It was a poor situation all around for the British troops who died as they were outnumbered. Even though the unit was successful at taking out Russian gunners, they were still torn apart and still left to fight Russian cavalry.
One hundred ninety-five of the 664 British cavalrymen survived the Charge of the Light Brigade. How Many Survived the Charge of the Light Brigade? Believing he had played his part, he did the only sensible thing left to do: exited the battle and had a champagne dinner on his yacht. It also didn’t help that after reaching the guns, he left the battlefield elsewhere. It was done out of anger, as the Charge of the Light Brigade was seen as a way to undermine his power.īecause Cardigan went first, he didn’t see the carnage that his men faced. In his fury, Lord Cardigan would lead the charge, which sounds like a noble action, until you realize what became of it. When it was all said and done, the blunder would be historical in nature, costing Nolan his life at the very beginning, among hundreds of others involved. A far cry from the original purpose or place of execution for the mission. Lucan then told Lord Cardigan not only to attack the Russians but to do so in what may have been the worst place possible.Instead of pinpointing where the guns were, Nolan, who took the order drafted by Brigadier Richard Airey, along with oral instructions to begin attacking immediately, broadly gestured throughout the area.Lieutenant General George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, received the order but couldn’t see the guns in question and asked Captain Louis Nolan to elaborate.It should be noted that he had the best vantage point of anyone involved. Lord Raglan, a British commander, asked for the Light Cavalry to take the guns.
The charge of the light brigade message series#
Through a series of messages that were misconstrued by both misconception and pride, a mission set forth by Lord Raglan to send the Light Brigade to capture guns would end up being a full-out assault.ĭepending on the source, you’ll find a different leader to blame, but here are some key figures and their role in blundering what would become the Charge of the Light Brigade:
More often than not, the message is misconstrued, and it’s a great educational moment to understand the power of communication. But due to a miscommunication, they were instead brought before a Russian group of fighters built to defend with heavy artillery weaponry.ĭo you remember the game of “telephone” as a kid? Where you whisper something in the ear of someone and then they tell the next person and so on and so forth until it reaches the end? The plan was for the British Light Brigade to take the guns from areas Turkish forces lost control over and prevent Russia from obtaining them. British forces were sent to the Crimean War after both Britain and France attempted to stop the Russian invasion of Turkish lands. On October 25, 1854, a British cavalry unit led by Lord Cardigan was tasked with fighting against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava. The result would be a conflict immortalized, as it was the muse for Lord Tennyson’s literary work.
Unfortunately for the British cavalry that day, a miscommunication would send them charging into what would ultimately be their demise. Even long before current technological means, maybe even more so, communication has played a huge role in winning battles. Warfare requires plenty of moving parts in order to obtain success on the battlefield, but arguably nothing is more important than communication.
Read next: Exploring Poems for the Military & Vets on National Haiku Poetry Day Who Wrote the Charge of the Light Brigade?Īlfred, Lord Tennyson is the author who wrote “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” a poem commemorating the events surrounding the Battle of Balaclava as part of the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. One of the most infamous, however, is “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” a harrowing tale of bravery even when facing impossible odds made by the horrid conditions of the Crimean War. History will show a variety of examples ranging from ancient texts like “The Iliad” to modern renditions of songs and media inspired by serving one’s country. The battlefield has been the inspiration for many stories and poems throughout the ages.
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