Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/332

 310 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. chap, whok*, this effort of the enemy's gunners proved inflicting heavy loss upon our retreating horse- men, it delivered them from the pursuit of the cavalry in their then rear. The body of Russian Lancers which stood bar- ring the retreat of our horsemen was that moiety of Jeropkine's six squadrons which had been placed, as we saw, on the north side of the valley, and in the fold of the hills enclosing the road from Tractir ; but there is reason for believing that these three squadrons had been joined by some portions at least, if not by the whole, of those other three squadrons through which Col- onel Shewell had broken, position of Hitherto, the position taken up by the Lancers posed force, now undertaking to cut off Lord George Paget and Douglas had been exactly of the same kind as that of the three squadrons on the other side of the valley which attempted, and attempted in vain, to bar Colonel Shewell's retreat; for, just as their comrades had done before, these Lancers stood ranged with a front towards the Russian rear ; but, upon the nearer approach of our people, the force they were going to assail disclosed a new plan of action ; and it is not improbable that the overthrow which the first three squad- rons had undergone, may have so far influenced Colonel Jeropkine as to cause this change in his tactics. The force, it seems, was a double column of squadrons, having two strong squadrons abreast,
 * to be an advantage to our people, for, without