and of such importance to either side which should seize it that it would doubtless have been a main object with us from the first but for our deficiency in numbers. This was the hill which afterwards became famous as the Mamelon. To place it, as well as the Malakoff and the intervening ground, under such a cross fire as might assure its capture, two batteries were prepared, one by the French, on a near spur of Mount Inkerman, and one in the English Right Attack. But their wary antagonist had not failed to note and appreciate the design, and was now ready with his counterstroke. On the morning of the day named, the French, who the day before had seen the Russian works end with the mouth of the Careenage ravine, now beheld new works begun on, and in extension of, a hill in front of them, being part of Mount Inkerman itself, which the enemy had seized in the course of the night, thus extending the front of the fortress to new ground, and flanking the approaches to the Malakoff and Mamelon ; while the new work was itself protected by so powerful a fire that the French might well hesitate to attack it. All the 23d the enemy were again at work on it. That night, however, five French battalions, under General Monet, issued from the trenches, and while two remained halted in support, three advanced to the assault. This step had been anticipated and provided for by the Russians. Besides three battalions assigned to work on and to defend the hill, four others, being an entire regiment, were disposed for its defence, and now met
198 Failure of the French Attack.
the attack. They were supported by guns both from the fortress and the ships, which were brought to bear on the ground between the hill and the French trenches The combat lasted an hour ; the French succeeded at one time- in entering the work, but were driven out by the strong supports, and forced to retreat, bearing with them General Monet, d'esperately wounded, and sustaining a loss of 270 men, with nineteen officers, while the Russians lost 400. Todleben credits the French troops on this occasion with " a remarkable valour." This defeat was so far acknowledged and accepted by the French that the enemy was thenceforth left almost undisturbed to complete and arm his new work, and a few nights later he began another on a hill to his own left of it. These were in future known to the Allies as the White Works from the chalky soil they stood in. Thus, having completely abandoned Mount Inkerman after the battle, the enemy had now returned to it in a fashion which showed that he intended his occupation of it to be permanent By this rare display of sagacity and daring, Todleben immensely increased the difficulty of the problem before the Allies. At a conference of chiefs, on 6th March, Burgoyne urged the French to attack these works as the indispensable preliminary to progress on this part of the field ; but the proposal was put aside on the ground that, if captured, they could not be held under the guns which the enemy could bring to bear.
The two batteries, French and English, looking towards the Mamelon were pushed steadily towards
Great Sortie against the French 199
completion, and on the loth March the commanding French engineer, Bizot, advised Canrobert to seize the hill that night. Canrobert declined the enterprise, but Todleben settled the question. On this same night the Russians seized it, and morning saw the outline of a work crowning it. The question of attacking it was now more urgent than before. But Canrobert still found reasons against so decided a course, and preferred to besiege it. Consequently, the French opened a parallel against it on the Victoria Ridge, and the new batteries were also directed on it. On the other hand, the enemy held his ground, and not only completed and armed his new work, but spread rifle pits, connected with trenches, along its front and flanks.