Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/217

 THE RATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 195 kine Hills, and the other in a ravine on the side chap. of the Causeway Heights — as to be able to fall ' upon either flank of any Allied troops which, in pressing Liprandi's retreat, might pursue it far down the North Valley. The subsequent course of events made it need- less and impolitic for Liprandi to say, in his public despatch, that after the combat with Scarlett's dragoons he had determined to re- treat, and on that point accordingly he took good care to be silent ; but I regard it as cer- intentions tain that, at the time now spoken of, he har- at thEf 1 "' 1 ' boured no idea of defending the Causeway the'actkm Heights against any real attack. So far as con- cerned his liability to be assailed by infantry, he was able to prepare his retreat with a great de- liberation ; for the march of the Allied battalions, creeping down from the Chersonese, was so open to the view of an adversary in the valley below, as to show him how long it must be before they could come into action ; but it was otherwise in regard to any attack undertaken by our division of cavalry; and if the tenor of the instructions given to good troops could be safely inferred from their actual movements, it might be treated as cer- tain that the Odessa battalions had orders to fall back upon the near approach of our squadrons. Such seems to have been the position and atti- L ord tude of the forces now confronting Lord Lucan, pS£ a and such the condition of things that Lord Eag- Erf the Ian had sought to deal with by the order which teta^ fth€ Nolan was bringing. Lord Raglan, as we know.