A German detachment made a smart capture of some junks which were making off, full of railway sleepers, and into them were placed the wounded and what stores were left. The retirement was commenced on Tuesday afternoon, the whole force being on the left bank of the river, and the junks being towed by the railway coolies and the prisoners. Before starting, all gear, except the food, ammunition, and clothes which the men were wearing, was buried; among other things that were thus lost being the officers’ full-dress uniforms, which were brought because it was expected that on the arrival of the force at Pekin there would have been ample occasion to wear them. Three miles’ progress was made before dark, the men now proceeding in heavy marching order, with half rations for two days in their haversacks.
The first bivouac was miserable enough; damp mists rose from the river, and in an hour or two’s time blankets became saturated, and sleep out of the question. The mosquitoes on the river itself were in countless numbers, and the wounded suffered terribly from their attacks. On the morrow, resistance was met at each village, the enemy, in most cases, being composed of both Imperial troops and Boxers. These villages were taken at the bayonet’s point, one after another, and the force pushed on as quickly as possible to the next; the same sort of bayonet charge, the same kind of opposition to be overcome, a few casualties on each side, a few captured rifles, and the village was burnt. This last, although a tiresome and disgusting task, was a military necessity; nevertheless it was a pitiful sight to see old men and women wailing by the side of their burning houses, left to their fate by their younger relations. In no single case were these unfortunates molested by any of the British force, but in one village, where two middle-aged men were captured after having been seen fighting a few minutes previously, two sailors began to thrash them with their fists. This of course was immediately stopped by an officer, who, not understanding the position, began to upbraid the offenders, finishing with words to the effect that the force were not fighting with “peaceful villagers.” The men desisted, and having saluted, were walking off, when one remarked: “Yes, I know them peaceful villagers—peaceful villagers wot sells us chickens by day and snipes by night.” During the day, a one-pounder Hotchkiss was captured after the retreat of the enemy, who withdrew it as soon as the charge commenced, and somewhat carelessly hid it in a swamp to the rear of the village.
The Chinese cracker trick, which is really an exceedingly good imitation of heavy independent rifle fire, was used a good deal by the Chinese about this period; but when the first position was taken, of course the burnt crackers told their own tale, and the tremendous fire from the enemy’s trenches frightened no one again. Towards evening the Allies made their first acquaintance with the “Jingal,” a weapon on which, until quite recently, even the Imperial troops had placed great reliance; they now formed the Boxers’ artillery. A “Jingal” is nothing more nor less than a huge rifle, fashioned like a modern Mauser without the magazine; they fire a very large leaden bullet, the impulsive force being a proportionately large charge of black powder. Of course their weight makes them too great a load for one man, so they are carried and manned by two, or sometimes three. In some cases the village carpenter had been requisitioned to make them into guns of position, which was done by adopting the swivel system, putting them on the top of large stakes which were firmly driven into the earth.
After another uncomfortable bivouac, the force got under arms again early next morning, and were marching in a long column by the river bank, when a line of cavalry were perceived on the left front about 3 miles off. They were screened by a fringe of trees, and on account of the distance no one was able to make them out sufficiently clearly to be certain of their nationality. However, it was decided from their formation, and the size of their horses, that they were Russian Cossacks. The Russian colours were hoisted, and in answer came a well-directed shell, which burst in unpleasant proximity to the Germans. This was followed by others, and, in twenty minutes’ time the column found itself heavily engaged with General Nieh’s army, 8000 strong, with four batteries. The column was disposed in the following the manner; the Germans, Russians, and Japanese were on the right side of the river, and the rest of the force on the left. The natural features of the ground and all important points are mentioned in the account of the battle which follows.
The forces on the left side took cover under a sand-bank, and the British cleared No. 1 village and occupied it. It was soon seen that No. 2 village was full of the enemy, and as our guns were kept fully occupied by their artillery, so were unable to prepare the assault by shell fire, the British with some Americans therefore again charged and captured it. The Chinese fire at this point was very heavy and well directed, and during the brief rush many casualties occurred, among them being Captain Jellicoe—the British flag-captain, who was dangerously wounded through the lung. At one time it seemed as though the village would not be taken owing to the want of numbers, but after a slight check, which was made under cover of some banks about 100 yards from the point of attack, the sailors again pressed forward, and the Chinese fled. No time was given to them to prepare No. 3 village, and without a pause the charge was continued, ending in the utter rout of the enemy, with heavy loss.
The allied line by this time consisted of British, Americans, and French, all advancing on the Chinese infantry, with one flank resting on the said sand-bank. The Chinese gradually retired over the other end of it, and from its crest opened a steady fire. Two companies of the “Centurion’s” men and some thirty Americans, the whole under the direction of Captain M‘Calla, U.S.N. (a fine old Civil War veteran), were sent to turn the enemy’s flank, which was done most successfully. The enemy again lost heavily, and had the outflanking force stayed where it was, all would have been well, but the men were kept charging until they found themselves far in advance of the supports, with No. 4 village in front of them, strongly occupied by Imperial troops, and with a heavy fire coming from across the river from the Chinese position on that side, whose occupants had not yet been evicted by the Russians and Germans.
There was nothing for it but to retire, and with further loss in officers and men, the force managed to extricate itself, with its dead and wounded, from a somewhat delicate position. The battered remnant of those companies were sent to be junk guard, and the fresh men who had at present done nothing were moved up to the fighting line. This advent had an immediate effect, and the Chinese, fighting stubbornly and losing heavily, were pushed back steadily for about 4 miles. A defensive position, the best there was, was chosen for the junks and field hospital, and as it was four o’clock in the afternoon, the rear-guard halted, and prepared to bivouac. For three more hours the advance guard pursued the flying foe, until the men were in danger of becoming exhausted, when the halt was sounded, and they retired on to the already mentioned position.
It is not too much to say that the British did practically all the fighting, and with the exception of the Germans and Americans, the other forces were hardly engaged. The men had been on the march for sixteen hours, twelve of which had been spent in fighting; they were without water to drink, and without time to eat, and even on their return the Pei-Ho was the only refreshment obtainable. Five hours’ rest (not for the whole force, for some had to go on picket duty—an arduous task for which some contingents had no great liking), was all that was vouchsafed to the weary men, and at one o’clock next morning the “Fall in” was sounded, and once more the column headed for Tientsin. By this time there was so little ammunition left for the field guns, that they were all placed in junks, and little enough room did it leave for the wounded, whose numbers had been nearly doubled by the previous day’s fighting. At 3 a.m. some firing took place in the immediate front, and the marines (British) came upon a Chinese outpost, who after the first few shots fled, leaving their rifles. They had been placed on the outskirts of a small Chinese town, which proved to be absolutely deserted.
Sleepy and with empty stomachs, plodding along through the oppressing quietness where all should have been bustle and life, was a weird, uncanny experience. It is on such occasions, in the grey of the early morning, going to who knows what fate, with that awful feeling of expectancy hanging over every one that the nerves get distraught and the imagination, if allowed to wander, makes such jumpy creatures of the finest men; so it was with feelings of relief that the force once more found themselves in the open, and again marching along the river banks. On leaving the town, the head of the force was challenged from the other side of the river, from what in the puzzling light looked like a wood. An interpreter went forward, and explained that the force was friendly to the Chinese government, and desired nothing better than to be allowed to pass on into Tientsin peaceably. A conciliatory and satisfactory answer was given to this request, and the force was moving on, when suddenly a tremendous artillery and musketry fire was opened on them! Nothing but the darkness saved the head of the column from total annihilation. As it was, however, the force lay down and replied, as well as it was possible, to the tremendous fire from the opposite bank.