An Army of Occupation at Last

Back with the fleet, which had sailed closer to Cape Tarkhankut in the meantime, Raglan expounded his final plan on Monday morning 11th September.

The armies would land at latitude 45 degrees on Calamita Bay in the vicinity of old Genoese fort 'Old Fort'. He had chosen this location because it was flat, currently undefended, and protected by a salt lake on the inland side. It was also only 12 miles south of Eupatoria which might be developed as a temporary firm base, cutting Russian communications with the mainland via Simferopol. Eupatoria, which had no constructed defences and seemed empty of troops, would be secured simultaneously with the landing by a joint allied force in Brigade strength carried in three vessels - two Turkish, one French. The French 4th Division accompanied by a British battle squadron would carry out diversionary bombardment and simulated invasion preparations opposite the mouth of the Katcha during the 18 hours prior to the true landing.

Having secured and consolidated the bridgehead, say in 3-4 days after the initial landings, the Armies would advance southwards on Sevastopol. The British would take the left side. They had the cavalry to cover the exposed inland flank. The French would take the shore side on the right. A squadron of 15 steam vessels would keep pace with the advance, providing fire support and supplies.

It was a simple plan, and looked potentially effective enough. St-Arnaud felt that once the decision was to go to Sevastopol before the winter, Calamita Bay was too far distant and Katcha would have been the better option, even with Russian opposition. Raglan was adamant though, and St-Arnaud had undertaken to go along with whatever he decided. The only snag was that it took another couple of days to get started.

I have so far found no satisfactory explanation as to why at least a whole day - Tuesday 12th - was wasted at sea doing nothing. If any reader can help, I'll be delighted to hear. A cynic might claim that so much time had been frittered away already, why worry about another 24 or 36 hours. But the troops had been told that the crossing time from Varna to the Crimea would be three days. By now those embarked earliest on 26th August had been existing huddled together for seventeen days. Up till a week ago the medics had been able to issue encouraging reports about the dramatic overall improvement in the armies' state of health. But the fresh rations had run out on Friday and since then it had been only salt pork and biscuit. This made the men extra thirsty and the unanticipated extra demand on fresh water had by now created a serious shortage. On a rather dubious credit side, extra space was becoing available as cholera deaths increased.

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