CAPTURE OF PEKIN AND RELIEF OF LEGATIONS
The Allied Generals met for the last time on the afternoon of the
13th to make their final dispositions. It was agreed that the
Russians should take the right, the Japanese the centre, and the
British and Americans the left. This arrangement came as a surprise
to the British, for knowing the intense eagerness of the Russians
to be the first into the city, it was supposed that they would have
chosen the weakest spot in the defences for their point of attack,
whereas it was generally considered that the position they had taken
up would certainly bring them in front of the most severe opposition.
It was suggested in some quarters that they had argued that behind
the strongest walls would be the smaller force, and _vice versa_, so
that they might hope to overpower the enemy first, and then force an
entrance, whilst the rest of the force would be unable to do either
one or the other. We shall see how they fared. In the evening each
force sent out reconnoitring parties towards the walls, that of the
Russians being exceptionally large, and including guns. These (the
Russians) pushed forward so far without being discovered, that what
was intended for a reconnaissance, at length became an attack of an
unusually gallant and daring character.
After a brisk bombardment at short range, the Tung-Pien gate was
forced, and the comparatively smaller body of Russians found
themselves the first troops to enter the Chinese city. Their position
was by no means secure,—in fact, unless supported at daylight they
would be compelled to retire with the loss of their guns, but it
was determined to maintain their foothold till the morning, when
it was hoped that the main body would arrive. Daylight came, and
with it a tremendous fusilade from the enemy which caused many
casualties, but the Russian commander hung on with splendid tenacity,
and finally welcomed large American reinforcements. During this
important episode, the Chinese made a sortie in some force from their
centre, which was beaten back by the Japanese, who, disturbed at
their bivouac, decided to push straight on to the walls. At Pekin,
as elsewhere, the little “Japs” managed to get into the thick of
whatever fighting happened to be going on, and during the day they
were heavily engaged along their whole front. Their persistence did
not have its reward until 8 p.m., when their Sappers blew up two
gates, and thus they won their way in. Thanks to the precipitancy
of the Russian right, the British entered the Shan-huo gate almost
unopposed. The Chinese had mistaken the Russian advance guard for
the main attack, and had practically deserted their right to cope
with it. The British took immediate advantage of this, and forced
their way right through to the Tartar walls. Heavy fighting was here
expected, but no Chinese troops were in the vicinity, and a signal
was got through to General Gaselee to march up the Sluice—a waterway
with an aperture through the walls—which was done.
Their advance was unimpeded except by snipers, and at about 2 p.m.
a handful of 1st Sikhs and 7th Rajputs broke their way through the
rotten Water-gate, and rushed to the Legations, which were but a
few hundred yards away. Great as was the excitement then, it became
even greater when General Gaselee, his Staff (among whom was a Naval
officer), and men from the 24th Punjab Infantry, 1st Sikhs, and
Bengal Lancers, rode up and greeted the Legation folk whom they had
done so much to relieve. The Legations had been reached, but it must
not be supposed that nothing remained to be done. The Chinese were
still resisting the entry of the other forces, and had as yet shown
no intention of leaving the British and Americans in undisturbed
possession of the various gates, portions of the various walls, and
other defences which they had occupied. Before, however, relating
how the complete occupation of this wonderful four-in-one City came
about, there are some impressions to be placed on record, about
the looks and feelings of relievers and relieved in the Legations.
Naturally enough the first wave of enthusiasm was unreserved—people
wept for joy, laughed for the same reason, members of the relieving
force were kissed and petted—in fact exactly the same thing happened
as always has, and always will happen, at the successful termination
of an Historical Siege. As usual, too, the relievers were astonished
at the clean, almost immaculate appearance of many of the women and
several of the men. The contrast was certainly extraordinary; on
the one hand a gathering of people who looked at first sight as if
they had been picnicing, instead of having borne parts in a long
and dangerous Siege. On the other a body of men ragged, dirty, and
unshorn, who by their appearance could not possibly have been doing
anything else for the last ten days but march and fight. It was not
until one looked closer that it was possible to realise that these
comparatively spotless men and women were tired and worn, and that
their white faces and wan looks proved that they had been through as
much and more than their ragged but healthy-looking relievers, whose
worst enemy had been the sun, and who perhaps could have marched the
same distance and fought the same battles straight over again. There
were not many among the besieged who could have stood the strain
of the Siege over again and lived! Their appearance gave rise to
ridiculous, fictitious, and wicked suggestions. One often heard it
questioned whether they had such a bad time after all, or, as one
man put it,—“Plenty to drink, enough to eat, lots of games, and some
first-class shooting! Where’s the hardship? In fact, what more does
one possibly want?” Other people go to the opposite extreme, and
thank Providence that a general Massacre did not come off. The only
explanation that suggests itself is this. The Empress doubtless aimed
at the death of the Europeans in the Capital, including of course the
Ministers; but she also knew that, were it proved that she or her
troops had had a direct hand in the matter, the revenge that would
be taken by the powers would be so awful that the game was not worth
the candle. How then was the matter to be accomplished? Well, she had
already pleaded incapability to keep the Boxers in hand, therefore,
if they could burn or destroy the Legations and their occupants, she
would help them at a distance with her troops and their rifles and
artillery. Then it could not be said that her soldiers had actually
slain the Ministers—in fact she could prove that it was by her orders
that eggs and vegetables were taken to them, almost nightly, for a
fortnight. It may be said that Imperial troops did actually attempt
to storm the defences. Granted: but in such a way that whilst any
loss on the part of the defence constituted a great weakness, and
therefore, by making these attacks they made the task of the Boxers
easier and easier, they did not attempt to push their effort right
home; or, from what I have been told by one of the Officers engaged
in the defence, they must have inevitably succeeded. Why then did the
Boxers not succeed? Because there are limits to human endurance: a
bullet in the right place is one of them. In other words, because a
badly organised and badly armed mob can never hope to close with a
highly disciplined, steady, and well-armed body of men a tenth of
their own size.
Before an hour had elapsed after the Legations had been reached
by the British, it became necessary to dislodge a large number of
snipers who had taken up an advantageous position in the Mongol
market. This was effected by a bayonet charge by the 1st Sikhs, who
suffered but slightly during the operation. Other positions were
captured and occupied, and by nightfall the Chinese and Tartar cities
were almost entirely in the hands of the Allies. There now remained
the Imperial and Forbidden cities to be cleared, and the Peh-tang
Cathedral to be relieved.
The next day, the 15th, was a day of hard fighting, hideous mistakes,
and the beginning of an era of suspicion and jealousy even more
marked than had been the case during the march. Some of the hardest
fighting was accomplished by the Americans, who advanced from
their overnight position at the Chien-men gate, straight along the
approaches to the Forbidden City. This move gave rise to several
errors, and much jealousy. Among the former might be mentioned the
French firing on the advancing Americans with artillery, and causing
several casualties. General Chaffee himself rode back to expostulate,
but the combined facts that the French had done nothing during the
advance, that they had arrived late, and were also intensely anxious
to have a hand in the capture of the forbidden city, had impressed
themselves so deeply in the mind of the French General, that for some
time he refused to understand the niceties of the situation, and to
the protestations of the American General, merely answered, “For the
honour of France was not to be served by occasioning the death of his
Allies,” and desisted from further firing. The Russians also betrayed
their jealousy by endeavouring to share some of the American glory by
jointly occupying some of their positions; but General Chaffee would
have none of it, and occupied the whole of the approaches to the
Palace from the Chien-men. In consequence of this move on his part,
a conference was held, at which it was decided to delay any entrance
into the Forbidden City until all Nations could enter it together.
It must be noticed that no such stipulation was in sway when General
Chaffee and his men fought their way right up to the very gates; and
this officer has been held up to the severest censure for drawing
his men off at the critical moment, after heavy loss attendant on
constant fighting! Rather should all praise be given him for his
forbearance, for doubtless such a prize would have led to endless
complications, which were eventually averted by the idea of marching
through the city together, and then evacuating it for good, leaving
it in the hands of the eunuchs and other palace attendants who were
still inside. Other clearing was being carried out by the Russians
and Japanese in the north and east, and the British to the south; but
the most important work done during the day was the relief of the
converts and the others in the Peh-tang Cathedral.
When a true history of that Siege comes to be written it will prove
even more wonderful than the siege of the Legations. Besieged at
the same time as the Legations, the inmates of this once beautiful
Cathedral consisted of over 3000 non-combatants, protected by a
garrison of 40 marines and 3 officers. Of the latter, 30 men and
2 officers were French, the remainder Italian; their total rifles
numbered just under fifty, and their supply of ammunition was very
small. Among the 3000 non-combatants were 6 priests, the others being
Chinese converts, and the whole being under the direction of Père
Favier, a French Roman Catholic Bishop, who behaved with the utmost
courage and devotion throughout. At the first alarm, this brave man
armed as many of his converts as were willing, with home-made spears
and other hand-to-hand weapons, which, though they were of no avail
against firearms, served to deal with any Boxer rush, which was all
that was at first anticipated. However, as we know, the Imperial
troops joined hands with the rabble, and, on June 19th, a gun was
brought to bear on the main gate, which it duly blew off its hinges,
but such an effective fire was maintained by the handful of Marines,
that the Chinese abandoned their gun and left it in the open some 200
yards away. A Sortie was promptly made, and, with a small casualty
list, the weapon and some ammunition were dragged back in triumph.
Sorties were, after this success, of constant occurrence, and it was
rarely that arms or other warlike material of the greatest value was
not found and brought back. For days the Garrison were subjected
to a hot rifle and artillery fire, then came war rockets and hand
grenades, and at last the enemy started Mines. One of these exploded
with horrible effect; and another one, the same day, also blew up
several houses in its vicinity. The defenders took to countermining,
and discovered, and destroyed, several unfinished Mines, with such
success that it was hoped that this new and more terrible danger was
finished with; but in the middle of July, a third explosion took
place, which caused the deaths of nearly a hundred people, besides
doing further enormous structural damage. So things went on; the
French commanding officer being slain, and many other casualties
taking place, until it would seem that Human endurance must reach its
limit. But no, not a murmur of disloyalty, not a grumble, although
the food supply had been cut down, until on August 8th it had almost
reached its end, and the miserable ration of two ounces per diem was
all that remained.
On August 15th, it was realized that relief was near, for the furious
cannonading could be heard, and the Chinese were seen to be running
hither and thither, in an unusual and alarmed manner; but would it be
in time? One day’s provisions were left: two ounces of rice remained!
It is impossible to state the feelings of those people when the
Japanese, closely followed by the French and the British Marines,
arrived, and they realised that it was all over. It is perhaps just
possible to imagine their state of mind, but it would be folly for
any one who did not participate in the Siege, to attempt to set it
down. It will seem almost incredible that no attempt was made by
the French to relieve their fellow countrymen on the 14th; when
first an entrance had been effected, but such indeed was the case,
and so for twenty more weary hours had the half-starved Garrison
to wait, and hope, and fight. On the morning of the 15th, General
Frey seems to have awoke to his responsibilities, and he asked for
assistance, which was forthcoming from the Russians and British.
The force reached the Cathedral without encountering any serious
opposition, at which much surprise was felt, until it was discovered
that the ubiquitous Japanese had already raised the Siege. In point
of fact, a Japanese officer and one man had already entered the
defences, but the French may claim the actual honour, shorn of much
of its value as it certainly was, of being the first body of troops
into the precincts of the Cathedral. Then was enacted one of the
many dark scenes staged by this civilising army, and especially by
the troops of what we are asked to believe is the gayest, politest,
and most chivalrous of the so-called civilised Nations. During the
movements of the various troops a body of Chinese, some 200 strong,
had been driven up a blind alley from which there was no escape. Here
they were discovered by the French, and slain every one,—not by the
French alone but by the so-called Christian Chinese converts, who,
though so weak that they could hardly crawl, were still possessed
of the eminently Christian idea of killing one of their erstwhile
tormentors in cold blood. The fighting was over. As for the looting,
it was Tientsin over again, only on a larger scale, with more murder,
outrage, and rape than had been dreamt of at the latter place. The
same degrading scenes were once more everywhere visible, and Pekin
was full of men pillaging in every direction. The same excuses as
before were deemed to be good enough. The other powers were all
eagerly helping themselves to the ownerless valuables, and so good
intentions seem to have vanished, and with the exception that our
men did not behave like Vandals, they looted like the rest. In
fairness to the English-speaking races, and to the Japanese, it must
be said that while they contented themselves with taking unclaimed
property, the charges of brutal murder, the ravishing of women, and
wanton destruction, were only too often proved against the soldiery
of Russia and France. Indeed it may be said that the bestiality
displayed by some of the troops of these two powers, beggars
description. Excuses, or perhaps explanations would be a better
term, can be found for the troops as a whole: the infamous cruelties
invariably practised by the Chinese themselves, and the effect
such practices exercise on the temper of an army; the confusion
existing among the different nationalities, and the infectious
example set by the worst of them; and finally the violent reaction
and moral breakdown of even civilised peoples, after a long period of
intense strain. It is satisfactory to know that even writers with a
strong Anglophobe tendency clear our men of the graver charges, and
personally, I have over and over again heard the news of such deeds
as recounted above, received with the most unqualified expressions of
disgust by the men of the Naval Brigade.
In addition to this indiscriminate looting, the various Powers
settled down to a little policy of “Grab who can grab,”—a game
played with much success by the Russians and Japanese, who each
secured valuable prizes. All this sort of thing, however, had to
end, and the city was divided up into spheres, in each of which one
Nation ruled supreme. Proclamations were issued for the purpose of
reassuring those of the inhabitants who still remained; and in four
or five days’ time everything was working more or less smoothly once
more. But what of the prime mover in this extraordinary scene? What
of the Empress and the Court? They had escaped by a mere matter of
a few hours, and had fled westward to no one knew where, with a
huge following of troops and servants. One more act—a farce this
time, after so much tragedy,—and we may leave Pekin for good, for
the Navy had nearly finished their part, and were about to return
to their ships. For a fortnight after all fighting had ceased, the
“Forbidden City” bogie continued to worry the various ministers and
commanding officers. In 1860 the forbidden city had been spared,
and in consequence the Chinese to this day laugh at the idea of
any foreign troops ever having entered the gates of Pekin at all.
This time it was hoped that at any rate the palace would be burnt
to the ground; but to this there were grave objections and powerful
objectors. Should this step be taken, it was more than probable that
all hopes of getting the Empress and her Court back to Pekin would
prove futile, in which case there would have been no one to treat
with, no one with any power to assume authority, which in turn would
have meant endless confusion if it had not actually rendered it
necessary to pursue the Empress over nearly the half of Asia. It was
eventually decided that, pending the arrival of Field Marshal Von
Waldersee, the only thing that should be done was to order a military
procession, which should move through the city from end to end. This
gave rise to a question as to the respective numbers to be engaged,
and also to the more important one, as to who was to have the honour
of leading the others through the almost sacred precincts. The first
was easily dealt with, and it was soon agreed that ten per cent. of
the total force of each nation present would suffice to show the
various flags, and would also be a very fair division of numbers.
The other point was more difficult, Japan claiming the honour by
reason of her superiority in numbers on the spot, and also because
she was generally allowed to have done the most during the relief
expedition. Russia, on the contrary, said that the Campaign must be
taken as a whole, and that everything being considered, she had the
prior claim. It must have caused much heartburning, but eventually
Japan acquiesced in this, and the numbers and order of the troops
which took part were roughly as follows: Russian 800, Japanese 800,
British 400, American 400, French 200, German 200, Austrian 100, and
Italian 100, which may be said to have been a very fair division
of honour. It may be interesting to give all the important actions
during the Campaign, and to express from a British point of view
the various claims to precedence. To begin with the Taku forts, it
must be allowed that the order of the powers engaged would read:
1st British, 2nd German, 3rd Japanese and Russian. The relief of
Tientsin: 1st Russian, 2nd British, 3rd German and American. The
first siege of Tientsin: 1st Russian, 2nd British. Admiral Seymour’s
column: 1st British, 2nd German, 3rd American. Relief of Seymour: 1st
Russian, 2nd British. Capture of Pei-Yang arsenal: 1st British, 2nd
Russian. Second siege of Tientsin: 1st Japanese, 2nd British (because
of her guns), 3rd Russian. Capture of Native City: 1st Japanese,
2nd British and Russian, 3rd German and American. Relief of Pekin:
1st Japanese, 2nd British and American, 3rd Russian. So that, out
of nine important military events, allowing for the bracketing of
two Powers in some cases, the British gain 3 firsts and 6 seconds;
the Russians 3 firsts, 2 seconds, 3 thirds; the Japanese 3 firsts, 1
third; the American 1 second and 3 thirds; and the Germans 2 seconds
and 2 thirds. From this it will appear as though the British were
entitled to a voice in the matter of priority, but all the actions
mentioned were not of equal importance, and to the Russians and
Japanese belong the greatest credit for their share in the whole
campaign. On the morning of the 26th, the 250 or so inmates of the
Forbidden City surrendered to the Japanese, and on the morning of
the 28th, the great ceremony was to take place. At about 8 a.m. the
Russian General, General Linevitch, rode along the British line and
passed a few complimentary remarks about the conduct and bearing of
the troops, and immediately after this the 12th Battery of Field
Artillery fired a salute as the Tien-an-Men was swung open. General
Linevitch was the first to enter the Imperial City at the head of his
contingent, and the rest of the Allies followed in the order agreed
upon. Half a mile was passed before the Wu-Men was reached, and once
its threshold had been crossed, the Forbidden City had been defiled
by the presence of barbarians. Of the actual procession there is not
much to tell. As a spectacle it was a failure. Bronzed men, in war-
and travel-stained uniforms, constitute a very different effect to
any of the processions we are in the habit of viewing from 10-guinea
stands at home.
The Russians were determined to create an impression, and mounted
large guards at the gates both of ingress and egress; from this
point of vantage they behaved like the “gods” at a theatre when
there happens to be a show of foreign flags. Of course the French
were received with immense enthusiasm, such cheering greeting their
appearance that all the half-hearted cheers accorded to the other
nations sounded almost like an insult. The ceremony passed off
quietly, the last to leave being the Ministers and Generals, and
once more the Forbidden City resumed its normal condition. Europe,
America, and Japan had taken their moral revenge—it had been a
curious one.