Light Brigade Charge

In 1854 the legendary Florence Nightingale received a letter from the Secretary of War asking to organize a corps of nurses to clean and tend to the sick soldiers in the Crimea. Haltingly, young Florence and the nurses were shipped over to Scutari where the British base hospital was located. On the fourth of November in 1854, arrived in Turkey and witnessed the poor care for soldiers that were being treated by a worn out medical staff. Conditions were unbearable to her, soldiers lying in their own excrement through the hospital's hallways, the hospital was infested with rodents and bugs. The most common medical supplies such as bandages and soap were nowhere to be found. Outraged by the way the health of the common soldier was being treated

while in war, Florence sent a plea to the Times magazine to send a message to the government and the public to set for change . (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/battles/crimea/popup/medical_trans4.htm) While this report identified and disclosed the problems in the Scutari hospitals, the government did not implement any new radical reforms to solve this problem. Even though it didn't do much, this report and many other like, directed the government in a good heading. Florence Nightingale and the media were able to impact the public into setting out for reforms and change in healthcare.
Due to the documentation of military incompetence in the Crimean war, the government was forced to implement new reforms to institutionalize the British army. The British army urgently needed reforms to guarantee that the army could protect Britain and its colonies. The Crimean war furthermore inforced the reforms. The British public once hearing that the traditional methods of war were useless against modernization around the world where outraged.
The Crimean war has become an iconic symbol of tactical failure. The main cause for new reforms was put in place was the constant flow of press and information from the Crimea. The sale of army commissions was a custom in the British Army, People of power such as Lord Raglan were able to buy themselves a position in the army regardless of their background or military professionalism. In this political cartoon taken from Punch magazine in 1855, we can clearly see the public opinion on the sale of army commissions.

(http://www.historyhome.co.uk/forpol/crimea/shopping.htm)
This cartoon illustrates the incompetence in command of the British army.

In close analysis of this cartoon, the main point to take away is that anyone can purchase themselves into any position in the army. A prime example of this was in the Charge of the Light Brigade and The Duke of Cambridge the commander in chief, he was able to rise the ranks of the military purely through army commissions. This caused fatal in the Charge of the Light Brigade. The purpose of the charge was to chase a retreating Russian artillery company. Due to miscommunication between the soldiers and the general, instead of being met with a small retreading company they faced a heavily armed and more prepared army. The British cavalry was heavily outgunned, 700 men on horses against 30 artillery guns. Lord Cardigan although also rising the ranks through the use of army commissions identified the immense difficulty of this plan and reported it to the Duke. Without hesitation, the Cardigan received the order to charge. Out of 700 men, 156 men were wounded and 122 were wounded. (https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2013/10/24/charge-of-the-light-cavalry-brigade-the-battle-of-balaclava-25-october-1854/) In close evidence of both these primary sources, we can clearly see the connection between the magnitude of failure that the purchase of army commission caused on the Army. Having generals and officers that completely lack the ability to plan and conduct a war coupled with the rapid modernization of

warfare brought the British Army to its Knees.
Throughout the Crimean war the British Public was able to be constantly kept up to date on the war progress through the use of media. Once the public realized the harrowing conditions that the soldiers fought in and the incompetence in command, the British tax payer and newspapers such as Time magazine, could put pressure on the government to employ new reforms to address this issue. Without the the aid of the media to inform the general public on the progression of the war, reforms that wouldn't have been put in place would have never been passed yet alone thought of. Fundamentally without the pressure the public and media placed on the British government to implement change , Britain would be able to remain one of the global superpowers of the time