Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 6.djvu/94

 60 THE BATTLE OF INKERMAN. CHAP, artillery to the ground he would find laid open ' for him by Dannenbeig, thus bringing the num- bers of Russian troops assembled together on the Chersonese to a strength of about 60,000. So the foreordained condition of things was such that, if the English, though pressed by mighty numbers, should still for a while hold their ground, they would be not only fending off the heavy multitude of their immediate assailants, but also arresting the action of some 22,000 additional troops. And that is exactly what happened. No blame ought to fall on Prince Gortschakoff. His advance had been left to de- pend upon a contingency which failed to occur, and it was by the unforeseen tenacity of the small force encountered by other commanders that liis power was kept in abeya.nca