‘Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. ‘Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns’ he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.’ wrote what famed English poet, who was born on August 6, 1809?
Charge of the Light Brigade was killed in the ensuing battle. In response to the order, Lucan instructed Cardigan to lead his command of about 670 troopers of the Light Brigade straight into the valley between the Fedyukhin Heights and the Causeway Heights. In his poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1854), Tennyson dubbed this hollow "The Valley of Death". The opposing Russian forces were commanded by Pavel Liprandi and included approximately 20 battalions of infantry supported by over 50 artillery pieces. These forces were deployed on both sides and at the opposite end of the valley. Lucan himself was to follow with the
Charge of the Light Brigade orally instead of handing over the written orders. He said, "There, my lord, is your enemy! There are your guns!", and he added the word "attack", whereas Raglan had intended merely a show of force. Nolan's version of the order and accompanying gesture were misunderstood, causing the disaster described above. Nolan rode with the charge and died in it. Maxse's letter said that Nolan was annoyed at how little the Light Brigade had done previously, and that he was angry against Lucan. Nigel Kingscote was another of Raglan's staff officers, and he agreed that the fault was Nolan's and said