CHAPTER 539: CHAPTER 531 PREPARATIONS IN SEVASTOPOL

The young Captain Jerome Patterson vividly described the skirmish that took place on the Sevastopol Path to Commander Lagren, giving Lagren an immersive experience.

Commander Lagren, with a surge of excitement, congratulated the French Empire on their decisive victory on the Sevastopol Path and inquired of Captain Jerome Patterson what the French Army required of them.

"Commander Lagren, I come at the orders of Commander Pelissier to inform you! We hope you can swiftly lead your troops to the vicinity of the North Shore of Sevastopol!" Captain Jerome Patterson saluted Commander Lagren and then continued, "We must hurry with the deployment!"

As soon as Jerome Patterson finished speaking, Commander Lagren smiled and said, "Patterson, be honest with me! Is that fellow Pelissier planning to attack the Sevastopol Fortress?"

Jerome Patterson was slightly taken aback, then shook his head and responded to Commander Lagren, "I don’t know what Commander Pelissier’s next move is! He just told me to inform you to depart as soon as possible!"

"Your new Commander-in-Chief really is a meticulous guy!" Commander Lagren laughed and complained, then replied to Jerome Patterson, "Go back and tell your Commander that I will immediately lead the British Army to head over!"

"Thank you very much for your cooperation!" Jerome Patterson saluted Commander Lagren once more and then turned to leave Kurgan Mountain.

Watching the departing figure of Jerome Patterson, Commander Lagren spoke, "You all heard what Captain Jerome Patterson just said, right?"

The generals present nodded, and then Commander Lagren ordered the Duke of Cardigan, "Quickly take your cavalry to support the Fourth Division; I suspect the Russian troops defeated by France are approaching there!"

The Duke of Cambridge, standing beside, who was also the commander of the Guard Division and the deputy commander of the Expeditionary Army, rode his horse to Lagren and proposed, "Commander, should we send the Guard Division over for support! If the routed troops defeat the Fourth Division, that would be bad!"

"The Fourth Division is not likely to be defeated by a group of demoralized soldiers!" Commander Lagren responded firmly, then added, "If he really is defeated, then he should take off that uniform and go home to care for children! My army does not need a general who cannot even beat routed troops!"

Commander Lagren’s decisive attitude silenced the Duke of Cambridge from speaking on behalf of Sir George Cassett, and he could only silently pray for the Fourth Division.

After the Earl of Cardigan led his Light Cavalry to the vicinity of the Kach River, Commander Lagren took out a pocket watch kept near his heart. It was now 4:45 pm, over six hours since the first attack was launched by Commander Lagren, and 55 minutes since Kurgan Mountain was captured, meaning the battle around Kurgan and Telegraph Hills took only five hours.

"Move out!"

With Commander Lagren’s order, the previously silent British command system began operating again. The British Army, having just rested for 40 minutes, stood up under the whips and boots of their officers. Those in good physical condition formed two columns heading toward the Sevastopol Fortress, while limbless British and Russian soldiers were temporarily stationed on Kurgan Mountain, waiting for subsequent medical units to transport them to Yevpatoria Town for treatment. Soldiers with severe injuries would be sent to Constantinople for medical care.

In short, the British Army had no time to dawdle here; they must quickly reach the North Shore of Sevastopol Fortress!

When Commander Lagren led the British Army across the Kach River and arrived at the farms near the Belbe River on Sevastopol’s north shore, the sky was completely dark, and the distant Sevastopol was entirely concealed in the darkness.

Marching at night was undoubtedly dangerous, especially with a large number of night-blind soldiers within the British Army. Thus, Commander Lagren abandoned the thought of meeting with the French Army and instead ordered his troops to camp in place, then continued with his adjutant to finally meet the French Army about 2 kilometers away.

Guided by a French officer, Commander Lagren was led into a simple farmhouse.

"Commander Lagren, Marshal Saint Arnaud and Commander Pelissier are inside!" The guiding officer whispered to Commander Lagren.

"Saint Arnaud, he’s awake?" asked Commander Lagren, with a hint of surprise in his expression.

"The Marshal woke up last night! However, his health is no longer suitable for high-intensity command, so General Pelissier temporarily took over his duties!" The French officer explained to Commander Lagren.

The French officer then took his leave from Commander Lagren, who, along with his adjutant, entered the French command post.

"Knock knock knock"

Accompanied by a clear knocking sound, Marshal Saint Arnaud and General Pelissier looked up from the map towards the door, and Commander Lagren’s figure appeared in the doorway. Marshal Saint Arnaud and Pelissier immediately stood to greet him and shook hands with Commander Lagren.

Commander Lagren was pleased with Marshal Saint Arno’s healthy return and also commended Pellissier’s actions in the Battle of Alma.

If it weren’t for the French Army’s swift occupation of Telegraph Hill, which caused a disturbance in the Russian Army’s morale on Kurgan Mountain, the Kingdom of Britain wouldn’t have achieved victory so quickly.

Marshal Saint Arno bitterly smiled and told Commander Lagren that his health had not yet recovered, and the actual command of the French Expeditionary Army was still in the hands of Pellissier.

"By the way! General Pellissier has a bold plan. Is Commander Lagren interested in listening to it?" Marshal Saint Arno said to Commander Lagren.

"What plan?" Commander Lagren’s interest was piqued immediately.

"During the skirmish on the Sevastopol Path, we captured a Russian Empire general! He told us that there are currently only a little over ten thousand people in Sevastopol, and the city in the north is also in disrepair. Therefore, General Pellissier wants to attempt an attack on the northern part of Sevastopol! If we can successfully occupy the north, we would be able to cut off the supply from Russia to the southern part of Sevastopol!" Marshal Saint Arno responded to Commander Lagren.

"Great minds think alike!" Commander Lagren couldn’t help but reflect, and then asked which Russian Empire general had been captured.

"Admiral Kiriyako! He was the one who fought with us on Telegraph Hill!" Marshal Saint Arno recalled the state of Admiral Kiriyako at that time, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.

Commander Lagren nodded, feeling even more confident about the vulnerable defenses of the Sevastopol Fortress.

After all, this was the highest-ranking general the Allies had captured. If even his words couldn’t be trusted, then there wouldn’t be anyone credible left in Crimea.

"We can give it a try!" Commander Lagren agreed to Pellissier’s suggestion, and then added, "However, we should wait until all our artillery units have arrived before taking further action!"

"Naturally!" Marshal Saint Arno nodded in response, "Not only the artillery units, but we also need to retrieve all the tents and knapsacks we left on the south bank of the Alma River! They have really had it tough these days!"

As the French Army had force-marched all the way to the north shore of the Sevastopol Fortress, they left their camps and artillery equipment on the south bank of the Alma River, meaning that they would have to endure the wilderness north of the Sevastopol Fortress for a few days.

"Alas!" Commander Lagren also sighed, as the British troops faced the same problem as the French Empire.

...

After returning from the French camp to the British camp, Commander Lagren held a brief meeting in the dim light of the tallow lamp with the regimental leaders under his command.

In the meeting, Commander Lagren informed the officers present about the upcoming military operations and asked them to maintain the morale of the British Army.

Although the officers present harbored a slight resentment toward Commander Lagren’s lack of pity for the troops, they still assured him that they would fulfill the tasks he assigned.

Early the next morning, a line of wagons appeared on the north shore of Sevastopol, bringing the tents and artillery left on the south bank of the Alma River to the Anglo-French Alliance Army, escorted by the Turkish troops.

Meanwhile, the Anglo-French fleet on the coast also delivered supplies to the Anglo-French Alliance Army, including biscuits, canned goods, bread (French Army), vegetables, salted beef (British Army), wine, and other items.

These abundant supplies greatly alleviated the war-weariness of the British and French Armies, and the arrival of the wine made them cheer.

The staff officers from the Four Nations of England, France, Sardinia, and Turkey also used the rest time to tally their losses in the Battle of the Alma River. The Kingdom of Britain suffered the most losses, with over 2800 casualties in the Battle of Kurgan Mountain, equivalent to 9% of the entire unit. Next was the Sardinian Kingdom and the Kingdom of France, with 732 and 431 casualties respectively, and finally the Ottoman Empire, which suffered only single-digit casualties (the Ottoman Empire served as a reserve throughout the battle).

Time quickly reached the fourth day. After two days of transportation, all the weapons and equipment from the Four Nations of England, France, Sardinia, and Turkey finally arrived on the north shore.

That afternoon, a telegram from Paris, via Constantinople, reached Marshal Saint Arno, which made the slightly hesitant Marshal Saint Arno resolve to attack the northern fortress of Sevastopol.

To understand the intentions of the other three commanders, Saint Arno summoned the commanders of the other three countries to the French Command under the name of the Allied Command to discuss the strategy together.