June 20, 2008: Balaclava

[Imigo Jones]

Wiki says, "The British suffered a total of 360 casualties".

tombstone and Bruce, if it's any consolation, the 360 figure represents British casualties in the entire Battle of Balaclava. The British seem to have been involved in three major actions during this inconclusive battle. The Charge of the Light Brigade was certainly the most costly of these actions, with 245 casualties to an advancing force of about 670. This represents 68% of the day's total British casualties.



"Officers and men of the 13th Light Dragoons, survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade, a few months after the battle."

Lieutenant General the Earl of Lucan "instructed Cardigan to lead 673 (some sources state 661) cavalry men straight into the valley between the Fedyukhin Heights and the Causeway Heights, famously dubbed the 'Valley of Death' by the poet Tennyson. The opposing Russian forces were commanded by Pavel Liprandi and included approximately 20 battalions of infantry supported by over 50 artillery pieces. These forces were deployed on both sides and at the opposite end of the valley. . . .

"The brigade was not completely destroyed, but did suffer terribly, with 118 men killed, 127 wounded. After regrouping, only 195 men were still with horses." From our friends at Wikipedia.

Going with the upper figure of 673 charging,
the death rate was 17.5%.
Wounded 19.0%.
Total casualties 245 = 36.5%.
With this map it is easy to see how:



"Charge timeline"