CHAPTER VIII
CAPTURE OF TIENTSIN NATIVE CITY

Two o’clock on the morning of July 13th saw bodies of men, totalling rather more than 6000, moving quietly to their appointed rendezvous; from which they were to set out to fight what proved to be the fiercest battle of the war, a battle against heavy odds, and one in which every advantage lay with the opposing forces. The object in view was the capture of the native city, without which the advance to Pekin might be indefinitely delayed, and which was, equally with the capture of the Taku Forts, the most important operation of the many which finally resulted in the relief of the Legations. The native city itself, besides being surrounded by a high and solid wall which was impervious to the attacks of the Allies’ light artillery, was also the most important city in the north of China, with the single exception of Pekin. It was the centre of the huge Fur trade, and in fact was the outlet to 90 per cent. of the entire trade of two provinces. The population was about a million souls, and it was garrisoned by regular troops to the computed number of 12,000, with another 10,000 Boxers as armed auxiliaries. The latter had nearly all got rifles of types from the newest Mannlichers to old single-loading Mausers, with which, even if they were not adepts in the art of rifle shooting, they at least kept up an astonishingly heavy fusilade. They appeared to labour under some misapprehension about the use of sights, which they seemed to believe denoted the muzzle velocity of the projectile, rather than the number of yards at which it was desired to kill a foreign devil. Thus, seeing a man say about 200 yards away, they thought that if they put up their sights to about 1800 yards, they stood more chance of hurting him than they would do if content with the proper range.

Gun and Ensign captured at Tientsin.

[page 156.

Unfortunately this did not apply to the Regulars, who on this occasion, urged on by threats and bribes, used their weapons more effectively than was looked for, judging by their past behaviour. Even before the troops had started the enemy had somehow or other got the news, and shells began to fall pretty frequently in the German concession, which was the quarter fixed for the gathering of the British, Japanese, Americans, and French. The representatives of these powers were entrusted with the attack on the south gate of the city, after they had driven back the enemy from the Hi-Kuan-Su arsenal, which was already occupied again by the Chinese. The Russians and Germans were told to capture all the batteries and forts on the other side of the river, and then to catch the enemy as he retreated from the north gate and fled, as every one confidently expected he would, along the river bank to Hsi-Ku arsenal, the scene of Seymour’s relief, which had also been re-occupied by Ma’s men. To the superstitious the day appeared to be an unhappily chosen one, for not only was it the thirteenth of the month, but it laboured under the somewhat grave disadvantage of being a Friday, two misfortunes upon which an officer was flippant enough to pass some facetious remarks, as the naval brigade headed the British force out of the Taku gate.

The total number of men engaged was about 5000, British 710, Japanese 1500, French 900, Austrians 45, and Americans 900, who were on the south-west side of the river, the Russian and German contingent being on the north-east. The first line of advance assumed the form of a sweep, and took the force clear of the enemy’s artillery fire, which had been absolutely non-effective in the darkness. In silence the troops marched on the racecourse position, which was found to be untenanted. On reaching the open plain, and heading for the Hi-Kuan-Su arsenal, the force was split up into five columns, each making for the gate of the arsenal by converging routes.

The day soon broke, and simultaneously the opposing artillery commenced a tremendous fire; that of the Allies being directed at the city wall, at the south gate pagoda, and at any guns that were visible; while the enemy divided their attention between the advancing columns and the Allied guns. In the otherwise deathlike quiet of the summer’s morning, a series of roars, and distinctly visible flashes, created an extraordinary impression on the infantry, who seemed to feel that this was only the prelude to something compared to which the everyday occurrences of the last six weeks would altogether pale into insignificance. It was so unusual, this artillery duel—which was being waged so fiercely and at such a distance as to be without a sound of rifle fire or a sight of the enemy—which every now and again burst forth into a sustained fire, only to be succeeded by a storm of rifle bullets and the almost inevitable attack, followed by the Allies’ steady reply, ending in the repulse of the Chinese, and the destroying of houses by shell fire. The present was all so different: the defenders had assumed the offensive; the long hoped for and long expected day had come, and the possibility of capturing the enemy’s headquarters found the men in such a determined mood that the possibility augured a certainty. The Chinese did not make a prolonged resistance at the arsenal, and the Japanese were quickly in full possession. The British, Americans, and Austrians were following them, when all at once the air seemed alive with bullets, and the British who had formed the Japanese supports, being neither able to locate the fire nor to see the enemy, immediately extended and lay down. Not so the Americans, however, who came swinging by the rear of the prostrate British, and suffered heavily; the experience gained was costly but profitable, for they likewise immediately assumed the prone position. Then ensued one of those trying half hours that seem to come in most engagements. With no enemy in sight, and no possible chance of retaliation, the men lay there restless yet eager. Bullets fell so thickly that the air seemed, to use a Scotch expression, like a “kist full of whistles.” With the force were six horses, five of which were killed in the first few minutes. Nor were they the only loss, for here Captain Lloyd of the Marines was mortally wounded in the throat, while yet relating his experiences of the Seymour column. Almost his last words were to the effect that, having come safely through that trying time, he feared not for his safety then. The conduct and the courage of the men were splendid. They showed the utmost confidence that the order which regulated them to lie on the fire-swept plain, and prevented them from gaining the shelter of the arsenal walls, only some two or three hundred yards in front, was only given, that something more important to the main issue should first take place before their work began. At last the tension was removed, the order to advance was given, and with what feelings of relief the men rose, formed into line, and marched coolly up to the walls, can be better imagined than described. Only two men were lost whilst in the erect position, whereas the small British naval force alone, on rising, left one officer dead and some twenty wounded men in the doctor’s hands. Naturally the interval had not passed without incidents occurring which in some measure affected the result of the battle. The first was a terrific explosion on the other side of the city, which proved to have been caused by the demolition of a dynamite store, either by British guns or Russian bullets. The effects of the explosion were somewhat curious; a squadron of Cossacks were dismounted, and it was said that the Russian General was himself slightly injured by the falling débris. Many windows in the settlement were broken at a distance of two miles, and where the Naval Brigade were lying in their previously described position, the vibration was extraordinary, at a distance of about three and a half miles. A thin column of white smoke rose perpendicularly in the still air, and gradually flattened out into a mushroom-like pall; perchance the only pall to the coffins of several of the enemy.

Another noticeable event was a minor explosion on the south side of the city, occasioned by a shell from the 12-pr. on the mud wall. It burst in a small-arm magazine, and caused an outbreak which finally developed into a serious fire, sounding for all the world like hundreds of crackers going off, as the fire reached box after box of ammunition. One thing was noticeable during that inactive half hour, in which one had nothing to do but think; it was the manner in which the wounded men behaved on receiving their bullet. What a lot some actors might learn if they only would take the risk of being eye-witnesses! There would be less of the tragic fall on to one’s back, and less still of the fixed stare at the drop scenery. In reality, it is only the slightly wounded who betray any emotion whatever, and this is nearly all of a facial type; their utterances are usually not fit for publication. The more seriously wounded seem to be numbed, and their phlegm seems wonderful in such circumstances; no whining, no apparent excitement, a very common remark with bluejackets being “’ave got! get a stretcher, Bill”—practical if callous. Those who figure in the day’s casualty list as mortally wounded, if speech remain to them, generally seem to have had some premonition of the coming disaster,—they are “fey.” Their feelings are expressed by “I felt it coming,” or “Them——have got me at last,” and so on. When the Brigade reached the arsenal, it was seen that the Japanese were pressing an attack in skirmishing order on the left front, the Americans were discovered to be about to start to the right front in force, while the straight and exposed road joining the arsenal with the south gate of the city, was held by a mixed force of French and Japanese numbering in all about a hundred, who had pushed up to within 600 yards of the gate, in order to take advantage of the cover afforded by some half-dozen huts. This small body had two guns with them, but these speedily became inoperative through lack of ammunition, and the extreme danger, which lay in making an attempt to bring a further supply from the rear, rendered them useless for the remainder of the day.