The Charge of The Light Brigade

1. The Charge of The Light Brigade By Alfred, Lord Tennyson www.instantdisplay.co.uk

2. Half a league, half a league,Half a league onward,All in the valley of DeathRode the six hundred."Forward, the Light Brigade!"Charge for the guns!" he said:Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

3. "Forward, the Light Brigade!"Was there a man dismayed?No tho' the soldier knewSomeone had blundered:Theirs not to make reply,Theirs not to reason why,Theirs but to do and die:Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

4. Cannon to right of them,Cannon to left of them,Cannon in front of themVolleyed and thundered;Stormed at with shot and shell,Boldly they rode and well,Into the jaws of Death,Into the mouth of HellRode the six hundred. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

5. Flashed all their sabres bare,Flashed as they turned in air,Sabring the gunners there,Charging an army, whileAll the world wondered:Plunged in the battery-smokeRight thro' the line they broke;Cossack and RussianReeled from the sabre strokeShattered and sundered.Then they rode back, but notNot the six hundred. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

6. Cannon to right of them,Cannon to left of them,Cannon behind themVolleyed and thundered;Stormed at with shot and shell,While horse and hero fell,They that had fought so wellCame thro' the jaws of DeathBack from the mouth of Hell,All that was left of them,Left of six hundred. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

7. When can their glory fade?O the wild charge they made!All the world wondered.Honour the charge they made,Honour the Light Brigade,Noble six hundred. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

8. The Charge – The Facts The battle of Balaklava actually took place a couple of miles north of the town, in a wide valley in front of Sevastopol's Sapoun Hill. Soon after the battle the valley became known as the `Valley of Death', as a result of the Light Brigade's ill-fated charge. The day began with a number of attempts by the Russian army to put themselves in a good position to attack the base at Balaklava, but these ended in stalemate. The Russians' artillery fire had inflicted heavy losses on Turkish positions, but a cavalry charge against the Highlanders had been driven off, the British Heavy Brigade had then forced the Russians to retire to higher ground. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

9. In an attempt to drive the Russians off one of the surrounding ridges, and force them to abandon the guns they had captured from the Turks, Lord Raglan sent a message to Lord Lucan, the commander of the Light Brigade. The message was delivered in what some have suggested was a deliberately vague and imprecise way, by the messenger, Captain Nolan. The result was that the instruction was misunderstood, as an order for the Light Brigade to charge directly at the Russian guns, a mile and a half up the valley, with Russian artillery and riflemen firing at them from both sides. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

10. Within 20 minutes several hundred men and horses died as they obeyed the order as bullets rained down from either side. Having cut through the Russian guns, they found themselves at the head of the valley, and had no option but to return the way they came, sustaining even heavier losses. 700 horsemen charged up the valley, but only 195 came back. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

11. For the Russian onlookers, the charge appeared to be an act of incomprehensible lunacy, although there was also a measure of respect for the bravery of the soldiers involved. The French general, Bosquet, who watched the charge, famously remarked "c'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre!" (it's magnificent, but it's not warfare). The controversy that followed, on the British side, led to Lord Lucan's enforced resignation from his command. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

12. William Russell, the Times Special Correspondent, was among those who watched the charge. In the report, subsequently printed in the newspaper, he suggested that there seemed to have been `some hideous blunder'. Three weeks later Alfred Lord Tennyson was already working on his famous poem. www.instantdisplay.co.uk

13. Your Turn! Imagine that you were a journalist, for a newspaper of your choice, on the scene of the Charge of the Light Brigade. Write a report using copies of the poem, and factual information. Present the facts and include an interview with one of the surviving soldiers. Your report should also include the reporter’s own opinion on the success/failure of the charge. www.instantdisplay.co.uk