Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 6.djvu/121

 THE MAIN FIGHT. 77 fnkerman might be incalculably lightened by cha,p. throwing up works of defence; but — intent on ' Sebastopol, and overladen with their double bur- ^^J^^f^^' then of siege-work as well as field duties — the English were altogether unable to command the hands needed for strongly entrenching the ground, and no such undertaking was executed or even begun by their corps of engineers. It happened, however, that in conformitv with The crest- ' work the known wish of vSir De Lacy Evans, and under the impulsion given by the energies of Colonel Percy Herbert,* the artillerymen of the 2d Divi- sion, with what help they could get from their infantry comrades, had thrown up a work on Hill Bend, and carried it — although not contin- uously — some way along the crest of Home Ridge. What the artillerymen desired was that, in the event of their field-guns being brought into action on Home Ridge, they should be pro- vided with some cover, however slight. To this end our people formed an embankment by heap- ing together loose stones, and adding besides so much earth as might guard against the mischief of splinters ; but the rock of this crest being scantily coated over with soil, they had to fetch the needed material from lower ground ; and did not prove able to make alongside the embank- ment any lengthened excavation that could well be called a ditch or a trench. On Hill Bend, the designer had seized the advantage offered by the Division.
 * The Assistant Quartermaster-General attached to the 2d