This unsuccessful attempt by the Russian army did not awaken Menshikov. As the 10th and 11th divisions under the command of Lieutenant General Soimolov belonging to the Fourth Army arrived in Sevastopol.
Shikov had nearly 90,000 troops on hand.
If you include the defending troops of Kornilov and Nakhimov, the number will be even greater.
At this time, according to Russian reconnaissance, the coalition forces on the line from Balaclava to Sevastopol numbered only 70,000 people, including a large number of wounded.
Menshikov believed that his troops had an absolute advantage. How could he not launch an attack now?
Moreover, although Colonel Fedorov's test was unsuccessful, the Russian army also discovered that the coalition's position was not strong and had many flaws.
Even the British army themselves found that the problem was huge. Delessi Evans and Burgoying reminded Raglan several times that several key highlands were extremely vulnerable to attack and that it was necessary to strengthen defense, especially the construction of fortifications.
The French also considered the situation dangerous, and Bosquet wrote to Raglan almost daily, warning him of the weak defenses.
However, Raglan did not adopt the suggestions of these generals and had no intention of strengthening the defense at all. Even when he encountered a probing attack by the Russian army, he remained unmoved.
This left Bosquet puzzled as to why such an important and exposed position was not protected by fortifications.
Raglan's inaction was not entirely due to negligence or indifference, but because he had a serious shortage of troops at hand. He had to deploy forward to continue the siege of Sevastopol, but also to guard against Menshikov's attack on the flanks.
He doesn't have three heads and six arms, so how can he possibly take care of it?
And at this time, the British army was exhausted and in urgent need of rest. According to Private Henry Smith, they went to work immediately after the Battle of the Alma River and the Battle of Balaclava. From the end of September, the British army began to work every day.
The rest time never exceeds four hours, and often there is no time to make coffee.
On October 14, even though bullets and artillery shells flew overhead like hail, the British army was too exhausted to respond at all. Many people even fell asleep under the Russian shelling!
Soldiers often need to be stationed in trenches for 24 hours continuously, and the mud inside has caused many soldiers to suffer from trench foot. Many soldiers even returned to camp soaked to the skin with mud all over their bodies. This was how supplies were restored.
It was very difficult, there was no clean drinking water, and bread was often eaten before the next meal.
In this state, Raglan was so overwhelmed that he had no energy or ability to order the troops to strengthen defense.
It was at this time that Menshikov's desperate attack began. On November 4, Soimorov led 19,000 troops and 38 artillery along Colonel Fedorov's offensive route
Launch an attack.
Pavlov crossed the Chornaya River from the east with 16,000 people and 96 cannons to attack the British flank. After the two forces merged, General Dannenberg took over the command and moved the British
The army was driven away from Inkerman. At the same time, Liprange's troops were responsible for interfering with the French army's Bosquet headquarters.
This combat plan had very high requirements for the Russian army. To be honest, it was impossible to realize it given the quality of the Russian army and the communication conditions on the battlefield at that time.
It’s not just the Russian army that can’t do it, even if it’s the British and French armies, there’s no chance!
In particular, it should be noted that the Russian troops participating in the war were all transferred from the direction of Ukraine and were not familiar with the terrain around Sevastopol at all.
And the Russian army did not have enough military maps. Let’s put it this way, the military maps near Sevastopol were still on the road from St. Petersburg to Sevastopol. Before the war, Nicholas I did not expect that the coalition forces would land in Kerry.
Mia, there was no preparation at all.
At the end of the day, the Russian generals only had some maps with very low accuracy and full of errors (let’s put it this way, Soimorov, who was in charge of the main attack, only had a naval map with no markings on the land, not even the terrain.
Can't understand), if they unfortunately get lost, it's not surprising at all.
Under such circumstances, Menshikov also made an inexplicable arrangement. After the two armies were united, Dannenberg would be under unified command. Isn't it a joke to change the generals at the last moment?
Such an arrangement is simply courting death, and Dannenberg, who is responsible for taking over the command, is not a famous general. He was famous for his repeated defeats and indecisiveness during the war against Napoleon. Most of the soldiers are not interested in this guy.
No confidence at all.
Of course, these are not the most fatal. The biggest mistake of this plan is to place 35,000 soldiers and 134 cannons on a narrow high ground, where movement is inconvenient and there are bushes everywhere, and the width is only
It's only three hundred meters, so there's no way for so many people to spread out.
Even Dannenberg, a bastard, discovered that this plan was completely unrealistic after inspecting the terrain on the spot, so the night before the attack was launched, he suddenly ordered Soimolov to change the battle plan and stop crossing the mountains from the north.
Instead of attacking below, they marched eastward to the Inkelmann Bridge to cover Pavlov's troops crossing the river. They then used this bridge as a starting point to outflank the British flank.
This sudden change was equally confusing, and what was even more confusing was still behind. At three o'clock in the morning, when Soimolov's troops had already started taking action and were preparing to go to the Inkelman Bridge, they suddenly received another
Another order from Dannenberg told him to change direction and launch an attack from the west.
At this time, Soimolov was extremely speechless. His military literacy and common sense told him that such fooling around would definitely cause a disaster. Changing the battle plan now would jeopardize the entire military operation. So he decided not to listen to Dannenberg.
Instead, he adopted his own preferred plan and launched an attack from the north according to the original plan.
As a result, before the battle even started, due to Dannenberg's blind command, the three commanders' combat plans were completely different.
At five o'clock in the morning, Soimolov's troops had already climbed onto Inkelman Hill and had brought up twenty-two field guns.
Because it had been raining heavily in the past three days, the steep hillside was muddy and slippery, making it difficult for soldiers and horses to transport the cannon to the top of the mountain. And because of the heavy rain, a thick fog rose in the morning, making it difficult for Soimorov's troops to
Assembling is even more difficult.
However, this fog also covered the actions of the Russian army and played a key role in the subsequent development of the war.
At this time, the Russian soldiers could not see anything because the ridge was narrow and everyone was huddled together. The officers could not find their soldiers, and the soldiers could not find their commanders. They suddenly became a mess...