Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 6.djvu/497

 THE MAIN FIGHT. 453 the 21st Fusiliers — a body which fought in the chap. centre — the proportion of losses proved even more 1_ huge ; whilst in the 20th and 57th regiments it was not much less. Because fighting for the most part in scanty numbers, the combatants of the 2d Division were able to carry on their lengthened struggle from the hour before day- break to one in the afternoon without losing more than about three-eighths of their strength ; and in the companies of the 77th under Egerton, which exerted, as we saw, a great sway over the course of events, the proportion of killed and wounded was little more than one-fifth. Besides Lord Kaglan and the principal officers of the Headquarter Staff, there were ten English generals who came into action on Mount Inker- man, and these ten, with five other chiefs who succeeded to divisional or brigade commands (thus making altogether fifteen), were, all of them, either killed or wounded, or had their horses shot under them.* And, with only a single ex- ception, the same may be said of the eighteen colonels or other officers, who brought regiments, or lesser detachments, of Foot to Mount Inker- man, and took an active part in the struggle.*!- portion of them above mentioned as engaged by the Sandbag Battery numbered only 1098. No doubt, some of the 594 casualties which befell the Guards generally, occurred in other parts of the field, but not, I believe, so many as to vitiate the above statement. + See the second table, p. 455.
 * See the table in the next page.