Taking advantage of this exposure, the Russian General Liprandi, with some 25,000 men, prepared to attack the defences around Balaclava, hoping to disrupt the supply chain between the British base and their siege lines.

This line held and repelled the attack; as did General James Scarlett's British Heavy Brigade which charged and defeated the greater proportion of the cavalry advance, forcing the Russians onto the defensive.

[6] Thirty-three miles (~53 km) to the south of the landing zone, beyond the Bulganak, lma, Katcha and Belbek rivers, lay the Russian naval base and fortress of Sevastopol, the key Allied objective in the Crimea.

General Menshikov, aware of the Allied presence, prepared his troops on the banks of the River Alma in an effort to halt the Franco-British advance, but on 20 September he was soundly defeated in what was the first major battle in the Crimea.

[12] The original plan had envisaged a move across the River Belbek before attacking the north side (the Severnaya) of Sevastopol harbour, defended by the Star Fort; but recent naval intelligence had revealed that the position was much stronger than had first been realised.

[15] On 24 September, Menshikov began to move his army out of Sevastopol towards Bakchi Serai and Simferopol, leaving Admirals Kornilov and Nakhimov to organise the 18,000-strong garrison (mainly sailors and marines) and prepare the port's defences.

[16] By venturing into the interior of the Crimea, Menshikov would not only keep open his communications with Russia, but would also be in touch with reinforcements from Odessa or Kertch; moreover, he would be free to operate in the field and threaten the Allied flank.

"We could leave our packs, and run into it even in open day … We see people walking about the streets in great consternation ..."[23] But caution prevailed, and plans by Burgoyne for a formal siege, backed by Canrobert, were prepared.

In addition to these defenses, Raglan could call upon the 1,500 men of Lord Lucan's Cavalry Division camped on the western end of the South Valley, along with a troop of Royal Horse Artillery.

Undertaking the siege operations around Sevastopol whilst securing the Allies' eastern flank was stretching the resources of Raglan's dwindling forces – British casualties at the Alma had been high, and many were still suffering from the cholera epidemic; others simply fell sick from exhaustion.

[33] The remainder of 4th Corps – 10 and 11 Divisions – were also heading towards the Crimea, but Menshikov, under pressure from Nicholas I to strike back at the Allies, decided not to wait for these troops before beginning the attack.

Russian reconnaissance reports had also indicated that these outer defences were occupied by a mixture of Tunisians, raw recruits and militia, and not of the same calibre of men that had defeated them on the Danube at the beginning of the war.

In total (including Zhabokritsky's force and a reserve held back at the Tractir Bridge) Liprandi had at his disposal around 25,000 men and 78 guns – not enough to threaten the siege lines, but more than enough to compromise the defences at Balaclava whose loss to the Allies would be tremendous.

The picket in Kamara had not seen the advancing Cossacks (there is some suggestion that they were sleeping), and it was only through Low's timely arrival and his shouts that they managed to escape and make their way to the nearest redoubt on the Causeway Heights.

The Ottoman forces in these positions, having already watched their compatriots flee the first redoubt and realizing that the British were not coming to their aid, retreated towards Balaclava, pursued by the Cossacks who had little trouble dispatching any stray or isolated men.

[50] Raglan had at first thought the Russian advance a feint, possibly designed to occupy him whilst the enemy stormed out of Sevastopol to attack his army overlooking the heights above the city; but now he saw that he had been wrong.

The 1st Division got away promptly, but when Raglan's staff officer informed Cathcart that the Russians were marching on Balaclava, he at first refused to comply, complaining that his men had only just finished their shift in the trenches before Sevastopol.

When level with the empty No.4 redoubt, Ryzhov wheeled to the left, crested the Causeway Heights, and came to a halt; before him, he could see the Heavy Brigade moving east across his front, while away to the south he could discern the Highlanders and Turks immediately to the north of Kadikoi.

Barely five minutes after it had begun the Ingermanland Hussars were in retreat, and heading towards the Causeway Heights: the Russian commander of the brigade had reasoned that such a small, unsquared line of British infantry could not hope to hold out a cavalry charge, therefore there must be a larger force behind them.

[56] Meanwhile, the main part of Ryzhov's cavalry remained static on the southern slopes of the Causeway Heights, some 800 yards (~730 m) from Scarlett's Heavy Brigade still moving south-east in the South Valley.

Scarlett was first into Ryzhov's cavalry, closely followed by his staff, and, initially, just three squadrons – two of the Scots Greys on the left, and one of the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons on the right, totalling 300 men.

Beyond them the 4th Dragoon Guards, in one unbroken line and to cries of Faugh A Ballagh, attacked the right rear of the Russian cavalry; the force of their impact was such that they were able to hack their way from one flank to the other with the loss of only one man.

So far Liprandi had enjoyed mixed fortunes: although his cavalry had been repelled by Campbell's 'Thin Red Line' and Scarlett's Heavies, his troops under Gribbe, Semyakin, Levutsky, and Skyuderi were still in possession of redoubts Nos.

[73] In front of Ryzhov's cavalry – drawn up across the eastern end of the North Valley – Liprandi placed the eight guns of the 3rd Don Cossack Battery, commanded by Prince Obolensky.

The British commander believed that the enemy had retreated in such disorder that a show of force by his cavalry – in advance of the infantry's arrival – would be enough to persuade the Russians to abandon the Causeway Heights.

Nolan's gesture was imprecise, and pointed not to the redoubts and the captured British guns but, it seemed – at least to Lucan and his staff officers present – to the Russian battery guarding Ryzhov's cavalry at the end of the valley.

Nolan was the first to be killed when he dashed forward ahead of Cardigan, either in an effort to force the pace, or, suddenly realising the terrible mistake that was being made (and his part in it), in an attempt to change the direction of the brigade towards Raglan's intended objective.

"The truth must be told," recorded Lieutenant Koribut Kubitovich, "that this fire hit us just as it did the enemy," but admitted that, "The English fought with astounding bravery, and when we approached their dismounted and wounded men, even these refused to surrender and continued to fight till the ground was soaked with their blood.

[104] To the Russians the Battle of Balaclava was a victory and proved a welcome boost in morale—they had captured the Allied redoubts (from which seven guns were removed and taken to Sevastopol as trophies), and had gained control of the Worontsov Road.

These troops brought the strength of Menshikov's field army to some 107,000 men, but the Russian commander was under severe pressure from St Petersburg to attack the Allied lines and break the siege of Sevastopol.