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All at Sea

© John Barham

Throughout the week of 28th August the allied armies packed up their camps scattered around the Varna region and marched down to the port, following phased timetables, to embark for the Crimea.

The sheer scale of the operation was mindboggling. 66,000 men, 128 field guns, 185 siege guns and 7100 horses had to be embarked in 8 days onto 250 wildly assorted vessels, with no coordinating logistic agency and only the most rudimentary do-it-yourself resources. Small wonder that scant thought was given to 'last on, first off' sophistications when loading stores - it would be little short of a miracle if the fleet got under way at all.

It took almost superhuman effort by troops and sailors, weakened by sickness and still victim to the cholera epidemic which continued in full spate. If evidence was needed, it was brutally visible to the Regiments as they marched through the worst hit areas, where the number of deaths had precluded proper burials and corpses were partly visible. In the worst cases they were totally exposed, having been exhumed by locals to strip them of the blankets they had been buried in. But in spite of all this, and their general weak state of health, the troops' morale was high. At last they were getting away from deathly Varna. There was the anticipation of going into action to take their minds off disease, and the sudden sight of the great fleet in the bay was awe inspiring - surely such a mighty force would be irresistible.

From the rickety temporary landing stages the soldiers were taken off in small light draft steamers and barges out to their transports. The cavalry and artillery horses and the guns, wagons and stores were loaded onto rafts made out of two paddle box or similar boats, lashed together with a platform on top. These contraptions were towed out by whaler-sized rowboats. Once a transport was fully loaded it was sent on its way to the first rendezvous at Balchick Bay a few miles down the coast. And next, please.

The allied armies embarked separately each onto their own ships. Only the British had a properly organised fleet of transports, and the 30,000 French and 6,000 Turks had to be taken on the ships of their respective battle squadrons, crammed onto the decks to the extent that there was no space to run out the guns. This meant that protection of the armada would have to be solely in the hands of the British battle fleet. For this reason Admiral Dundas was given overall command of the crossing operation.

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