2-913-983 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Allied Troops preparing to silence Inkerman, 1854. Crimean War, extract from Lord Raglan's dispatch: 'The morning was extremely dark, with a drizzling rain, rendering it almost impossible to discover anything beyond the flash and smoke of artillery and heavy musketry fire...the Russian columns advanced in great force, requiring every effort of gallantry on the part of our troops to resist them... the enemy [brought] upon our line not only the fire of all their field-batteries, but those in front of the works of the place, and the ship-guns...although the fire did not cease, the retreat became general, and heavy masses were observed retiring over the bridge of the Inkerman, and ascending the opposite heights, abandoning on the field of battle 5000 or 6000 dead and wounded, multitudes of the latter having already been carried off by them. I never before witnessed such a spectacle...'. From "Illustrated London News", 1854.