Battle of Balaclava and the Charge of the Light Brigade

Background. The battle was part of the Siege of Sevastopol, an attempt by British, French, and Ottoman allies to capture Russia's principal naval base on the Black Sea. Allied forces had landed in Crimea in September 1854. The Russian assault targeted the allied supply base to the southeast at Balaclava, which was rebuffed on 25 October 1854.

Cavalry Actions. The Light Brigade, led by Lord Cardigan, mounted a frontal assault against a well-prepared Russian artillery battery with excellent fields of defensive fire. Tennyson later dubbed the hollow where this occurred 'The Valley of Death'. The event was immortalized in his narrative poem published six weeks after the battle.

Aftermath. British commanders' dispatches from the front were published in the London Gazette on 12 November 1854. Lord Lucan attempted to publish a letter refuting Lord Raglan's dispatch point by point. His criticism of his superior was not tolerated, leading to his recall to England in March 1855.