THEIRS BUT TO DO AND DIE

“Half a league, half a league, half a league onward, All in the valley of Death rode the six hundred…” so begins Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem on one of the most iconic and disastrous charges in history, the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava. This charge was at the culmination of the battle fought on October 25, 1854, during the Crimean War.

Robert Lister

The Crimean War was part of the larger conflict between the Allied forces – Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire – and the Russian Empire. Worried by the expansion of Russia, the Allies aimed to limit Russian naval power by blockading Saint Petersburg in the Baltic Sea and by invading Crimea and capture Sevastopol. Once both major ports were gone, the Allies hoped to drag Russia to the negotiating table. Landing on September 14, the Allies made their way to Sevastopol. While the French landing was smooth, the British hit bad weather and it took five days to complete disembarkation, giving the Russian commander, Prince Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov, time to organise an armed response. The Russians attacked as the Allies were crossing the river Alma on the 20th. Despite being…

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Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (Digital) - 1 Issue, WSS 133

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