Page:Decisive Battles Since Waterloo.djvu/182

148 were kept quite actively engaged in repulsing the attempts of the Russians to regain the position. The slaughter of the Russians was very great, and when night came the Russian commander withdrew his forces very skilfully and prepared to evacuate the position. The French attack on the left was a failure and caused a heavy loss to the assailants. As soon as the French flag was hoisted on the parapet of the Malakoff, rockets were sent up from the English advance trenches as a signal for the English assault on the Redan. The French had made their assault on the Malakoff with four divisions of their Second Corps, two divisions forming as storming columns. The English attacked the Redan with only two divisions, one being held in reserve and practically not engaged. It was only a few minutes after 12 o'clock when the order was given for the advance upon the Redan. The troops were obliged to cross a distance of 230 yards from the advance trenches to the parapet of the Redan. Their loss was heavy, especially in officers. The fire was more deadly during the earlier part of the advance from the trenches than when the assailants were near the fort. The abatis in front of the fort had been torn to pieces by the artillery fire, so that it really formed no obstruction to the advance of the men. The light division directed its movements toward the salient angle of the Redan. There was little opposition to the troops as they crossed the ditch and scrambled up the face of the fort, as the Russians had retired to their traverses and were making ready to receive the English as soon as they reached the top of the work.

The storming columns of the Second Division followed closely after the Light Division, and as they approached the fort made a slight bend to the right flank of the Light Division so as to attack the face of the Redan simultaneously. The first embrasure they reached was on fire; at the next they climbed the parapet without opposition and entered the embrasure which had been left undefended by the Russians. Inside the face of the Redan there was an inner parapet which was intended to protect the artillerymen while at work from the fragments of shell bursting inside the fortification. There