Not only were the soldiers at the frontline posts laughing and chatting with each other, but the lives of the soldiers in the trenches and fortresses at the rear were also becoming more and more colorful.
To kill time, soldiers generally played poker, while officers played chess or read. There was even a grand piano in the bunker of the Russian Sixth Bastion. Soldiers from other bastions who were good at playing were invited here.
Hold a concert.
Kornilov's adjutant later recalled: "At the beginning the concert was solemn, with a sense of ceremony and the etiquette that should be followed when listening to a classical concert. But gradually as our mood changed, the playing became more and more
There were more music representing the country as well as folk songs and dances, and once again a masquerade was arranged, and a military cadet dressed up as a woman and sang folk songs."
In the French army camp, drama was very popular. Zouave's division had its own cross-dressing juggling troupe, and a large group of noisy soldiers could often be seen gathering in front of a wooden house to enjoy the juggling.
French army chaplain Andre Damas also said: "Imagine a soldier from the Joave Division dressed as a shepherdess and flirting with the soldiers! There will also be another soldier from the Joave Division dressed as a high-society woman, and the performance will not be easily pursued.
Madam. I have never seen such a funny scene and such a superb acting gentleman. They are so funny!"
The entertainment activities of the British are relatively high-end. They like horse racing very much. Who gives their cavalry troops nothing to do?
Of course, if you don’t like these activities, then drinking is definitely something that all officers and soldiers like. In both armies, almost all troops have a series of problems caused by alcoholism, such as violating discipline, swearing, arrogance and drunkenness.
Fight.
During the entire Crimean War, the British Army had a total of 5,546 soldiers, and approximately one-eighth of the total number of soldiers had been court-martialed for drunken behavior.
Many soldiers drink a large glass of wine when they wake up in the morning. The British army drinks rum, the Russian army drinks vodka, and the French army drinks wine. Then they drink another large glass at dinner. Many soldiers even drink wine.
So much so that he could not wake up during the entire siege.
Even the Turks, who are not allowed to drink alcohol, are not exempt from the custom. Their favorite is the sweet Crimean wine.
Almost every regiment has a canteen, and at the door of the canteen you can always see piles of British and French soldiers lying or rolling around. Some of them are laughing wildly, some are crying, and some are dancing.
Making faces, even fighting, making out, or being stunned. Whether it is the British or the French, it is equally bad when they are drunk, so much so that many senior officers think that paying more soldiers military pay is a huge mistake.
Because as soon as these soldiers get money, they will immediately change it to alcohol and get drunk into a puddle!
Some senior officers even began to miss the state when supplies were in short supply. At that time, there was almost no drunkenness problem. The only thing all soldiers looked forward to was to have a full stomach and then be able to dress warmly.
On the contrary, as the coalition forces continued to improve the infrastructure construction in Crimea, they found that the soldiers were making more and more demands and getting drunker, especially when the British repaired the Balaklava to Inkerman
After the railway was built at the foot of the mountain, this bad situation became more and more common.
To be honest, sometimes you have to admire how wealthy the British are. Just look at Li Xiao and the others who almost emptied their pockets to build a railway in Wallachia. But the British built a railway in just two or three months.
A special supply railway was built.
The person responsible for building this railway was Samuel Peto, a British railway construction expert. This man raised 100,000 pounds from Prime Minister Lord Aberdeen, purchased the materials needed to build the railway, and raised a large number of people.
How can an Irish-dominated construction team behave themselves?
The construction team arrived in Balaclava at the end of January and immediately began construction at a rapid pace. At one point, they could lay almost half a kilometer of railway in a day. By the end of March, the ten-kilometer railway from Balaclava to Inkelman Mountain was completed.
Completed.
This railway is of particularly critical significance to the coalition forces. It greatly improves the efficiency of the coalition's material transfer. As long as the coalition's supply ships can reach Balaklava, they can quickly deliver materials to the front line.
It was precisely because the supply efficiency was greatly improved that Raglan decided to launch a large-scale offensive in early April.
According to Raglan's plan, the coalition forces will bombard Sevastopol for ten consecutive days. At that time, 500 coalition artillery pieces will continue to bombard the Russian positions. This will be launched after the coalition forces land in Crimea.
The largest artillery bombardment was also the largest artillery bombardment in the world at that time.
The senior generals of the coalition forces have great expectations for this large-scale bombardment. They all hope that this bombardment can destroy Sevastopol's defense system in one fell swoop and shake the Russian army's will to resist, thus quickly ending the war.
It’s just that Kornilov had already prepared for the coalition’s actions. On the one hand, deserters from the coalition leaked information, and on the other hand, the Russian observation posts could clearly see that the coalition positions were very busy, almost every day.
It was discovered that the coalition forces had deployed new artillery positions.
April 9, Easter. Just a few hours before the coalition forces were about to launch an artillery bombardment, prayer ceremonies were held in various churches in Sevastopol, and prayers were held in every bastion. Priests held statues of gods in front of the troops.
I walked past, including the icon of Saint Sergius sent from the Troitsky Monastery in the town of Sergievo on the order of Nicholas I.
This icon accompanied the Russian army in military campaigns during the early Romanov dynasty, and joined the Moscow militia in resisting Napoleon's invasion in 1812.
At the midnight mass held in the main church of Sevastopol, countless candles illuminated the church and the streets. Even the coalition troops in the trenches could see clearly. The huge crowd spread to the streets, standing there praying silently.
.
Everyone had a candle in their hand, and from time to time they would bow their heads and make the sign of the cross on their chests. Others were kneeling on the ground. The priests walked through the crowd holding the icons, and the choir followed them and sang continuously.
When the ceremony reached its climax, a storm suddenly came, and heavy rain poured down, but no one walked away. The soldiers and civilians of Sevastopol regarded the storm as a manifestation of heaven, so the praying crowd stayed in the rain until the first ray of light in the morning.
The sun lights up.
At this time, the bombardment of the coalition forces also started. The praying crowd did not panic but evacuated in an orderly manner. Most people did not have time to change out of their Easter costumes and went directly into the bastion to assist the Russian army in the battle...