The Scots Greys, in red tunics and bearskins, mounted on their grey
horses, were in the front line with some of the Irish Inniskilling
Dragoons, and close behind them came the 5th Dragoon Guards and the
1st Royal Dragoons, with their red tunics and shining helmets.
There were not more than three hundred of them altogether, while the
Russian column amounted to some twelve thousand. 'It looked as if the
British must be smashed up by such overwhelming odds.
[Illustration: This sketch map stows the positions of the British and
Russian Forces in the charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaclava.]
But the General knew that he must do his best to save "the thin red
line" from being overridden, and the men knew that they had got the
order to "charge," and it was their business to carry out the order,
and not to look at the danger in doing it. So they charged.
The Russians were not less astonished than the British had been;
instead of surprising the British, they were themselves surprised.
For a minute or two they hesitated.
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