Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 8.djvu/253

 TROUBLED COUNSELS. 221 demanded those very exertions of force which chap. . VIII. the ill-omened ' Mission ' forbade. __ Be all this as it may, General Canrobert ig- Canrobert nored from the first, and persistently went on success of ignoring the effects of his own cannonade. bardment. So early as the 10th of April (which was only the second day of the bombardment, and one on which the defence of Sebastopol was languishing for want of ammunition, and whilst also the White Eedoubts and the Flagstaff Bastion were falling into that state of utter helplessness which they reached before sunset) General Canrobert intimated to Lord Eaglan that he did not much expect the bombardment to produce a successful result;* and on the same day, he addressed to his Emperor this very significant letter : — ' If the ' superiority of our fire is not completely estab- ' lished (which we shall know to-morrow) we shall ' diminish it, and if necessary, stop it altogether, ' keeping ourselves in readiness against any at- ' tack by the relieving army. If this attack (de- ' sired with so much reason) does not take place, ' we (though harassing the enemy meanwhile to ' the best of our power) shall await the arrival ' of your Majesty's Army of Eeserve, convinced ' in such case that upon the action of that Ee- ' serve army will depend the fate of Sebastopol.' t + Rousset, vol. ii. p. 147.
 * Lord Raglan to Secretary of State, Secret, April 14, 1855.