Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol. 9.djvu/186

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156 ATTACKS OF THE 18TH OF JUNE.


ciiap. officer who had given the caution, addressing . him in his rough, playful way, as ' Mr Timorous.' Those two brigades were the forces that received their orders too late, and did not come up in good time. * From that mishap, it resulted that Pelissier's original plan of holding back all his reserves on ground widely distant from the enemy's lines remained practically in force long enough to encounter the test of experience ; and, whether the Commander-in-Chief or the gibe-stricken ' Mr ' Timorous ' proved to be of those two the more skilled disposer of troops, we shall not be without means of judging.! To ensure the simultaneous outset of the three attacks, they were all to be launched by one signal, that is, by a bright jet of rockets thrown up at Pelissier's bidding from a spot that formed nearly the summit of the lofty Victoria Eidge. Including the great reserve, but not counting the two brigades ordered up from the west, the whole force allotted for the enterprise comprised four Divisions, and was placed, as we have seen, under the orders of General St Jean d'Angely. III. rr>st chosen For his post of observation, Lord Eaglan had Ragian. chosen the Mortar Battery of the 3d Parallel

  • The brigades of Faucheux and Monteynard. See ante, p

152. t See post, p. 201, and Note.