The Charge of the 600. In an episode alternately described as one of the most heroic and most senselessly criminal in British military history, Lord James Cardigan leads a cavalry charge against heavily defended Russian artillery during the Crimean War. The British were victorious at Balaclava when Cardigan received the order to attack the Russians. His cavalry charged valiantly down the valley but was decimated by nearly half the Russians’ heavy artillery. It was later discovered that the order had been given in confusion, not intentionally. Lord Cardigan, who survived the battle, was welcomed home as a hero.
