| Show operations before Seba geba sebastopol sevastopol from the london times march I 1 the last accounts from the crimea allow us to I 1 entertain a belief hat that the condition of tiie the troops Is mat materially serially improved the fire of tile the russian I 1 batte batteries rieb on the heights of balaklava opened oil on the ibe but without essect effect for the enemy was routed by the british troops assisted by a french division and four days later when the russians attacked the whole line of the allies they tiley were driven back with great loss and victory thus marks tile the opening of the second campaign we accept for all they are worth these indications of an improvement in the aspect of affers and we heartily wish that we could extend these encouraging prognostications to till all the circumstances of our present military position but neither the last public dispatches des patches we receive from numerous authentic sources are aro of a nature natura to heisten our confidence and we cannot aut b ut regard with considerable sid erable anxiety the inert character of our operations at a moment which apio eurs ears to us to be in the highest degree critical the object of exposing the troops of the allied armies to the hardships of a winter passed among the bleak hills and damp ravines before sebastopol sevastopol Seba was to enable them to take effiec effectual advantage of tile ilie first return of or the dry season and especially of that interval during daring which the tile ru russians must still be cut off from their rein reinforcements for cements we are unwilling to prejudge tile the conduct of the allied Generd generals ls we liopo hope that the successful engagement of tile the of march may speedily be followed by more decisive results but it is is impossible not to remark that of late all originality and enterprise shown in these thesa operations has been on the side of the russians while the french and english armies seem condemned by their commanders to remain oil on the defenses defences de fences within their lines yet their num numbers aers are reported to be not far short abort of men a force amply sufficient to undertake with success two or three distinct operations erat ions of w r upon a scene of action so contracted as the south of the crimea in presence of an enemy not now superior in numbers while we ourselves have means of transport to every part of the coast the tile army at cupa toria might be EO so reinforced re as to enable it to take the field an un expedition might I 1 e detached on so as to take the russian positions in the rear and destroy their magazines a strong recon nois sance might advance to the tile delbek or force the passes of baidar or lastly the whole strength of the armies might be concentrated on the it will be presumptuous in fit us to fit tit tempt attempt to determine which of 0 these courses all the circumstances of the case render expedient but we speak from high military authority when we say that one or more of these operations must bo be attempted unless we are prepared for a termination of this enterprise ente i oprise hardly less inglorious than that of the athenians against syracuse the same want of command which was so fatally perceptible in ia the arrangements for tile the winter encampment of the army and ai a 1 l that related to the stores the hospitals and the port of balaklava balaclava a now begins to man manifest irest itself in the preparations pa rations of the army for the field and we learn that our gallant allies whose troops are numerous and well prepared for war view with great surprise and some disc discouragement oura gement the inactivity of their own chief the prosecution of or the baa for many months been rega regarded with reason as the arinia primary duty of the army the tha approaches directed against tile the southern side tide of the town of or sebas have been pushed forward with infinite labor berand and perseverance batteries havo have been constructed ted tod and armed with new guns of a heavier calibre and an immense supply of projectiles and ammunition has been transported from the harbors to the front of the lines iines the day on which the fire of the armies would reopen re open on the place has been repeatedly named arid and impatiently expected yet it would seem that some doubts are still entertained of the result of this attack and still graver uncertainty prevails i als ils as its to tile ilia possibility of tile the assault by which it was to be followed the russians on the other side have displayed extraordinary energy nud skill in extend extending 1119 ilig tiie tile de fences of tha place no sooner was one portion of their works menaced by a batery b though as yet unmasked than they tiley found means to establish another redoubt so as to command our guns the leisure and fortification of 0 the right bank of the careening harbor is described as all an art of singular boldness and judgment on the part of the enemy for the troops which hod that position are separated from their base of operations by a dee deep p and impassable jm passable ravine yet the tiie attempt to dislodge them from it was unsuccessful thit attempt was not repeated and as the llie point remains in the hand of the tho 11 it materially interfere 3 with the projected attack on the malakhoff tower lord raglan writes that tiia tile besel ged forces are bringing forward their advanced works with great activity and that the roads on the northern side of the tle place are covered with stores of food and munitions of war wh ch lie cannot intercept yet we hear of no attempt from the ad of february to the loth of march tose lieck these formidable demonstrations and to avail ourselves of the superiority of the allied ar armies inies we can only infer tint thit in tile tho opinion of the council N of war the dangers of such an operation outweigh b its probable advantages dut bat if the sega sege operations properly so called are reduced to this tills inactive condition the greater is the motive to resort to other means of attack if our lines are exten and difficult to guard the concentric lines occupied by the tile Rus russians slats be vond oar our outposts out posts must be still more so and gen osten is moreover compelled to watch with a considerably consider abla part of his army the in trenched position of the turks at Eup atoria moreover we now learn that tile tho attack on balaklava and our lines have failed |
