Boxer Rebellion

[tigre]

Hello to all ; thanks Xavier . More. The bombardment and storming of the Taku Forts.

The assault on the forts.

There, the troops waited in trenches and behind the road under cover of the fire of the ship's guns. The terrain to the fort was a flat and smooth plain that rose without any cover; only the embankment of the road protected in some places against the enemy that fired from the fort. It was a sea fort, with the gorge open, but protected by 3 modern 12-cm fast-loading guns with armored shields and several cannons of older models. Around the entire fort was a wide pit, which had no escarpment in front of it. The Chinese had directed their fire not only to the ships, but also to Tongku and at the beginning of the day on the landing troops, so that Captain Pohl had to go back about 100 meters.

At 04:15 hours the assault began against the first fort of the north. To the extent that the terrain, which was very compartmentalized, allowed it, the lines of the shooters advanced, which returned the enemy fire increasingly weak. The bridge at the main crossing point of the road embankment, where the Germans and Austrians were advancing, had been blown up, so that all the advance had to be concentrated on a passage located in front of the right wing, where Captain Pohl was the First to reach the fort and immediately the German flag was hoisted in the southwest corner of the fort, at the moment when the "Iltis" made its way to just over 100 meters.

Three loud cheers greeted the brave ship, which returned the salute in the same way. Meanwhile, on the other side, the Japanese had climbed the walls, especially their brave Captain Hattori, who found his heroic death due to an ax of a Chinese. After the assault of the first, followed the second fort of the north in the series. It was first reached by the Germans, who occupied it without resistance. Captain Pohl immediately ordered that the heavy weapons, which had not yet been damaged, be aimed at the opposite fort of the south.

The Austrian Cadet Stenner managed to explode the ammunition depot in the fort bombed with the second shot of the weapon he was serving, then other shots of the "Iltis", which in the meantime had approached the mouth of the river with the "Algerine" managed to blast another. The two detonations with the immense cone of dust and fire, 400 meters high, were received with a merry hurray, and the silence of the enemy fire showed that this fort was ready for the assault.

Sources: https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001
THE WORLD'S NAVIES IN THE BOXER REBELLION (CHINA 1900)
https://repository.duke.edu/dc/friedric ... t001001034

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more. The bombardment and storming of the Taku Forts.

The assault on the forts.

From the German and English ships previously ordered, the landing corps was detached and reached the south bank to take the demolished forts. Germans and Austrians attacked the first fort of the south, which still defended tenaciously, while the second surrendered to the remaining troops after a short struggle. At 6:50 hours, the German flag fluttered at the first southern fort, so that the fight was essentially over. The fleeing enemy was pursued by fire with Maxim machine guns.

In the conquered works there were found 54 heavy guns, mostly modern, quick-firing guns with unitary cartridges and a large amount of ammunition. At noon, 19 mines that were still in the river were destroyed. Also 4 new art Chinese torpedo boats that had tried to leave the estuary of Peiho had been captured by the British in the course of the fight, and the Germans, Russians, French and English received one each.

The forts were distributed so that the English took possession of the first, the Japanese of the second north, the Germans and the Russians the fort south of 1,000 m long. Captain Pohl made a tour in the afternoon of the abandoned batteries of the beach to take the modern weapons from there or eliminate the locks to leave them in unusable conditions for combat.

This perfect and beautiful victory against a very important and brave much superior resistance, naturally had to be bought at great losses. The allies accounted for 118 dead and wounded, of which the Germans had 14 wounded in addition to the losses already mentioned previously. Captain Lans, seriously wounded, gave only in the last moment the command to the Oberleutnant z. S. Hoffmann Lamatsch Edler von Waffenstein, but remained on the ship until the victory was won. The Order Pour le Merite was the reward with which S.M. the Emperor honored the courageous behavior of this German officer.

In addition to the "Iltis", the "Korrejec" and the "Gaidamack" suffered serious damage, the "Lion" and the "Giljak" had an impact, while the "Giljak" suffered an explosion in the boiler. The enemy had lost 800 men, including 100 prisoners. The battles of Taku constituted for the Germans some heroic feats as well as those of the German battalion in the Seymour Landing Corps. Courage, bravery, and German audacity contributed enormously to success, and the unanimous and undivided recognition of foreign nations was a good reward for the brave troop.

Sources: https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001
THE WORLD'S NAVIES IN THE BOXER REBELLION (CHINA 1900)
https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/fin ... drichcarl/

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

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From the Pei-Ho to Pekin.

On this bird’s-eye map all the important points between Taku and Pekin are to be seen in their relative positions. The absolute distances are given in the adjoining table. The route of the unsuccessful relief force lay along the railway from Tientsin to the village of Lang-fang, a party of bluejackets from H.M.S. ‘Aurora’ pushing as far as Anting. On June 16 the force was compelled to return to Yang-tsun, from which it fought its way back to Tientsin, taking the wounded in boats down the Pei-ho. Only low hills break the surface as far away as the Great Wall, which is seen rising like a rampart in the distance.

Distances
Taku to Tientsin - 27 miles
Tientsin to Pekin - 79 miles
Tientsin to Yang-tsun bridge - 17 miles
Tangku to Chung Liang Cheng - 13 1/2 miles
Pei-ho River to bar at mouth - 6 miles

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... _2_024.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

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Murder of Foreign Diplomats (June 11 & June 20, 1900).

By June 1900, the Boxers, supported by Qing troops, had killed the chancellor of the Japanese mission (M. Sougiyama) and the German ambassador, burned the British summer legation west of Beijing, and cut off telegraph contact of the city. The legation quarter in the southeast district of the city came under siege. Foreign troops shot Chinese civilians who were suspected of being Boxers, and the German minister, Baron von Ketteler, was killed in the street on June 20 by Muslim Gansu Braves after he killed a Chinese boy. For a while, the court made conciliatory moves, offering to feed the foreigners in the legations and escort them safely out of Beijing, but it was too late. Now the court openly supported the Boxers, and the siege of the legations began. The assassinations of foreign diplomats stimulated further agitation in Western media against Chinese savagery. The images spread not only through news media, but commercial products, even including chocolate cards.

Declaration of War Against Foreign Powers (June 21, 1900).

By June 16, the Empress Dowager Cixi o Zishi and her Imperial Council had resolved to resist the entry of foreign troops into the capital. She stated, “The Powers have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent... If we must perish, why not fight to the death?” After the Allied naval forces attacked the Dagu forts that protected the port of Tianjin, the court declared war on June 21. The court formally supported the Boxers only after the declaration of war, now praising them for their patriotism and wishing them success. Qing officers now collaborated with Boxer militia to enroll more fighters against the foreign menace. Wall posters in cities like Tianjin spread the news of the anti-foreign conflict.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

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The 55-Day Siege in Beijing (June 20 – August 14/15, 1900).

The siege began on June 20, and lasted until foreign Armies entered Beijing on August 14 and 15. During these 55 days, two sites in Beijing were under siege: The Northern Cathedral and the Foreign Legation Quarter. 900 foreigners and 2,800 Chinese Christians held out in the legation quarter, and 71 priests, nuns, and soldiers, along with 3,400 Chinese Christians in the Northern Cathedral.

Photographs taken inside the legations reveal siege life, including the internal communication centers, overcrowded makeshift sleeping quarters, food preparation that in time meant butchering the ponies for food, defense of the legations from fire and gunfire, executed and dead bodies on the streets, and the graves honoring those killed in the attacks. The photographs offer a rare view of the many Chinese Christians who escaped Boxer attacks by taking refuge in the legations. Despite receiving inadequate shares of provisions, these Chinese refugees contributed heavily to the survival of the residents.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

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Battle of Tientsin (13-14 July 1900).

However, with the conquest of Taku's forts, only the first step had been taken to fully control the communications line, at least until Tientsin. The increasingly threatening news of the latter city demanded more energetic measures to secure the uncontested possessions of the allies. This giant city of 1 and a half million inhabitants contained an important foreign settlement of some 700 people along the banks of the Peiho River. On June 15 and 16, Boxers from the countryside destroyed Christian churches in the city, killed Chinese Christians and attempted to attack the foreign settlement. At this point, the Qing government decided to support them, besieging and bombing foreigners, who in view of the threatening attitude of the Chinese population, formed a volunteer corps at the beginning of June which, however, had little military value.

The refugees who came from near or far, especially the French and Belgian railway engineers, increased the anguish in the foreign settlement by terrifying descriptions of their experiences. This settlement, located on the right bank of the Peiho, which flows through the city from west to east, was in an unfavorable situation. To the northwest, it bordered the Tartar city enclosed by a circular wall that delimited the inner city, while opposite on the other side of the river was the Chinese city and in it the military school founded by Li Hung Chang, the train station and in the outskirts to the northeast a large arsenal. A second arsenal was located south of Tientsin, where, as well as to the east, other Chinese suburbs enclosed the foreign settlement.

In order to protect the European settlements, the warships deployed in Taku-Rhede first sent small watch detachments of between 30 and 100 men, so that until the Seymour Landing Corps continued, 650 European troops gathered there, which were reinforced in the following days until reaching about 2,000 men under the command of the Russian Colonel Anishimo. This did not stop the rebels and Chinese soldiers who fraternized with them from stealing, looting and killing in the street. Little by little, they also began to encircle the foreign settlement and bomb it with artillery from the outer fortresses.

Of course, with the unfavorable position of the foreign settlement and the immense extension of the city, the small detachment was not enough for defense. There was an urgent need to take possession of the city to clean it of the rebel gangs. In addition, in the area, the Boxers met in threatening numbers, and their hostile behavior did not tolerate any hesitation on the part of the allies. On June 13, they attacked the east railway station of the city, which was of critical importance, but new Russian reinforcements rejected the assault. On June 15, the Boxers ravaged the Chinese part of Tientsin, killing Chinese Christians there and burning shops, churches and everything that smelled foreign presence.

When the news of the capture of the Taku forts was received on June 17, the Fort, immediately to the west of the city, began firing projectiles and shrapnel against the foreign settlement. Fortunately, the Russian commander had been previously induced to protect women and children and place them in the most solidly built houses. Simultaneously with the fort, the Chinese also opened fire on the settlement and its inhabitants from the nearby military school, a huge walled and well protected building. Therefore, Kapitänleutnant Kühne of the "Irene" decided to take the war school and destroy it.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

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Battle of Tientsin (13-14 July 1900).

In the afternoon at 14:30 hours (June 17) when the fire was particularly fierce, an assault group consisting of 50 Germans, 50 British, 40 Austrians and 20 Italians crossed the Peiho on barges, and without firing a shot, the small group through the wall and the gate entered the compound. During the assault on the building, in which the equipment leaked through doors and windows, a German fell. From one room to another, the Chinese were rejected and ruthlessly crushed everything that resisted. The English also lost a dead man and some wounded. After the entire school crew had been expelled, the new Krupp guns were disabled by removing the locking blocks, the M / 88 rifles, the sabers, the carbines, they were partially thrown into the river, and then they retreated after set fire to the building. This heroic act freed the foreign settlement from the most unpleasant enemy fire of the time.

The assembled Admirals decided to throw all available troops to Tientsin immediately after the occupation of the Taku Forts. The Commander of the German Cruiser Squadron made available for these purposes the III. Seebataillon in Tsingtau, which was ordered to send two companies to Taku on June 19. In the afternoon, the HQ and 2 companies of 120 men each embarked on the "Irene". The imperial government could not dispacht more troops due to the necessary self-protection of the colony. The half-battalion was organized as follows:

Commander: Major Christ.
Assistant: Leutnant Cretius.
Marine-Oberarzt: vr. Nüsse
1. Company: Hauptmann Gené; Leutnant Friedrich.
2. Company: Hauptmann v. Knobelsdorfs; Oberleutnant Hagemeister.
Kaiserl. Dolmetscher (Imperial Translator): Or. Betz.

On the morning of June 21, the Irene arrived at the Taku roadstead and immediately began the landing on barges that, dragged by the gunboat, Jaguar, deposited the half battalion in Tongku. There it remained under the command of the Russian General Stößel. The newly formed Landing Corps consisted mainly of Russians and had about 2,000 men.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Tsingtau-Seebat ... 7675.l2557

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

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Battle of Tientsin (13-14 July 1900).

In Tongku took place the first stop and they remained there during the night when they received the message according to which, the Chinese general Mah of Peitsang with 1,500 men marched towards Tongku. As a result, Major Christ was ordered to establish an outpost north of Tongku with a German company and two Russians. Leutnant Friedrich received the mission of establishing a field guard with 50 Russians and 50 Germans, while the rest of the vanguard moved to the empty sheds of the local bivouac. Under his protection the embarkation of the rest of the detachment began, with which the General Stößel advanced until near Tientsin.

The outposts then continued on their way on June 22, since the report mentioned was erroneous, and after an hour of traveling by train and an equally long march, they were able to join the rest of the detachment with which a bivouac was established. Detached Cossack patrols reported that the Arsenal northeast of Tientsin was heavily manned, and there was news that the attempt of 400 Englishmen and Americans to relieve the beleaguered foreign settlement had been bloody rejected. That's why it was necessary to hurry.

On June 23, General Stößel advanced on both sides of the railroad on a broad front, the Germans on the left wing. At 07:00 o'clock sharp, enemy infantry and artillery fire started from the Arsenal. It was true that the action spread across the whole line, and Gené's company managed to advance to 500 m, but General Stößel felt that an immediate advance on Tientsin was much more necessary, and therefore ordered to stop the battle at 10:45 hours. This happened from the right wing. The German left wing remained until the end and successfully covered the retreat with its excellent fire. Then he continued as a rearguard, carrying all the wounded and fallen with them.

Unfortunately, at this stage of the battle, Leutnant Friedrich and 7 men had fallen, and another 25 were injured. But the entire detachment managed to reach Tientsin around 15:00 o'clock sharp. A counterattack by the Chinese against the station, which was occupied by the Russians, was so bloody and so completely rejected by the enemy's heavy losses that the latter no longer dared to resist, and at 16:00 o'clock sharp was achieved the connection with the other European troops. The next night, Germans and Russians moved to a joint bivouac.

On the morning of June 24, at 08:00 o'clock sharp, the funeral of the Russian and German soldiers who had lost their lives in a common struggle began solemnly. A Russian cleric blessed the corpses and General Stößel himself said the last words of farewell with a moving voice. The guns rumbled from the Chinese forts and hissed the grenades on the mourners. On the afternoon of the same day, General Stößel learned of the desperate situation of the Seymour Landing Corps. After consulting with Major Christ and the other foreign commanders, he decided to give them help the next morning and immediately gave the necessary orders.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001
https://www.thoughtco.com/chinas-boxer- ... tos-195618

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

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Battle of Tientsin (13-14 July 1900).

During the night, the dams that extended in the west of the city were occupied, and on the morning of June 25 the advance on Fort Hsiku began. The Knobelsdorfs Company in the forefront. Around 9:30 in the morning, they managed to repel the Chinese from various positions east of the fortress, avoid a counterattack aimed at the right wing of the allies and join Admiral Seymour at night. The enemy moved south.

The next morning, on June 26, the "Liberated Column" of Admiral Seymour and his liberators under General Stößel came to Tientsin, it was a picture full of vicissitudes, the small and cosmopolitan army of retreating comrades were greeted with hurrahs by the inhabitants of Tientsin, who still had not recovered from the horror. But the exhausted troops could not rest. General Stößel came to the conclusion that, although the Boxer gang in the west of the city was still dangerously close, he had to secure his rearward connection with Tongku. But the Arsenal located to the northeast with its strong and intact crew still interfered with the march in that direction. Therefore the Russian general decided to take it.

After already on the afternoon of the 27th and on June 28th the 12cm guns of the English cruiser "Terrible" and some Russian guns had unleashed their fire, the attack was planned and fixed for 09:30 hours. The sketch below shows the deployment of the Allied troops as presented at 11:30 am. At this time, the Germans and the Russians began to advance with the lines of their riflemen to about 500 to 600 meters, the other troops followed, so that at this distance a concentrated rifle fire could be aimed at the arsenal. At 12:30 noon, the enemy fire began to weaken considerably. When the allies reached the Arsenal wall at 350 m and were about to go through the final stage of the attack, the Chinese soldiers of the Hauptmann von Knobelsdorf, noticed that the defenders were about to light a mine.

If this was successful, serious losses were inevitable. It was only thanks to the quick action of Hauptmann Knobelsdorf and his shooters that this attempt was thwarted. Meanwhile, the artillery managed to shoot at arsenal and thus caused the explosion of the large reserves of gunpowder. As a result, the Allied infantry were saved from the last assault, as the Chinese defenders preferred to escape in all directions. The German casualties of that day were 2 serious injuries and 6 minor injuries.

The activity of the German troops in Tientsin was completed for the present, as the sailors were urgently needed for the protection of Tsingtau. That same afternoon, the farewell of the Russian comrades took place. He was extremely cordial in view of the faithful brotherhood of arms. General Stößel placed himself in front of the two companies and expressed his special thanks to the German sailors.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

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Battle of Tientsin (13-14 July 1900).

With the opening of the road to Taku on the twenty-fourth, and with the arrival of more troops, it became the objective of the international force at Tientsin not only to stave off the attacks of the Chinese, but to take the offensive themselves. On June 26, the large and very well equipped arsenal, three miles to the northeast of the foreign community, was attacked by Russian troops. They were supported by United States Marines as well as British and German troops, and were able to capture the arsenal, a serious blow to the Chinese . On July 4, the Chinese made a strong effort to take the railway station, but a combined British, Russian and French force repulsed the attack.

Yet another attack was made on the railroad station July 11. The fierce fighting began at 4:00a.m., with the Chinese actually charging the allies with bayonets fixed . A few were able to break through between British and French lines but they were eventually driven out, but were said to have shown an "astounding amount of pluck and tenacity, as well as a considerable amount of strategy on the part of their officers." Had it not been for the quick action of Japanese reinforcements, the Chinese may have been successful in taking the railroad station. The Japanese came up quickly with bayonets fixed and drove the Chinese back.

By July 11 there was talk of a concerted attack by the various foreign powers on the walled city. In fact the Chinese advancement on the railroad station on the eleventh caused a postponement of a planned attack. A council of war made up of generals of the predominant powers met and it was decided that the attack would be made on July 13. The plan of operation for the attack was for the Russians and Germans to advance on the east and southeast . At the same time Americans, British, French and Japanese forces were to make a combined at t ack on the walled city from the south and southwest.

The actual attack commenced early in the morning of July 13. The foreign troops which advanced from the south and southwest did so with great difficulty . The wall of the native city was well armed by art illerymen of the Imperial Chinese army. The allied force to assault the walled city of Tientsin consisted of about 6,900 soldiers: 2,500 Russians, 2,000 Japanese, 900 Americans, 800 British, 600 French, and 100 Germans and Austrians. The challenge was substantial. The walls of Tientsin were 20 ft (6.1 m) high and 16 ft (4.9 m) thick. The Chinese had about 12,000 soldiers within the city or in nearby forts. To reach the city wall, the allied troops would have to cross more than a mile (2 km) of flat, unwooded terrain, dotted with farmhouses and swamps and crossed by canals and causeways.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001
Tientsin China in 1900. Glen Shagren. Utah State University.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

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Battle of Tientsin (13-14 July 1900).

The Americans, who were aligned to the left of the Japanese, immediately came under heavy fire from the Chinese positioned on the city walls. The Americans were in an area with little cover except for some mounds which formed old Chinese graves. The Japanese were in the center of the attack, flanked on the right by the British. By 9:00 a . m. they had moved as close to the walls as they could. They remained pinned to the ground by heavy Chinese fire, as did the rest of the foreign contingent on the south.

As soon as it grew dark the Japanese started forward again. By 2:00 a.m. of the fourteenth, they had reached the wall of Tientsin. The resistance of the Chinese was very strong, and when the Japanese troops got so close to the walls that they could not be fired upon, the Chinese rolled stones and threw bricks down on them.

Among the Japanese troops were engineers who carried explosives. Ladders were carried to help scale the walls. At 3:00 a.m. on 14 July, an intrepid Japanese engineer volunteered to rush the south gate and light a short-fused mine to blow the gate. When the mine in fact destroyed the gate, his bravery paid huge dividends but only at the cost of his life. By the time the outer gate of the city was blown open, Japanese troops had already scaled the walls, some using ladders, others simply going up by hand. Before the inner gate was blown open, Japanese troops opened it from within.

As the gates opened a flood of foreign troops, Japanese, British and French poured into the town, bayonetting and shooting the Chinese who still sniped from inside buildings and made a desperate resistance. With the defeat of the Chinese within the walls of the native city, the entire area of Tientsin was in foreign hands. The once thriving community within the walls was now battered beyond recognition, the result of the heavy shelling the foreigners had inflicted. To make matters worse, almost one third of the city was in flames.

No resistance was made to the occupation in the walled city itself, but the Japanese continued to trade fire with Boxers in the suburbs to the west. Panicked civilians jammed the north gate trying to escape, and some indiscriminate slaughter ensued. The allied troops, poorly supervised by their exhausted officers, took to plundering the city.

For the Eight-Nation Alliance, Tientsin was the bloodiest battle of the Boxer Rebellion. Two hundred and fifty soldiers of the allied armies were killed and about 500 wounded. The Japanese lost 320 killed and wounded; the Russians and Germans 140 killed and wounded; the Americans 25 killed, and 98 wounded; the British, 17 killed and 87 wounded; and the French 13 killed and 50 wounded. Casualties for the Chinese Army and the Boxers are unknown.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001
Tientsin China in 1900. Glen Shagren Utah State University
The China Relief Expedition Joint Coalition Warfare in China Summer 1900.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

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Battle of Tientsin (13-14 July 1900).

The events in Peking and the preparations of the allies.

On May 31, Zongli Yamen (Office of Foreign Affairs) succumbed to the repeated request of the diplomatic corps and allowed the ambassadors to summon no more than 30 troops for each legation. Foreigners did not comply with this condition. Most of the foreign detachments entered Peking at the end of May. His German and Austro-Hungarian colleagues were the last to arrive; Together they entered the Chinese capital on June 3, 1900. The German detachment consisted of 50 sailors led by an officer, Count Alfred von Soden. In Peking, there were around 451-458 guards in the legations in total. Together with armed volunteers of foreign origin, the general strength of foreigners did not exceed 530 to 550 men.

Meanwhile, conditions in Peking had taken a form that would soon reveal the seriousness of the situation. A few days after the guards arrived in the capital, the local government seemed to want to remember that it was finally necessary to take measures to suppress the uprising. The Chinese ministers said that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are aware of their responsibility and are determined to intervene by force of arms. Troops trained by foreign instructors were ordered to enter the capital. However, after a short time, they were sent back to their camps outside the city for being too severe against the Boxers. These measures and other events showed that in the widowed Empress's Council, the xenophobic party had increasingly gained the advantage.

However, the ambassadors, on June 10, considered that the security of the personnel of the legations was adequately guaranteed by the precautions taken. The German ambassador, Baron v. Ketteler even rejected the other 350 men that the leader of the German squadron had sent to Tientsin and placed at his disposal for Peking, and ordered them to remain in Tientsin, since the detachment in the capital did not need reinforcements. Two days later, on June 12, the situation worsened rapidly, as the xenophobic Prince Tuan, the father of Prince Pu-chun, was named a member of the Zongli Yamen.

Since June 13, the Europeans had been cut off from the world, the railways and the telegraph were destroyed and left in the hands of the rebels. All the monasteries and churches of the city were set on fire on this day. The attitude of the government, the troops and the population without restrictions adopted a form that made it too obvious that xenophobia was not deterred by any crime of the worst kind. Therefore, the neighborhood of the legations was closed and placed in a defensive state.

The new arrival of foreign detachments to Peking humiliated and frightened both the imperial court and the people. It is possible that the Chinese overestimated the actual number of foreign troops in the capital: on June 13, the Court prohibited any further strengthening of foreign detachments in Peking, stating that there were already more than a thousand guards in total. A mere presence of foreign troops in the vicinity of the Forbidden City undoubtedly upset the imperial court.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001
Tientsin China in 1900. Glen Shagren Utah State University
The China Relief Expedition Joint Coalition Warfare in China Summer 1900.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[Chris Dale]

Thanks for these updates!

[tigre]

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Battle of Tientsin (13-14 July 1900).

The events in Peking and the preparations of the allies.

On June 19, Zongli Yamen, in response to the news of the conquest of Taku's fortresses ordered foreign ambassadors to leave Beijing within 24 hours. Of course, this request did not materialize due to the fact that it would have been a certain death for Europeans. The Chinese government, led by the Empress Dowager, now evidently adopted a threatening and hostile attitude and began to surround the legation sector with government troops from all sides. To protest against this and, if possible, reach an agreement, the German ambassador, Freiherr von Ketteler, requested an interview at the Zongli Yamen on June 20. As this was not denied, he left in his litter (vehicle) at 09:00 in the morning to the Chinese government building. On the way, a Chinese non-commissioned officer killed him with a shot in the neck and wounded the Secretary of State who accompanied him. A help from the See-Bataillon Detachment was not possible because they received intense fire from all the houses on the street, which were occupied by Chinese troops.

While this horrible crime, as well as the recent burning of the English summer residence and other abominations, was the result of the government-sponsored and more fed-up fanaticism of the Chinese mafia, on June 21 the Chinese regular troops unleashed a overwhelming fire against the buildings of foreign embassies. Europeans, they saw that the English embassy was the largest and most extensive fortification surrounded by a strong wall, was the most suitable for the defense organized a redoubt and transferred all the women and children there , also establishing a military hospital in that place.

On June 22, the Americans, the French, the Italians and the Austrians were so pressured in their embassies that they left them, not to be cut, and retreated to the English Legation. Soon after, the Italian Legation was also set on fire. In the days that followed, Europeans were exposed to the continuous attacks of Chinese soldiers and the fiercest fire of guns and rifles. But the small congregation valiantly resisted the overwhelming force, and rejected all attacks with great losses of the enemy. The German detachment, in particular, resisted under its prudent and courageous leader, Oberleutnant Graf Soden. A barricade had been erected on the wall of the city.

An assault carried out by the Chinese on June 30 was brilliantly rejected, but on July 1, however, the position had to be vacated, and the defenses had to be confined to the English Legation. Under the uninterrupted fire of last generation weapons, the Chinese advanced their positions closer and closer to the embassy wall in the following days, and ventured into a second assault on July 12. Despite the superiority of twelve to one, Graf Soden decided with his remaining 30 men (the others had fallen or were wounded) to execute a bayoneta counterattack with the shouts of Hurra, and succeeded in repelling the enemy and capturing a flag , many rifles and ammunition.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001
Tientsin China in 1900. Glen Shagren Utah State University
The China Relief Expedition Joint Coalition Warfare in China Summer 1900.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more........................

Battle of Tientsin (13-14 July 1900).

The events in Peking and the preparations of the allies.

This brilliant success seems to have left in the Chinese a healthy horror, because a truce was closed on July 16 and, for the moment, the Europeans were released from the most urgent danger (this armistice lasted until July 29). About the destiny of the foreigners, only uncontrollable rumors, generally very exaggerated, filtered into the outside world. It is understandable that throughout Europe, and especially in Germany, the undeniable news of the murder of the German Emissary aroused a cry of outrage, which increased even more when seemingly credible news arrived that all Europeans in Peking had fallen victim to the Chinese murderous greed.

The entire Western world was rendered impotent by the terrible atrocities in Peking for lack of available forces. A last rescue attempt was made. His Majesty the German Kaiser, directed the Chief of the Cruiser Squadron, the Governor of Kiautschou, the Governor General of Shantung, the Viceroy of Nanking and Wutschang, the following telegram wholeheartedly: "For every foreigner of any nationality caught in Beijing , that is delivered alive to a German imperial authority or another foreign authority, the person responsible for the exit will be paid 1,000 taels *). I will also pay all the costs caused by any transfer of my commitment to Peking. "

The frustrated attempt of Seymour revealed the inner strength of the rebel movement. With a heavy heart, the squadron leaders had to decide not to make sacrifices in vain and wait for another military operation until the necessary reinforcements arrive. The available forces were barely enough to hold Tientsin. The yellow danger was suddenly exposed in a threatening manner to the whole West, and special circumstances imperiously required special measures.

Without major diplomatic negotiations, in the first moment of intermittent instability, all the great Western powers of Europe, together with the United States and Japan, had united to protect the endangered reputation of Western culture. Now the power of circumstances united them in a great task whose solution is sustained by the unity of the powers involved. For this reason, all the skill of diplomacy was necessary to establish each special action of the individual states.

In simple terms, Count Bülow, the then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, established the joint program in his circular to the German states, and said: "The objective we pursue is to restore the security of the people, of property and of the activity of the residents of China, rescuing the foreigners trapped in Peking, and restoring and ensuring normal conditions under an orderly Chinese government, atonement and satisfaction for the perpetrators of the crimes.We do not want a dismemberment of China, we do not seek special benefits. The imperial government is convinced that the maintenance of the agreement between the powers is a precondition for the restoration of peace and order in China, and for its part will continue to take into account this point of view in its policy".

*) One Tael - approximately 3 German Marks, depending on the price of silver.

Sources: https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/box ... say01.html
https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin ... MDLOG_0001
Tientsin China in 1900. Glen Shagren Utah State University
The China Relief Expedition Joint Coalition Warfare in China Summer 1900.

Cheers. Raúl M .