SEYMOUR’S DASH FOR PEKIN
It will be remembered that Admiral Seymour had suggested that an
International Brigade should immediately start for Pekin on the 9th
June, and that not only had his colleagues agreed to the step being
taken, but had entrusted the command to him. The following account of
what took place came from the private diary of a brother officer who
served with the column, and is therefore, like the account of most of
the other operations, the story of an eyewitness. So many times is
one asked the question, “Why ever did Seymour try to relieve Pekin
with but 2000 men? Of course the thing was bound to be a failure,”
that one gets tired of giving the somewhat lengthy explanation
necessary to dissipate their ignorance; but enough has been said
in the previous chapters to show that no interference was believed
possible from the Imperial troops, in which case the force was
undoubtedly adequate. On the Continent the attempt was stigmatized,
by one whose eccentricity is well known, as “folly”; but this was not
the opinion of his Nationals on the spot, who were well to the fore
in all the fighting which took place, and who, by their courage and
bearing, set an example unhappily not often followed by some of the
other Continental contingents. Apart from this, it must be noted with
pride by all Britons, that the first step taken to help the European
ministers and the other foreigners in Pekin, originated with one of
their own countrymen, who conducted the hazardous enterprise with the
greatest intrepidity and skill.
It was believed that two days’ work, with a sufficient force, would
put the damaged railway line in sufficiently good order to allow of
the passage of trains, and on the 10th June five trains started with
a total force of 2060 men, composed of British, Germans, Japanese,
Austrians, Americans, French, and Russians. With the force went a few
engineers, and any available space was occupied by sleepers and other
plant for repairing purposes. On the 10th the trains made about 36
miles’ headway, and it was never doubted that the other 50 would be
negotiated in a day or two. Repairing the line, however, was found to
be killing work; but after a few miles of digging and plate-laying,
the pace at which the work was finished increased, and had it not
been for the fierceness of the sun and the scarcity of water, still
more might have been got out of the men, who seemed to enjoy the
novel experience. The bridges, of which there are a good number,
were the most difficult to repair; the Boxers had built huge fires
underneath them, which not only burnt the sleepers, but warped the
rails.
[Illustration: REPAIRING THE LINE OUTSIDE TIENTSIN.
[_facing page 72._]
[Illustration: CHARRED SLEEPERS AND WARPED RAILS ON THE LINE OUTSIDE
TIENTSIN.
[_facing page 72._]
On the 11th, the railway got worse and worse; the rails had been torn
up by hundreds of yards, and the permanent way had been destroyed as
far as it lay in the Boxers’ power. Several small bodies of Boxers
were seen in the distance, evidently waiting for the trains to pass
by before recommencing operations on the line. All the stations
which were passed had been burned and looted, and on arriving at
Lo-fa, the Boxers were found in strength. The British from the first
train got out and engaged them; several villages were cleared, and
forty of the enemy, who fought with fanatical courage although only
armed with swords and spears, were slain. Owing to repeated acts of
treachery, it was found necessary to slay all the wounded who did
not throw away their arms, several of our men having narrow escapes
from men shamming death. All the inhabitants of the surrounding
villages were either Boxers or had decamped, so the houses were burnt
and looted; grain, kettles, and bowls being among the most useful
articles found in them. Owing to the condition of the line, and the
little engagement referred to, only 10 miles’ progress was made; but
there were as yet no pessimistic opinions aired, though as a rule
these are common enough at the first sign of difficulties. On the
next day the line was worse still, and it was found impracticable
to advance more than a paltry four miles. This put a different
complexion on matters, for only two days’ provisions had been
brought, and recourse was had to the pigs and chickens which were
very plentiful in the villages. The well water, in several places,
was discovered to be poisonous, and in consequence of the general
impurity of all the water to be found, it was all boiled before being
used for drinking. Some of the glory of war was infused into the
day by decorating the trains with banners, which had been captured
from the Boxers in the engagement of the afternoon before; they were
nearly all of triangular shape, red in colour, and with various texts
and mottoes on them in black characters. A trolly was sent on ahead,
manned by eight of our marines, whose duty it was to scout; they got
surrounded by mounted Boxers, and killed twenty of them. As usual,
the enemy treated rifle fire with supreme indifference, and only fell
back on the advance of a company of bluejackets.
On Wednesday the 13th, Lieutenant Smith, the gunnery lieutenant of
the “Aurora,” was sent on ahead with fifty sailors, for the purpose
of exploring the line, and to guard against surprise. The men were
in light marching order and only carried a hundred rounds apiece,
with one day’s food and water-bottle. After proceeding for two or
three miles, they were attacked by about 1800 sword and spearmen.
A joss-house was hastily fortified, and six rushes of the enemy
were repulsed with heavy loss—about 150. On the retirement of the
Chinese for the sixth time, the ammunition was found to be getting
low, so the little force withdrew, and fought its way back without
any casualties. Unfortunately it was found necessary to abandon the
provisions. The whole day was spent in repairing the sidings and
line at Lang-Fang, a large and completely ruined station. A train
got through from Tientsin with a welcome mail, and stores of various
kinds, and reported that there were signs of the line having been
again tampered with in the rear; but that it was expected a good
service of trains would soon be running backwards and forwards which
would alone suffice to prevent any serious damage being done, unless
the Boxers used explosives, of which they did not possess any.
On Thursday, the trains were attacked by 2000 Boxers, who surprised
and cut to pieces five Italians on picket duty, who were playing
cards instead of keeping watch. On they went, charging Maxims
and magazine rifles as though it was an everyday matter; never
wavering, never stopping except to go through their bullet-charming
gesticulations, they just came on at a trot yelling “Tow-ah! Tow-ah!”
(Kill! Kill!) with a calm disregard of death which was as absurd
as it was pathetic. As an officer present with the foremost Maxim
said, “It seemed awfully unreal, this mowing down of men but a few
yards off.” They never got past the first train, whose crew were
mainly British. All around it they lay, and just in the wake of the
Maxim they lay in heaps. This gun had done its work well, the big
leaden bullet crushing, and rendering nerveless, any one that it
hit, whereas the humane nickel-coated bullet failed altogether to
stop these pertinacious swordsmen, unless it struck a vital spot.
At last the limit of fanaticism was reached, and the enemy retired,
having suffered terribly. Meanwhile a still more hotly contested
conflict had been waging at Lo-fa, where Lieutenant Colomb and fifty
men had been left in a fortified house, which they called “Fort
Endymion” after the name of their ship. They were attacked by 3000
Chinamen, but after some hard fighting, they drove the enemy off with
a known loss of 150 killed. An interesting feature of the attack
was the bringing of two prehistoric guns into action by the Boxers,
from which they fired railway bolts and smooth stones. The first
casualties, with the exception of the Italian picket, were caused by
these extraordinary weapons; one man being wounded through the right
lung by a stone.
[Illustration: SEYMOUR’S COLUMN—ARMOURED TRUCK WITH RAILWAY COOLIES.
[_facing page 77._]
[Illustration: CARRIAGES OCCUPIED BY SEYMOUR’S COLUMN FOR TEN DAYS.
[_facing page 77._]
On the 15th a train went back, and found that the line in rear of
Lo-fa was again completely torn up, and that there was no chance of
getting any more news from Tientsin; so the force once more found
itself with only two days’ provisions, and a quickly diminishing
supply of ammunition. Suspicion began to grow that the Regular troops
would soon commence active opposition to the advance; and it was felt
that, although Pekin would certainly be reached as long as there were
only sword and spearmen to contend with, considering the state of
the line, it would be well-nigh impossible if the troops abandoned
their hitherto neutral attitude. The expected 48 hours to Pekin
had already extended to a week; and beyond the fact of having got
half-way, and having slain some hundreds of Boxers with practically
no loss, the force was in a rather worse predicament than after the
first day’s work.
[Illustration: SEYMOUR’S COLUMN—SERVING OUT GROG.
[_page 77._]
On the 16th, the first train retired to Lo-fa, where the garrison
of “Fort Endymion” was relieved, and work was commenced again
on the rear part of the lines to try and open the all-important
communications. By dint of unstinted labour, eight miles were
repaired, and Yangtsung was reached again in the evening. The other
trains remained at Lang-Fang, and a fortified position near the
station was held by German sailors, and christened “Fort Gefion.”
All private stores were finished, and the service rations were used
for the first time. These were eked out with chickens, and the
everlasting black pigs which appeared to own no master, and roamed
the country at will. Needless to remark, they had not yet developed
the man-eating propensities for which they afterwards became noted.
The Yangtsun railway bridge was found to be totally destroyed;
it is the most important bridge on the whole line, being a fine
iron structure bridging the Pei-Ho river, half a mile below the
town from which it takes its name. On the 18th, those in the first
train endeavoured to get everything ship-shape for further service.
This was satisfactorily accomplished with the exception of perfect
cleanliness, which was rendered doubly hard by the total drying up
of most of the wells in the vicinity, which obliged one to wash both
one’s belongings and one’s self in the muddy and corpse—glutted
river. Those who performed the latter operation, in a somewhat
squeamish and perfunctory manner, little dreamt that very shortly
they would no longer hesitate to wash in it, but would be only too
glad to drink it as it was!
In the evening the other trains came down from Lang-Fang, to say
that “Fort Gefion” had been attacked, and that Imperial troops had
participated in the engagement.
It appears that the German garrison were unexpectedly attacked
by 4000 riflemen. Some British and French sailors moved to their
assistance, and in the course of some hard hand-to-hand fighting, 400
Chinese soldiers were killed. The total Allied loss was 6 killed and
48 wounded. At last the blow had fallen, and a foe by no means to be
despised had for the first time appeared on the scene.
The task had become well-nigh hopeless, and, as the lesser of the two
evils, it was decided to retire on Tientsin by way of the river.
A German detachment made a smart capture of some junks which were
making off, full of railway sleepers, and into them were placed the
wounded and what stores were left. The retirement was commenced on
Tuesday afternoon, the whole force being on the left bank of the
river, and the junks being towed by the railway coolies and the
prisoners. Before starting, all gear, except the food, ammunition,
and clothes which the men were wearing, was buried; among other
things that were thus lost being the officers’ full-dress uniforms,
which were brought because it was expected that on the arrival of the
force at Pekin there would have been ample occasion to wear them.
Three miles’ progress was made before dark, the men now proceeding
in heavy marching order, with half rations for two days in their
haversacks.
The first bivouac was miserable enough; damp mists rose from the
river, and in an hour or two’s time blankets became saturated, and
sleep out of the question. The mosquitoes on the river itself were
in countless numbers, and the wounded suffered terribly from their
attacks. On the morrow, resistance was met at each village, the
enemy, in most cases, being composed of both Imperial troops and
Boxers. These villages were taken at the bayonet’s point, one after
another, and the force pushed on as quickly as possible to the next;
the same sort of bayonet charge, the same kind of opposition to be
overcome, a few casualties on each side, a few captured rifles, and
the village was burnt. This last, although a tiresome and disgusting
task, was a military necessity; nevertheless it was a pitiful sight
to see old men and women wailing by the side of their burning houses,
left to their fate by their younger relations. In no single case were
these unfortunates molested by any of the British force, but in one
village, where two middle-aged men were captured after having been
seen fighting a few minutes previously, two sailors began to thrash
them with their fists. This of course was immediately stopped by an
officer, who, not understanding the position, began to upbraid the
offenders, finishing with words to the effect that the force were
not fighting with “peaceful villagers.” The men desisted, and having
saluted, were walking off, when one remarked: “Yes, I know them
peaceful villagers—peaceful villagers wot sells us chickens by day
and snipes by night.” During the day, a one-pounder Hotchkiss was
captured after the retreat of the enemy, who withdrew it as soon as
the charge commenced, and somewhat carelessly hid it in a swamp to
the rear of the village.
The Chinese cracker trick, which is really an exceedingly good
imitation of heavy independent rifle fire, was used a good deal by
the Chinese about this period; but when the first position was taken,
of course the burnt crackers told their own tale, and the tremendous
fire from the enemy’s trenches frightened no one again. Towards
evening the Allies made their first acquaintance with the “Jingal,”
a weapon on which, until quite recently, even the Imperial troops
had placed great reliance; they now formed the Boxers’ artillery. A
“Jingal” is nothing more nor less than a huge rifle, fashioned like
a modern Mauser without the magazine; they fire a very large leaden
bullet, the impulsive force being a proportionately large charge of
black powder. Of course their weight makes them too great a load for
one man, so they are carried and manned by two, or sometimes three.
In some cases the village carpenter had been requisitioned to make
them into guns of position, which was done by adopting the swivel
system, putting them on the top of large stakes which were firmly
driven into the earth.
After another uncomfortable bivouac, the force got under arms again
early next morning, and were marching in a long column by the river
bank, when a line of cavalry were perceived on the left front about
3 miles off. They were screened by a fringe of trees, and on account
of the distance no one was able to make them out sufficiently clearly
to be certain of their nationality. However, it was decided from
their formation, and the size of their horses, that they were Russian
Cossacks. The Russian colours were hoisted, and in answer came a
well-directed shell, which burst in unpleasant proximity to the
Germans. This was followed by others, and, in twenty minutes’ time
the column found itself heavily engaged with General Nieh’s army,
8000 strong, with four batteries. The column was disposed in the
following the manner; the Germans, Russians, and Japanese were on the
right side of the river, and the rest of the force on the left. The
natural features of the ground and all important points are mentioned
in the account of the battle which follows.
The forces on the left side took cover under a sand-bank, and the
British cleared No. 1 village and occupied it. It was soon seen that
No. 2 village was full of the enemy, and as our guns were kept fully
occupied by their artillery, so were unable to prepare the assault by
shell fire, the British with some Americans therefore again charged
and captured it. The Chinese fire at this point was very heavy and
well directed, and during the brief rush many casualties occurred,
among them being Captain Jellicoe—the British flag-captain, who
was dangerously wounded through the lung. At one time it seemed as
though the village would not be taken owing to the want of numbers,
but after a slight check, which was made under cover of some banks
about 100 yards from the point of attack, the sailors again pressed
forward, and the Chinese fled. No time was given to them to prepare
No. 3 village, and without a pause the charge was continued, ending
in the utter rout of the enemy, with heavy loss.
The allied line by this time consisted of British, Americans, and
French, all advancing on the Chinese infantry, with one flank resting
on the said sand-bank. The Chinese gradually retired over the other
end of it, and from its crest opened a steady fire. Two companies
of the “Centurion’s” men and some thirty Americans, the whole under
the direction of Captain M‘Calla, U.S.N. (a fine old Civil War
veteran), were sent to turn the enemy’s flank, which was done most
successfully. The enemy again lost heavily, and had the outflanking
force stayed where it was, all would have been well, but the men were
kept charging until they found themselves far in advance of the
supports, with No. 4 village in front of them, strongly occupied by
Imperial troops, and with a heavy fire coming from across the river
from the Chinese position on that side, whose occupants had not yet
been evicted by the Russians and Germans.
There was nothing for it but to retire, and with further loss in
officers and men, the force managed to extricate itself, with its
dead and wounded, from a somewhat delicate position. The battered
remnant of those companies were sent to be junk guard, and the fresh
men who had at present done nothing were moved up to the fighting
line. This advent had an immediate effect, and the Chinese, fighting
stubbornly and losing heavily, were pushed back steadily for about
4 miles. A defensive position, the best there was, was chosen for
the junks and field hospital, and as it was four o’clock in the
afternoon, the rear-guard halted, and prepared to bivouac. For three
more hours the advance guard pursued the flying foe, until the men
were in danger of becoming exhausted, when the halt was sounded, and
they retired on to the already mentioned position.
It is not too much to say that the British did practically all the
fighting, and with the exception of the Germans and Americans, the
other forces were hardly engaged. The men had been on the march for
sixteen hours, twelve of which had been spent in fighting; they were
without water to drink, and without time to eat, and even on their
return the Pei-Ho was the only refreshment obtainable. Five hours’
rest (not for the whole force, for some had to go on picket duty—an
arduous task for which some contingents had no great liking), was
all that was vouchsafed to the weary men, and at one o’clock next
morning the “Fall in” was sounded, and once more the column headed
for Tientsin. By this time there was so little ammunition left for
the field guns, that they were all placed in junks, and little enough
room did it leave for the wounded, whose numbers had been nearly
doubled by the previous day’s fighting. At 3 a.m. some firing took
place in the immediate front, and the marines (British) came upon a
Chinese outpost, who after the first few shots fled, leaving their
rifles. They had been placed on the outskirts of a small Chinese
town, which proved to be absolutely deserted.
Sleepy and with empty stomachs, plodding along through the oppressing
quietness where all should have been bustle and life, was a weird,
uncanny experience. It is on such occasions, in the grey of the early
morning, going to who knows what fate, with that awful feeling of
expectancy hanging over every one that the nerves get distraught and
the imagination, if allowed to wander, makes such jumpy creatures of
the finest men; so it was with feelings of relief that the force once
more found themselves in the open, and again marching along the river
banks. On leaving the town, the head of the force was challenged from
the other side of the river, from what in the puzzling light looked
like a wood. An interpreter went forward, and explained that the
force was friendly to the Chinese government, and desired nothing
better than to be allowed to pass on into Tientsin peaceably. A
conciliatory and satisfactory answer was given to this request, and
the force was moving on, when suddenly a tremendous artillery and
musketry fire was opened on them! Nothing but the darkness saved
the head of the column from total annihilation. As it was, however,
the force lay down and replied, as well as it was possible, to the
tremendous fire from the opposite bank.
Just before this happened, the junk with the guns foundered, and the
others broke adrift, and bid fair to drift right into the middle
of the enemy. Several of the poor wounded were shot again, as they
lay in agony fully exposed to the perfect hail of bullets which was
poured into them; and it looked as though they would be butchered to
a man. However, two splendid men, one from the “Centurion” and one
from the “Orlando” swam over the river and succeeded in towing them
back to the friendly refuge of a bend in the river, where they at any
rate got some shelter afforded by the bank.
One field gun and four machine guns were saved, but five field guns
and five machine guns were at the bottom of the river, and thus the
force was practically without artillery. In addition to this, most
of the foreign contingents were almost out of ammunition, whilst our
own stock was rapidly dwindling, till there were only a few boxes
in reserve. However, desperate plights are only to be coped with by
desperate measures, and it was decided that part of the force should
cross the river and charge the arsenal, for such was the enemy’s
position discovered to be, when objects became distinguishable. To
the comparatively fresh Russians the task was offered, but the honour
was refused, and eventually the whole of the British marines with 40
bluejackets were led over the river above the bend, and prepared for
the assault. There was cover available up to 200 yards of the arsenal
walls, and such was the surprise of the Chinamen at seeing some 200
marines and sailors advancing at the double, cheering lustily, that
they deserted the northern wall almost before they could fire a shot.
In the meantime the German sailors had moved down opposite to the
river gate of the arsenal, and by their fire, managed to keep under
that of the enemy’s field pieces from that direction. Fighting of
the fiercest description took place inside the enclosure, and for
some time the British barely held their own, possessing neither the
numbers nor the local knowledge of the enemy, who were able to harass
them considerably from buildings and other positions which our men
did not understand how to get at, because of the somewhat complicated
arrangement of the houses and moats, which were here, there, and
everywhere in the arsenal grounds.
After about an hour’s hard fighting, the place was cleared, and the
enemy’s guns were manned by our men and turned on to a village about
a mile away, into which the majority of the defenders had escaped.
Desultory fighting also took place on the left bank of the river,
and it was not until 3 p.m. that the whole force had crossed, and
had got the various positions assigned to them. Before this had
happened, the small British garrison had to repel repeated attempts
made by the Chinese infantry to retake the place; the Chinese loss in
their several advances being great. The first care, when the enemy
finally retired, was for the wounded, and these were all placed in as
comfortable quarters as could be found in the existing circumstances.
By four o’clock it was recognised what a prize had been captured.
It was a military store known as the Hsi-Ku arsenal, being about a
mile in circumference, along the whole length of which ran a mud wall
about 15 feet high and 12 feet broad on the top. The store-houses
were at the south end of the enclosure, and by virtue of a high
brick wall which enclosed them, were made into an inner line of
defence. Other houses were scattered here and there, and were used
as temporary barracks, etc. Confidence was completely restored by
this successful capture, and it was felt that had there been a
sufficiency of food and ammunition, the column might make an almost
indefinite resistance. Friday night passed comparatively quietly, but
at daybreak on Saturday the Chinese made another determined attack.
They actually charged right up to the south-west corner, and some
even got into the long rushes inside the embankment. Some marines,
under Captain Beyts of the “Centurion,” were marching to take up
their positions on the wall when they were surprised by these daring
spirits, and in the hand-to-hand fighting which followed, this
officer was unfortunately slain. The main attack was beaten off, but
the enemy did not cease to threaten others until about eleven o’clock.
At the first opportunity, the stores were examined, and to the
inestimable delight of all, there was found in them 15 tons of rice,
an almost unlimited supply of medical comforts and stores (which
had run out with the allies so completely that the pugarees from
the officers’ and marines’ helmets had all been used for bandages),
besides forty-five .303-in. Maxims, with 7,000,000 rounds of
ammunition, thousands of Mannlicher repeating carbines and rifles
(also with ammunition), and large numbers of excellent quick-firing
field guns, which included two pom-poms. The discovery was of such
value that it was difficult for one to believe one’s own eyes. Here
was Lee-Metford ammunition enough to last the British force for
months; modern repeating rifles sufficient to re-arm all the rest of
the force whose ammunition was low—which was immediately done—guns,
and machine guns, in such numbers that it would have been possible
to mount one at every fiftieth yard; and food which, though it was
better suited to the Chinese stomach than to that of Europeans,
nevertheless, would serve to keep the whole force alive for some
weeks.
One of the miserable sand-storms, which occur with some frequency in
the summer months in this district, raged all Saturday afternoon,
greatly adding to the general discomfort. Nothing had been heard
from Tientsin, now only just above six miles distant, and it seemed
as though the force would have to stand a somewhat lengthy siege.
During the afternoon a well was dug, from which the men were able to
get some comparatively good drinking water, for the first time for
days; the only other work that was done being the mounting of guns,
and the removal of the wounded into the now empty field gun store.
At night rockets were fired and blue lights burned, but no response
came from Tientsin, and it was feared that the settlements were in
as dire need as the Admiral’s column. That the country swarmed with
troops was known from the story of a wounded prisoner, who admitted
that the attempts to retake the place had been made with twenty-five
battalions (nominally) 500 men in each, but probably of not more
than 300 to 400, and that the troops were much discouraged at their
non-success and heavy losses. The last attack had been pressed with
the utmost determination, and European tactics had been employed
throughout. The troops employed were men with a reputation second
only to that of the Shantung army, which is commanded by that able
and clear-sighted viceroy, Yuan-Shi-Kai; and it speaks volumes in
their favour that they should have fought as well as they did, after
their enormous losses in the previous engagements.
On Sunday morning the defence was rearranged, the British and Germans
sharing the three most dangerous walls, the Americans and Russians
the fourth wall, while the French and Japanese did sentry work,
picket duty, and defended the inner line. Some tents were discovered,
and were pitched forthwith; they afforded a welcome shelter from the
sand which penetrated everywhere else. The enemy amused themselves
with a long-range fire until ten o’clock, when they attacked the
Americans and Russians on the north front. Their fire caused several
casualties among the British on the west bank, entirely enfilading
them, so the greater part of them reinforced the Americans, and in
a short time the attack recoiled and fizzled out. Their snipers,
however, were very busy all day, and it was only by choosing picked
shots and placing them in advantageous positions that the men could
get any rest from their annoying fire. In the afternoon, the native
city and some forts further down the river were vigorously shelled,
but they appeared to be busily engaged in the opposite direction,
and only occasionally replied. The wounded were given a treat in the
shape of some horseflesh for dinner; it had belonged to a Chinese
officer, who was shot with his horse during the morning’s attack. It
was unfortunate that no more was procurable, for the wounded numbered
230, and what is one horse among so many?
The total losses up to date had been 62 killed and 230 wounded,
including—British, 27 killed, 97 wounded; Germans, 12 killed, 62
wounded; Russians, 10 killed, 27 wounded; Americans, 4 killed, 28
wounded; Italians, 5 killed, 3 wounded; Japs, 2 killed, 3 wounded;
and French, 1 killed, and 10 wounded, out of an original force of
2066, composed of British 915, Germans 450, Russians, 312, French
158, Americans 112, Japanese 54, Italians 40, Austrians 25.
Day broke on Monday 25th without any alarm, and the only signs of the
enemy were a small force of infantry, and a strong column of cavalry,
who were descried at the other side of the railway embankment.
At about half-past eight, two of the forts down the river were seen
to be shelling in a direction neither towards the settlements nor
Seymour’s arsenal, and it was conjectured that a relief force was
coming at last. Seymour immediately shelled the forts and native
city vigorously, trusting or desiring to assist the hoped-for
relievers, and managed to draw the fire of two or three guns on to
his own position. At half-past nine, sharp rifle fire was heard,
and the Chinese cavalry were seen to retire, followed by their
infantry, who did not appear to take any part in the engagement;
and shortly afterwards the head of a European column was seen
advancing unmolested across the plain on the other side of the
river in the direction of the arsenal. Half an hour after this the
forces had joined hands, and thus a march, which, if only for the
gallantry of the men and resource of the officers who made it,
deserves to remain famous, was rapidly drawing to what was perhaps
only a semi-successful conclusion. The attempt to reach Pekin had
failed, but the great damage done to the enemy, both in human life
and in warlike stores, together with the immensely difficult but
masterly withdrawal, served to almost turn the scale in favour of the
Europeans.