Struggle in Russia

This unsuccessful attempt by the Russian army did not awaken Menshikov, and the 10th and 11th divisions commanded by Lieutenant General Soimolov, belonging to the Fourth Army, arrived in Sevastopol. Menshikov had nearly 90,000 troops on hand.

If you include the defending troops of Kornilov and Nakhimov, the number will be even greater.

At this time, the coalition forces on the line from Balaklava to Sevastopol numbered only 70,000 people according to Russian reconnaissance, including a large number of wounded.

Menshikov believed that his troops had an absolute advantage. How could he not launch an attack now?

Moreover, although Colonel Fedorov's test was unsuccessful, the Russian army also discovered that the coalition's position was not strong and had many flaws.

Even the British army themselves found that there was a huge problem. Delessi Evans and Burgoying reminded Raglan several times that several key highlands were extremely vulnerable to attack and that it was necessary to strengthen defense, especially the construction of fortifications.

The French also considered the situation dangerous, and Bosquet wrote to Raglan almost daily, warning him of the weak defenses.

However, Raglan did not adopt the suggestions of these generals and had no intention of strengthening defense at all. Even when he encountered a probing attack by the Russian army, he remained unmoved.

This left Bosquet puzzled as to why such an important and exposed position was not protected by fortifications.

Raglan's inaction was not entirely due to negligence or indifference, but because he had a serious shortage of troops on hand. He had to deploy forward to continue the siege of Sevastopol, but also to guard against Menshikov's attack on the flanks. He doesn't have three heads and six arms, so how can he possibly take care of it?

And at this time, the British army was exhausted and in urgent need of rest. According to Private Henry Smith, they went to work immediately after the Battle of the Alma River and the Battle of Balaclava. From the end of September, the British army began to work every day. The rest time never lasted more than four hours, and many times there was no time to even make coffee.

By October 14th, even though bullets and artillery shells flew overhead like hail, the British army was too exhausted to respond at all. Many people even fell asleep under the Russian shelling!

Soldiers often had to stay in trenches for 24 hours straight, and the muddy conditions inside caused many soldiers to suffer from trench foot. Many soldiers were even soaked when they returned to camp, with mud all over their bodies. This was how supplies were restored. It was very difficult, there was no clean drinking water, and bread was often eaten but not eaten.

In this state, Raglan was so overwhelmed that he had no energy or ability to order the troops to strengthen defense.

It was at this time that Menshikov's desperate attack began. On November 4, Soimorov led a force of 19,000 troops and 38 artillery pieces to launch an attack along Colonel Fedorov's offensive route.

Pavlov crossed the Chornaya River from the east with sixteen thousand men and ninety-six cannons to attack the British flank. After the two armies merged, General Dannenberg took over the command and drove the British troops up and down Inkelmann. At the same time, Liprange's troops were responsible for interfering with the French army's Bosquet headquarters.

This combat plan has very high requirements for the Russian army. To be honest, it is impossible to realize it based on the quality of the Russian army and the communication conditions on the battlefield at that time.

It's not just the Russian army that can't do it, it's just as useless even if it's the British and French armies!

In particular, it should be noted that the Russian troops participating in the war were all transferred from the direction of Ukraine and were not familiar with the terrain around Sevastopol at all.

And the Russian army did not have enough military maps. Let’s put it this way, the military maps near Sevastopol were still on the road from St. Petersburg to Sevastopol. Before the war, Nicholas I did not expect that the coalition forces would land in Kerry. Mia, there was no preparation at all.

At the end of the day, the Russian generals only had some maps with very low accuracy and full of errors (let’s put it this way, Soimorov, who was in charge of the main attack, only had a naval map with no markings on the land, not even the terrain. can't understand), it wouldn't be surprising at all if they were unfortunate enough to get lost.

Under this situation, Menshikov also made an inexplicable arrangement. After the two armies merged, Dannenberg would be under unified command. Isn't it a joke to change the generals on the spot?

This kind of arrangement is simply courting death, and Dannenberg, who is responsible for taking over the command, is not a famous general. He was famous for his repeated defeats and hesitation in the war against Napoleon. Most of the soldiers are not familiar with this guy. No confidence at all.

Of course, these are not the most fatal. The biggest mistake of this plan is to place 35,000 soldiers and 134 cannons on a narrow highland where movement is inconvenient and full of bushes. The width is only It was only three hundred meters, so there was no way for so many people to spread out.

Even Dannenberg, a bastard, discovered that this plan was completely unrealistic after inspecting the terrain on the spot, so he suddenly ordered Soimorov to change the battle plan the night before launching the attack and stop crossing the mountain from the north. Attack below, but march eastward to the Inkelmann Bridge to cover Pavlov's troops crossing the river. Then use this bridge as a starting point to outflank the British flank.

This sudden change was equally confusing, and what was even more confusing was still behind. At three o'clock in the morning, when Soimolov's troops had already started taking action and were preparing to go to the Inkelman Bridge, they suddenly received another Another order from Dannenberg told him to change direction and launch an attack from the west.

At this time, Soimolov was extremely speechless. His military literacy and common sense told him that such fooling around would definitely cause a disaster. Changing the battle plan now would jeopardize the entire military operation. So he decided not to obey Dannenberg's order and instead adopted his own preferred plan to attack from the north as originally planned.

As a result, the battle had not yet started, because of Dannenberg's blind command, the three commanders' combat plans were completely different.

At five o'clock in the morning, Soimolov's troops had climbed onto Inkelman Hill and had also transported twenty-two field guns.

Because it had been raining heavily for the past three days, the steep hillside was muddy and slippery, making it difficult for soldiers and horses to transport the cannon to the top of the mountain. Moreover, due to the heavy rain, a thick fog rose in the morning, making it even more difficult for Soimorov's troops to assemble.

However, this fog also covered the actions of the Russian army and played a key role in subsequent wartime developments.

At this time, the Russian soldiers could not see anything because the ridge was narrow and everyone was huddled together. The officers could not find their soldiers, and the soldiers could not find their commanders. They suddenly became a mess...