Michael Springman - The Guards Brigade in the Crimea

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First published in Great Britain in 2008 by
Pen & Sword Military
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright Michael Springman 2008

ISBN 978 1 84415 6788
eISBN 9781783460663

The right of Michael Springman to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Typeset in 10pt Plantin by Mac Style, Beverley, East Yorkshire
Printed and bound in the UK by Biddles

Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the Imprints of Pen & Sword
Aviation, Pen & Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Military, Wharncliffe
Local History, Pen & Sword Select, Pen & Sword Military Classics, Leo
Cooper, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing and Frontline Publishing

For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact
PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED
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Maps

Preface and Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to Major J.W.S. Lawrie, the Regimental Adjutant Scots Guards, for permission to use the painting by Lady Butler, Saving the Colours at the Alma , on the cover of the book. I am indebted to Lieutenant Colonel Conway Seymour, the former Regimental Adjutant Grenadier Guards, who is now in charge of Regimental Archives, for his help, and to Major Edward Crofton, the Regimental Adjutant Coldstream Guards, for his assistance. Lance Sergeant Gorman, the Archivist of the Scots Guards, has been unstinting in his help, for which I am most grateful.

I have used extensively extracts from the letters of Captain Alfred Tipping, Grenadier Guards, and I am most grateful to Egerton Skipwith, his great-great-grandson, for his permission to do so. Similarly John Drummond has allowed me to quote from the letters of his forebear, Brevet Major Hugh Drummond, the Adjutant of 1 Scots Guards, for which I am also very grateful. Colonel Patrick Mercer has allowed me to quote an extract from his book, Give Them a Volley and Charge , for which I thank him.

I must also thank the owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, of four pictures of the War from his collection, which he has allowed me to reproduce in the book.

I am very grateful to Dr Alastair Massie for his permission to quote two letters written by the Duke of Cambridge to Lord Raglan from his book, The Crimean War The Untold Stories .

Many of my fellow members of the Crimean War Research Society have given me valuable help. Major Colin Robins, late Royal Artillery, the former Editor of the Societys journal, The War Correspondent , has acted as my mentor and guide throughout the writing of this book. He has read the proofs and made valuable suggestions.

I am greatly indebted to him for his help and advice, which I asked for and obtained on a regular basis throughout the writing of the book.

Other members who have given me help include David Paine, late Grenadier Guards, who has given me information from his records on the Regiment, including information on those who fought in the war. Keith Smith has, with Colin Robins, helped to identify the content of pictures of various battle scenes.

Brian Oldham has consulted his Great Crimean War Index to help me to verify my list of officers of the Scots Fusilier Guards. Anthony James has also consulted his records of officers who fought in the war to help me to verify the entries on my list.

Ron McGuigan has extensive knowledge of the command structure of the British Army in the Crimean War. The chapter on the command structure of the 1st Division, the Guards Brigade and the three Battalions in the war could not have been written without his help.

Brian Cantwell has advised me on solving the computer problems I have come across in writing the book. He has also helped me by enhancing images for the book and in assembling them on CDs for the publisher.

I would finally like to thank my wife for her help in checking the corrected pages, and Bobby Gainher for his help and for his highly efficient editing of the book.

Every effort has been made to locate and contact the holders of copyright material reproduced in this book and apologies are extended to anyone who has been inadvertently overlooked.

Michael Springman

Bembridge

The Black Sea.

The Crimea and the Chersonese Peninsular.

Operations around Sevastopol. C.D. Robins.

C HAPTER

British Foreign Policy and the Origins and Reasons for the Crimean War

Trafalgar gave Great Britain control of the sea; Waterloo secured her against the domination of the continent of Europe by one nation. The maintenance of naval supremacy and of a European balance of power were the governing principles of British foreign policy, throughout the nineteenth century. The safeguarding of British naval supremacy was primarily a domestic affair, a matter of men and ships and money. The preservation of the balance of power implied diplomatic action, and, at times, the threat or the use of force. The balance of power was not a fact, but an ideal towards which all reasonable men worked.

I n nineteenth-century terms maintaining the balance of power was establishing an equilibrium between states or group of states, based upon an assessment of their material and moral strength. This equilibrium was always changing, as the powers of states waxed and waned, and these changes required continual adjustment. In fact, Europe never attained this equilibrium. Britain could not dictate to the powers of Europe the policy they should adopt, but she could use her wealth and influence to persuade any power or combination of powers, which wished to disturb the existing balance, to desist. No single continental power was capable of challenging the Royal Navy, and British naval supremacy was accepted as a fact by its allies. Britains principal aim was to maintain the peace and the stability of the European state system, so that its merchants could buy and sell in European markets.

Britain was concerned about Russias aims to control the Bosphorus, including Constantinople, and its interest in taking over Mesopotamia, which would give Russia control over the overland route to India, where Britain had substantial commercial interests.

In 1853 the Russian Empire stretched from Germany to the Pacific and its territory bordered the Black Sea, the Ottoman Empire, Persia and China. The Tsar, who ruled over this immense land, was an absolute despot, whose rule was imposed by his secret police. With limited access to the sea, Russia had little foreign trade and thus was not able to develop her considerable resources. Furthermore, her road and rail links were very primitive. She lacked a warm-weather port to enable her to develop foreign trade. To further her expansionist policies, her objective was to conquer Constantinople and the Dardanelles, and thus gain entry to the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, Russia had aims to expand its empire into Turkey, Mesopotamia, Persia and India. The influence of her agents with the rulers of Afghanistan had caused the British Government considerable problems in eliminating Russian influence in this country, which threatened Indias security.

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