October 25 - The Charge of the Light Brigade

This Day in History: 25 October 2020

 

25 October 1854

 

166 years ago, today, the Charge of the Light Brigade occurred. This was a failed military mission involving the British light cavalry, led by Lord Cardigan, against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. A miscommunication in the chain of command caused the Light Brigade to instead be sent on a frontal assault instead of their original task of removing captured guns from overrun Turkish positions. They reached a different artillery battery under withering direct fire and were forced to retreat immediately. The assault ended with very high British casualties and hardly any decisive gains. Nevertheless, Lord Cardigan was hailed as a national hero in Britain.

 

The events of the incident were the subject of Alfred Lord Tennyson's narrative poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', that was published only six weeks afterwards. The verses of the poem emphasise the honour and valour of the cavalry when they bravely carried out their orders, despite the nearly inevitable outcome. Tennyson also wrote this while he was acting as Poet Laureate for Great Britain. This was not Tennyson's only patriotic poem, however, as he wrote several under various pseudonyms, such as 'Riflemen Form!'.

 

Want to find out more about the Charge of the Light Brigade? Click here for more information, or here to read Tennyson's poem.