Light Brigade

“ As our troops came up they filed off to the right and left, and drew up just within cannon shot in the following order. The light brigade, consisting, as I have formerly stated, of the 85th regiment and the light companies of the other corps, in extended order, threatened the whole front of the American army. The 21st remained in column upon the road; the 4th moved off to the right, and advanced through a thicket to turn the enemy’s left; and the 44th, the seamen and marines, formed line in rear of the light brigade. ”

“ The approach of the Light Division—why should I not dwell fondly on every act of that gallant body, the first "put at" everything, the first in Buffering, in daring, in endurance throughout the campaign?—their approach, then, was in double columns of brigades; the Second Division being on their right, and the second battalion of the Rifle Brigade, divided into two wings, one under Major Norcott, the other under Colonel Lawrence, being in advance in skirmishing order. When the Light Division got within long range, they deployed; the men lay down. ”

“ Not war—murder, rather, and sudden death.
The ceaseless fire of the guns they faced wrought fearful havoc in the ranks of the horsemen as they galloped on. Still the survivors went forward, unappalled; but it was with sadly diminished numbers that they reached the object of their attack. The few that got to the guns did splendid service with their swords. The gunners were cut down as they stood, and for the moment the battery was ours. But it was impossible to hold it; the Light Brigade had almost ceased to exist. ”

“ The entire brigade to which I belonged, the brigade of light cavalry, as well as the greater proportion of the first division, had been mere spectators of the valour of others; when the enemy, as if worn out with fatigue, and disheartened by repeated failures, suddenly began to retire. His column of infantry having moved to the rear, till some rising ground in a great degree concealed it, seemed to disperse; his guns were withdrawn; and his skirmishers falling back, left our advanced corps in possession of the disputed post. ”

“ Never say die. A brave man can die but once, but a cowardly sneak all his life long. It told the enemy plainly the metal our cavalry were made of. They said that we were red devils at the Alma; it must be acknowledged that they got well lathered then, [64] and now the Union Brigade of heavy horse had shaved them very roughly. As for the Light Brigade, with sickness, disease, a strong escort for our commander-in-chief, and mounted orderlies for the different generals, it hardly mustered the strength of one regiment on an Indian footing. ”

“ MOUTH OF WADI EL ARISH.
But in Brigade night operations platoon commanders and even company commanders and greater men still abandon themselves with the rest to an appalling nightmare of moving in sudden jerks through a gloom full of whispered oaths and the creaking of rifles and of ill-fitting equipment. There are long chilly halts, when the men rub their bare knees to keep them warm or drop into an uneasy doze—then sudden orders passed along in a hoarse undertone, and a frenzied effort to change formation and keep touch with the swaying line. ”

“ The Charge of the Light Brigade.
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1809-92) unlike "Casabianca" shows obedience under stern necessity. Obedience is the salvation of any army. John Burroughs says: "I never hear that poem but what it thrills me through and through." ”

“ The enemy having now exhausted all its efforts, the British, in their turn, advanced. The Seventy-first, in the first instance, suffered much from the fire of some guns that enfiladed its front; these were soon silenced, and the battalion was afterwards left unmolested. In this advance the light brigade captured several guns. Night closed in fast, and the corps rested after this lengthened and sanguinary encounter, the pursuit of the discomfited enemy being committed to the Prussians, under Marshal Blücher, who had arrived on the field of battle in time to decide the defeat of the French. ”

“ The Light Brigade, assisted by the Cavalry gained one of the lesser hills, planted their Cannon and played briskly on them: in a short time we possessed ourselves of both—the Rebels made to the top of Vinegar-hill with all possible speed—the 77 Soldiers pursued hard after them, and beat them off it. ”

“ Raised in 1741 and was dispatched almost at once on active service, serving at Minorca, Canada (taking part in the capture of Quebec) , Martinique, and Havannah. The 43rd and 52nd, with the Rifle Brigade, made up the famous Light Infantry Brigade trained by Sir John Moore at Shorncliffe, and so laid the foundation for many famous victories in the Peninsula. The splendid service rendered by the Light Infantry in subsequent years is a matter of history. The regiment was so often chosen for leading the storming parties, that a badge "V.S." (Valiant Stormer) was granted to the men. ”

“ Of these the cavalry lost, killed or wounded, three hundred and ninety, of which two hundred and forty-seven were in the Light Brigade. The strength of the brigade when it started down the valley has been differently stated; but the following return, taken from various sources, is probably correct. Some men who had been unhorsed or wounded managed to get back to their regiments later on, and some who had been taken prisoners afterwards rejoined. This table shows only the number of men who answered to their names at the first roll-call after the charge:
Total loss of the brigade, 67 per cent. ”

“ Both officers and men would know that there were no ready resources, no reserves and reserve supplies behind them, and no adequate arrangements for providing any. Every man of the thirty thousand would know that he was being sacrificed in atonement for national blundering, just as at Balaklava the noble Six Hundred were by a blunder sacrificed in the charge of the Light Brigade. ”

“ It is needless, after Napier’s magnificent description of this combat, to do more than specify what part the Regiment took in it. The Light Division, under the command of Barnard, formed at about eight o’clock in close column of companies, left in front, about 300 yards from the ditch. They were detailed to attack the breach in the Santa Maria bastion. Four companies (the left wing) of the 1st Battalion, under Major Cameron, were in front, with orders to extend to the left on reaching the covered way, in order (as at Ciudad Rodrigo) to keep down the fire from the ramparts. ”

“ Thus pursued by the 4th Division, they had to pass this fiery ordeal. Some throwing off their knapsacks, and casting away their arms, strove to climb a hill on their right; but it was inaccessible; and on the hill-side the fire of our men picked them off. Then they pushed some light troops across the river, who became engaged with the 3rd Battalion; but they were soon driven down, and across the bridge. In the evening two of our companies got possession of the bridge, and then the rear of the column had to pass in front of their fire. ”

“ Night work in this sort of country is always difficult because there are so few landmarks. A Brigade can be moved on a compass bearing with every chance of success if the mover has the necessary elementary knowledge. But the commander of a smaller unit, say a platoon, going to or returning from a certain place in the dark, rarely has any knowledge of the right bearing to work on, and if the night is cloudy, he is surrounded by a Stygian darkness in which he soon feels a little doubtful of his uncharted way. ”

“ The Americans were so harassed by the Brigade that they vowed "No Quarter." In derision, to prevent mistakes, The Light Battalion dyed their feathers red: the 46th Foot alone has retained the distinction. ”

“ During the whole of the operations on the rock, nothing could exceed the conduct of the second brigade, 28th, 34th, and 39th regiments, all of whom had made up their minds to give their bodies to the eagles that hovered over their heads, rather than permit the enemy to lodge on the summit of the mountain that night. The 71st light infantry rendered us good and efficient service on our right, till night's sable mantle wrapt every earthly object in impenetrable darkness. ”

“ The Thirteenth light infantry embarked on this service, on the 5th of April, 1824; their commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel M‘Creagh was appointed to the command of a brigade, with the rank of Brigadier-General, and the command of the regiment devolved on Major Sale. The fleet entered the Irawaddy on the 10th of May: the Burmese made a feeble attempt to defend the city, but their batteries were soon silenced, and the place was captured without the loss of a man; the inhabitants quitting their houses and seeking refuge in the thickly-wooded [64] country. ”

“ On the 19th, General Hill, the commander of the 52nd Division, inspected the Brigade, and, after complimenting it on the steadiness of drill and marching, foretold the near approach of the day when all its steadiness and valour would be required. The last week spent at Sheikh Nahkrur we were attached to the 155th Brigade, the remainder of our Brigade having gone nearer the line as they had come out before us. Left to ourselves we thoroughly enjoyed life. ”

“ A little later, transferring to the 9th Light Dragoons, he was made brigade-major to the Guards’ cavalry which had just arrived in the Peninsula. In the latter part of the war he served as brigade-major to Lambert’s brigade of the sixth infantry division, and was present at the various actions in which that division played a conspicuous part—the Nivelle, the Nive, Orthes and Toulouse. ”

“ No troops will be kept in the field except two hundred light infantry and the horse.* You will, therefore, please to select from the three regiments with you, two hundred of your best men, and those who are best clothed, and organize them into corps with proper officers. All the remainder with the baggage of the whole (saving such as is absolutely necessary for light troops) will march immediately to this town. You will please take the command of the light infantry, until Lieut. ”

“ The earth seemed full of anger; and as morning began to dawn, and the thunder of the guns died away, we thanked God for the lives of those we cared for in the trenches; very few of our men were hit, and not a single Officer in our Battalion. Unfortunately it has been otherwise with several of the other regiments in our Brigade. ”

“ An advancing Rebel regiment retires, as he pushes up to where the Union batteries and cannoniers lie wounded and dying—the other three regiments following in line-of-battle until near the crest, when the fire of the Enemy's rifles and musketry, added to his heavy cannonading, grows so severe that the brigade is forced back to shelter in a roadway leading up the plateau. ”

“ And then a well-known cry—
“It is the foe!” See where the flames
Mount upward to the sky!
It is the foe! Halt! Rest we here!
We wait the coming sun,
And ere these stars may shine again
A field is lost or won!
Is won! It is the “Old Brigade,”
This line of stalwart men!
The “long roll!” how it thrills my heart
To hear that sound again!
God shield us, boys! here breaks the day,
The stars begin to fade!
“Now steady here! fall in! fall in!
Forward! the ‘Old Brigade!’”
Georgia Button. ”

“ Gasping for breath, one reaches for the water-bottle, but it is quite warm. Still, a warm drink brings perspiration, and that is cooling to a certain extent—in its after-effects!
"Night falls, welcomely, and saddled up the Squadron waits for the advance to begin and to drop into its place in the line of march as the Brigade moves past. Voices in the darkness, then shadowy forms, and, their horses' hoofs muffled by the dust, Brigade Headquarters passes by. Then the three regiments, one British and two Indian, each of the latter followed by crowds of donkeys looking ghostly white in the gloom. ”

“ Remember this: whoever is wounded—no matter what his rank—must lie where he falls till the bandsmen come to attend to him. No soldiers must go carrying off wounded comrades. If any man does such a thing his name shall be stuck up in his parish church. The army will be watching you; make me proud of the Highland Brigade!" And now, when the time had come for action and that rugged slope had to be surmounted, he rode to the head of the "Black Watch" and gave to the regiment the command "Forward, Forty-Second!"
He himself with his staff rode rapidly in advance up to the crest. ”

“ The open warfare Infantry Brigades were also to be provided, out of their own divisional resources, each with a Company of Engineers, a Company of Machine Guns, a Field Ambulance, and a detachment of Pioneers, so that, in the most complete sense, they became a Brigade Group of all arms, capable of dealing, out of their own resources and on their own ground, with any situation that might arise during their advance of nearly three miles from the green to the red line. ”

“ In the face of effective fire from these weapons the enemy never succeeded in pushing home an attack across the open. Communication between the Division and Brigades was maintained with very little interruption, and the two Brigade Headquarters being kept together enabled the admirable Signal Service to devote all their attention to one main route. Under these novel conditions of open warfare, it was found that special training was required for the Power Buzzer operations of Brigade Sections, and in other technical details the experience at Bucquoy was to prove valuable. ”

“ On the 3rd September the 2nd Brigade toiled in from Monchy, in full war-kit, and, tired with the long day’s heat, formed up west of Lagnicourt before dawn, detailed to win, if they could, a thousand yards or so of chewed-up ground. They “went over the top” under a creeping barrage, one gun of which persistently fired short, and—found nothing whatever in front of them save a prodigious number of dead horses, some few corpses, and an intolerable buzzing of flies! ”