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The Naval Brigade - Part 5 - Page 2

© John Barham

Wood was now about 30 yards short of the abattis, an obstacle of branches closely interwoven around tree trunks, four to five feet high and about four feet thick. Beyond it lay another 100 yards uphill to a ditch, 11 feet deep and 15 feet broad. Behind the ditch rose the 26 feet high rampart, its top swarming with Russian riflemen. The entire futility of the whole ill-conceived adventure was typified in the loss of so many bluejacket lives carrying ladders which were 8 feet too short.

The Russians were enjoying their field day, picking off officers at will. Wood again, pinned down where we left him: "Lieutenant Graves, Royal Engineers, coming up to me, asked if I had seen Captain Peel. I said 'not since we crossed the parapet' and he passed on, being killed almost immediately... Just then an officer, seizing a bough from the abatis, waved it over his head and cheerily called on the men to follow, but he was at the same moment pierced by several bullets and fell lifeless...I now knelt on one knee alongside an officer and was speaking to him as to our chances of succeeding, when he was pierced just above the waist belt by a bullet." Wood himself was wounded in the forearm, falling unconscious shortly afterwards. Reviving to find a general withdrawal had been ordered, he was lucky to escape with his life, and ultimately his arm, after some persuasive talking on the operating table.

The Naval Brigade Ladder Contingent of 67 lost 53 killed or wounded, including 6 out of 7 officers wounded, in the Redan assault . It would be their final venture forward of their guns. It would not be their final casualty list, however. In the two month period which followed, a further 4 sailors lost their lives and 29 were wounded whilst serving their guns.

In mid-August it was agreed that a Fifth Bombardment should be embarked upon from the 17th, to allow the allied trenches to approach as close as possible to the redoubts to give the best chance of success for the next assaults. The beginning was inauspicious - only the Royal Artillery opened up at dawn as pre-arranged - apparently no one had told the Navy, and the French thought the start time was 8.am. As a result the Gunners manning the forward batteries took a pasting from the Russians until everyone got their act together. Thenceforward the Bombardment was intense and lasted right through until the beginning of September. The Naval Brigade manned 30 guns out of a total 109 pieces in the Left Attack and 25 out of 73 pieces in the Right Attack.

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