He looked for nothing less,
according to an intercepted despatch, than the destruction or capture
of the whole allied army.
No doubt the enemy had now an overwhelming superiority in numbers. The
total land forces under Prince Menschikoff's command, including the
garrison of Sebastopol, were 120,000 strong. Those numbers included a
large body of cavalry and a formidable field artillery.
The entire allied army was barely half that strength. It was called
upon, moreover, to occupy an immense front--a front which extended
from the sea at Kamiesch to the Tchernaya, and from the Tchernaya, by
a long and circuitous route, back to the sea at Balaclava. This line,
offensive as regards the siege-works, but defensive along the unduly
extended and exposed right flank at Balaclava, was close on twenty
miles. The great length of front made severe demands upon the allied
troops; it could only be manned by dangerously splitting up their
whole strength into many weak units, none of which could be very
easily or rapidly reinforced by the rest.
Perhaps the weakest part of the whole line was the extreme right, held
at this moment by the British Second Division. Here, on an exposed and
vitally important flank, the whole available force was barely 3,000
men. For some time past it had been intended to fortify this flank by
field-works, armed with heavy artillery.
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