PEI-YANG, SECOND SIEGE OF TIENTSIN
The next day, June 27th, the Russian General decided that it was
necessary to take the large eastern arsenal, about three and a
half miles away, as it was known that it sheltered large bodies
of the enemy, besides commanding the railway communication to
Taku. Immediately the Commander-in-Chief heard of the project, he
offered British assistance, but the Russian General replied that he
felt able to take the place without aid, and so orders were given
that the British would be granted a day’s rest, after the arduous
operations of the last few days. This was welcome news, and officers
and men changed all their apparel, and made themselves comfortable
preparatory, as they thought, to having a good day’s sleep.
At 11 a.m., however, the “general assembly,” was sounded, and orders
were given that the utmost dispatch was necessary. In an incredibly
short space of time, 500 of the naval brigade, two companies of the
Wei-Hai-Wei regiment, and 50 American marines, under Major Waller,
were under arms, and ready to proceed in any direction. It transpired
that the Russians had been brought to a standstill by shell fire,
while yet at extreme rifle range, and that their own fire had been
rendered singularly ineffective by a very annoying mirage, which
made it next to impossible to judge ranges at all accurately, or to
discern any details at the point of attack.
When the force got under way, the diversity of uniforms caused much
amusement. The marines were in their shirt sleeves, except those
from the “Terrible,” who still donned their khaki, which they had
worn in South Africa only a few months before. The bluejackets were
in their ordinary blue ‘jumpers,’ but a great many of the officers
had indulged in the luxury of a clean white duck uniform, which of
course they had no time to change; so they perforce had to remain by
far and away the most conspicuous objects on the fields. On their
way, the force passed the 12-pr. from the “Terrible,” which had
been ineffectively shelling the position at 5000 yards’ range, and
was waiting for more ammunition. This arrived just as they passed,
and the gun began to drop shells with great accuracy on the base
of the large chimneys, which betrayed the whereabouts of the powder
manufactory, and other store-houses and workshops.
Advancing under cover of the line, which connected the arsenal with
the railway, the reinforcing column reached a point where the cover
ceased, and it became necessary to deploy under fire. On the British
right lay long lines of white-coated Russians, with three maxims and
a battery, and it was thought from their distance to the arsenal—some
3,000 yards—that they had delivered an attack, but had been beaten
off. This proved not to have been the case. They had merely exceeded
even their usual slowness in the attack, and had fired volleys
steadily for some time at an object, the detail of which, as I have
said, was invisible. Eventually, finding that the Chinese meant to
stay, their commanding officer had sent in for reinforcements.
As they were all under some sort of cover, and our men were obliged
to lie down in the open on a perfectly flat plain, it wasn’t long
before the Chinese turned their undivided attention to the British,
and subjected them to a well-directed shrapnel fire from two field
guns, mounted in the south-west corner of their position.
After waiting for ten minutes, a message was sent to the Russian
General that the British wished to advance to within effective range.
The reply to this was to the effect that the advance would begin
in five minutes. Ten minutes passed, but no advance, so another
message was sent saying that the British would advance alone, if the
Russians did not move forward in ten minutes’ time. The same reply as
before was received; but as no movement became visible for a quarter
of an hour, and several men had been hit by shrapnel bullets, the
“advance” was sounded and the line swung forward. Before the sound
of the bugle had died away, there was a tremendous explosion in the
arsenal, caused either by the “Terrible’s” 12-pr., which was now
making beautiful shooting, or by the Chinese themselves. Our gun had
also knocked out a small quick-firer, which had greatly harassed the
Russians, and had temporarily silenced one of the two guns, which
were playing on the left of the advance.
It was not long before the enemy understood that the British, were
trying to envelop their extreme right, which would be one of their
lines of retreat, and the first signs of this discovery were the
almost entire cessation of firing on their left, and a corresponding
increase on the British line of advance, which, however, gradually
became normal as they got nearer and nearer.
The loss in the Chinese trenches was probably inconsiderable, for but
little firing was indulged in; the trenches afforded excellent cover,
and of course the mirage was another great source of protection. The
advance was a quick one, and it was with difficulty that the men
could be restrained from charging when the fire began to grow hot,
and casualties to take place. When the fighting line was within 300
yards of the walls, bayonets were fixed and the “charge” was sounded.
This proved too much for the enemy, who could be plainly seen to be
leaving the walls in twos and threes, and who appeared to be all
making for the right of their position. Unfortunately for them, the
marines had pushed far enough forward to inflict heavy loss on them
as they ran, and the Chinese, who at first attempted to retain some
kind of order in their retreat, were compelled to scatter, and became
a disorganized mob. At this juncture some 4000 Boxers attacked the
left of the British line in the rear, and were not noticed until
they were within a quarter of a mile. It was lucky they had not come
on before, for the line had had their hands quite full with the
task of turning the enemy out of his position in front, and any
confusion must have greatly helped the enemy in their retreat, even
if it had not resulted in the attack being rolled back. As it was,
the Chinese regiment, who were in support, coolly turned about, and
drove them back handsomely, by a well-directed fire which inflicted
some loss. The only regrettable incident in this little diversion was
the slaying and dismemberment of two wounded marines, who in some
unaccountable manner had been missed by the stretcher parties and
left in the rear, right in the path of the Boxers, into whose hands
they fell. That they had made a fight for it, was evident by the
dead bodies of two Boxers, one of whom had been shot, and the other
bayoneted.
All that was left of these poor fellows was interred on the spot.
Once inside the ramparts, all opposition ceased, and the only
casualty which occurred there, was to a bluejacket, who was killed by
some lurking Chinaman, who fired through a window of a hut at a range
of about two yards. The man died instantly, but his death was avenged
by his slayer being bayoneted by a couple of bluejackets, who rushed
into the house and brought out his dead body.
So eager were the last party of the enemy to escape from the
Russians, who by this time had entered on the other side, that they
rushed madly across the front of a strong party of British, whom they
did not observe until too late. Many were slain. As usual the want
of cavalry was severely felt, and it was a heartbreaking scene to
see the masses of fugitives, numbering in all about four thousand,
streaming across the plain in a hopeless rout, without being able
to launch a few squadrons of lancers at them to complete their
discomfiture. It was hopeless to follow them with infantry alone, and
the men had to content themselves with lining the deserted walls,
and pouring in a hot fire until they realised that the Chinese were
out of range. Of course the Russians claimed the lion’s share, and
promptly took the place into their possession, and began to loot it
thoroughly.
In the buildings of the naval college were some magnificent
astronomical instruments, besides models, and a splendid library of
standard works, all in English, but to the ignorant Russian soldiery
they had no monetary value, and so too often their fate was to be
bayoneted, or hammered to pieces by the butts of their rifles.
The British force withdrew as soon as the enemy were out of sight,
and it had become evident that the allies were in undisputed
possession of the arsenal; and the Russians were left in sole
command, with the proviso that the Union Jack should be kept flying
as long as the place was in European hands.
The day’s operations had been very important, for besides the immense
moral effect it must have had on the enemy, who had been turned out
of a good strategic and defensive position, it practically made
the Russian and German camps on that side of the river immune from
attack. The moral effect was so great, moreover, that for two days
the enemy appeared to be entirely cowed, and no further operations,
except the usual desultory bombardment, were indulged in by either
side.
The allies took advantage of the rest, and sent down most of the sick
and wounded of Seymour’s column to be attended to at the fleet. On
arriving there, they were immediately sent down to Wei-Hai-Wei, where
there were better arrangements for their comfort. Reinforcements
arrived in the shape of a regiment of Japanese infantry, and on the
29th the men from H.M.S. “Alacrity” rejoined their ship. On the 30th
too, the station again became the scene of a desperate struggle
culminating in another Chinese reverse.
The enemy’s guns commanding this important position were extremely
well placed. The guns themselves were completely hidden, but the
gunners from their emplacements could just see the roofs of the
station buildings, of which they had the range so accurately that
they repeatedly made the place too warm for the Allies’ infantry, who
perforce had to take to trenches in the open.
Up to this time, however, the Chinese had made no attempt to cut
the river communications, and guns and troops were steadily being
landed at Taku and sent up to the front by tugs and lighters. On
the 30th the Governor-General of Port Arthur arrived, in the person
of Vice-Admiral Alexieff, so that Tientsin was beginning to reach
the unenviable state of having so many commanding officers of the
same rank, that it was always uncertain how the various necessary
dispositions of one force would be received by the others; in fact it
was a case of the proverbial “too many cooks, etc.”
About this time, the enemy received large reinforcements, matters
looked very serious again, and martial law was proclaimed.
On July 2nd, the British headquarter barracks “Barfleur” had an
extremely narrow escape from fire. The ‘godown’ next door caught
alight in some unaccountable manner, and burned with the utmost fury,
causing great anxiety for the safety of the food and ammunition in
the barracks.
It was a miserably wet day, and the men could procure practically
no appliances to get it under, but although the barrack roof and
shutters caught fire and smouldered, the excellent work done by all
hands saved the building, and in three or four hours the ‘godown’
burnt itself out. The flames had not been in progress for ten minutes
before it became quite evident what were the contents of the house;
thick streams of boiling sugar poured out of the windows, doors,
and every crevice in the wall, until at last the bund in front of
the barracks, and the spacious yard behind, were veritable ponds of
molasses, about a foot deep. An attempt was made to clear up the
mess made by the still warm mixture, but it proved abortive, so much
so that an unwary company of little Japs got literally stuck in it,
looking for all the world like so many flies on a fly-paper. In the
evening Midshipman Donaldson died of his wounds, two in number, which
he received in his first engagement. He had been shot in the neck,
and again through the right lung, the latter proving fatal at the
commencement of the rainy season, which had been expected for a week
or so.
On the 3rd, matters took a turn for the worse, and the enemy
became more pressing in their attacks, and more steady in their
bombardment. The fighting at the station was constant and severe, and
had it not been for the reinforcements, it looked as if the defence
must have been worn down under the incessant strain. The women and
children all went down to Taku by command of Admiral Seymour, except
a few who elected to continue their work of mercy in the hospitals,
and who were allowed to remain.
On the night of the 4th, a strong body of the enemy arrived from
the southward, and proceeded to burn the two magnificent country
houses out by the racecourse, which, needless to say, were owned by
Europeans, but which had been untouched as yet. The same force formed
a camp in the racecourse,—which, with its surroundings, was a very
strong natural position,—and continued to harass the concessions from
it with artillery. The enemy also closed in on the settlement with
their other guns to such an extent, that a determined effort was made
on Friday to dislodge some of them. The most annoying gun of all was
a 6-pr. which was mounted within 500 yards of the French settlement,
but whose exact position was not clear; so a reconnoitring party was
sent out to discover its whereabouts, the troops being two companies
of bluejackets from H.M.S. “Barfleur,” part of the Wei-Hai-Wei
regiment, and some Americans who were kept in reserve. The movement
was successful, and the enemy unmasked their position, a brisk rifle
fire being maintained for about an hour, when, having discovered the
enemy’s strength, numbers, and dispositions, the Europeans retired
without loss.
In the afternoon, the native city was subjected to a concentrated
fire from every gun that the Allies possessed, and surmising that
the Chinese would be paying more attention to the bombardment than
to the French settlement, it was decided that the gun which had been
located in the morning should be attacked in the afternoon, when
the bombardment was at its height. At one o’clock, fire was opened
on the city from twenty-five guns. Thirteen of these were British:
five 12-pr. from the “Terrible”; four 7-pr. M.L. (an Indian mountain
battery); two 14-pr. Krupps captured from the enemy at the taking
of Taku forts; one 6-pr. Q.F. naval gun; and one 9-pr. M.L., also
naval. Six of the others were Japanese, and the remaining six were
French. The enemy made a spirited reply to the bombardment, and their
artillerists made some excellent practice, hitting the sand bags
around the naval guns several times. The 6-pr. had its back-sight
shot away, and a pickaxe lying in the gunpit was also destroyed. The
casualties, considering everything, were ridiculously small, and
although the enemy’s fuses were accurately set, and the number of
blind shell but few, yet the fire proved singularly ineffective.
The effect of the Allies’ fire, on the contrary, was soon visible.
The pagodas dotted all over the city, which were used by the Chinese
as look-out towers, crumbling up and falling in, burning themselves,
and setting light to other buildings, was indeed a sharp reminder of
the past three weeks, when the Allies had been impotent to reply. The
city, like all other Chinese towns, was densely built, and thickly
populated; and under the fire, which lasted for four hours, many of
the inhabitants must have lost their lives. One very sad incident
occurred at the height of the artillery duel. The shells used by
the captured Chinese guns were of a variety known as ringed shell,
and were of an excessively sensitive nature. To prevent accidents,
while loading they had a plug in the head of each, which acted as a
safety arrangement until the weapon was fired. In some way this had
become displaced in one of them, and on placing it in the breech it
exploded, blowing one of the marine gunner’s arms off, and wounding
several others. The two guns were not afterwards employed; they are
now filling the position of trophies at Whale Island—the Naval School
of Gunnery near Portsmouth. About half-past two, another move was
made in the direction of the object of the morning’s reconnaissance;
the composition of the force being the same, with the addition
of a 9-pr. gun for which it was hoped to find a position, whence
the enemy’s gun could be silenced, before starting the attack.
Unfortunately the Chinese had evidently anticipated some movement
of the kind, for they had reinforced their position strongly, and
fighting commenced before the attacking force had got 300 yards away
from the French settlement. It soon became evident that a hopeless
task lay before them; the position for their gun, which had been
selected carefully in the morning, was now full of the enemy, and the
houses in their front were positively teeming with Imperial troops
who kept up a hot fire on anything in the shape of a hat, boot, or
rifle that was visible. A flanking movement was impossible because
of the very limited space in which they fought, and for the same
reason only a very small number of the troops engaged could come
into action. This did not apply to the enemy, because the Allies
were in reality attacking the vertex of a triangle, whereas the
Chinese were defending the base. The Wei-Hai-Wei regiment was in the
fighting line, and fought most doggedly for some time, but finding
it impracticable to advance, and the casualties becoming rather
heavy, the whole force fell back on the French barricade, their rear
protected by the two companies of seamen from the “Barfleur,” who
retired by sections, firing as they went, until the whole force moved
into safety. It was just before the retirement commenced that the
officer in command of the fighting line (Major Bruce) was severely
wounded, at the same moment that Midshipman Esdaile received two
wounds which shortly proved fatal.
The Chinese were so unaccustomed to seeing the backs of the Allies,
that they screwed up enough courage to commence a charge which was
never finished, because those in rear saw the prompt death which was
meted out to the first of their comrades who broke cover.
On reaching the barricade, the men took shelter, and waited for a
counter attack. There were very angry men behind the barrier of
merchandise that afternoon; their anger was expressed by their rather
curious words; they talked about having to retire, in language one
does not use in conversation with friends, and but little of which
would be found in any dictionary. They got slightly better humoured
when some of the officers, who were equally worried, and who only
expressed their annoyance in slightly milder terms, began to talk
about the bayonet; but they relapsed into their usual excellent
self-control, when this proposal was negatived, as being too
desperate a remedy to employ for the mere gratification of the men’s
passions. The barricade was manned, and all Chinamen who showed
themselves became the objects of much attention.
After waiting for some time, two Boxers, armed only with swords, ran
round a corner about 100 yards away, and appeared to be endeavouring
to urge the Imperial troops to charge. Their instant fate, however,
must have had a diametrically opposite effect!
When everything became quiet, the force marched back to barracks,
very sick at the non-success of their venture. However, the gun did
not again fire from this position, so it may be supposed that the
Allies had succeeded in frightening the enemy pretty badly, even if
they did not inflict any very great loss upon them.
The next two days were spent in mounting two 4-in. guns which arrived
from the “Algerine” and “Phœnix,” while the Chinese endeavoured to
drive the Allies’ guns off the mud wall near the wool-mill. Although
shelled from five different places, the guns were excellently served,
and succeeded in silencing three of the hostile guns which had
advanced to within but little more than 2000 yards’ range.
On the 8th poor young Esdaile was buried, and laid close to
Donaldson, the other midshipman who had died from wounds a few days
previously—whose greatest friend he had been. The two had been
inseparable in life, and by some fatal decree it was ordained that
death should claim them alone, out of all the midshipmen landed, many
of whom were more or less severely wounded.
The cemetery was but 200 yards from the gas-works, and during the
funeral service, the Chinese were most persistent in trying to
destroy the light supply. Luckily, they could not see the gasometers,
and so had to fire by guess-work; and although the houses and
walls in their immediate vicinity suffered heavily, the gas-works
themselves were untouched.
Now for the first time it was noticed that the enemy were threatening
the river, and as the importance of keeping this only means of
communication open was vital, the Japanese General proposed to
intercept the movement, drive the enemy back, and if possible let the
day’s work culminate in the capture of the Hi-Kuan-Su arsenal, which
it will be remembered was a small arsenal about a mile and a half to
the westward.
Accordingly, at half-past two on the morning of the 9th, a force of
2200 men, comprising Japs, British, and Russians, left by the Taku
gates to endeavour to surprise the enemy in his advanced positions.
At about four o’clock the first shots were fired a mile before the
racecourse was reached, and in a few minutes the engagement became
general. After a brief struggle the Japs shelled them out of their
trenches, and driving them back across the plain, managed to get into
them with their cavalry, who, despite the paucity of their numbers,
charged through and through the fugitives, and slew some 240.
Much surprise and chagrin were felt at the total disappearance, for
a time, of the enemy’s guns, which had been located the evening
before, but after a brilliant bayonet charge in a village—in which
not a shot was fired, but 150 Chinamen lost their lives—the guns were
discovered, half hidden under some rubbish.
The next thing to be done was to change front to the right, and
attack the arsenal, which was only about three-quarters of a mile
distant. It was first subjected to a heavy shell fire from the
Japanese and Indian artillery, who burst clouds of shrapnel all over
its face, and who were in turn shelled by two very small, but very
diligent, quick-firing field guns. The latter had bad luck, for
although they kept up an exceedingly rapid and very accurate fire,
the damage done to the Allies was practically _nil_. The shells
appeared to be too small to do any considerable damage, even if
exactly placed, and became, as the day went on, contemptible as far
as danger went, though admirable in their pertinacity and the skill
with which they fled to their harmless destination.
When the way had been prepared by the artillery, the advance
commenced, the British and Japanese making the frontal, the Americans
a flank attack. The resistance was trifling, and the arsenal was
taken possession of at about ten o’clock. From the cover of the walls
the enemy were harassed in their retreat by rifle and gun fire, but
it is improbable that their losses were at all heavy. It was at first
proposed to garrison the place, but eventually it was decided to
abandon it, for many reasons.
Unfortunately, that part which faced the native city was not defended
by any wall, or entrenched in any way, and as the distance was but
about 2000 yards, it was open to long-range rifle fire which would
soon have made it untenable, to say nothing of the enemy’s artillery,
which could have speedily demolished every building.
Then again, there would have been the communications to keep open,
which, although it would have been a comparatively easy task, was
imposing needless work on the troops; consequently, after everything
of military worth had been destroyed, the force began their return
journey. They were assiduously shelled from the precincts of the
city, and fired upon by concealed snipers for the whole distance, and
unfortunately lost several men.
Soon after this, on the arrival of further reinforcements, it was
rumoured that plans were being matured, by the carrying out of which
the native city should be stormed and occupied.
Accordingly, no one was much surprised when, two nights later, orders
were given to the naval brigade to be ready to march out with the
Russians at 2 a.m. The British, Japanese, and Americans were to
attack the southern gate, while the French and Russians were to have
operated on the other bank of the river. The men were called at a
quarter past one, and, as the old adage that “an Englishman fights
best on a full belly” is still very true, they were fed preparatory
to departure.
Unfortunately the message to start never came: instead came a Russian
who “was very sorry, but would every one go to bed again, as somehow
or other their sappers hadn’t been able to prepare the way.” As one
of the officers remarked, “This was disquieting news, for to turn
in at 2 a.m. with one’s belly full of boiling porridge, is not half
such fun as scrapping with Chinamen, nor is it so healthy.” Be that
as it may, the haunting nightmare, which it may safely be inferred
visited that officer, was not allowed to have a free hand in the
headquarter barracks that morning, for suddenly the enemy opened on
the settlement with a terrific shell fire, which capsized one of
the chimneys over the officer’s sleeping room, and filled the whole
place with dust and smoke. One shell burst in the men’s quarters,
and by the extraordinary fatalism which pursued the “Centurion’s”
men throughout the operations, the only man hit belonged to that
ship. He, poor fellow, was the only “Centurion” man in barracks.
Even this alarm was not the last, for at four o’clock a marine,
breathless and capless, rushed in, and reported that the station
was being attacked by a large force, who were fighting with more
than their ordinary bravery, and who were gradually enveloping the
position. B company “Barfleurs”, and the company of the Hong-Kong
regiment were immediately despatched to reinforce the defenders,
who consisted of the “Terrible’s” marines and some Frenchmen, whose
ammunition was practically exhausted. The Pathans crossed the river
and advanced by a somewhat circuitous route along the railway line,
on to which all the empty trucks had been shunted from the station,
and which afforded good cover. On this occasion, however, the trucks
were tenanted, and a sergeant had just time to yell “Chinese in the
trucks!” when he was shot dead, and a heavy fire was opened on to the
remainder of the company. Without a moment’s hesitation the Indians
went in with the bayonet, and within a minute or two this part of the
enemy were in full retreat. B company moved up by a more direct path,
being greeted, while crossing the river, by a shrapnel which burst
right above the company, but, marvellously enough, hit no one.
On arriving at the station, matters were found to be even worse than
the man had said. Some of the enemy were ensconced behind a bank some
30 yards to the front, and their fixed bayonets could be seen as
they moved to and fro, evidently summoning up courage for a charge,
in the event of which the little garrison would only have escaped
annihilation by a miracle. But little firing was going on, our men
husbanding their last nine rounds each for the final rush, and the
enemy evidently not liking to expose their valuable carcases to take
aim. Certainly the enemy in the rear had been keeping up a hot, but
comparatively innocuous fire, whilst those in front occasionally
“eased off” without taking any aim at all; perhaps invoking Joss to
find a satisfactory resting-place for their bullets.
On the arrival of reinforcements, however, the Chinese finally made
up their minds that it wasn’t good enough, and at once commenced
to retire. As it was now getting light, and they had 100 yards of
open ground to traverse, they lost heavily from the deliberate and
accurate fire which burst out with renewed vigour from the station,
and the open was quickly strewn with more of war’s victims. The
retreat was not continued very far, and on reaching the excellent
cover afforded by the graves, already mentioned, they resumed a
galling rifle fire before again withdrawing. Immediately they had
retired, their artillery opened fire, and the Allies had again to
leave the locomotive shed, the walls and roof of which were by this
time absolutely pulverized; and it would be rash on the part of any
one to hazard an estimate of the number of shell marks which it
bore. Very soon, however, the Japs and Russians sent detachments
of men to the threatened point, and all fear of the success of the
Chinese attack was at an end. Towards eight o’clock the enemy planted
banners on two of the biggest mounds as a sign of defiance, but
finding that they attracted our fire, they soon hauled them down and
began to retire sullenly under cover of a heavy shelling from our
guns. With the exception of the first fight at the station, this,
which proved to be the last, was the most severe. Up to date the
enemy’s tactics had been childish in the extreme, and each previous
attack had been heralded by a terrific storm of rifle fire. On this
occasion, however, they had presumably got into position to resist
the projected Russian attack of the night before, and, finding
themselves so close to the coveted station, attacked it vigorously on
ascertaining that the movement had fallen through. This is of course
merely conjecture, but there is much to be said for such a line of
argument, for their knowledge of every move, and indeed every plan,
inside the settlement, throughout both sieges, was little short of
marvellous.
The 11th was passed amidst a storm of shells from both sides, the
4-in. gun, mounted out towards Pei-Yang arsenal, having a two hours’
duel with four guns mounted close to the banks of the canal at a
range of 4000 yards. Three of the four were silenced, but the fourth
gave as good as it took till the very end, when the cessation of fire
was mutual. The next day was the exact opposite of its predecessor,
there was no early morning fighting, and even shelling did not begin
until the evening. It was a Heaven-sent rest, for much remained to be
done in the way of fatigue work and gun mounting, to prepare for the
morrow, which was the day chosen to assume the offensive and attack
the native city. A German 6-in. gun arrived, but was not mounted, and
although carpenters were busy constructing a mounting for the 4.7-in.
which arrived on the 11th, and the engineers made an emplacement
and magazine for it, the work could not be finished in time to take
part in the great effort of the morrow, and was abandoned. Admiral
Seymour and the remainder of his brigade went down to Taku by river
in the afternoon, thereby just missing the hardest battle in the
naval brigade’s experience, and an operation which proved to be the
most important—in fact the turning-point of the whole campaign. Their
departure was the last thing of importance which took place in the
period 27th June to 12th July, between which dates began and ended
the second siege of Tientsin.