ABSTRACT
The British found that their French allies had preceded them and laid claim to the best accommodation and food, landing on April 8. So the prospect of an allied invasion of the Crimea was always in Raglan's mind. However, it would not be easy to organize. St Arnaud, in command of the larger French force, tried to gain control of the two armies and to dictate their deployment in Bulgaria. The British commander crossed the Tchernaya River and entered the village of Kadikoi 1.5 miles/2.4km from Balaclava, during the morning of 26 September. The choice of Balaclava seemed strange. On the left of the line, the British could legitimately have wheeled on to the upland before Sevastopol and made use of the nearby ports of Kamiesch and Kazatch. Lucan later maintained that, when questioned by him, Nolan pointed to the end of the North Valley, where Russian field guns were drawn up to protect the Tchernaya river crossings.
