The Cannonballs Fly Trivia Quiz

Answer:

For completeness, here are the final two verses -
'Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them; Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell. They that had fought so well Came through the jaws of Death, Back from the mouth of hell, All that was left of them, Left of six hundred.

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!'

The charge took place on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, specifically the Battle of Balaklava. Britain had joined forces with Turkey to fend off a Russian advance. A misunderstanding over an order sent the Light Brigade, a cavalry unit, to attack a battery of guns armed only with sabres. The number of men involved was nearer seven hundred and over a hundred died, not to mention the horses they lost, but six hundred scanned better. The order came from Lord Raglan, who claimed he meant the brigade to attack a different valley. The soldier who delivered the message was among the dead so nothing could be proved.

Tennyson's poem captured the sense of the battle and ensured it has remained famous, even if for the wrong reasons. The repetition of the words 'half a league onwards' reflects the distance the soldiers had to ride, around a mile and a half, while the description of the dangers from the cannons is clear. Orders were to be followed without question, and the words 'theirs but to do or die' are often quoted, although not usually in such dramatic circumstances. As the poem states, despite the odds some of the attackers reached the guns and disabled a few of them although it was rather futile.

Tennyson certainly achieved his aim of the final stanza. Thanks to him, the world still remembers the events. Another famous quotation came from the charge. The French General Pierre Bosquet described the attack as 'C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre; c'est de la folie', which means 'It's magnificent, but it's not war; it's madness'. It certainly gave us a memorable poem, though.