By midday, the fighting on the Balaclava front had reached its peak, with the soldiers of the two armies exchanging fire on all sides of the line, the roar of gunfire overshadowing some of the sounds, and the choking smell of gunpowder and blood filling the air. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

However, although the battle became more and more fierce and the casualties of the two armies were increasing, they became more and more mediocre in the sense of battle, and there were no more exciting moments of life and death, but more like two swordsmen who were already covered in wounds fighting each other with all their might, competing to see who would fight earlier because of physical exhaustion.

Because now the powerful offensive of the Russian army has been stopped by the British army, their powerful cavalry assault has to return in front of the British position. Therefore, the plan to rely on a strong assault force to seize the battlefield advantage in one fell swoop and then crush the British front has completely come to naught, and the Russian army had to slow down the pace of the offensive and instead engage in positional warfare with the British army, and the original passionate offensive had to be replaced by dull attrition.

If it was simply an engagement between the British and Russian armies, this kind of war of attrition would have become an unbearable situation for the British army, after all, their strength was not as good as the Russian army, but now the situation is different, because the French army has been reinforced, and the British and French armies combined, it can make it difficult for the Russian army to bear the casualties caused by the attack.

For the sake of prudence, Marshal Treville, who had already arrived at the edge of the front line with a large French army, did not rush into battle with his own troops, but sent his adjutant Ensign Georges de Del Delier to the tent of Marshal Raglan, the commander of the British army, to ask him about the current situation on the battlefield, so that the two armies could fight together, and he also wanted to use this way to give a little morale boost to the British army, which had been fighting hard for a long time.

George, who had received orders from Marshal Tréville, of course did not dare to slack off, and he rode his horse along the trail and rushed deep into Balaclava, because the British army had already transferred all the troops in the rear to the front line, so his road ahead was unimpeded, and he soon came to the edge of the battle line.

The first thing he came into contact with was the French troops who had been camped here yesterday, and when they had ascertained his identity, the French soldiers stationed there led him to the command post of their brigade commander, Major Lucien Lefleur.

"George!" After seeing George, Lucien was overjoyed, opened her arms directly to him, and hugged his shoulders, "What good news for your arrival! ”

Of course, Lucien was not only happy because of George's arrival, he knew that George was the adjutant of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, and his arrival meant that the commander-in-chief of the French army was also close at hand, that is, the army led by the commander-in-chief had come to the vicinity of the battlefield and was about to enter the battle.

With the fighting in such a fierce situation, this is certainly good news.

"It's a pleasure to see you, sir! I have come to convey to you the order of the Commander-in-Chief, who has decided to launch an offensive against the Russian army at the next moment, so he wants your troops to be ready at once and to launch an attack on the targeted territory as soon as he receives his next order. George gave Lucien a military salute, and then quickly conveyed the commander-in-chief's order to him. In addition, the Commander-in-Chief would like you to send someone to escort me to Field Marshal Raglan as soon as possible, and he will need to coordinate the next deployment with Field Marshal Raglan. ”

Although Colonel Lucien-Lefrere was his brother-in-law and a person close to him, it was a battlefield after all, so George chose to address him as a soldier.

'We've been preparing since last night and we're ready to attack.' Lucien immediately replied, "Now it is only until the Commander-in-Chief shows us the direction of the attack, and we will do everything in our power to fulfill his orders." Also, I am glad that I happened to be by Marshal Raglan's side yesterday evening, and that I could show you the way. ”

"Thank you, sir!" Young George straightened his back.

"You've really grown up, George." With a smile of relief and joy, Lucien patted him solemnly. "Complete your mission, and don't let the Commander-in-Chief and us down."

"Yes!" George answered again loudly, then turned and left the humble command post.

In order to show him the way, Lucien arranged for him to have a herald beside him, and let this herald lead him to Marshal Raglan's command post.

At this time, strictly speaking, George was already in the middle of the battlefield, although it was still only the deep area of the front line, and he did not have to worry about the enemy's bullets and artillery fire, but the air with a serious smell of fish had kept drilling into his brain, making his heart also ignite with fire.

After all, he was a young man with strong blood, and what happened in the war brought him not fear, but the passion of a young man who longed to be a hero.

Because the British soldiers here gathered everywhere and moved everywhere, his speed was much slower than before, and he kept looking around, looking at the appearance of the British soldiers who were rushing to the front, his heart was full of envy, and he even wanted to follow these British to the battlefield and give those Russians some color.

However, although he was very excited, he still had reason in his head, and he knew that the most important thing at the moment was to carry out orders, so he didn't really mess around.

In the midst of the chaos and noise, George was finally left on the hill where Marshal Raglan and his men were. When he saw George, Marshal Raglan was almost as happy as Lucien had just been, if not even more happy.

"Victor is finally here, let's wait!" He laughed and complained, and then asked George, "What about your army now?" Could it be that Victor dragged you here just to be a spectator? ”

"Our commander-in-chief is as desperate as you are to defeat the Russians as quickly as possible, Your Excellency!" George saluted him and continued, "It's because he wants so much that he wants to coordinate the next deployment with you as soon as possible, as long as it is coordinated, we can attack immediately!" ”

"You Frenchmen!" Marshal Raglan smiled again, "Well, how does he want to coordinate?" It doesn't mean that we do what he commands, does it? ”

"No, Your Excellency, our Commander-in-Chief thinks that since you have been here for a long time, you are familiar with the situation, and now that you are already commanding this battle, you are the most suitable commander for the coalition forces at this time, so he thinks that the next plan of action will be mainly deployed by you, and that our French army will carry out your orders without discount." George gave Field Marshal Raglan a surprise answer, "Please tell me your deployment as soon as possible, I need to go back as soon as possible!" ”

Marshal Raglan was stunned for a moment, then regained his composure, picked up the marshal's staff in his hand, and slammed it on the ground.

"Very well, Victor is a good fellow, I just hate not getting to know him sooner, please tell him when you go back next time, and I'll treat him to whiskey."

Then, without saying anything, he turned around and consulted with the staff officers around him, and compared them on a simple topographic map.

While discussing the next military deployment, he did not forget to observe the situation on the front line, although he was old, his energy began to fail, and the degree of brain activity has also decreased greatly, but he is still trying his best to combine the current battlefield situation to construct a new plan of action for the next battle.

The timely reinforcement of the French army completely relieved Marshal Raglan, who was still a little frightened.

Not so long ago, his troops, who had just withstood the fiercest offensive of the Russian cavalry, held back the frenzy of retreat from the front, and stabilized the situation, now the two armies were engaged in a battle on a staggered front between the hills, and there was no longer any danger of collapse.

As a British soldier, in the current situation, of course, he considered how to counterattack and let these Russian troops suffer greater losses, and in order to do this, it was necessary to clear the forward positions, so that the French troops who had just arrived could devote themselves to the counteroffensive to the greatest extent and lay down the victory in one fell swoop.

He took a closer look at the situation, and not long ago he had given the order to move the troops on the front line, but he was still not satisfied with the speed with which the troops were advancing, although he knew it was not their fault.

After frowning and observing for a few more moments, he called one of his heralds.

"Go and order Count Lucan, let him immediately lead their men to clear the front line, recapture the previously lost positions, and prevent the Russians from moving the artillery left behind by the Turks!"

The herald quickly took the order, and because the military situation was urgent, he desperately urged his horses along the ravines of the hills, and then came to the forefront of the battle, and reached the commander of the cavalry division, George Charles Bingham, Earl of Lucan.

The earl came from an aristocratic family in England and, like almost all cavalry officers, had a large beard, and looked tall and imposing.

Over the years, despite his rough personality, the Earl of Lucan has faithfully fulfilled his duty to defend the glory and glory of the Empire. However, this time it was different, and after receiving a new order from Marshal Raglan, the general was somewhat confused.

"You've been telling me to attack, and I'm like attacking, but we're in a valley across from us, and there's a lot of Russian soldiers waiting for you! This is not a battlefield conducive to cavalry play. He discerned the herald.

"This is an order from the commander-in-chief, and I have no right to argue with you about other issues." The herald replied briefly.

"Hell!" The Count scolded indignantly, but there was nothing he could do.

"The commander-in-chief wants you to carry out his orders as soon as possible, without any hesitation!" The herald urged again, then immediately turned and left.

"Hell! What's going on in these people's heads?! Looking at his distant back, the Earl couldn't help but curse.

However, his irritation quickly disappeared, and as a professional soldier, he certainly did not waste his time questioning the orders of his superiors.

However, at this time, neither Marshal Raglan, nor the Earl of Lucan, nor the herald himself, were aware that there had been a fatal miscommunication between the marshal and the earl.

The marshal was on high ground in the rear, so he had an unobstructed view of the front line and saw everyone's movements, while Earl Lucan and his cavalry division were now in the valley, and most of them were exhausted from the previous battle with the Russian cavalry.

From the marshal's point of view, he could easily see that the Russian army was transferring the weapons of the occupied multi-faceted fort and capturing the artillery, but the Earl of Luken could not see this situation at the bottom of his own valley, so he could only interpret the marshal's constant urging of his attack as a forced attack on the frontal attack of the Russian army, which had been loosened, and although he was very reluctant, he was still ready to carry out this order.

He soon called the commander of his light cavalry brigade, General James Brudnell, who was named Earl of Cardigan.

Earl Lucan was the brother-in-law of Earl Cardigan, but he was actually three years younger than Earl Cardigan. It was supposed to be a very close relative, but the relationship between the two counts was very bad.

As the only boy among his father's seven children to inherit the family business, Earl Cardigan was spoiled from an early age, and, like every child of his kind, developed an arrogant and imperious character, which was further nurtured by his aristocratic status and military experience, and gave him a well-known bad temper, and almost no one was popular, and the same was true of his brother-in-law, the Earl of Lucan, who had long since become strangers after many conflicts, and regarded each other as old enemies. Despite being in the same army, there is little communication.

"The commander-in-chief ordered us to launch an offensive against the Russian troops, storming their artillery." As soon as he saw the general, Count Lucan directly said what he understood the commander-in-chief's orders.

Then, he pointed to the valley in front of him, "Please attack immediately, I will attack the flank with heavy cavalry." ”

"Let's attack their front? Is this crazy? Earl Cardigan's eyes widened and he let out the same exclamation as the previous earl. Allow me, sir, to tell you that there are still large Russian troops in the valley, and on the hills on either side, and if we rush into them, we will face a flanking attack from three directions! ”

"Maybe it's crazy, but that's the commander-in-chief's order." Earl Lucan replied to the general without hesitation, "The troops we now have are the largest mobile forces under the Commander-in-Chief, and the Commander-in-Chief hopes that we will show enough bravery to regain our reputation, which is already in jeopardy." ”

Although he was very resistant to such an order, when his brother-in-law mentioned words like "brave" and "honor", Earl Cardigan felt that he had nothing to say.

These were British aristocratic officers, who had been in charge of the British army for generations, defending the empire, and although they were mostly violent and disrespectful to their soldiers, they valued the empire and their honor as precious as their lives, if not more than their lives.

Therefore, they would rather die in battle than bear the infamy of being afraid of death.

"Alright, well, may God bless us!" As a last resort, Earl Cardigan bowed his head and obeyed the order, muttering and running away, returning to his troops.

When he conveyed the commander-in-chief's order, almost all of his subordinates were as shocked as he was.

"Yes, don't ask me if I'm crazy, I'm not crazy! I think this order is crazy! Earl Cardigan shouted to his men, "But, this is the order of the Commander-in-Chief, and we can only carry out his order to the letter!" ”

Under the loud shouts of the earl, the commotion of the cavalry gradually subsided.

"As soldiers, we must carry out orders, even the most dangerous ones." The interference of the continuous artillery fire made his voice become a little hysterical, "Since the commander-in-chief has asked us to advance, then Britain will not allow us to hesitate, we may die in battle, but Britain will always remember us!" As your commander, I will fight with you until the very end! ”

After issuing a simple order, Earl Cardigan, with his men, formed a dense formation in silence. Facing the valley in front of you.

Almost everyone knew that it might be the last half hour of their lives, but no one said much.