Balaklava, << `bal` uh KLAH vuh, >> Battle of, was fought near the town of Balaklava in the Crimea, on Oct. 25, 1854, during the Crimean War. British, French, and Ottoman troops had easily captured Balaklava and set up a base there. The Russians sent a large force from Sevastopol, a naval base near Balaklava, to reconquer the town. The attack failed, but both sides suffered heavy losses. See Crimean War .
During the battle, a small brigade of British cavalry made a gallant but tragically useless attack on a strong Russian position. Nearly 250 of the 673 men in the “Light Brigade” were killed or wounded. The stupidity and personal rivalry of two British officers were probably the chief causes of the tragedy. The attack was not important. But it has been remembered because the British poet Lord Tennyson made it famous in his poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” This poem glorifies the idea that a soldier must blindly obey his orders.
