Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/185

ATTACKS OF THE 18TH OF JUNE. 155 of Sevastopol had been minded nevertheless from chap. the first to ally with his blasts of mitrail a power- !_ ful musketry-fire. It was for this special service that infantry crowded the parapets, and even some of the traverses. General Khrouleff commanded the foot. The artillerymen stood to their guns. II. Eesting upon supports and reserves of great paissiert strength, three Divisions of French infantry led tious. respectively by General Mayran on the right, by General Brunet towards the centre, and by General d'Autemarre on the left, were to be sim- ultaneously thrown forward with orders to en- deavour to carry not only the Malakoff but all the other works of defence from the Battery of the Point on the east to the Gervais Battery on the west. The splendid Division of the Imperial Guard formed Pelissier's great reserve, and was posted in rear of the Victoria Fort at a greatly extended dis- tance from the nearest of the Eussian defences. The Chief apparently thought that this distance was not excessive ; for, although, when warned on the subject in the course of the previous afternoon, he had consented that two brigades brought up from the west for this purpose should take up an intermediate position in advance of the Im- perial Guard, he yet laughed in the face of the