Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 4.djvu/226

 196 TIIF, COUNSELS OF THE ALLIES. CHAP. ' connoitrcd the ground, you observed several '^"' ' knolls so placed that the garrison could not lose ' one of them without being thenceforth at your ' mercy. The most commanding of all these is ' the knoll where the White Tower stands. If • you only seize and hold that one spot, as Sir ' Edmund Lyons advises, you will be masters of ' Sebastopol without having to call upon your ' infantry for any further sacrifices. ' When you resolve to forego the present oppor- ' tunity of carrying the place with a view to coni- ' mence a siege, you act as though you supposed ' that you were relatively weak in the number ' and power of your troops, and relatively strong • in your means of cannonading. But of these ' two suppositions each is ill founded ; for at ' present you have a great superiority over the ' garrison in the number and quality of your ' troops, and the ascendant which victory gives ; ' whilst, on the other hand, the enemy, it can ' hardly be doubted, has ample means of estab- ' lishing greater batteries than you can command. ' Therefore, to forego the present use of your ' victorious battalions, and engage in a war of ' trenches, is to give up the ascendant you enjoy, ' and enter upon that very kind of warfare in ' which the enemy, for a long time to come, will ' be abler and stronger than you. 'Of course, it is a painful task to have to order ' an attack upon a prepared position ; for, what- tonces of the above paragrnph are .sanctioned by the opinion of General de Todlebon.