The Charge Of The Light Brigade | Crimean War

The Charge of the Light Brigade 1854
Another story from British History from Chris Green (The History Chap)

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The Charge of the Light Brigade, on the 25th October 1854, was the third action in the Battle of Balaclava, during the Crimean War, when just over 600 British cavalrymen launched a near-suicidal charge on entrenched Russian artillery.

It has become a by-line for military blunders, incompetence and mis-communication.
It has also become famous as one of Britain’s most popular poems - The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

But, it is also a story of incredible bravery and heroism by ordinary soldiers against incredible odds.

This is the story of The Charge of The Light Brigade.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro - Charge of the Light Brigade
0:40 The Crimean War
3:20 Battle of Balaclava
5:15 The Blunder
10:38 The Advance
13:00 The Charge of the Light Brigade
17:30 Casualty figures
18:39 Who was to Blame?
20:16 The Last Survivors
21:58 Alfred Lord Tennyson
22:11 Subscribe to The History Chap

#thechargeofthelightbrigade #chargeofthelightbrigade #crimeanwar
#battleofbalaclava #thehistorychap #militaryhistory

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In this presentation from British Military history you will hear the story behind the Charge of the Light Brigade explained:

What was the Charge of the Light brigade?

Why did the Charge of the Light Brigade happen?

Who was to blame for this famous military blunder?

But you will also hear just how brave the ordinary soldiers of Queen Victoria's British army were in the 19th century, despite the incompetence of many of their senior commanders, such as Lord Raglan, Lord Lucan and Lord Cardigan.

The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and the combined forces of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire between 1854-1856 who sent an expeditionary force to the Crimean peninsula, and laid siege to the Russian naval base at Sebastopol.

On the morning of the 25th October 1854, the Russians launched an attack to capture Balaclava, the port being used to supply the British army.

In the resulting Battle of Balaclava the Russians were checked but retained control of a key valley and the hills on both sides.

In a classic case of poor communication the Cavalry commander misinterpreted the commands from the British Commander-in-Chief and ordered the Light Brigade to charge down that valley towards the entrenched Russians guns at the far end.

The 600 men of the Light Brigade charged the guns and amazingly not only reached them but broke through, only to meet the massed ranks of the Russian cavalry.

Beating a hasty retreat, the depleted ranks of the Light Infantry had to beat their way through Russian lancers and endure further cross-fire from the surrounding hills before they returned to safety.

The Charge of the Light Brigade had last 25 minutes.
Out of 673 men, 113 had been killed and 134 wounded.
475 horses were killed or had to be put down.

Militarily it achieved nothing except the enduring respect for the men of the Light Brigade who rode into the Valley of Death.

It also serves as one of the greatest stories of military blunder and poor communication in history.

The last survivor, William Henry Pennington of the 11th Hussars died in 1927, aged 96.

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Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.

Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.

[ricardo-lqbqppl]

My 3x great uncle, Thomas Frederick Armes, was wounded by a Cossack lancer in that charge riding with Pagetts 4th Light Dragoons. He survived the charge and was nursed by Florence Nightingale at Scutari Hospital. He died in 1885 and is buried in Norwich cemetery.

[lukequinton]

The logistics of getting 26, 000 men and horses to The Crimea is incredible! The transport conditions must have been grim.

[JamesHatfield]

“Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.”

My favourite part of the poem. Another great video History Chap ❤️🇬🇧

[alnito]

Thanks for that amazing presentation of the battle. As a precision only a French squadron of the 4ème Chasseurs d'Afrique took part to this action, charging in order to give free space for the remaining Brittish cavalrymen to retreat. It is said that this squadron marched "au canon" IOT be able to fulfill that task. As a result these french cavalrymen were the only French allowed to wear the Balklava clasp on the Crimean campaign medal. That was the case of my ancestor Ambroise de Belin.

[bentrinker]

Hats off to the British cavalry men. What brave brave soliders. They did the proper solidery thing. It’s truly inspiring

[mortdecai]

A video on the Crimean war in all would be most delightful.

[AZAllura]

I searched for a youtube video for students. As I looked at many in my quest, I can say, with some authority, this youtube video is by far and above the others. Thank-you so much! I will use it many times, when teaching: The Charge of the Light Brigade. Impressed!

[jamieclinnick]

Chris is such an incredible story teller. I have witnessed these story tellers first hand and they are incredibly engaging. I love this channel so much and I do like that Chris is introducing more and more maps to give people visuals of the story he is telling. I can only imagine in wonder what this channel will able to produce with the right backing. Bless you Chris & all of your hard work....🙏

[aldgate]

"Into the valley of death rode the 600" such a great line in a great poem, really emphasis the loss of life in battle, better than I seen almost any media portray it, outside straight up footage.

[rjmacreadyoutpost]

My great-great grandfather was wounded at the siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean War. He survived, returned to London, and went on to work for the relatively new (at the time) Metropolitan Police. Great explanation of the Charge of the Light Brigade. Would love a deeper dive into other aspects of the war.

[richardthompson]

Greetings from Orlando Chris.
Most interesting! I'm sitting here listening to you and looking at my ancestors Crimean Medal with its 4 ciphers: "Sebastopol", "Inkermann", "Balaklava", and "Alma". This family treasure was passed along to me upon my aunt's passing in 1997.
3399 Cullis was a member of the Coldstream Guards.
Looking forward to your next adventure into our shared history.

[jona]

We did that poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson at school back in the 1970s/80s. I hope modern British school kids also have this poem taught to them.

[colingavigan]

Splendid stuff Chris, delivered with rollicking enthusiasm that’s so engaging. You videos really whet the appetite for the viewer to want to delve deeper. Please keep up the excellent work. Mr G🤠🎷

[gottalovethephilippines]

Another great video of a classic piece of history. Could you possibly do one of the Australian Light Horse charge at the battle of Beersheba during WWI? Many thanks🇦🇺

[petermellors]

Love your narrations and would be over the moon to hear more about the Crimean War

[jenniferingle]

An absorbing account of this part of the Crimean War. Thankyou Chris. I would very much like to hear you tell more of that war, perhaps including Florence Nightingale and the work she did at Scutari. Or is that a separate video? (Yes please!)

[calvinferguson]

Have not seen a video of the battle of Inkerman. Crimean War was a turning point in military history and development. Most do not understand the importance of social, political, technological and personal rivalries upon military/historical developments! Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it! Thank You!

[Johnny-Thunder]

Yes let's have a series on the Crimean War. I read Orlando Figes' book on it, but that was some time ago. I could do with a refresher course.

First major war in which the British and French fought on the same side. Must have been a very surreal and confusing experience for them...

Winston Churchill visited the battlefield where the Light Brigade charged during his trip to the Crimea for the Yalta conference. He himself was a former cavalryman, he took a special interest in that...

[pierremichel]

Thank you so very much for this incredible video!

[charlesmaximus]

Sir, your content is always top shelf! Please do more on other Crimean War battles, such as Inkermann and the Alma.