The third major engagement of the Crimean War, the Battle of Inkerman, was fought. The Russians planned a major coordinated assault by four large columns of troops from Sevastopol against British positions on Mount Inkerman. The British position, held by 2nd Division, was relatively weak, with deep gullies and ravines making reinforcement difficult, and the defenders outnumbered by over 5:1. The attack was launched in the early hours of the morning, amid rain and mist. However, Russian coordination failed, and the battle developed into a series of vicious close quarter actions fought in and around the gullies on the hillside. Bosquet's French troops arrived to lend invaluable support, as did additional British forces, and the Russians were eventually driven back, having lost 10,700 men killed or wounded. The British lost some 2,300, and the French about 900. No less than sixteen Victoria Crosses were awarded.
1914: Britain declared war on Ottoman Turkey.
1916: During an assault on German trenches near Le Transloy in France, by men of the 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, the first wave suffered heavy casualties, lost its commander, and became pinned down. Lieutenant Bennett, leading the second wave, managed to push through and capture the objective with some sixty men, despite being wounded. He then organised a successful defence despite being isolated and under heavy attack from both flanks. He received the Victoria Cross.
1940: The German "pocket battleship" Admiral Scheer attacked convoy HX-84 in the mid-Atlantic. The convoy comprised 37 ships, escorted by the armed merchant cruiser Jervis Bay, commanded by Captain Fegen. Although unarmoured and massively outgunned - seven elderly 6" guns against Scheer's 11" main battery - Fegen attacked the German ship head on, ordering the convoy to scatter. Jervis Bay never once brought Admiral Scheer within the range of her own guns, but fought on with her decks ablaze. 190 of her crew of 255 were killed, including Fegen. The delay allowed most of the convoy to get clear, the German raider only being able to sink five ships before nightfall. The Canadian armed freighter Beaverford put up a dogged fight for over four hours before being lost. Captain Fegen was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.
1950: 77 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force commenced operations in Korea, flying close-support missions for Australian infantry.
1956: British and French paratroopers were dropped in airborne assaults at Port Fuad and Port Said in Egypt during the Suez Crisis.
Posted by Mr Free Market at November 5, 2005 3:06 PM | TrackBack