During the absence of the admiral and his force, the Chinese had kept
our force defending the foreign settlement at Tientsin sufficiently
busy, and did everything in their power to prevent trains with
reinforcements going forward even before the 14th June, when the rails
were torn up. Captain Bayly, RN, of HMS _Aurora_, had been left in
charge of the British forces, and was joined on the 11th June by
Commander Beattie, of HMS _Barfleur_, with 150 bluejackets and marines,
and later by between 1600 and 1800 Russians, with cavalry and artillery.
The Boxers made their first attack upon the settlement upon 16th June,
and from that time, until the capture of the Chinese city, there was
almost continual fighting, in the course of which the Naval Brigade lost
several officers and men.
The native city began to bombard the settlement on the 17th, and on the
25th a 12-pounder gun from the _Terrible_, one of those mounted on
Captain Percy Scott's system, which had done such service in South
Africa, arrived and shelled the forts.
The _Terrible_ had also brought to Tongku a military force consisting of
Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 7 officers and 328 men, some engineers, and other
details, under Major Morris; these with a naval force of about 150,
under Captain Craddock, RN, of the _Alacrity_, together with 1500
Russians with 4 guns and 100 American marines, made on the 23rd June an
attack upon the military school, a strong position commanding the
settlements. A great deal of bayonet-fighting took place in clearing
the villages on the way, but the position itself was easily taken and
the settlement relieved. The approximate total of the forces of all
nations at Tientsin after this reinforcement was 4500, of whom about
1400 were British.
On 27th June a force of British seamen under Commander Craddock, and
marines under Major Johnstone, the whole about 600 strong, under the
command of Captain Burke, joined with the Russians in an attack upon the
Chinese arsenal. The Russians took the centre and right face, our men
being ordered to advance parallel to the left face. At 200 yards they
were met with a heavy fire, and had to advance for some space over a
flat piece of ground until they could turn and face the arsenal, and
when they advanced received the fire of a field-gun at the left corner.
However, fixing bayonets, the bluejackets charged with a cheer, the
enemy quickly bolted, and were met with the fire of the marines, who had
been left outside for that purpose. The Russians also drove out the
enemy at their end, and destroyed the arsenal. Our losses were 7 killed
and 21 wounded.
On 28th June and the following day messages came in from Pekin, dated
24th June, "Our case is desperate; come at once." Terrible news indeed
for the allies; it was but two days since the expedition which had set
out for Pekin had returned, and now the Tientsin settlement itself was
in danger, besieged and bombarded daily by the Chinese forts. No
attempt even at relief was at this time possible, and there was an awful
anxiety both here and in Europe as to what the fate of the embassies
might be.
On the 4th of July the Chinese made an attack upon the railway station,
and were repulsed; and on the same day two additional 12-pounder guns
from the _Terrible_ arrived, and also two Krupp guns taken from the Taku
forts, a most important access of strength to the Naval Brigade, for up
to this time the only guns had been the 12-pounder of the _Terrible_,
two 9-pounder marine field-guns, and three 6 pounder Hotchkiss.
The next two days the forts in the native city were heavily bombarded by
the _Terrible's_ guns, assisted by French and Japanese field-guns.
Several of the Chinese guns were silenced, but others, difficult to
locate owing to the use of smokeless powder, replied with spirit and
made good practice. A gallant attempt was made on the afternoon of the
6th by Major Bruce of the 1st Chinese Regiment to silence a 9-pounder
which had been pushed up to within short range, and appeared to be
aiming at the waterworks. The admiral lent him a 9-pounder gun, and
Commander Beattie, of the _Barfleur_, with 70 men. No cover could be
found, and the 9-pounder could not be brought into action owing to the
heavy rifle fire, and the attempt had to be abandoned. The force lost 2
killed and 5 wounded, among the latter being Major Bruce and Mr F.
Esdaile, midshipman of the _Barfleur_, the latter mortally.
The Chinese for some days had gradually been pushing their lines round
to the west and south of the native city, with a view to cutting the
communication by river and also placing the battery of the British naval
guns under a fire from the rear as well as front. Moreover, the Chinese
gunners were improving daily in their practice, and evidently had
knowledge from spies of the exact position and ranges of the barracks.
It became therefore necessary to clear the enemy out of their position.
It was accordingly arranged that a combined movement should be made at
daybreak on 9th July to drive the enemy out of their position, and by a
wide flanking movement to converge upon and capture the west arsenal.
The command was entrusted to the Japanese General Fukushima, whose force
consisted of about 1000 infantry and 150 cavalry, with 150 American 9th
Infantry Regiment. The British sent 1000 men, namely, two companies 2nd
Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers, half company Hong-Kong Regiment, two
companies Chinese Regiment, and 400 bluejackets and marines under
General Dorward as supports; and the Russians a reserve of 400.
The force moved off before daylight on the 9th. The bulk of the
fighting fell upon the Japanese, but there was very little of that, for
though the Chinese artillery replied briskly for some time, when once
the guns were silenced and the infantry through the line of fire, the
Chinese fled precipitately. The Japanese cavalry charged and dispersed
a body of Boxers, killing about 200, and the infantry advancing captured
four Krupp guns. The arsenal was taken with a rush by the Japanese, and
found to be deserted, but being commanded by rifle fire was found to be
untenable. The place was therefore set on fire, and the forces
returned, having most thoroughly effected their purpose. The naval
casualties among the British were 1 killed and 3 wounded.
This reverse, severe though it was, did not weaken the determination of
the Boxers, for early in the morning of the 11th they made a most
determined attack upon the railway station, an important position for
them, from which they could bombard the settlement as well as destroy
the rolling stock. The fight lasted three hours, and was stubbornly
contested. The Chinese got to close quarters and even crossed bayonets
with the allies. They were at length driven out with very heavy loss.
The allies also lost heavily, 150 killed and wounded, principally
Japanese and French. The British loss was very slight.
At this time the number of the enemy attacking was estimated at 20,000,
while of the allies the total force was 12,170, namely, 50 Austrians,
2160 French, 1420 British, 400 Germans, 40 Italians, 3090 Japanese, 4450
Russians, and 560 Americans. The bombardment of the settlement by the
Chinese was inflicting daily losses. Hitherto their artillery had been
superior to ours, but by the arrival of two 4-inch guns, one from HMS
_Algerine_, and another from HMS _Phoenix_, the position was altered and
it was at length decided to make a general attack upon the enemy on the
18th, with a view to capturing the native city and finally relieving the
foreign settlement. In this action the British naval guns were assigned
a prominent part, and to their very accurate shooting the success was
mainly due. The plan arranged was that under cover of the naval guns on
the east the Russians and Germans should take the Chinese batteries to
the north-east of the city, while the Japanese and British should at the
same time deliver their attack upon the city to facilitate the capture
of the batteries by the Russians. The Japanese were under their own
general, the rest of the allies under General Donvard. The forces
consisted of 1500 Japanese, under General Fukushima; 800 British, of
whom 300 were naval; 900 Americans, 30 Austrians, 900 French, and about
3000 Russians and 400 German marines.
After about an hour's bombardment the main attack was delivered, the
French on the right, the British on the left, and the Japanese in the
centre, which was the point of greatest danger, for they were to advance
upon the south gate and blow it up to effect an entrance. The Americans
were ordered to support the left of the Japanese, and to their left were
the Welsh Fusiliers. The Americans unfortunately soon became involved
in a very exposed position, whence they could neither retreat nor
advance, their colonel was killed and they lost very heavily, and 100
men of the Naval Brigade under Lieutenant Phillimore were sent to their
aid.
Meantime the naval guns were keeping up a constant and accurate fire,
keeping down the fire from the city walls. Still, however, the day wore
on; the Japanese were unable to reach the gate, and the city, which it
was expected to enter by noon, was not yet taken, and the Japanese
general decided to hold his position through the night and to resume the
attack in the morning.
Under fire of the naval guns the Fusiliers and American marines were
withdrawn with very slight loss, and then the unfortunate 9th Regiment
with the company of the Naval Brigade. This was a very delicate
business, for they were in danger of being themselves hit by the guns,
but so accurate was the fire that it was performed without accident.
Splendid work had meantime been done by our men in getting in the
American wounded, nearly all of whom they brought in under fire.
The Russians, of whom nothing had been heard during the day, had been
thoroughly successful, although their attack had been delayed. In the
end they completely routed the Chinese and captured 11 guns, but not
without heavy fighting, in which they lost 120 in killed and wounded.
The next morning the Japanese, who in the night had made a bridge across
the canal, crossed over at three a.m., blew in the gate, and in less
than an hour the city was taken. The British seized a number of junks
and a steamer and 8 guns, which had kept up such a fire on the preceding
day. The total loss of the allies concerned in the attack on the south
gate was--British, naval, 6 men killed, among whom was Captain Lloyd of
the marines, and 38 wounded; military, 12 killed, 38 wounded; Americans,
9 killed, 119 wounded; French, no killed and wounded; Japanese, 400.
The effect of the naval guns was remarkable, and is thus reported by
General Dorward:
"The success of the operations was largely due to the manner in which
the naval guns were worked by Lieutenant Drummond, RN, the accuracy of
their fire alone rendering steady fire on the part of the troops
possible against the strong Chinese position, and largely reducing the
number of casualties.
"The delicate operation of withdrawing troops from advanced positions at
nightfall to strengthen other parts of the line, and the bringing back
of the wounded, could not have been effected without the aid of the
well-directed fire of the guns.
"I desire to place on record my appreciation of the gallantry and fine
spirit of the men, and to join in their regret for the heavy loss in
killed and wounded, and particularly with the Royal Marines in regret
for the death of Captain Lloyd.
"The Naval Brigade had their full share in the fighting at the centre
and right of the position, and had the honour of being among the first
troops to enter Tientsin. The succour they brought under a heavy fire
to the hard-pressed American troops on the right was highly appreciated
by the 9th Regiment United States Infantry, who found themselves
unexpectedly under the heaviest fire of the day, and were much heartened
by the arrival of Lieutenant Phillimore, RN, and his men."