Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/170

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140 niS SUCCESSIVE MISTAKES. C II A P. VI. His removal i if Bosquet from com- mand in t lie Kara- belnaya. enemy's works, whilst all the Allies on the con- trary who craned from their foremost trenches in the Karabelnaya were divided from the opposite counterscarps by several hundreds of yards. Lord Kaglan lamented the change. It was not for him to judge whether the French ranged be- fore the town front could or not have defeated their adversaries ; but he set a great value on any assaults towards the west, which would there have detained a great number of the enemy's troops ; and prevented their taking a part in the fights for the Karabelnaya.* The next change made by Pelissier was one of a hazardous kind. Finding that Bosquet did not agree with him in his plan of attacking the Fau- bourg without first sapping up to close quarters with its works of defence, the chief became hotly enraged ; and, after besides laying stress on an act of omission which had given him grave offence, he broke with the general who thus had ruffled his temper — the general then commanding in front of the Karabelnaya who would otherwise have had the direction of all the projected as- saults^ 4 ) It was greatly of course to be wished that the general charged to direct the intended assaults should be a man fully imbued with the ideas of the Commander-in-Chief, fully sharing . his most eager hopes ; and, if frankly aiming at agreement, or — alternatively — at some change of plan, consultations pursued by the chief with his richly experienced lieutenant might have brought

  • Lord Raglan to Lord Panmure, Private, 19th June 1855,