296 THE CANNONADE OF CHAP. Tills last hope was even, perhaps, better founded than the Allies at the time understood it to be ; for we now know that, notwithstanding the large reinforcements then lately brought into Sebas- topol, the extent and conformation of the ground which the garrison had to defend put it almost out of their power to be prepared at each point against the apprehended assaults with what they judged competent forces, their bat- It was with battcrics of 126 jjieces, including 18 heavy mortars, that the Allies hoped to get down the lire of the enemy's defences ; and of these, 53 were French,* and 73 English. -f- Of the English guns, 29 were manned by our seamen, the rest by our Eoyal Artillery.;}: The battery which the French had constructed by the sea- shore (near the site of an old Genoese fort), and also the two English Ijancaster batteries, may be regarded as standing, in some measure, apart from the general plan of attack ; and all the rest of the siege ordnance with which the Allies thus pro- posed to conquer the enemy's fire were distributed into three systems. One of these was the system or string of batteries erected by the French on the crest of Mount Eodolph, and armed with 49 pieces. Another was the bending line of English batteries on Green Hill, with an armament of 41 pieces, which our pcoi)le called the 'Left,'
- Niel, 'Journal des Ojiorations du Genie,' p. 60. Auger
gives the number of guns as 49, Init 1 follow Niel. + 'Journal of the English Engineers,' p. 31. { Ibid. See details of arinanicnt in AppendLsc.
