Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/246

 224 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. chap, talions at once fell back, abandoned the defence ' of the Arabtabia, retreated to such a distance as to be a good way in the rear of even the Kedoubt ' Number Two,' and threw themselves at length into hollow squares, thereby apparently indicat- ing that they expected the triumphant advance of our squadrons along the very route which Lord Eaglan had assigned, and that, so far at least as concerned the westernmost portion of Liprandi's morning conquest, they had no mind to obstruct our cavalry in its task of effecting a recapture.* It would be hardly an overstrained use of lan- guage to say that without hearing Nolan, or see- ing the paper he carried, the Kussians understood Lord Raglan's order, and (until they saw it an- nulled by the advance of our troops down the val- ley) were full ready to conform to its pressure. this retreat of the Odessa Regiment upon the approach of our Light Brigade is faithfully recorded ; but the ' Legende' of the official 'Atlas de la Guerre d'Orient,' which discloses a great amount of careful labour and inquiry on the part of the officers who undertook to record and illustrate the Russian movements at Balaclava, has put the same fact into words ; and as I con- sider that the retrograde movement of the Odessa Regiment is the most satisfactory proof that could well be furnished of the sound judgment with which Lord Raglan acted when he, twice over, ordered his cavalry to advance to the line of the redoubts, [ venture to tnve the passage : ' A l'approche de la cavalerie ' legere Anglaise, le regiment d'Odessa a quitte sa position pres de ' plan]. Ses battaillonB se sont formds en carre* plus en arriere.' See the plan. Of course I am not entitled to quote the official French Atlas as an authoritative record of Russian movements, but, as 1 have said, the statement is in strict accordance with Todleben's plan.
 * In General Todleben's plan — not in the text of his book —
 * la Redoute No. 4 [i.e., in front of the Redoubt No. 3, seethe