The Alma River was filled with corpses of British soldiers, and the clear water was dyed crimson. Many British soldiers were frightened and huddled on the river bank, refusing to go into the water. Officers rode horses back and forth, calling on the soldiers to cross quickly.
He even drew his sword and tried to strike.
But it was of little use, because the Russian artillery fire was so fierce that it pushed the British troops to the ground and rubbed them. Even if some soldiers were just dragged up by the officers, they would immediately be frightened by a new round of artillery fire.
The British soldiers who crossed the river were even more confused. Soldiers from different companies were mixed together, and the formation of two horizontal lines became crowded.
Seeing the rare opportunity, Kornilov immediately ordered the Russian soldiers and field artillery ambushed on both sides of the "Big Mound" to fire fiercely at the British army.
Under the heavy fire of the Russian army, the new British officers who had just tried to reorganize were killed or injured, causing the British army to cross the river and almost completely lose control.
The British troops who finally crossed the river were exhausted from the torture. They would rather hide on the river bank and be shot by the Russian troops than take a step forward. Some British soldiers hiding in the blind spots of the Russian firepower simply dropped their backpacks and rifles.
Take out the bread and fresh meat and start having lunch.
Realizing that the situation was extremely critical, Major General Codrington, commander of the 1st Brigade of the British Light Infantry Division, eagerly tried to regroup his soldiers. He rode a white Arabian horse and rushed up the hillside to attack the chaotic infantry.
shouted:
"Mount bayonets! Leave the river bank! Charge forward!"
Thanks to Codrington's tireless efforts, the British soldiers regained a little bit of their fighting spirit. Under the leadership of Codrington, they began to climb into Kurgan Mountain in groups.
At this time, the British army had no formation and no organization at all. Officers at all levels gave up the attempt to reorganize the formation, because there was no time and no possibility. They could only try their best to disperse the scattered troops around them.
The soldiers rallied and ordered them to "move forward! Keep moving forward!"
When the chaotic British army climbed up the open hillside, most of the soldiers began to charge towards the Russian position on the large hillock about 500 meters high on the hillside while shouting wildly.
Seeing more than 2,000 enemies rushing towards them, the Russian artillerymen on the big hillock were a little surprised, but they did not show mercy at all. Because the British troops were grouped together, this made it easier for them to find the target.
Clusters of grapeshot and shrapnel covered the British charging queue like a shower of flowers. Thousands of British soldiers were knocked down no matter how low they were. Before they could get up or struggle, there was a chaos behind them as officers urged them to charge.
The comrades stepped over mercilessly.
For a time, the massacre was horrific, and hundreds of British soldiers were trampled to death alone.
However, the British army was outnumbered after all, and they finally rushed forward despite the fierce Russian artillery fire. Some British soldiers rushed into the Russian trenches on the big hillock, and they climbed over the parapets or simply drilled into the hillock through the gun holes.
, began to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Russian army.
Just when the Great Mound position was about to change hands, the Vladimirsky Regiment suddenly rushed down from the heights towards the Great Mound according to Kornilov's order. At the same time, the Russian troops higher up on the Kurgan Mountain
Army mortars also began to bombard the big hillock.
The Russian soldiers of the Vladimirsky Regiment held rifles with bayonets in their hands and shouted: "Ula!" They drove the British troops out of the big hillock in one breath and continued to fire on the fleeing British troops.
On the other side, Major General Codrington quickly reorganized a counterattack and prepared to try to capture the big hill again.
Just when he was about to give it a try, the British army's bugle suddenly sounded the cease-fire call. In Codrington's confused and confused eyes, the British light infantry division gave up the counterattack and stayed in place stupidly.
He watched blankly as the Russian army regained its position.
This fatal trumpet completely disrupted the rhythm of the British army, and the reason was dumbfounding. It turned out that an officer mistook the reinforcing Russian army for the French army, and ordered his men to cease fire. Under his leadership and demonstration,
, other British troops also followed suit and blew bugles to order a ceasefire.
When Codrington figured out the reason, he was naturally furious, but he had no chance to punish the damn perpetrator, because when his troops were confused about the situation, the Vladimirsky regiment suddenly launched
He charged, knocked his light infantry off their feet, and chased them back to the banks of the Alma River like hounds chasing rabbits.
Looking up, from the banks of the Alma River to the big hill, there are dead and wounded British soldiers everywhere. It can be said that the whole field is wailing and miserable.
The most important reason why the British army failed to capture the Great Mound was that the British army lacked reinforcements from the second echelon. The Duke of Cambridge did not send his Guards to reinforce the light infantry division because he did not receive Raglan's order at all.
, if Evans on his right hadn't discovered that the situation of the Light Infantry Division was in bad condition and urgently needed support, and pretended to be Raglan to give orders to the Duke of Cambridge, otherwise this man would have been watching the Light Infantry Division being eaten up by the Russian army until even the bones were left.
.
What is intriguing is that not only did the Duke of Cambridge fail to receive Raglan's order, but other British generals on the battlefield did not know where Raglan had gone.
It was not that Raglan left his post without permission, but that after issuing the order to attack, Raglan made an incredible decision. As if to prove his fearless courage, he rode up with his entire staff team.
The front of the battle line.
Raglan crossed the Alma River and stayed on an exposed high ground on Telegraph Hill. His position was far beyond the leading soldiers on the front line of the British army, and he was almost nose to nose with the Russian army.
According to the later recollections of Raglan's staff officer Captain Gage: "How I escaped death is really a miraculous thing. I followed the commander to the front line, and artillery shells flew by my sides and above my head.
The sound of Nirvana rifles and Russian rifles screamed in my ears one after another. The horses and riders of Lord Raglan's staff (where I was) were shot and fell around me, dead or wounded! However,
But I am very safe, not even a piece of my skin is scratched..."
Captain Gage is not the only one who is extremely lucky. Baron Raglan might as well give in. Ordinarily, he is wearing full marshal uniform and full of medals, so he should be the most dazzling guy on the battlefield.
But the Russian gunners and gunners seemed to be blind, or simply did not look in his direction, leaving Raglan to jump up and down under their noses without any reaction.
It would be a pity if Kornilov knew about the mistakes of his soldiers. Being able to kill the enemy commander would definitely be a major benefit to him. But if Li Xiao knew his thoughts, he would probably be dismissive.
Because he knows that Raglan's survival is a major benefit to the Russian army...