Rows of stakes had been driven into the creeks by the Ti-pings, and the boats carrying the siege train of the enemy were delayed in their advance upon Tait-san until they could be pulled up. In spite of obstructions and a strong sortie made by the garrison, which was not repulsed without a sharp fight, the guns were landed during the night of the 13th of February, 1863, and placed in position.
Early on the following morning the garrison received strong reinforcements from the Ti-ping army investing Chang-zu, distant less than twenty-five miles, which were welcomed with immense cheering. Shortly afterwards the besiegers opened fire from their numerous artillery.
In about five hours a large and practicable breach was made in the city wall, and Captain, or rather General, Holland ordered the assault. Now it so happened that the defenders had wisely sheltered themselves from the deadly artillery fire to which they had only one or two small 6-pounders to reply, and instead of recklessly exposing themselves in the usual Ti-ping style, had remained perfectly silent behind their defences.
Led by a party of the body-guard and their European officers, the trained troops rushed gallantly forward to storm the city. At this moment the defenders suddenly manned the breach, and although fearfully thinned by the enfilading artillery fire, kept up a fusillade which told with terrible effect upon the dense masses of the enemy. A few crossed the moat by their bridges, only however to be shot down, and the whole division of stormers wavered and hesitated on the brink. A sergeant-major of the disciplined rifle regiment here performed an act of bravery that no European could have outdone. Seizing the colours of the regiment, Ward's old flag, he rushed to the front with it, and calling on the men to advance, stood there alone, a mark for the fire of the besieged. It is remarkable that, though six bullets pierced his clothes, not one injured him, or even cut his skin.
Unable to advance against the shower of missiles directed from the breach and city walls, where even the little boys were stationed with heaps of bricks to throw upon them, the Imperialists fell back on their guns in confusion. General Holland then ordered the artillery to the rear, and a rapid retreat commenced. This, however, they were not allowed to effect so easily, for the Ti-pings dragged a 6-pounder into the breach, where it was worked by some Europeans, and directed upon the men endeavouring to remove the siege guns, with deadly effect. At the same time the garrison sallied forth from two gates, while others rushed through the breach and attacked the enemy with vigour.
For some time the rifles and 1st regiment of the British contingent, together with the European company, fought desperately to save the guns. Meanwhile the main Imperialist army was routed with much slaughter, and, with all the other regiments of disciplined troops, fled in every direction from the field. The troops who so gallantly protected the retreat of their comrades, managed also to save all the artillery, except two heavy 32-pounders and several light howitzers. Upon these guns the Ti-pings incessantly charged, and both sides lost heavily in killed and wounded. General Holland had left the field, and it was entirely due to Colonel Barclay and Major Cooke, who jointly conducted the retreat, and well animated and kept their men together, that only a few pieces of artillery, instead of the whole park, were captured by the Ti-pings.
Seeing that his men were falling thickly, and that they were in danger of being surrounded, Colonel Barclay abandoned the guns and made a pretty orderly retreat. The Ti-pings marked those guns for their especial prey, and concentrated on them such a hail of shot that no one could approach them from the hostile ranks and live. The enemy found that it would be impossible even to spike them without a terrible loss of life, and so left them uninjured as trophies for the victorious garrison of Tait-san.
The day following their defeat only 1,500 of the British contingent mustered at their head-quarters, but stragglers shortly came dropping in. The same force lost 5 officers killed and 16 wounded. The co-operating Imperialist army was totally dispersed, and lost more than 2,000 men hors de combat. The Ti-ping casualties were also very heavy, for the men had rushed gallantly into the breach under withering volleys from the disciplined and well-armed assailants, and at least 1,000 were killed and wounded during the defence and subsequent fighting.
General Holland, upon reaching Shanghae, resigned his command in disgust, and was superseded by one Major Gordon, of the Royal Engineers, a cold, calculating man, who possessed qualities far more conducive to successful operations against the Ti-pings than even brilliant and dashing generalship. His tactics were to destroy them from a distance by his long-range artillery, which was a thing to be done generally with perfect impunity, because the Ti-pings were almost entirely without cannon.
The aim of the revolutionists is to get at close quarters with the enemy, and wherever they have been able to accomplish this, even the disciplined and foreign-officered troops have been beaten. Unfortunately they have seldom been able to effect their favourite manœuvre against the latter, the overwhelming artillery and regular volleys of musketry sweeping away every attempted formation of the Ti-ping troops long before it could be completed.