The order of march of the Allied Armies, on the 19th of September, was as follows: — On the extreme right, with their right flank leaning on the sea, came the Turks, commanded by Suleiman Pasha, next to them the French, and on the left, and rather thrown back, the British. The Allied Fleets accompanied and px'otected the right of the line, and were in readiness, if necessary, to render services similar to those which had so admirable an effect on the event of the great action of
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the succeeding day. None who beheld will ever forget the magnificent spectacle presented by this first combined movement of the Allied forces. The line extended over many miles of country from the sea inland, and the ground over which the men had to pass was peculiarly favourable to the display of large masses of troops, consisting as it did of a considerable plain, broken at intervals by a series of low hills running at right angles to the sea. The September sun shone brightly on a forest of bayonets; and while the eye rested with delight on grand and imposing masses of colour, blended, yet contrasted, the ear drank in a volume of sound, in which the shrill notes of innumerable bugles, and the roll of countless drums, were now lost, now harmonised, in the multitudinous hum of the armed host on their march. As they crested one of the ridges we have just mentioned, the first sight of the enemy greeted their longing eyes. On the other side of the intervening plain they discovered a large body of Russian Dragoons and Cossacks, supported by Artillery posted on the hill-side.
In an instant, the fatigue and exhaustion of a protracted march beneath a burning sun were forgotten, the drooping spirits of the men revived, and, after slaking their thirst in the insignificant but welcome stream of the Bulganac, they manifested the utmost ardour to encounter the foe. A slight skirmish ensued, followed very speedily by the retirement of the Russians. The Artillery on both sides took a prominent part in this smart little afiair, and Captains Maude's and Brandling's troops made excellent practice on the enemy's squares of Cavalry, while our own exhibited a coolness and steadiness worthy of veteran soldiers, and which elicited the warmest praise from Lord Raglan.
On the following morning both armies moved towards the Alma, on the right bank of which they found the Russian Army holding a position immensely strong from the nature of the ground, and rendered doubly so by the skilful manner in which the enemy had availed himself of its advantages, by the erection of powerful batteries on the most commanding points, by the accumulation of obstacles to the advance of the Allies, and by the destruction of every species of shelter which could protect them in making that advance.
Lord Raglan, from whose admirable Despatch we shall have occasion to quote largely, thus describes this position. "It crosses the great road about two and a half miles from the sea, and is very strong by nature. The bold and almost precipitous range of heights, of from 350