Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 5.djvu/51

 THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA. 29 boldness of the Eussian force which had begun to chap. show itself in the direction of Tchorgoun so early " as the 7th of October. Before hearing of the battle of the 25th of The Baia- October, it is well to have an idea of the ground Hon: upon which the security of Balaclava depended, and the arrangements which had been made for its defence. The string of houses constituting Balaclava ex- the town tended along a narrow ledge between the eastern side of the little harbour and the western acclivi- ties of Mount Hiblak. Except at the gorge of Kadikoi towards the north, and the narrow strait towards the south leading crookedly into the Euxine, both the town and the harbour were sur- rounded in all directions by steep lofty hills ; and the hills towards the west being a continuation of that Chersonese upland where the main Allied armies lay camped, were within the unquestioned dominion of the invaders. Partly from this cause, and partly from their command of the sea — including the small but deep harbour, which brought ships of the line close up to the town — the English, at Balaclava, were secure against any attack coming either from the west or the south ; and again, towards the east, the ground was not only steep and commanding, but otherwise favourable for defence. Accord- ingly, from a part of the sea-cliff which is one mile east of Balaclava, and thence north and north-west to the Church of St Elias, in the neighbourhood of Kadikoi, a curve could be