Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/145

 Till: ENGLISH ATTACKING 'THE QUARRIES.' 115 Engineers, and specially with Colonel Tylclen, CHAP. their chief. ! If occasion should offer, Colonel Shirley (as General in the trenches) was to act with alert- ness, with vigour on his extreme right, and to give the French troops all such aid as the strength of his own would allow* One great and exclusive advantage was destined rim K rcat to favour the enemy. The conditions were about siveadvan- i i i /> i -it * a " u •' i '" int to be such that (lest they might harm our own t.> be cn- troops) the batteries of the English would pres- the enemy. ently have to abstain from delivering any fire on ' the Quarries ' ; yet the enemy otherwise circum- stanced would remain free to use in the conflict his great artillery power ; and this so extensively that, except only during brief intervals (whilst attempting to hold, or to retake the disputed Work with his infantry), he was destined to keep, and exert this terrible privilege throughout the approaching fight — a period of nearly ten hours. Lord Raglan confiding in the quality of his Lord Rag- troops, and anxious to avoid the losses that might positions foi be expected to follow from the use of gross num- bers, determined to assault the main field-work with two separated bodies of only 200 men each, sending 300 more to attack the collateral en- trenchments; but the troops thus thrown forward were to be supported by GOO more, and to be rapidly followed by very strong working-parties, some destined from almost the first (as was the the attack.
 * Journal Royal Engineers, vol. ii. pp. 209, 270.