Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 6.djvu/114

 70 THE BATTLE OF INKERMAN. CHAP. VI. The ad- vantages offered by the English Heights ; and by the tapering form of the Mount. The ground on Penne- father's riglit front. The Kitspur. The laker- nian Tusk. Such ridges as these, it is plain, coiihl not but be a great source of defensive strength to the General who might be able to arm and to man them ; for everywhere, their sides have a strong incline, and they not only offer commanding positions for the artillery which might be made to cross its fires on the approaches, but can also by means of their reverse slopes afford good shelter to troops. To the few in their strife with the many, a field of battle which afforded a spacious front for the outposts, yet tapered away at last into a small compact stronghold, plainly offered immense ad- vantages ; but we shall find that General Penne- father — for reasons which were not without force — abstained from adapting his defence to this peculiar configuration of the ground. There was a part of the Inkerman field which, if not of such value in battle as to warrant a determined attack, or invite to a bloody defence, still chanced to become the scene of much valiant and obstinate, though, in one sense, irrelevant fighting. From the north-eastern slopes of Mount Head there shoot out two spurs of unequal length. The one on the right — the Kitspur — is the lesser of thp. two. It stands buttressed by steeps which, however rude and difficult, can still be climbed without peril by people going on foot. It was there that there stood on the day of the battle the parapet of a dismantled work which was destined to become famous in liistory. The other outshoot of ground — the Inkerman Tusk or Spur — stretches