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.