25/10/2024
Exactly 170 years ago today, October 25th, 1854, at the Battle of Balaclava, the 93d Highlanders, standing as a “thin red streak tipped with steel” repulsed a Russian cavalry charge with aimed long range rifle fire alone.
It marked a paradigm shift in modern warfare, illustrating the power of a new infantry weapon — the rifle-musket — on the same day and just a few miles away from the “glorious catastrophe,” the Charge of the Light Brigade.
When can their glory fade?