This photograph shows the three allied commanders apparently planning their joint attack on the Mamelon and the Quarry Pits, defensive structures in front of the Malakhov and Sevastopol bastions. The attack began on the morning of 6 June 1855 and continued until a truce on 9 June. It is extremely unlikely that the three leaders had time to pose for photographs on 6 June, particularly as Pélissier is said to have overslept that morning and arrived later than planned at the battle. The photograph is more likely to have been made soon after the event.