Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 6.djvu/202

 168 THE BATTLE OF INKERMAN. CHAP. VI. la( Period. Effect of the early fire from Home Ridge. The failure of numerical ."itrengtli in each neparate encounter. the pickets and their immediate auxiliaries had from this cause become almost powerless ; and we shall find that, in spite of the valiant devo- tion that was manifested by Turkish and Eng- lish drivers who pushed forward with reserve ammunition, the evil was one which for some hours continued to increase. Results proved that Percy Herbert had received a happy inspiration when he divined that the mere sight of a quickly opened fire from Fitz- mayer's guns would tend to weaken the early morning's attack ; for the enemy, thus led to believe that our people stood ready to meet him, became, it would seem, over-cautious. Under the scaring effect of the artillery -flashes, which blazed through the mist from Home Eidge, the twenty assaihng battalions were made to bend aside right and left from the open Saddle-top Eeach, and it is plain that the expedient which thus caused them to swerve, helped greatly to mar their attack. From the moment when, with Egerton's ad- vance, our people became the assailants, the Rus- sians failed to draw any even temporary advan- tage from weight of numbers, and indeed had to expiate their gross method of fighting by the en- durance of frightful losses. The ascendant of the few over the many was for the time so decisive that it scarce appeared to leave room for the common element of chance. Every time it at- tacked, and after strife always short, the scant slender line had mastery over the column. Under an almost unique concurrence of cii'cum-