Page:Decisive Battles Since Waterloo.djvu/180

146 had been fine, but on the morning of the eighth it was extremely cold; there was a strong, sharp wind blowing from the north side of Sebastopol; the bright sun was gone, and in its place there rose above us a canopy of a dull leaden gray. The arrangement was that the French should assault the Malakoff at mid-day, and in case their attack was successful the English were to storm the Redan immediately. A diversion was to be made on the English left by strong columns of French who were to threaten the line of the Flagstaff and Quarantine batteries. The cavalry sentries were posted soon after eight o'clock; the Light Division and also the Second were sent into the trenches and out into the advance parallels as quietly as could be done. About that time General Simpson and his staff took their position in the second parallel of the Greenhill battery, which had been designated by the engineer officers. Sir Henry Jones was too ill to walk and was carried on a litter into the trenches, where he remained until the attack was ended. General Simpson and Sir Richard Airey, the quartermaster-general, remained with him. The Duke of Newcastle took a position at Cathcart's Hill during the forenoon, and later went to the picket house near the Woronzoff road. Exactly five minutes before our watches indicated noon the French swarmed out of their trenches where they were nearest the Malakoff, went up the face of the fort and through the embrasures almost in a moment. Their advance trenches were only seven metres from the fort and consequently only a few moments at the pace they ran were required to carry them to their destination. They drifted out, battalion following closely on battalion, and in a minute or so after the head of their column came out of the ditch their flag was flying over the Korniloff bastion of the fort. They took the Russians completely by surprise. Very few of them were in the Malakoff at the time. There was a very slight fire of musketry for a few minutes but the Russians were not long in recovering from their astonishment and very soon fell vigorously on their assailants. From a little past noon until nightfall the French