the Charge of the Light Brigade
/ðə ˌtʃɑːdʒ əv ðə ˈlaɪt brɪɡeɪd/
/ðə ˌtʃɑːrdʒ əv ðə ˈlaɪt brɪɡeɪd/
- a famous attack by British cavalry (= soldiers on horses) during the Crimean War in 1854. An order was understood wrongly, and the soldiers, armed only with swords, were sent into a valley with heavy guns on both sides of them. 247 out of 637 men were killed. The event is remembered as an excellent example of bad military leadership and the blind courage of soldiers obeying orders. It is described in a famous poem by Tennyson:“`Forward the Light Brigade!’Was there a man dismay'd?Not tho' the soldier knewSome one had blunder'd:Theirs not to make reply,Theirs not to reason why,Theirs but to do and die,Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred.”