PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 7

following morning. This change in the hour, coupled with the mistakemade by the French General who commanded the column of attack on theirextreme right in regard to the signal for commencing the assault, may heconsidered the causes of its failure.

The attack on the right aroused the garrison, and thereby they wereprepared at all points to repel any assault that might be made.

At daybreak on the 18th, upon the signal being made from the French head-quarters, the columns, English and French , advanced in a very gallantstyle; but the enemy, being prepared, received them with such a deadly fireof all descriptions, particularly of grape, as to prevent them from gettingpossession of any of the works of the place. The French column underGeneral D’Autemarre, which most gallantly stormed the enemy’s outer line,advanced upon the Malakoff, being attacked in rear by a heavy column of theenemy with several field guns, was obliged to retire.

This was the only column which crossed the enemy’s works. The English were repulsed with great loss in their attack upon the Great Redan.

The casualties, both French and English , were very great. Many officers ofrank were killed, and many brave soldiers fell on this fatal morning.

It was decided, after the failure of the 18th June, to work up to the enemy’sentrenchments as close as possible.

The French , considering that the state of the works from the Malakoff toCareening Bay presented fewer difficulties against entering the town on thisside, inasmuch as less defensive work had been executed on these fronts,and that there were fewer obstacles to overcome before reaching the gorge ofthe Malakoff Tower, decided to make their great attack on this side, but notto abandon the intention previously entertained of assaulting the Great Redanand works on the town side ; thus completely changing the order of things, andadopting perforce a plan which had been rejected in March, on account ofthe great distance from the depots, and the serious inconvenience of carryingon a double attack under the disadvantageous circumstances in which thearmies were placed.

So great a change necessarily entailed delay, increased very considerablythe duties of the troops, and exposed a much larger number of men daily tothe fire of the enemy. The number of casualties every 24 hours was verygreat.

While the operations on the French right were in progress, the English ,situated as they were between the two attacks of the French , exposed as theywere to a heavy fire of artillery on both flanks, also from the Garden batteries,Malakoff and intervening batteries, including that of the Redan, could makebut little progress in their attack.