.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_Tsar

"God Save the Tsar!" (Russian: Боже, Царя храни!; transliteration: Bozhe, Tsarya khrani!) was the national anthem of the late Russian Empire. The song was chosen from a competition held in 1833. The composer was violinist Alexei Lvov, and the lyrics were by the court poet Vasily Zhukovsky
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top