ADVANCE TO PEKIN
The force which left the settlement on the afternoon of August 4th,
was by many considered to be far too small for the task in front of
it; it only numbered between 16,000 and 17,000 men, and suffered
from many disadvantages common to mixed forces. There were so many
chiefs, with as many different ideas; there was a great lack of
efficient transport among some of the forces; the weather was either
scorching hot or very wet; and, finally, there were supposed to be
four times as many Chinese between Tientsin and Pekin as European
troops which had left the former place; but when everything had been
said and done, there was the same desire burning in each breast of
the 16,000, and there was a keen rivalry between the forces, which
plainly told that each would exert himself to the utmost for the
honour of his country. The start was hardly auspicious, for although
the weather was perfect when the last column left Tientsin, before
the first companies had reached Hsi-Ku arsenal, where was to be the
first night’s bivouac, the rain was coming down in torrents; and as
the men were without tents, the prospect was altogether miserable.
With the certainty of a general engagement on the morrow, the troops
did the best for themselves that they could, and lay down in the mud
near the posts which they were to occupy in the morning’s fighting.
The Chinese position lay to the direct front, at a distance of
under four miles; it was immensely strong, and had been chosen with
such care that every eventuality seemed to have been allowed for.
Unfortunately, as had already happened so often, the utter want of
good officers, and the limited amount of backbone remaining in his
troops, rendered all the skilful dispositions of the Chinese General
of no avail, and all his miles of entrenchments, the work of weeks,
useless. The Japanese lay on the right of the allied force, the
British in the centre, and the Russians on the left,—the Americans,
who were to have worked in the centre, did not turn up in time to
take any serious part in the engagement. At half-past four, the ball
was opened by the Chinese artillery, who began to fire aimlessly in
the direction of Hsi-Ku arsenal. Shortly after this, the Japanese
pushed straight to the front, and in face of some slight opposition,
stormed the outlying Chinese trenches; the enemy withdrew to their
main defences, and the battle opened with severe musketry fire from
both sides. The Japanese artillery was hard at work from the very
beginning, but the British guns had as yet taken no part. At last
the Royal Artillery came into action near the river embankment, and
as usual they did not forget their wonderful parade-ground movements
under fire; it might have been a competition, so smartly was every
action performed. They immediately came under a hot fire, and lost
a few men; and although their shooting was everything that could be
desired, the position was not a favourable one, and they soon moved
away to the left. The enemy’s guns presently began to show signs of
being overmatched, and an infantry advance became possible. This the
Japanese led, and with extraordinary gallantry swept right down on
to the trenches, which were simply blazing with hostile fire, taking
the first one with the bayonet, and then waiting for reinforcements
and a short rest. The advance became general, and the Chinese guns
began to shift their positions preparatory to withdrawing, and,
at length beginning to realise that they were beaten, the infantry
became more and more unsteady, and also evinced a strong desire to
be off. Two more brilliantly executed attacks transformed their
ideas into action, and they commenced to flee. The cavalry was
immediately launched at the fugitives, and the Japanese getting
among the retreating artillery, succeeded in capturing six guns. The
Indian cavalry fared hardly so well. A change seemed to have come
over the Chinese officers, and for once they retreated with, instead
of before, their men, and managed to keep some sort of formation
and discipline among their companies. Three times the cavalry were
forced to sheer off from the compact bodies of riflemen, who seemed
to instinctively understand that foot soldiers in close order have
nothing to fear from horsemen, and time after time they turned to
their front, and received the lancers with such steadiness that it
would have been foolhardiness to press the charge right home. An
opportunity, however, at length came, and it was fully demonstrated
that broken infantry stand no chance whatever against some of the
finest horse soldiers in the world, who, no matter how long they have
been compelled to delay their attack, had proved themselves capable
of waiting for the supreme moment when cohesion is lost in the ranks
of the defeated, and a defeat becomes a rout. Even when the day was
irretrievably lost, here and there parties of the enemy offered a
stubborn resistance, doubtless with a view to the escape of their
remaining guns. The Naval guns had taken but a small part in this
important action; but although labouring under several disadvantages,
the work they did was rather surprising. For many reasons, notably
that they had to keep near the river in order to be ready for instant
embarkation, also that their chief role was meant to be that of a
Siege battery, the guns were left at a prohibitive range for the
ordinary field guns. In addition to this the enemy were not visible
to the men laying their guns; but by firing on a bearing, the range
being taken by officers up ladders and trees, they managed to create
considerable havoc among the groups of the flying enemy at the
beginning of the retreat. The Chinese fled towards Pekin, leaving a
strong body of infantry, to check pursuit, in the village of Peitsang
itself. These gave a lot of trouble, but were eventually ousted by
the Japanese, who indeed may almost lay claim to the whole credit of
the victory,—the hardest-fought battle, and the one with the most
important results, of any that took place with the China field-force,
as the relieving army was called. An attempt was made to pursue the
enemy, but eight hours’ fighting had taken the sting out of the
horses; and when it was absolutely certain that there was no chance
of any counter attack, it was decided to bivouac for the night. The
Allies lost in this engagement nearly 500 men, more than half of whom
were Japanese. The Chinese lost about the same number, in addition to
eight guns, their camp, and large quantities of food and ammunition.
During the night the troops lay down near the site of the Chinese
camp, the French and Russians joining forces with the remainder, as
the ground on their side of the river was too difficult to negotiate
in any extended formation. A squadron of Bengal lancers was sent out
during the night to bring news of the enemy, and on their return they
reported that they were in force at Yangtsun, some 12 miles further
on. Acting on this, the whole force moved at six o’clock, leaving 50
men of the 7th Rajputs under an English subaltern and a Native major,
to form a guard on the fine of communications.
A march of 10 miles brought the Allies again within touch of the
enemy, who were in great force, and once more in a well-chosen,
formidable position. Their point covered nearly two miles, and their
infantry were protected by two lines of carefully dug trenches, which
for the most part lay along the railway embankment, and the face of
the village on the opposite bank to the fortified city of Yangtsun.
This time the British and Americans were given the post of honour,
with the Russians in close support, the Japanese resting after their
magnificent impetuosity of the day before. The way for the attack was
prepared by the artillery, of which the Allies had three batteries in
action, British six guns, Americans a like number, and the Russians
four. It was their duty to crush eighteen hostile guns, and then
to turn their attention to the trenches. While the artillery duel
was being decided, the infantry deployed under good cover at about
1800 yards’ range, and worked their way to within 1000 yards of the
enemy’s position, before they became seriously engaged. Then it was
found that the Chinese had disposed their trenches in the form of a
wedge, and the inevitable crowding took place, the fire grew heavier,
and something, that was almost a check, seemed to have occurred from
the slowness of the advance. As a rule Foreign officers have been
lavish in their praise of our Indian troops; but one, an officer of
high standing, has stigmatised them as being “probably of not much
use against European troops.” Had he, however, seen the way the 1st
Sikhs, 24th Punjab Infantry, and others, on this occasion hung on
to their ground, and eventually joined the Americans in the dashing
charge they made, he would probably have paused before expressing his
opinion in the public press. The Chinese waited not for the bayonet,
but fled to the position in front of the village, whence they again
opened a heavy fire. This position, however, was dominated by the
one they had evacuated, and the Russian guns, in conjunction with
the infantry, soon had completed their rapid flight. Their retreat
on this occasion was not so orderly as the first stages of their
retirement from Peitsang, but they managed to save part of their
artillery, which retired as soon as it became evident that it was
outclassed. The enemy’s loss was again heavy, amounting to at least
1000 men, of whom nearly 100 perished at the hands of the Indian
cavalry who followed in pursuit. Six guns were captured, besides
standards, rifles, and more stores. The Allies’ loss amounted to
170, nearly all of whom were British and Americans, truly a slight
cost to pay for a victory which finally demoralised the Chinese, who
never again plucked up heart to offer another pitched battle. This
was almost entirely due to the untiring energy of the Japanese,
Indian, and Russian cavalry, who from this day kept in constant touch
with their rear-guard. The remainder of the 7th August was spent in
resting men and horses, some of the Naval Brigade taking advantage of
the opportunity to search for all the gear which had been abandoned
by Admiral Seymour. The exact spot where all the clothes, etc.
had been buried was found, but everything had been dug up, and no
traces of the last European visit were visible, with the exception
of the burnt and ruined trains, which had been left at the exact
spot at which they were abandoned. Doubtless some portly mandarin is
still wearing the Admiral’s full-dress clothes, and his children,
perchance, appear on swell occasions in the Sunday-go-to-meeting
garb of British midshipmen. But even so, it is doubtful if the old
gentleman has got much the best of the bargain, for it is at least
as certain that some of such midshipmen’s female relations are
wearing Mrs Mandarin’s best sables! After this conspicuous victory
it was decided to march again on the 8th, but in such a wretched
condition was the French transport and commissariat, that the French
had to be left behind to reorganise them. This delay deprived them
of the honour of sharing in the final attack on the outside walls of
Pekin, though, as will be seen, they took part in the operations in
the city itself. The force was now cut down to Japanese, British,
Russians, and Americans, and for some inexplicable reason the order
of marching decided on was arranged so that the British marched last,
which was rather a serious matter, inasmuch as it meant marching in
the heat of the day, and the heat of those days was considerably
more than uncomfortably hot. To hazard a guess, it may be presumed
that the intense jealousy which prevailed between the Russians on
one side, and the British and Japanese on the other, was sufficient
to account for it. Indeed, matters at one time became so bad that
it appeared as if each nation would have to act independently in
the rush for Pekin. Foreseeing a _fiasco_ if this happened, General
Gaselee is reputed to have said that the British would march last
rather than endanger the success of the whole expedition. This is
of course only a rumour, but there is a saying in the Navy, “If you
want to know, go to the ship’s cook”; and as there is some truth
occasionally in camp rumours, this one is given for what it is worth.
The forward march was resumed at 7 a.m. on the 8th, Tsi-Tsun being
the next halting place.
The day passed without any fighting, but was the hottest and most
uncomfortable of the many hot and uncomfortable ones which were
endured during the whole period which the Allies took to reach Pekin.
Nearly every one suffered severely, even the Indian troops dropping
out of the ranks with alarming frequency. The Marines too suffered
terribly, and the only men who escaped the effects of the sun to any
great extent were the Japanese and Russians, all of whom displayed
the greatest endurance. It was thought that some opposition might
be encountered at Tsi-Tsun, which was not reached till 6.30 p.m.,
but not a shot was fired, and the troops camped with the knowledge
that the enemy were entrenched near Ho-si-wa, 7 miles further on.
With a possible action in view, the Naval guns were ordered to march
at 3.30 to take up a position 5 miles higher up the river, and this
was accordingly done after very hard work over an unknown country,
in the darkness; but when the main body arrived at half-past eight,
they were disgusted to find that their efforts had been fruitless,
as the Chinese had struck their camp, and evacuated their position,
during the night. They were, however, quickly pursued, and a small
affair ensued, but all attempts on the part of the Allies to force
a general action proved unavailing. An interesting feature of the
march was a small cavalry action between the Indian cavalry and the
famous Tartars’ cavalry. While the matter lasted, the fighting
was very spirited, but it ended disastrously for the Tartars, who,
outmanœuvred, overridden, and eventually unnerved, fled from the
field having suffered heavily. At 4.30 p.m. Ho-si-wa was occupied by
the Japanese, after some further trifling resistance.
The town had been entirely sacked by the Chinese soldiery, who had
lately made a practice of devastating all towns and villages through
which they passed, and who had on this and other occasions caused a
very great loss to their own countrymen. Had the force arrived at
Ho-si-wa three hours later, the advance would have been seriously
retarded, for it was discovered that the banks of the river had been
tampered with to such an extent that another hour or two’s work
would have sufficed to pierce them, in which case the water level
would undoubtedly have sunk about two feet, thus necessitating the
future transportation of stores by land—a task by no means to be
lightly undertaken, with the limited means at hand. The Chinese
were extremely fond of this mode of harassing the advance, and one
of these occasions gave rise to a very plucky action on the part
of a midshipman with the Naval Brigade. Some lock gates had been
forced open against the current, and had been held open by large
hawsers and strong stakes which had been driven into the mud;
broken glass, bricks, and other rubbish were also requisitioned to
back up the stakes. It can be thus seen that it would be a very
dangerous task to dive and clear away the various impediments at the
bottom of the river, for so great would be the rush of water that
in all probability the hawsers would carry away and nip any one who
attempted it. However, the river was wasting itself into a canal, and
over the surrounding country, and the water was getting lower and
lower, so a midshipman volunteered to close the gates, which he only
succeeded in doing after two or three hours’ constant diving into 9
feet of muddy water!
A move towards the next town, by name Matao, was made by the Japanese
on the 10th, and everything pointed to a stand being made at this
place. The naval guns were placed in junks, and also started in
the early morning, the rest of the force marching at 4 p.m. The
difference in the time of starting is accounted for by the fact that
by river the distance to Matao is 30 miles, whereas by land it is
only 8 miles. But such is the nature of the country, that it was
considered preferable to take the longer route, rather than perform
the herculean labour necessary to get the guns on their heavy field
carriages overland. Had an action, in which they might have been
needed, been imminent, the guns would have got there somehow or
other, but in this case nothing of the sort was expected, and the
matter resolved itself into one of expediency. At Matao there was
practically no stop, and the force pushed on a few miles further to
Shan-Matao, being quite unmolested on the march. Here they passed a
quiet night, and started at 3.30 a.m. on the 11th, with the intention
of occupying Tung-Chow. It was not anticipated that any serious
opposition would be met with on the march, but Tung-Chow was a town
where there were valuable food-stuffs and other supplies, so that it
appeared to be probable that the Chinese might make some attempt at
defending it. A few miles before Tung-Chow was reached the cavalry,
who were some distance ahead of the infantry, came under a hot fire
from a village near the road. The remainder of the troops coming up
had no difficulty in turning the enemy out, who were found to be the
rear-guard of the main army, and who fled towards Tung-Chow.
The villagers, of whom the great majority were Mahommedans, were loud
in their professions of friendliness to the Europeans, and it is
quite probable that their display of sentiment was genuine, for not
only had the Chinese troops committed all sorts of excesses during
their short stay, but the memory of the ruthless severity with which
the Mahommedan rebellion of a few years ago was suppressed, doubtless
still lingered with them. The Japanese, with extraordinary energy,
pushed on without even waiting for a mid-day meal, and pursued the
Chinese until within shell fire of the walls of Tung-Chow. They then
opened fire from several batteries, and gave the enemy no rest for
an hour and a half, when, eliciting no reply, they waited for the
rest of the army, who arrived late in the afternoon. Soon after their
arrival, the Chinese commenced a totally ineffective fusilade, which
they kept up until dark, when everything became quiet.
About one o’clock on the morning of the 12th, the Allies moved
forward to the attack, and by three o’clock the Japanese sappers had
blown up the south gate. An hour later, the whole force marched into
the town, not having had a shot fired at them since nine o’clock.
The previous evening’s firing had evidently been a blind, for the
enemy had fled towards Pekin before the attack commenced. The 12th
was spent in rest, and, as was only to be expected, when the troops
found themselves with nothing to do in a captured town, a little
looting was done. It took, however, the mildest form, because it
was impossible to carry anything more than articles of absolute
necessity, or valuables of the lightest description, and, as most
of these articles had already been stolen by the Chinese soldiers,
there was nothing much left to take. A great part of the morning was
taken up by transferring all the stores, which had come up by water,
to various kinds of vehicles, for it was no longer possible to rely
on the river as a means of transport. On the night of the 12th, a
reconnaissance was made towards Pekin by a battalion of infantry and
most of the cavalry, who found that all the enemy had retired within
the gates, and that the country to the capital was clear; so it was
decided to move on without delay.
The final march commenced the morning of the 13th, and by the
afternoon the whole army was drawn up within 3 miles of the city
walls. An amusing incident occurred on this day:—
It appears that half a company of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers had lost
their bearings the night before, and after some wandering about, had
arrived in sight of Pekin itself. Being somewhat weary, they calmly
bivouacked and waited for the Army, by whom they were found safe and
undisturbed some hours afterwards. Now at last had arrived the night
before the Army’s great effort. It found 12,000 tired and thirsty
men outside Pekin, not one of whom but felt confident that his next
Bivouac would be inside the walls. How they and their Generals
managed to assure this is worthy of another chapter.