Editing Battle of Inkerman (section)

==Prelude to the battle==
The allied armies of Britain, France, Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire had landed on the west coast of Crimea on 14 September 1854, intending to capture the Russian naval base at [[Sevastopol]].{{sfnp|Figes|2010|p=203}}  The allied armies fought off and defeated the Russian Army at the [[Battle of Alma]], forcing them to retreat in some confusion toward the River Kacha.{{sfnp|Figes|2010|pp=215-216}}  While the allies could have taken this opportunity to attack [[Sevastopol]] before Sevastopol could be put into a proper state of defence, the allied commanders, British general [[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan]] and the French commander [[François Certain Canrobert]] could not agree on a plan of attack.{{sfnp|Figes|2010|p=222}}

Instead, they resolved to march around the city, and put Sevastopol under siege. Toward this end the allies marched to the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula and established a supply port at the city of [[Balaklava|Balaclava]].{{sfnp|Figes|2010|p=225}}  However, before the siege of Sevastopol began, the Russian commander [[Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov|Prince Menshikov]] evacuated Sevastopol with the major portion of his field army, leaving only a garrison to defend the city.{{sfnp|Figes|2010|p=241}} On 25 October 1854, a superior Russian force attacked the British base at [[Battle of Balaclava|Balaclava]], and although the Russian attack was foiled before it could reach the base, the Russians were left holding a strong position north of the British line. Balaclava revealed the allied weakness; their siege lines were so long they did not have sufficient troops to man them. Realising this, Menshikov launched an attack across the [[Chorna River (Ukraine)|Tchernaya River]] on 4 November 1854.{{sfnp|Figes|2010|p=258}}