Soon after the admiral's departure it became clear to the commanders of
the ships off Taku that the Chinese Government were preparing to bring
down an army upon Tongku, the terminus of the railway, and that the
communication with Tientsin was threatened, and that the Taku forts were
being provisioned and manned. It was therefore decided to occupy the
forts, and notice was given to the Chinese of the intention to do so at
two a.m. of 17th June.
Taku is situate at the mouth of the Peiho river, which was until the
railway was built, and, if this were interrupted, would become again the
principal approach from the sea to Pekin, about 80 miles by river, and
to Tientsin 44 miles. The entrance, which runs east and west, is
strongly guarded by a series of forts on the north and south sides, the
principal fort being the north, which is very strong and mounts some 50
guns of all sizes, and connected with this by a covered way is another
on the same side but farther up the river with 30 guns. On the south
side there is a series of strong forts and batteries for about a mile
along the shore, mounting about 120 guns of various patterns, the
greater part being quite modern. Some distance inland is another fort
and the magazines. These forts, designed to protect the sea-front, are
therefore very formidable, and well manned with competent gunners would
constitute a real danger to any ships entering the river. The bar of
the river is 5 miles off, and is so shoaly that vessels drawing 20 feet
have to lie 5 miles off that, that is 10 miles from the forts, and it
was at this point that the fleet of the various nations was at this time
lying at anchor, the British being _Centurion_, flagship, _Barfleur,
Orlando, Endymion, Aurora_.
The only vessels that could therefore enter the river and bombard the
forts were gunboats and destroyers; of these the Russians had three,
_Bobr, Koreelah_, and _Gilyak_; the French, the _Lion_; the British, the
_Algerine_, steel despatch boat with six 4-inch guns, and two
destroyers, the _Whiting_ and _Fame_. These two last captured four
perfectly equipped modern destroyers, whose crews bolted; properly
handled, they might have destroyed all the attacking ships, who without
them found sufficient work to do in keeping down the fire of the forts.
The plan arranged by the others was that, after an effective
bombardment, a landing party should attack the north-west and north
forts and the other forts in succession.
The Chinese, however, had no intention of letting the Westerns have it
all their own way, but at a quarter to one a.m. on the morning of the
17th opened the ball by firing upon the _Algerine_, who promptly
replied, and the battle became general. A terrific bombardment on both
sides roared through the night, the gunboats in addition to the fire of
their big guns keeping up a continuous hail from their quick-firing guns
in their tops. The Chinese were equally determined, and stuck to their
guns through it all, but they were very poor gunners, and their shells
did not burst, and so for six hours the gunboats' targets for two miles
of forts and some 200 or more guns escaped serious injury.
As daylight came, however, the Chinese made better practice, and the
position became more serious for the allies, and it seemed as though the
attack was going to fail. The Russian ship _Gilyak_ was hit by a shell,
and lost several men. She could not leave her moorings in consequence,
and suffered severely from rifle fire from the shore, her losses during
the action being the heaviest in the fleet, 2 officers and 10 men killed
and 47 wounded.
The tide now rising, the ships boldly steamed amid a storm of shot and
shell close under the forts. The German _Itlis_ was seen constantly in
the post of danger, and the gallantry with which she was fought evoked
the admiration of all.
HMS _Algerine_, commander R.H. Stewart, greatly contributed to the
final success, which at one time was so doubtful. She was always in the
thick of the fight, but escaped with only slight damage to cowls and
rigging, and received no shot in her hull, largely owing to the fact
that her commander put her so close into the forts that they could not
be brought to bear on her, and the shot passed over. She had only 1
officer wounded and 3 men killed.
Still the battle continued, and the Chinese kept doggedly at it, and
succeeded in bursting their shells. Fortunately about seven a.m. an
awful explosion occurred, the chief magazine blew up, and the Chinese
lost heart, and soon after all firing ceased. Meantime the
storming-parties had seized the north-west fort.
The landing party consisted of British, 23 officers and 298 men, from
the _Alacrity, Barfleur_, and _Endymion_; German, 3 officers and 130
men; Japanese, 4 officers and 240 men; Russian, 2 officers and 157 men;
Italian, 1 officer and 24 men; Austrian, 2 officers and 20 men,--total,
904 officers and men. The command was confided to Commander Craddock,
RN. These landed under heavy shell fire in the dark by 2:30 a.m. with
no loss, and at 4:30, when the ships' guns had silenced those of the
forts, advanced upon the north-west fort. In the firing line were men
from the _Alacrity_ and _Endymion_ on the right, Russians on the left,
and Italians on the right flank; the _Barfleur's_ men supported the
charge, and the rest of the force were in support. The Japanese,
however, were not to be restrained, and as soon as the charge sounded,
raced with the British for the west gate, and both nations climbed the
parapet together. Their commander was first in, and the English
commander a good second, the former unfortunately being killed. The
remaining forts were easily taken, and with small loss to the allies.
The Chinese garrison was estimated at 3000, of whom one-third was
killed.