The Light Brigade consisted of elements (300 men each) from the following organizations; 13th Light Dragoons, 17th Lancers, 4th Light Dragoons, 8th Hussars, and 11th Hussars.
Of the original 1500 men assigned, only about 733 made the charge. The others were lost to illness and death due to various diseases encountered during their deployment to the Crimea. Additionally, no one was counted as fit for duty if they did not have a horse fit for duty as well. Loss of horses was much more critical than for men since horses were much more difficult to replace, were subject to being ill and lame, and required more maintenance. So the exact number of men available is not known.
Wikipedia provides the following identifications:
Light hussars
The word hussar (pronounced huh-ZAR, huh-SAR, or hoo-ZAR), refers specifically to a light cavalryman, and is widely thought to derive from the Croatian or Serbian word gusar. However, the word may possibly have been borrowed from Turkic speaking equestrian peoples.
Dragoon
During the 17th and early 18th centuries a dragoon was traditionally a soldier trained to fight on foot, but transport himself on horseback. In other words, he moved as cavalry but fought as infantry. The name derives from the dragoon's primary weapon, a carbine called the dragon.
Dragoons were organized not in squadrons or troops like the cavalry, but in companies like the foot soldier. The flexibility of mounted infantry made dragoons a useful arm. The dragoon regiments were also cheaper to recruit and maintain than the notoriously expensive regiments of cavalry. However, dragoons were at a disadvantage when engaged against true cavalry, and constantly sought to raise their horsemanship, armament and social status to the levels of the cavalry regiments. Thus, "dragoon" had come to mean medium cavalry by the 1740s.
Lancer
A lancer was a cavalry soldier who fought with a lance. Their lances usually had small swallow-tailed flags or pennon just below the spearhead. The use of these pennons was originally intended to disconcert the horses of opposing cavalry in close combat but they eventually became a decorative parade item, normally removed or wrapped in a canvas cover on active service. Although the lance had its greatest effect in the charge, Lancers were vulnerable against other cavalry, as the lance proved ineffective (compared to the sabre) in close quarters. By the mid-19th century, most cavalry formations consisted of lancers in the front rank and sabres in the second, the lances for the initial shock and sabres for the meleé.
The Crimean War 1854: BackgroundRussia, under the pretext of a religious dispute in Jerusalem had gone to war against the Turkish Ottoman Empire. In the initial stages of the war the Russians had defeated the Turkish Fleet in the Black Sea. Both Britain and France feared that this might result in the Russian Fleet moving into the Mediterranean, which would have drastically shifted the balance of European power. As a result the British and French decided to mount a joint expedition in support of the Turks. By the time the expedition arrived in theatre the Turks had already managed to lift the siege of Silistria and push the Russians back into their own territory. Although the initial goals of the war had been achieved it was decided by the allies to use this opportunity to destroy the menace of the Russian fleet once and for all by invading the Crimea and destroying the Russian naval port at Sevastopol.The allies had laid siege to Sevastopol and in an attempt to break the siege on the 25th of October 1854, the Russians launched an attack on the Causeway Heights to cut the British off from their supply chain. Initially the Russians met with success taking both the Heights and the redoubts defending them. The stubborn defense of the 93rd Regiment of Foot and the successful Charge of the Heavy Brigade halted their advance.
The Historic Charge:
The valley where the charge took place is rather narrow with fairly well masked high ground on either side. The guns at the end of the valley were approximately one mile away from the starting point of the Light Brigade Cavalry. All along the heights there were also Russian guns and infantry. Fire from the left side of the valley was suppressed by some French cavalry but there was no suppression on the right.
It was not however until the later stages of the battle that the famous Charge of the Light Brigade took place. Actually, the Light Brigade was also accompanied by elements of a Heavy brigade. But, shortly after the start of the advance down the valley, the Heavy Brigade returned to its starting point and did not follow. From his position on the Sapoune Heights, Lord Raglan (Senior officer in command) could see that the Russians were about to carry away the captured guns from the Causeway Heights. Raglan therefore ordered Lord Lucan, the commander of the Cavalry Division, to launch the Brigade to retake the guns. Those orders were not given in person, but through an assistant, Captain Nolan. From his position in the valley Lucan could not see the guns. When he asked for further clarification from Captain Nolan, who had brought the message, Nolan pointed not to the guns on the Causeway Heights, but generally to the end of the valley. Having received the clarification he felt was sufficient he directed Lord Cardigan, his brother-in-law and Commander of the Light Brigade, to advance down the valley.
On orders Cardigan advanced the five regiments of the Light Brigade towards the line of Russian guns at a trot, which was in keeping with standard procedures. The first salvo was fired when the brigade had advanced only 200 yards. As they neared the guns (the last 200 yards), the Light Brigade broke into a charge, and was met within eighty yards by a final salvo. The Brigade swept down on the enemy, carrying the guns and driving the Russian cavalry, who were massed behind the guns, back in disarray. The force was however too small to maintain the position unaided and were forced to withdraw back up the valley, again under constant musket and artillery fire from the flanking Heights, and harassed by Cossacks who rode down among them.
