On 25th October 1854 the Charge of the Light Brigade occurred.

This happened during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. The Light Brigade were light cavalry - hence the name - who, due to a miscommunication, attacked the wrong artillery battery. Instead of harrying retreating forces, for which they were suited, they instead accidentally attacked a prepared battery.

The ensuing charge resulted in devastating losses for the brigade. Of the estimated 670 men, 110 were killed and 161 wounded, catastrophic losses for any force.

The charge is best remembered in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" which was published only six weeks after the charge occurred.

Image: By William Simpson (painter, 1823-1899) E. Walker (lithographer, unknown) Published by Goupil & Cie, Paris, and Day & Son, London. (The Library of Congress) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Simpson_-_Charge_of_the_light_cavalry_brigade,_25th_Oct._1854,_under_Major_General_the_Earl_of_Cardigan.jpg)