ABSTRACT
British politicians and Admirals agreed that further operations were vital after the fall of Sevastopol, without loss of time. Marshal Pelissier and Simpson were quite happy to rest, and there were good reasons for temporary inaction. Disorganised by the year-long siege the armies required a period to re-form and prepare for the winter, and neither the army nor the Government could afford another logistics disaster. This tended to cancel out the political pressure for movement. Finally, the Russians held a powerful position. The north side of the harbour was unassailable; the heights stretching from the head of the harbour to the sea east of Balaklava were covered with fieldworks, apparently containing a significant army. Pelissier had no idea where the main Russian army was; he expected them to retire, and would pursue them. Simpson concurred, having no plan of his own. Both rejected the risky strategy of dividing the army for amphibious operations, or a new line of attack from Eupatoria. 1
