The British troops lacked the resources to deal effectively with the numbers of sick and wounded in the Crimea. The French provided 500 mules with litters to carry the men from the siege lines down to the harbour. In one embarkation, between 600 and 1,200 men would have to be boarded onto small, open boats to be transferred to larger ships. They were then taken to the hospital at Scutari, on the shore of the Bosphorus 335 miles away. The whole process could take days.