The Thin Red Line (Battle of Balaclava)

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Thin Red Line
Part of Battle of Balaclava, Crimean War
The Thin Red Line, painted by Robert Gibb
Date 25 October 1854 Location 44°31′23″N 33°35′55″E / 44.52306°N 33.59861°E / 44.52306; 33.59861 Result British-Ottoman victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom  Ottoman Empire	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde	Ivan Ryzhov
Strength
500 Highlanders and 350 Turkish forces[1]	400 Russian forces[2]

The Thin Red Line described an episode of the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854, during the Crimean War.^[3] In the incident, around 500 men of the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders led by Sir Colin Campbell, aided by a small force of 100 walking wounded, 40 detached Guardsmen, and supported by a substantial force of Turkish infantrymen, formed a line of fire against the Russian cavalry. Previously, Campbell's Highland Brigade had taken part in actions at the Battle of Alma and the Siege of Sevastopol. There were more Victoria Crosses presented to the Highland soldiers at that time than at any other.^{[citation needed]} The event was lionised in the British press and became an icon of the qualities of the British soldier in a war that was arguably poorly managed and increasingly unpopular.