Line up for Balaclava: Chillianwala etc

» John_Barr - Chillianwala etc

In response to message posted by lollies100:

Yes, for the benefit of readers who have not come across this, the Battle of Chillianwala took place in 1849 in India during the 2nd Sikh War. The Light Cavalry Brigade, which included 2 British Army Regiments, the 9th Lancers and the 14th Light Dragoons, withdrew from the battlefield, after an order 'threes right' which would have inclined the line by threes to the right, in order to realign it, was misconstrued as 'threes about' or as you say a 180 degree turn - it was in fact the whole brigade, not just the front rank. As a result several guns exposed by the cavalry's departure were captured by the Sikhs before normality was restored. The general got sacked.

I haven't heard of this being recalled when Lucan confused the 5th Dragoon Guards during the Review Parade for Omar Pasha at Varna by long obsolete commands from the drill book he had last used in 1837. I haven't seen the detail of the actual commands he used anywhere on record, but one subaltern's account states "Lord Lucan took command of the Regiment himself, a most unusual thing. In 10 minutes he managed to 'club it' (ie make a total hash of it, in the slang of the time) most effectually". Unusually for Lucan, however, when tactfully reminded by his senior subordinates afterwards that he was somewhat out of date, he accepted the fact and didn't embarrass himself again.

It may be that 'don't worry, it's not Chillianwala' was a catchphrase in the Crimea - I just haven't come across it. It was definitely used by General Airey when sent by Raglan to try and cool Lucan down when he was feeling resentful that the blame for the Light Brigade charge was going to be pinned on him. Not the most tactful remark at that particular moment, although reportedly said in a light-hearted way.

I will gladly provide some additional detail on artillery projectiles - there is some basic mention in the article on The British Army in 1854 - Part 2 although obviously not sufficient for what you'd like. I will post something in the discussion page accompanying that article, but no pictures I'm afraid - with very few exceptions it's very difficult now to get agreement from publishers to reproduce onto the net, as they worry about the uncontrolled potential downloading. A main reason why I do my own maps.

The correct name for the Society is Crimean War Research Society Excuse my absent mind. You can find them in my 'links' pages. You are obviously interested to a level where you might consider it worthwhile joining - the quarterly journals regularly contain detailed articles on weaponry and ammunition as well as all other aspects of the War and an index and copies of back numbers are available.

-- posted by John_Barr