ere detailed for
the grand attack. One, under General Pauloff, was to march from the
north side, and crossing the marsh from the causeway, was then to wind
up the heights in front of the 2nd division, and force the English
right. Simultaneously with General Pauloff's movement, the other corps,
under General Soimonoff, was to leave Sebastopol by a road near the
Malakoff, which would have brought it up in front of the British light
division. Instead of this, by mistaking the ground, he moved to his
left, and found himself in front of the English 2nd division; so that,
when General Pauloff's leading regiments arrived, the ground intended
for their attack was already occupied, and the battle had begun. The
Russians, confined therefore in a narrow space, encumbered each other
during the day, and could not find sufficient room to deploy. It was
dark and wet, and a thick fog lay on the ground as the day dawned on the
5th of November. It is said that Major Sir Thomas Troubridge, who
commanded the outposts of the first brigade of the light division, after
relieving the advanced sentries, went down before daybreak towards the
Mamelon, and sweeping the ground with a field-glass, descried the enemy
on the opposite side of the ravine. While he hastened to get the 2nd
division under arms to meet the threatened attack, the advanced pickets
were surprised, but behaved with the greatest gallantry, disputing every
inch of ground with the Russian riflemen. One detachment, in falling
back, held the Sandbag battery for a short time, but were driven out by
the enemy. The 2nd division, under General Pennefather, was formed at
once on the ridge in front of their own camp, the other English
divisions getting under arms and hastening to the front. The three
regiments of Guards proceeded to the right, and General Bullar's brigade
to the left of the 2nd division. General Codrington's brigade took up
the ground in front of its own camp, on the left side of Careening Bay
ravine, on the spot where it had been intended Soimonoff's corps should
have deployed. On the noble Guards fell a large share of the work of
that sanguinary day. Pressing forward, they drove the enemy out of the
Sandbag battery; and, though fiercely assailed on both flanks, they
maintained that forward position during the day, except for a short
time. Once they had to retire before overwhelming numbers and a
terrific fire of artillery; reinforced by the 20th Regiment, th