Inkerman, Battle of

(1854)

   An engagement of the Crimean War fought on November 5, 1854. Inkerman became known as the “soldier’s battle,” for, with a heavy mist shrouding the field, officers were unable to direct their troops and the fighting was left to the ordinary ranks armed with muskets and bayonets. Inkerman was the last of three attempts by the Russians under Prince Menshikov to raise the Allied siege of the Black Sea port of Sevastopol by British and French forces. The brunt of the fighting fell to the British infantry, which, in a confused and bloody action, held the Russians at bay until French reinforcements arrived to shift the balance in the Allies’ favor. The Russians withdrew with losses of 12,000 to the Allies losses of 3,300, mostly British.

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   FURTHER READING:

    Barthorp, Michael. Heroes of the Crimea: Balaclava and Inkerman . London: