With the Allies to Pekin: A Tale of the Relief of the Legations

“Yes.”

“Well, then, I can show you roughly the action of the gun and how to open the breech and get the block out. When you grasp that you will find no difficulty in doing it, if you coach the fellows who are going with you how it is done. You see the action would be quite noiseless, and though it would take you a good bit longer than spiking, that would not be very important if you find all the fellows asleep.”

“Thank you! I am very much obliged to you. It would have been a horrible sell to find, when we got there, that after all we could do nothing.”

They went together to the barricade and sat down in as comfortable a spot as they could find. Then the midshipman drew a plan of the breech action and explained minutely to Rex how it worked and how he should proceed to get out the wedge and stopper. In the evening, when the others came off duty, Rex brought them home, and, taking them up into his room, explained to them what was to be done. He knew that it was useless to attempt to get Ah Lo to understand it, but he would only have to put his hand on the part to be operated upon, and get Ah Lo to apply his strength to it.

“Even if we canʼt get out the breech–block, or find it too heavy to carry away, it would be sufficient, I should say, to take out the wedge and stopper, and carry them off, for I doubt whether they would be able to replace these parts, and at any rate they could only do so after several daysʼ delay, which would be a good deal gained.”

At a quarter to twelve Rex and Ah Lo set out, and on arriving at the barricade found their two companions already there. The lanterns were lighted, and they at once set out. They advanced until they judged that they were near the line of snipers, and then lay down. They had scarcely done so when the defenders of the barrier opened fire, and directly afterwards, as Rex had expected, the Chinese ahead replied. The shots were all pretty close together, which seemed to show that the Chinese there were in a group. Rex and his companions immediately set off again, and, after proceeding about a hundred yards to the right, again went forward. All had muffled their shoes with strips of blanket before starting, and, treading very cautiously to avoid stumbling against stones or other obstacles, they went quietly forward, holding their pistols in readiness for action, and stooping low.

They met with no interruption. The party on the left were still firing, and they found no one ahead of them. Gradually they moved towards the left until the Chinese snipers were behind them and they had the two lanterns in line. They went on faster now till they knew that they must be near the houses, for the night was so dark that they could not even see the outline. Looking frequently back to be sure that they were keeping the exact line, they proceeded steadily and at last came upon a wall, evidently the remains of a house. From this point they moved forward foot by foot until they felt that they were far enough among the ruins; then they scattered a little until, to their delight, they came upon the guns. Listening intently they could hear the sound of heavy breathing and snoring a short distance ahead, and judged that the Chinese must be lying but fifteen yards away. They drew together round one of the guns and felt the breech.

“Here is the handle of the lever,” Rex whispered.

Opening the breech they took out the wedge and stopper, and then moved to the other gun and completed the operation. They had finished it and were moving off when one of them stumbled and fell. A Chinaman, startled by the sound, exclaimed: “Who is there; what are you doing?” Making no reply, however, they hurried on, and making two or three turns among the ruins were soon in the open again.

“Keep along still farther to the left,” Rex said, as there was a sudden shout behind. “Evidently the wakeful Chinaman has got up to investigate the cause of the disturbance, and has discovered that the guns have been tampered with.”

As he spoke a chorus of yells came from the direction of the guns.

“Look here!” Rex said, “here is a pile of earth where a wall has fallen. Letʼs shove these things in here and cover them up; they are precious heavy, and we canʼt do any fighting until we have got rid of them.”

The suggestion was no sooner made than it was carried out. Kneeling down they rapidly scraped a hole in the debris, and carefully hid the portions of the guns which they had carried off. As they did so they could hear a rush of shouting men behind them.

“We had better follow them,” Rex said. “No doubt they will scatter along the line, and we shall then have a good chance of getting through.” Accordingly they retraced their steps and joined their pursuers. The mob of Chinamen scattered as they advanced, and halted to make enquiries when they reached the sniping line. As the men here declared that no one had passed them, the great bulk went on to the right or left. Rex whispered to Ah Lo, who exclaimed: “They may have run on; we will see if we canʼt overtake them!” and with his companions passed on at a run.

It was straight sailing now; the guiding lantern was in front of them, and at the top of their speed they ran down towards it. They were challenged as they approached the barricade, for the Chinese had opened a heavy random fire.

“All right!” Rex shouted, “donʼt fire, whatever you do.”

A minute later he and his companions climbed the barricade.

“Well, have you succeeded?” the midshipman asked.

“Yes, thanks to your advice, we have disabled the guns. We have not brought the pieces with us, but we have buried them in the ruins where they are certainly not likely to be discovered.”

“No fighting?”

“No, we have not had to draw a trigger.”

“Well done! I heard a terrible din right out in that direction, and feared that you had been captured.”

“No, we had done the business before they got the alarm, and were able to make off without being seen. Then we joined them and rushed in pursuit of ourselves; but when they scattered in all directions we kept straight on, shouting that we should overtake the fugitives.”

“Well, you have done a first–rate job, and as a result we shall have a comparatively quiet time to–morrow, for their shot generally struck near us. Shall I report the affair?”

“No,” Rex said. “We have agreed that we will say nothing about it. We might get a blowing–up for acting without orders. We donʼt want praise, and are well satisfied to have silenced those troublesome guns.”

They went quietly back to their homes, and next day had the pleasure of hearing remarks of surprise and satisfaction at the silence of the two guns that had been so troublesome.

That morning a relief force, under the command of Lieutenant–Colonel Shirinsky, sallied out to the assistance of Admiral Seymour, and the day passed in comparative quietness at Tientsin, the time being employed by the troops and inhabitants in strengthening the barricades. The Chinese, who were of course aware of the large reinforcements that had arrived on the previous day, and were probably anticipating an attack, remained inactive. Only a few shots were fired into the settlements during the day.

Having nothing else to do Rex wandered all over the settlements, and was surprised to see the enormous damage that had been effected by the Chinese guns. The French settlement had been almost entirely destroyed by fire and shot, the damage greatly exceeding that which had been inflicted on the British settlement. Many of the houses had suffered terribly. The municipal buildings had been struck many times, but, being solidly built, had suffered only from the heavier missiles. Houses facing the river were all riddled with musket balls, and many had been badly knocked about by the Chinese guns on the opposite side. The loss of life, however, had been particularly small, and the inhabitants, feeling that the worst was over, congratulated themselves that it had not been more serious.

Rex learned that the heaviest fighting had taken place round the railway–station. This point was guarded jointly by a force of Japanese, French, and British, the Japanese and French being stationed on the platform and in the station buildings, while the British, with a Maxim, held the engine–house. The fighting lasted day and night for several days in succession, the enemy making the engine–house the special object of their attack, and endeavouring to silence the Maxim by planting two nine–pounders in a clump of trees less than twelve hundred yards away. Their fire was so accurate that the men who were not working the gun had to lie down in the ash–pit between the rails, planks being placed across the opening to give them protection. One day the Chinese put eight shells into the wall within a space of twenty feet, killing and wounding seventeen of the Welsh Fusiliers, who were at that time on guard.

The French and Japanese erected sand–bag barricades along the platform, and, lying down on the rails behind, fired through loopholes. Once or twice the fighting was so close as to be nearly hand–to–hand. Between the station and the Russian camp was an undefended gap of a quarter of a mile, studded thickly with Chinese graves, which afforded excellent cover, and enabled the Boxers to advance to within a short distance of the station. One night, indeed, a number of Boxers managed to creep up unseen, getting behind some empty trucks standing by the siding, cut off the French in the station, and the British in the engine–house. It was a moment of great peril, but fortunately some Sikhs of the Hong–Kong regiment, who were coming out to relieve the blue–jackets and marines, saw the situation, and attacked the enemy. A fierce fight, lasting some three hours, ensued, the Sikhs showing the greatest courage and presence of mind, and the assailants were in the end driven off with heavy loss. The allies, however, also suffered heavily; their casualties, which occurred chiefly among the French and Japanese, amounting to nearly a hundred and fifty. The Boxers, who had been armed with rifles from the arsenal, also showed great courage, many times sallying out from between the trucks and charging with fixed bayonets, a weapon of whose use they knew so little that those on a number of the rifles picked up after the fight were still fixed in the scabbards.

The British Club had been turned into a hospital at first, but it was found to be a great deal too exposed in position, and the wounded were removed into the Gordon Hall, where they were comparatively safe. The hospitals were excellently managed, and the wounded bore all their sufferings without complaint, although terribly harassed by the flies and afflicted by the great heat. The continual bursting of shells also troubled them greatly; the explosion was serious enough to men in sound health, and it was, of course, much more trying to those who were shaken by loss of blood and had their nerves much less under control.

The French priests behaved with great courage and humanity, feeding and protecting all the Christian Chinese who came to them, Catholic and Protestant alike. Many of the Chinese women were housed in the missions, and private firms sheltered numbers of them in their warehouses; but nevertheless the Chinese Christians suffered heavily, as their houses stood for the most part in exposed positions. When Rex was off duty as a volunteer he spent the greater part of his time in visiting these poor people, carrying rice and other necessities from his fatherʼs store–houses. He was surprised at their patience and resignation; they evinced the most touching gratitude for the welcome supplies that he brought them. The rice was generally cooked for them in the house, and Ah Lo always accompanied Rex with two pails full of the food, while Rex carried the smaller comforts in a basket.

CHAPTER XII

DELAYS

On the thirteenth the allies began a heavy bombardment of the native city, the guns being placed on a mud wall enclosing both the native city and foreign settlements. The British had sixteen guns of various sizes, and four Maxims; the Americans three guns and three machine–guns; the Japanese twelve mountain guns; the French six mountain guns; and the Austrians two Maxims and a Nordenfeldt. The Russians and Germans, who were encamped two miles away on the other side of the river, did not share in the bombardment. The cannonade was kept up with tremendous vigour, the British guns alone pouring in fifteen hundred shells in the course of the morning. So terrific was the fire that the Chinese batteries soon ceased to play.

Meanwhile an allied army of some five thousand men, under the command of the Japanese Brigadier–General Fukushima, the senior officer present, advanced under cover of darkness on the western side of the Peiho to a little arsenal about two miles to the north–west of the settlements. This force was composed of fifteen hundred Japanese, with two batteries of artillery, a British contingent under Brigadier–General Dorward, comprising one hundred and fifty blue–jackets, one hundred and fifty marines, one hundred and sixty men of the Welsh Fusiliers, one hundred of the Chinese regiment, one hundred and fifty of the Hong–Kong regiment, the Hong–Kong artillery, and the naval guns, also forty–five Austrian marines, nine hundred Americans under Colonel Meade, and nine hundred French under Colonel De Pelacot. The remainder of the Welsh Fusiliers and a number of blue–jackets were despatched at the same time to hold the enemy in check at the railway–station, while from their camp the Russians and Germans advanced in force on the east banks of the river to attack the batteries on the Lutai Canal. The best point of attack was the south–west angle of the city, as in this way they would have avoided the concentrated fire from the whole of the crenellated wall; but a canal intervened, and there was no means of bridging it, the Chinese having opened the sluices and flooded the country on both sides of it. The advancing force, moreover, would have been exposed to the fire of the Chinese fort two thousand yards away, on which were mounted several modern guns. It had been decided, therefore, to attack at the south gate, to which a narrow paved pathway ran in a straight line from the arsenal.

The troops were drawn up, the French on the right, the Americans on the left, and the Japanese, British, and Austrians in the centre.

The canal was formerly crossed at the arsenal by a small wooden bridge, but this had been burnt in order to keep the Chinese guns from going from the city to the race–course, from which they had for some days maintained a galling fire. The arsenal itself was not held in strength, being too much exposed to the Chinese fire, but a Maxim had been stationed in one of the houses by the bridge, to prevent the Chinese from repairing it. The French were the first to reach the remains of the bridge in order to take up their place on the right of the attacking force, and when they found that there was no means of crossing, they had to halt under cover of a very heavy fire from the Japanese sappers, until they had made it passable. The French and Japanese troops then crossed together, and proceeded along the pathway until they reached a ditch six feet wide, running at right angles to the pathway, and filled with stagnant water.

This ditch was about nine hundred yards from the wall. Crossing it the troops took shelter in a number of small houses a short distance beyond. Forty men were left to hold them, and two hundred more advanced along the causeway until they got under the shelter of the Chinese houses, situated a couple of hundred yards outside the city wall. The Japanese sappers threw up an entrenchment with great rapidity, and placed bridges across one or two ditches which obstructed the advance.

The attack was then developed as had been arranged. The Welsh Fusiliers and the Americans on the extreme left proceeded towards the western angle of the city wall, the advance company taking cover in a creek some three hundred yards from the wall, and the remainder settling themselves a little to the rear behind mud walls and any inequalities in the ground. Their position was an unpleasant one, for in addition to being exposed to the fire from the wall, they had to keep an eye upon a large body of Chinese horse which had drawn up just out of range in readiness to charge if opportunity offered itself. Unfortunately, two hundred of the American infantry, under Colonel Liscum, instead of continuing forward, turned almost at a right angle and marched directly across the front of the attack until they reached a position near the French settlements. They were in formation of sections of four, and were exposed to a terrific rifle fire from the whole line of the city wall and also from the Chinese houses lying between the wall and the settlements. They changed their line of advance, but did not better their position, and were obliged to take shelter behind the Chinese graves, with which the plain was studded. These graves are only small mounds of earth, and though they found protection behind them from direct fire from the walls, they were still exposed to a flanking fire from the houses. Colonel Liscum, while gallantly steadying his men, was killed, and four officers and seventy–two men were wounded.

An attempt was made to send them fresh ammunition. Captain Ollivant of the Chinese regiment was killed in a gallant attempt to draw off the line of fire with some ammunition mules, and the Americans were forced to lie where they were until nightfall, when they fell back to the arsenal with their wounded and dead, which amounted to just one–half of their whole number. In the course of the day Lieutenant Phillimore of the Barfleur had managed to get out to them with a few blue–jackets, and had assisted them materially, both in holding their position and in carrying back to the arsenal those who had fallen. Major Pereira of the 1st Chinese Regiment, who was next to them, went out to them twice to bring in their wounded. He was hit himself in so doing. His regiment had nineteen casualties, including two officers.

When the bombardment had somewhat weakened the Chinese fire, General Fukushima ordered the general advance. Unfortunately he received word that his men had effected a lodgment on the city wall, and had actually got inside the town, and he therefore requested General Dorward to stop the fire of the British guns, which was, of course, instantly done. Had they been kept in action half an hour longer the loss to the Japanese would have been considerably less, for the gunners had the exact range, and were causing great destruction. However, the whole line of attack pushed forward and took shelter in the houses outside the walls, and as soon as it was discovered that the Japanese were not in the city, all the guns again opened fire. This was maintained steadily all the afternoon, the fire of the large naval guns being particularly accurate. While the Americans were being retired from their advanced position in the evening these guns were ordered to sweep the Chinese barricades and line of defended houses, from which Colonel Liscumʼs force had been so much harried all day. The Americans were lying about three hundred yards from this fringe, and if they attempted to move they were in great danger of being hit, but the fire of the British guns was so accurate that the retiral was carried out without one casualty.

Early in the afternoon a company of marines was ordered to reinforce the Japanese and French, and the Austrian marines went with them. The fire was so heavy and accurate that a number of blue–jackets under Captain Beattie hurried forward to their support. A heavy cross–fire was poured upon them, and several of the men fell, among them being an able seaman named MʼCarthy. Basil Guy, one of the Barfleurʼs midshipmen, ran back and bound up his wounds. He then tried to lift the disabled man and carry him in, but, finding the weight too heavy for him, he ran forward again, got the stretcher, and returned with another seaman to assist him. As the rest of the party were all now under shelter, the whole fire of the enemy was concentrated upon him, and the ground was literally ploughed up with shot. MʼCarthy was placed on the stretcher, but as he was being carried in, he was again hit, and this time killed. For this gallant action Guy was awarded the Victoria Cross, being the only midshipman who had ever gained that honour.

The troops then advanced across the causeway, suffering heavily from the incessant rifle fire, and from the shell and shrapnel fire of two guns which the Chinese had posted near a water–mill at the right of the road. The causeway was not more than thirty feet in width, so that the troops were unable to extend, and being therefore in close order, afforded an excellent mark to the enemy. Unfortunately by this time the Japanese and British guns had expended all their ammunition, but one of the Hong–Kong guns had still a few rounds left, and directing its fire upon the Chinese guns which were doing so much mischief, brought their fire on itself, and so succeeded in enabling the column to pass along the causeway with far less damage than it would otherwise have suffered. The Chinese fire was on the whole surprisingly good, and showed that their artillerymen had been well instructed. While our own guns were for the most part using black powder, the Chinese were using smokeless, and consequently it was very difficult for our artillerymen to locate their exact position.

The troops were glad enough when night came on. The day had been hot, and though heavy showers had fallen in the early part of the morning, their water–bottles were soon exhausted, and they were compelled to drink the green stagnant water in the ditches, with the result that a great number of them afterwards suffered from dysentery. The losses had been very heavy, and the question of retirement was mooted, only, however, to be at once rejected. To retire would be to add enormously to the prestige of the Chinese and to lower the spirit of the troops. It was therefore resolved that the ground won must be held at all hazards, and the attack recommenced in the morning. All through the night the enemy kept up a desultory fire, which was a trying ordeal for the troops, fatigued as they were by the long dayʼs fight, during which they had been exposed for hours to a blazing sun, with but a very small supply of food. The Japanese suffered most severely, as the ground they were holding on both sides of the causeway was two feet deep in water, and they had therefore to remain standing all night.

Just before sunrise the Japanese sappers stole forward to attempt to blow in the outer city gate. They were met with a tremendous volley of musketry, and one ball cut the electric wire which was to have been used for firing the charge. Lieutenant Inawe, however, pluckily rushed forward with a lighted fuse, and escaped, almost miraculously, unhurt. Meanwhile one of the Japanese soldiers had pluckily climbed the inner wall and unbarred the inner gate, and the Japanese poured into the city, the Chinese flying before them in all directions. The Japanese were followed by the Welsh Fusiliers, the rest of the troops marching round on the broad city walls to keep as many of the enemy from escaping as possible. There was a good deal of fighting in the streets and firing from the houses, but the greater part of the Chinese troops had retired during the night, having lost heart when they found that their assailants maintained their position and would recommence their attack in the morning. The Chinese loss was estimated at about five thousand; that of the allies was under eight hundred, of which five hundred occurred in the ranks of the Japanese.

The streets were littered with Chinese uniforms and the red sashes and badges of the Boxers, of which they had divested themselves as they ran. Numbers of bodies of people killed by the shells lay about, but only two women were found among them, which seemed to show that the greater portion of the inhabitants had fled before the attack began, leaving the city to be defended by the Boxers and the Imperial troops. The effect of the lyddite shells from the heavy guns had been terrible; indeed the Chinese looked upon lyddite as a sort of death–dealing magic.

The tactics of the attacking troops had not been good, owing probably to the divided command. Had they been marched during the darkness they could have gained their position in the houses under the walls with comparatively slight loss, and could have blown in the gate and assaulted the city at once, instead of which they were halted a long way in front of the wall and then marched in broad daylight across an open plain devoid of cover, and halted for a couple of hours under fire while the bridge over the canal was being repaired. Moreover, almost all the troops were engaged in the operation, only a handful being left to guard the settlements, while a large body of Chinese cavalry kept hovering about some little distance away, and had they been under a competent leader, might have effected an entrance into the settlements and swept them from end to end. Still, the capture of Tientsin was worth the risk; it opened the road to Pekin, and relieved both Peiho and Shanghai from a danger that was every day increasing. It also conduced to the safety of every foreigner in the interior of China.

While the fighting had been going on, the Russians and Germans on the other side of the river circled round and stormed the batteries on the Lupi Canal, taking them with comparatively little opposition. During their advance one of the Chinese shells fell into a building inside the Russian line, in which, unknown to its occupants, dynamite was stored. The explosion was terrific; the windows of most of the houses in the settlements were shattered by it, although it occurred some way off on the other side of the river. The Russian general, who, with his staff, was close by at the moment, had his hand damaged by a falling building, his trumpeter was killed, and a number of men were knocked down by the force of the concussion. The total German and Russian loss was about one hundred and fifty killed and wounded. The Russians were aided by a four–inch gun from the Algerine and a twelve–pounder from the Terrible, which rendered most valuable aid, as the Russians had with them only seven twelve–pounders of an old pattern.

The British guns were not very satisfactory until the arrival of the Terribleʼs twelve–pounder. The Hong–Kong guns were obsolete, and the British troops had none others, with the exception of some very old–fashioned naval six–pounders. Indeed the scandalous fact was brought to light that none of the British ships on the China station were equipped with modern quick–firing guns.