The Noble Six Hundred Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sevastopol, Ukraine

During the Crimean War, Balaclava was the target of British, Sardinian, Turkish and French troops, as they aimed their sights on the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol.
The city obtained its name from a combination of two Greek words, "sebastos" and "polis", thus translating as "venerable city", and as a fortress city, it ranked high on the agenda of the alliance of British, Turks and French who laid siege to it during the Crimean War in 1854-55.
In 1957 the town of Balaclava was incorporated in the city of Sevastopol.

Answer: British General FitzRoy Somerset

FitzRoy Somerset, also known as "Lord Raglan", made the infamous decision to go on the offensive at a time when a defensive posture would probably have been a better option.

His piecemeal assault on the Russian stronghold on the Crimean peninsula was an utter and dismal failure, leading to his eventual demise from dysentery and depression over the results of the calamity that his decision had caused.

Answer: a misunderstood communique between leaders

Just to show how things can go horribly wrong on a battlefield, one need look no further than this example. British Lord Cardigan, the commander of the Light Brigade, followed what he thought were orders which had been issued by his brother-in-law (whom he detested), Lord Lucan, the Commander of the Cavalry Division. The orders had been delivered by Captain Nolan who later died during the battle, and they had first been issued by Lord Raglan.

There seemed to be a misunderstanding regarding the orders, with all sides expressing confusion and placing blame on the other parties involved. The attack by cavalry against Russian guns resulted in a great loss of life, although both Lord Lucan and Lord Cardigan survived.

Lord Raglan was on high ground when he issued the order but failed to notice that the lie of the land prevented Lord Lucan, Lord Cardigan and the Light Brigade from seeing the battery that they were supposed to attack.

Answer: orders are orders

A previous battle that took place during the Crimean War, the Battle of the Alma (river), resulted in success for the British and French troops as they routed the Russians, and this may have contributed to a feeling of invincibility on the part of these allies.

At any rate, soldiers tend to follow orders, merely by the very nature of their training, regardless of what they anticipate as the outcome of the conflict.

Answer: the foolhardiness of the manuever

The cavalry charge executed by the Light Brigade was probably the absolute worst option that could have been chosen for that particular time of the battle. A more sound decision might have been to simply continue holding the line or even retreating a bit. The Light Brigade was seriously outgunned and outmanned at this juncture and most of the needless casualties could have been avoided, if not for the misinterpretation of their orders, and/or the bad decisions made by their leadership.

Pierre Bosquet, the French Marshall noted this about the charge, "It is magnificent, but it is not war. It is madness."

The Russians merely thought the Light Brigade were drunk.

Answer: there were more than 600 British participants in the battle

There were actually approximately 666 men in total, who rode into the battle, (although historical accounts vary slightly).

Answer: 375

Another battle had taken place just hours previous to the fiasco that became known as the charge of the Light Brigade, and that was the charge of the Heavy Brigade. This was a raging success for the British, but Lord Cardigan failed to pursue the advantages won by it, and thus set the tone for the dismal failure that followed. The Russians were on the retreat, and instead of pursuing them, Cardigan stood pat.

Tennyson published his poem just six weeks after the battle took place, and he chose to honor the men and their horses who had been required to pay such a terrible price for the ineptitude of their leadership.

Answer: 110-118

Of those who rode into the foray somewhere between 110 and 118 men were killed in action. There were another 129 who were wounded, with an additional 30-60 injured and taken captive.

Answer: the cavalry members enjoyed a champagne dinner prior to the engagement

Due to a combination of jealousies, mutual mistrust and the ineptitudes of the three main leaders of the battle, Cardigan, Lucan and Raglan, all of the options given were an actuality for the British troops involved.

A champagne dinner aboard a yacht in the harbor was enjoyed by Cardigan after the battle was over.

Answer: True

Rather than being tarnished beyond belief, a great respect for the cavalry resulted from the Battle of Balaclava. The same, however, could not be said of their leadership.

Perhaps the greatest good that a soldier can do is to simply obey orders, even when good leadership is sadly lacking. However, blindly obeying unclear, almost suicidal orders without seeking clarification and confirmation is arguably another matter.