578 
ACHIEVEMENTS OP FIELD ARTILLERY. 
scious of, were rent and torn by tbe powerful artillery with which the 
Russians heralded the advance of their columns. At 9.30 a.m. two 
18-prs. thrown into tbe doubtful battle at an opportune moment crushed 
with their weighty shells the enemy’s far more numerous artillery, and 
without belittling the heroic efforts of the British foot soldier with 
whom the credit for the outcome of the “ soldier’s battle ” must ever 
rest, it cannot be denied that the fire of these two guns contributed in 
a special degree to the success of the day. But for the destruction 
which their well directed fire spread amongst the 100 guns (and some of 
them were guns of position) which the Russians had placed in position 
on Shell Hill, our losses, even had we escaped defeat, must have been 
immensely greater than they were. But although much stress is 
laid on the action of these two guns, it is not intended to pass by in 
any spirit of disparagement the support which the remainder of the 
Allied artillery gave to their infantry. On the contrary, it may be 
stated at once that they effected all that was possible under the circum¬ 
stances. It is not easy, however, to give an account of what all the 
guns did without unduly extending* the story of a battle which it is 
particularly difficult shortly to describe, and, moreover, both in numbers 
and weight of metal our artillery were at an immense disadvantage, and, 
until the two siege guns arrived, were more or less dominated by the 
fire of their opponents. Many of the Russian guns on Shell Hill were 
guns of position, and even at the close of the day there were only 38 
English and 24 French pieces on the ground, all of which, with the 
exception of two, were of field dimensions. The performance of the 
two 18-prs. stands out, therefore, as a distinct feature in the fighting, 
and in a narrative such as this must absorb all our attention. 
Without entering into any further account of the battle, it may be 
stated, therefore, that in the early dawn the British army had been 
surprised by two hostile forces converging upon them, one from 
Sebastopol up the Careenage Ravine, and the other from the causeway 
across the Tchernaya. The force 1 on the west under Soimonoff num¬ 
bered 19,000 men and 38 guns, while the other under Pauloff was 
16,000 strong and was accompanied by 96 field pieces. At 7.30 o’clock 
the stubborn courage of 3600 of our soldiers, supported by 18 guns, 
fightiDg in line had repulsed the first attack which was made on our 
left centre. Then, however, the whole of Pauloff’s force had appeared 
on the scene, and the Russian Commander-in-Chief, General Dannen- 
berg, recommenced the battle with fresh troops amounting to 19,000 
men and 90 guns. On our side the Guards had come up, also the 
batteries of the 1st Division, while Cathcart was hurrying* on with 2100 
men. A series of more or less isolated and desultory combats ensued, 
in which, if our men held their own, and even ventured in places to 
assume the offensive, the overwhelming odds well nigh bore them 
down, and they clung to their position rather as men desperately striving 
to preserve a precarious foothold, than as victors standing firm in pride 
of strength. 
At 9.30 o’clock the Russians had 100 guns in action on Shell Hill, 
and the power of this great force of artillery enabled them to preserve 
1 According to “ The "War in the Crimea,” by Sir E. B. Hamley. 
