Battle of Inkerman

The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on November 5, 1854 between the allied armies of Britain, France and Ottoman Empire against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and was followed by the Siege of Sevastopol. The role of troops fighting mostly on their own initiative due to the foggy conditions during the battle has earned the engagement the name "The Soldier's Battle".

Prelude
The allied armies of Britain, France, Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire had landed in the Crimea on September 14, 1854, intending to capture the Russian naval base at Sevastopol. The allied armies fought off and defeated the Russian Army at the Battle of Alma, forcing them to retreat in some confusion toward the city. While the allies could have taken this opportunity to attack Sevastopol before it could be put into a proper state of defence, the allied commanders, British general Lord Raglan and the French commander Canrobert could not agree on a plan of attack.

Instead, they resolved to march around the city, and put it under siege. Before the siege began, the Russian commander Prince Menshikov had evacuated Sevastopol with his field army and left a garrison to defend the city. On October 25 a Russian force attacked the British base at Balaclava, and although the Russian attack was foiled before it could reach the base, the Russians were left holding a strong position north of the British line. Balaclava revealed the allied weakness; their siege lines were so thin they did not have sufficient troops to man them. Realising this, Menshikov launched an attack across the Tchernaya River.

Assault
On November 5 the Russians launched a heavy attack on the allied right flank east of the city. The assault was made by two columns, which when combined would form a formidable army of some 42,000 men. The initial Russian assault was to be received by the British Second Division, 2,700 men and 12 guns. With both Russian columns moving in a flanking fashion, they hoped to overwhelm this portion of the Allied army before reinforcements could arrive. The Russian general, Soymonov followed Menshikov's directive and deployed his force around the Careenage Ravine, where he could not effectively employ all of his troops in combat.

When dawn broke, Soymonov attacked the British positions on Home Hill with 6,300 men and a further 9,000 in reserve. The British had strong pickets and had ample warning of the Russian attack. The British pickets, some of them at company strength, engaged the Russians as they moved to attack Home Hill. The firing in the valley also gave warning to the rest of the Second Division, who rushed to their defensive positions. The Second Division's commander, Pennefather, a highly aggressive officer, ordered his 2,700 strong division to attack some 15,300 Russian soldiers. Russian guns bombarded Home Hill, but there were no troops on the crest at this point.

The Second Division in action; the Russians in the valley
The Russian infantry, advancing through the fog were met by the advancing Second Division, who opened fire with their Pattern 1853 Enfield rifles, whereas the Russians were still armed with smoothbore muskets. The Russians were forced into a bottleneck due to the shape of the valley, and came out on the Second Division's left flank. There they were shot and driven back at bayonet point to the Russian artillery positions. The Russians launched a second attack, also on the Second Division's left flank, but this time in much larger numbers and led by Soymonov himself. The British Light Division came up, launching a counterattack along the Russian front and left flank, forcing it back. Soymonov was killed during the fighting.

The rest of the Russian column proceeded down to the valley where they were attacked by British artillery and pickets, eventually being driven off. The resistance of the British troops here had blunted all of the initial Russian attacks. General Paulov, leading the Russian second column of some 15,000 attacked the British positions on Sandbag Battery. As they approached, the 300 British defenders vaulted the wall and charged with the bayonet, driving off the leading Russian battalions. Five Russian battalions were assailed in the flanks by the British 41st Regiment, who drove them back to the river.

Home Hill
General Peter A Dannenberg took command of the Russian Army, and together with the uncommitted 9,000 men from the initial attacks, launched an assault on the British positions on Home Hill, held by the Second Division. The Guards Brigade and the Fourth Division were already marching to support the Second Division, but the British troops holding the Barrier withdrew, before it was re-taken by men from the 21st, 63rd and Rifle regiments. This position remained in British hands for the rest of the battle, despite determined attempts to take it back. The Russians launched 7,000 men against the Sandbag Battery, which was defended by 2,000 British soldiers. So began a ferocious struggle which saw the battery change hands repeatedly during the attack.

Fourth Division in action
When the British Fourth Division arrived under General George Cathcart, they were finally able to go on the offensive. They launched a renewed attack against the Russians and on their flanks. However, the flanking troops were caught in the rear by an unexpected Russian counter-attack and Cathcart was shot from his horse and killed, leaving his troops disorganised and the attack broken up. The courage of Cathcart and his men had the unexpected effect of encouraging other British units to charge the Russians. This gave the Russian army an opportunity to gain a crest on the ridge. However, as the Russian troops were coming up, they were attacked and driven off by newly arrived soldiers from the French camps. The French poured reinforcements into the entire line, reducing the Russians' advantage in numbers.

Defence of Home Hill by the British and French forces
At this point in the battle the Russians launched another assault on the Second Division's positions on Home Hill, but the timely arrival of the French Army and further reinforcements from the British Army repelled the Russians attacks. The Russians had now committed all of their troops, and had no fresh reserves with which to act. Two British 18-pounder guns along with field artillery bombarded the 100-gun strong Russian positions on Shell Hill in counter-battery fire. With their batteries on Shell Hill taking withering fire from the British guns, their attacks rebuffed at all points, and lacking fresh infantry, the Russians began to withdraw. The allies made no attempt to pursue them. Following the battle, the allied regiments stood down and returned to their siege positions.

Aftermath
Despite being severely outnumbered, the allied troops held their ground, becoming a marvel of each regiment's tradition and tenacity. The amount of fog during the battle led to many of the troops on both sides being cut off, in battalion-sized groups or less. Thus, the battle became known as "The Soldier's Battle". The Russian attack, although unsuccessful, had denied the allies any attempt at gaining a quick victory in the Siege of Sevastopol and condemned the allied armies to two terrible winters on the heights. Following this battle, the Russians made no further large-scale attempts to defeat the allies in the field.

Alexander Kinglake obtained the official casualty returns for the battle. By his account allied casualties were: 2573 British, of whom 635 killed, and 1800 French, of whom 175  killed. Russia lost 3286 killed within a total (including men taken prisoner) of 11,959 casualties.