Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/335

 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 313 ward some way at a gallop, or even at a trot, and CHAP. then is brought to a halt, it very commonly happens that the flanks overshoot the centre, and render the line concave. It was so with the Russian column ; and its right flank especially, at the moment of the halt, had swung forward in advance of the centre. Therefore now when our horsemen undertook to ride across the front of the column, they had before them some iancers on the extreme right of the enemy's lino, who had so far edged forward as to be directly ob- structing the path of retreat ; but with this exception, the foe our men had to overcome or evade was entirely on their right flank. Then there occurred a contact of hostile forces The nature of the for which, I imagine, it would be hard to find a collision ' °, which then parallel. In a very irregular body, and with occurred, a hardly perceptible trace of their old line forma- tion, the English went on ; and the Russian mass then advancing a little, or rather, it might be said, heaving forward, collision occurred. The body retreating grazed its right flank against the enemy's front; but, incredible as it may seem, was allowed to scrape by, moving right across the faces of the men in the foremost rank, and receiving or parrying the thrusts of their lances without undergoing any other than that momen- tary attack which a lancer who remains strictly halted can attempt against a dragoon in the act of galloping past him. What happened was that those of the English horsemen who chanced to be on the extreme right of their retreating body,