Royal Berkshire Regiment and formed the centrepiece of the Regimental badge of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment. The British Army alone was an all-volunteer force, whose soldiers enlisted for an initial period of ten years in the Infantry. George Walters joined the 49th in 1848 and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant within six years. Crimea On 5 November 1854, the Russians marched out of the besieged city of Sebastopol to throw off the allied British and French forces by mounting a joint attack with their troops from outside the city. Despite outnumbering their enemies five to one the Russians failed to achieve what looked to be a foregone conclusion. This was the third major action of the Crimea War. The battle fought in heavy fog at Inkermann proved to be a testament to the skill and initiative of the individual men and officers of the British Army of the day. Inkermann was an infantry battle of the Crimean War, when the Russians attacked the British forces besieging Sebastopol under cover of fog. In the battle 8,000 British soldiers sustained a hand-to-hand combat with 50,000 Russian troops and it was always referred to as "the soldiers' battle". Very early in the morning, the Russians came out again, this time in much greater strength, and made for the British positions on the Inkermann ridge. The morning was wet and misty, and the visibility was so bad that the British were surprised and had to scramble into action piecemeal. There was little higher control. The regimental officers simply formed their troops as best they could and placed them where they could tackle the great columns looming out of the fog, hoping that the old, tried, formula of desperate courage and superior musketry would prevail against sheer numbers. The 49th was split from the first. On the left Colonel Dalton led a wing forward, and although he was killed almost immediately, the four companies continued to fight desperately under the inspired command of Major Grant, who time and time again led successful bayonet attacks against the Russians. Further over to the right, the other wing under Lieutenant Bellairs was also heavily engaged throughout the battle, and played a leading role in the fight around the Sandbag Battery. Bellairs, who with his three companies of the 49th including Sergeant Walters, was on the top of Home Ridge. Here the Russians had pushed