Trouble Ahead

General Lord Raglan’s ill-phrased orders to Lord Lucan contributed to the destruction of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaklava during the Crimean War (1854-56). Raglan had last seen active service at Waterloo and had spent 25 years at a desk as military secretary at the Horse Guards. At 65 years old he had never led an army in the field. His selection as commander of the Army in the East had been influenced by his skills as a diplomat, considered highly significant in developing a working relationship with Britain’s French allies.

Yet the talents that recommended his appointment were to cause difficulty in the field. Prior to the disaster at Balaklava, Raglan’s habit of phrasing commands as polite requests rather than orders caused confusion and life-threatening delays at the Battle of the Alma. Alexander Kinglake, who was an eye-witness at the Alma on 20 September 1854, recalled seeing Raglan demonstrate the use of this telescope to the French commander, Marshal Jacques Leroy de St Arnaud.