Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 4.djvu/171

 "WHEN ABANDONED liV TUT: ARMY. 141 besiege it instead. The problem, fis Htiited by one chap. wlio toiled at Kornilotr's side,* was, to maintain a '. line of four miles against powerful armies with only a sm;dl body of sailois and militiamen ; whilst the way to attempt its solution was by making the defences so formidable as to induce the enemy to forsake the idea of an immediate assault, and proceed to a regular siege. But whether men looked to the very end, and in cither ' . aspect, tlifl the actual crash of mitrail, or whether they rather work to be drew hope from the pressure which might be put the same. upon the mind of an English or a French engineer by their visible means of slaughter, the work to he done was the same. Besides the task of con- Nature of . J • 1 t''6 work necting the still isolated works by intermediate required, entrenchments, it was necessary to deepen the ditches, to thicken and raise the parapets, to erect traverses, and to strengthen the ground by a great number of new batteries. But also, as we saw — if only the enemy should give enough time — the aimament of the works along the whole line of defence was to be changed, and the lighter artillery replaced by heavy guns brought from the ships. The preparations for effecting this change of arma- ment could be carried on up to almost the last moment without being perceptible to the enemy ; and, in the mean time— though it does not, I think, appear that such a result was designed — the smaii gum i »^. meanwhile modest calibre of the guns which the garrison riacedin ,.,.,, battery: showed for the moment, was a snare which might these a cheat the Allies ; for perhaps they would argue ^hcliucs.
 * Gcndrc, ' Mat^riaux pour seivir,' chap. iiL