Battle of Inkerman
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The Battle of Inkerman, Crimean War, shown by military artists Lady Butler, Robert Gibb and Thomas Jones Barker, published by Cranston Fine Arts, the military print company.

Battle of Inkerman, 5th November 1854.  A Russian Sortie from Sebastopol attacked the British forces on the heights of Inkerman, Although the British defence line was fairly weak. It withstood the Russian heavy attacks. The heavy fighting caused large losses for the Russians (over 12,000 men) and they withdraw, the British lost 2,500 and the French 1,000 troops.

The siege of Sebastopol teemed with tragic episodes and Inkerman was one of the most tragic of them.  As Henry Russell says, "The Battle of Inkerman admits no description.  It was a series of dreadful deeds of daring, of sanguinary hand to hand fights, of despairing rallies, of desperate assaults in glens and valleys, in brushwood glades and remote dells, hidden from all human eyes."  The besiegers were themselves threatened with investment, and once more it was necessary to defend, at all costs, the communication with the sea.  Worn out by continual fighting, half starved and exposed to the severities of a Russian winter, the British faced the enemy reinforced by fifty thousand men.  The attack was sudden and fierce, and the Muscovites were at last confident that they would drive the invaders into the sea.  Under cover of darkness they stole out of the city and in silence approached the British right.  A shot from a surprised picket was the first warning, and the soldiers sprang from their sleep into a hand to hand fight against overwhelming numbers.  Shoulder to shoulder they stood firm and resolute while the Russian batteries hurled death among them.  A detachment charged up the hill to a redoubt in possession of the enemy.  Again and again they were repulsed and again and again they came on until this little fort had about it a rampart of dead.  The Duke of Cambridge led the Guards to the assault and a few hundred Coldstreamers held the redoubt against six thousand.  They fought till the ground was wet with blood, and ammunition was exhausted.  Then clubbing rifles they burts through the enemy's ranks and regained the Household Brigade.  Cathcart's division advanced over the body of their leader, pierced by a bullet as he gave the word of command.  With the courage of despair the Russians fought, meeting heroism with heroism.  Their reserves seemed inexhaustible.  No sooner was one regiment destroyed than anotherappeared.  And so the struggle went on - the bloodiest in history.  It looked as though the sheer weight and numbers of the enemy must prevail.  But Canrobert was at hand.  With Zouaves, infantry, and artillery he assailed the flanks of the Russians, till with a wail of despair they broke and fled, leaving us the victory and our heaped up slain. (extract from British Battles 1898)

Grenadier Guards at Inkerman At Inkerman, "the soldier's battle", the Guards took 1,331 men into action. Tremendous was the conflict that the Guards and Adam's brigade waged about the Sandbag Battery, that "symbol of victory", as Hamley calls it, and the Fore Ridge. It fell to the centre companies to occupy the battery, their right flank companies thrown back along the ridge facing the Tchernaya plain and the left facing the general Russian advance. "A continued struggle," says Sir F Hamilton, who was present, "and hand-to-hand combat now ensued, the men fighting with the desperation of those who know their is no support if they fail, and being often at such close quarters, that having no opportunity of reloading, they would make use of the butt ends of their muskets." On came Pauloff's Russians, hurling themselves in successive waves against the battery, mown down by the steady fire f the Grenadiers and the Scots Guards. So, to and fro, for six long hours the terrific conflict at the Sandbag Battery was waged, and many an incident of individual heroism bore testimony to the magnificent courage of the Guards. At one time, in the heat of the conflict, the headquarters and colours of the regiment, carried by Lieutenants Verschoyle and Turner, being halted near the battery, several officers impetuous led their companies in pursuit of the enemy, and after fighting desperately, retuned to the hill by a circuitous route.

It is believed that the Grenadiers were the only corps to carry their colours into action that day. In the thick of the fight, gallant Captain Peel of the Navy joined the Grenadiers, who were now reduced to about 100 officers and men at the battery. At the close the Grenadiers had but 236 effective officers and men on the field. Three officers (Lieutenant-Colonel Pakenham, and Captains Sir R Newman, and the Honourable Henry Neville) were killed, and six (including Colonel F W Hamilton, the historian of the regiment) wounded, while of non-commissioned officers and rank and file, 101 were killed and 124 wounded.

The 20th Foot at the Battle of Inkerman, 5th November 1854 by David Rowlands.

The battle of Inkerman, during the Crimean War, British and French victory over the Russian Empire.

Open edition print. Image size 12 inches x 8 inches (31cm x 20cm). Price £13.00


Signed edition print. Image size 12 inches x 8 inches (31cm x 20cm). Price £28.00


Limited edition of 200 giclee canvas prints. Image size 36 inches x 24 inches (91cm x 61cm). Price £500.00


Limited edition of 200 giclee canvas prints. Image size 30 inches x 20 inches (76cm x 51cm). Price £390.00

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The Roll Call by Lady Elizabeth Butler.

Grenadier Guards exhausted, standing in the snow after the battle, during the Crimean war awaiting the reading of the Roll Call.

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Return from Inkerman by Lady Elizabeth Butler.

A column of exhausted and wounded men of the Coldstream Guards and the 20th East Devonshire regiment returning from the heights of Inkerman, 5th November 1854, during the Crimean War.

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Open edition print. Image size 21 inches x 14 inches (53cm x 36cm). Price £38.00


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The Barrier by Marjorie Weatherstone.

Depicting the Royal Scots Fusiliers holding position in the heights of Inkerman against the Russian advance during the Crimean War.

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The 55th Regiment at the Battle of Inkerman by Orlando Norie.

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The Guards at Inkerman, November 5th 1854 by Robert Gibb.

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The Guards at Inkerman, November 5th 1854 by Robert Gibb.

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The 20th Foot at the Battle of Inkerman, 5th November 1854 by David Rowlands  The battle of Inkerman, during the Crimean War, British and French victory over the Russian Empire.

 The Roll Call by Lady Butler  Grenadier Guards exhausted, standing in the snow after the battle, during the Crimean war awaiting the reading of the Roll Call.

Return from Inkerman by lady Butler  A column of exhausted and wounded men of the Coldstream Guards and the 20th East Devonshire regiment returning from the heights of Inkerman, 5th November 1854, during the Crimean War.

The Barrier by Marjorie Weatherstone  Depicting the Royal Scots Fusiliers holding position in the heights of Inkerman against the Russian advance during the Crimean War.

Inkerman 1854, The Soldiers Battle by Patrick Mercer  

On 5 November 1854 the Russians marched out of the besieged city of Sevastopol to throw off the allied British and French forces by mounting a joint attack with their troops from outside the city. Despite outnumbering their enemies five to one the Russians failed to achieve what looked to be an almost foregone conclusion. The third major action of the Crimean War, the battle fought in heavy fog at Inkerman proved to be a testament to the skill and initiative of the individual men and officers of the British Army of the day.

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The Middlesex Regiment at the Battle of Inkerman

Excerpt form the Navy and army Illustrated August 18th 1897 by Colonel W W Knollys

The 77th formed part of the Light Division in the Crimea. At the Alma it was not heavily engaged. At Inkerman it was in the thick of the fight and did splendid service under Colonel Egerton. Almost at the beginning of the action, when deployed in the mist and smoke, Lieutenant Clifford, ADC to Major-General Buller, commanding the brigade, saw a column of Russians coming up on the left rear of the regiment by a ravine. Clifford called out cheerily to the nearest men "Who will come and charge with me?" Comparatively few could hear, but of those who did a score or two followed him. Without waiting for them Clifford dashed on ahead and drove his way into the Russian column. The Russians, taken by surprise, were partially paralysed. A few, however, fired and used their bayonets, but Clifford killed one Russian, disabled another, and his handful of men coming up, a fierce melee ensued. Soon those of the enemy immediately opposed the the daring band fled down the ravine, throwing their comrades, already vexed by the fire of Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar's company of the Grenadier Guards on the opposite bank - into disorder and bringing about their retreat. As to the head of the column, which had been, so to speak, amputated by the daring rush of Clifford and his followers, they threw down their arms and surrendered.

About the same time a body of about 1,500 Russians bore down upon Egerton, who had but 260 men with him.. He gave the word "Fire a volley and charge," and nobly his men responded. Delivering their fire with deadly effect, They sprang at the Russians, and plunging into the mist, the smoke, and brushwood, penetrated into the crowd, and plying the bayonet and butt end vigorously, in a few minutes broke up and pressed back their adversaries. These they followed up to the foot of Shell Hill, where they maintained themselves till late in the fight, when Egerton was sent to another part of the field.

Late in the evening of 19th April 1855, Colonel Egerton, with a portion of the regiment, supported by a wing of the 33rd, in all about 600 bayonets, attacked certain Russian lodgments - afterwards called, in honour of the feat, "Egerton's Rifle Pits". These were carried by our men with the bayonet, scarcely a shot being fired by our people, though they were received with a shower of musket bullets. Our engineers resolved only to retain one , which they placed in a state of defence and connected with our nearest approach. It took some three hours to accomplish this task, performed under a heavy fire of artillery and small arms. It was at this time that Captain Lempriere, a very young officer who had fought manfully at Inkerman, was mortally wounded, being shot through the lungs as he stood by the side of Colonel Egerton. Egerton was very fond of the lad, whom he was wont to call his child, and lifting him in his arms, carried him to a place of shelter in the trenches, immediately after returning to his post. Immediately after Sergeant McDonald, a gallant sapper who won the Victoria Cross by his conduct on the occasion, fell badly wounded by a grape shot in the right side. Colonel Egerton, ever as mindful of others as he was careless about himself, strove to keep up the sergeant's strength by giving him brandy out of his flask. His deed of mercy had scarcely been done than the enemy made a vigorous effort to recapture the lodgment, and in assisting to repulse them Egerton was slain. Lord Raglan described the conduct of the troops as "admirable", and in his despatch declared the army could not have suffered a more severe loss than that of Egerton, "who was one of the best officers in the army".

On this occasion Sergeant John ark and Private Alexander Wright of the 77th won the Victoria Cross. Both had on previous occasions shown great courage.

 

 

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