The Russians had quickly closed the gaps between their



Seydlitz and the Prussian Cavalry. 109

lines and brougixt up every available gun, 100 in all, to bear
on the advancing mass, and almost simultaneously the whole
opened fire with case, tearing wide gaps in the opposing
ranks. Fortunately for the Prussians, their outer flank, to
avoid the marshy ground beyond them, had been crowding
on the center, and this crowding, usually so dangerous, was
here advantageous, as it caused the gaps to close quicker,
and the charge was thus delivered almost in a wall and
swept right over the infantry, notwithstanding their fire,
delivered at the shortest range, from twelve successive
ranks. There was no panic in the Russian ranks; the
men stood their ground to the last, and no quarter was
given or asked, and the rest of the day was simply a
combat of man against man, till sheer weariness put a stop
to the fighting, and the intact troops of the Russian left man-
aged to effect a retreat because no fresh forces were at hand
to receive them.
Altogether the Russian loss on this day, killed, wounded,
and missing, amounted to 21,550 offlcers and men, 103 guns,
and 27 stand of colors, or 40 per cent, approximately, of their
strength; the Prussians, 11,380 out of 30,000, the bulk of
which fell on the infantry; and our own losses at Inkermann
are the only ones I know to compare to the above — i. e., as
borne by the victors, but our numbers on that occasion were
too small to make the comparison fair, as a whole.
