Thus, while our men were often five nights out of the seven on duty in the cold and wet, the French had five nights out of seven in bed.

This gave them far greater time to forage for fuel, which was principally obtained by digging up the roots of the vines and brushwood--every twig above the surface having long since been cleared away--to dig deep holes under their tents, to dry their clothes and to make life comfortable.
At last the strength of the English diminished to such a point that they were at length incapable of holding the long line of trenches, and they were obliged to ask the French to relieve them, which they did by taking over the right of our attack, a measure which placed them opposite to the two Russian positions of the Mamelon and Malakoff batteries, which proved to be the keys of Sebastopol.
As spring came on matters brightened fast.

English contractors sent out large bodies of navvies, and began to lay down a railway from Balaklava to the front, reinforcements poured in, and the health of the troops began to improve.

Troops of transport animals from every country on the Mediterranean were landed.

A village of shops, set up by enterprising settlers, was started two miles out of Balaklava.