On the 19th, however, the Yamen notified all the Legations that they considered the attitude taken up by the Powers about the Taku Forts constituted an act of War, and demanded that the Legations should leave for Tientsin within twenty-four hours. An answer was immediately dispatched protesting the inability of the Ministers to leave at such short notice, and requesting an interview on the morning of the 20th. To this the Chinese vouchsafed no reply, and after a discussion lasting some minutes, the German Minister, Baron Von Ketteler, disagreeing with his colleagues, decided to make his way to the Yamen accompanied by his secretary. On his way, as every one knows, he was shot dead by a Chinese soldier in full uniform, and the secretary was severely wounded.
Shortly after this atrocity, a reply from the Yamen was received, in which no mention was made of the Minister’s death, and in which was expressed the regret of the Yamen that it was not considered safe for the Ministerial body to go to an interview, and concerning the short notice to leave, that it was now impracticable. At 4 p.m., in spite of the assurances of the Government, the troops opened fire, and the first serious fighting of the nine weeks’ Siege commenced. During the troublous times just recorded, barricades were erected at every point where there was any necessity for them, but these had been only of a temporary nature; they were now strengthened considerably, and a preconcerted plan was carried out by which all outlying pickets were withdrawn, all women and children accommodated in the British Legation, and the area of defence defined and condensed. The British Legation was crowded with refugees, 900 Europeans living there during the siege, the normal number being only 60. The day was spent in provisioning the place and in making all possible defensive preparations. At this time the strength of the combined guards was 18 officers and 389 men, composed as follows:
| Officers | Men | Officers | Men | |||
| British, | 3 | 79 | American, | 3 | 53 | |
| German, | 1 | 51 | French, | 2 | 45 | |
| Russian, | 2 | 79 | Japanese, | 1 | 24 | |
| Austrian, | 5 | 30 | Italian, | 1 | 28 |
This force does not include 1 officer and 30 men (French), and 1 officer and 10 men (Italian), who were detached to guard the native Christians in the Peh-tang Cathedral. In addition to these there were 125 irregular volunteers who were armed with any available rifles. The artillery at the disposal of the Allies was one Italian 1-pr. Q.F. with but 120 rounds, while the British, Americans, and Austrians, had one machine gun each. None of the guards had more than 300 rounds per man, so that the resources of the foreigners, from an offensive point of view, were positively paltry.
The first man to fall was the Professor of English at the University. He fell a victim to a very misplaced belief in the Chinese, and was killed by cavalrymen whilst returning from delivering a message to Prince Su.
On the 21st, the work of completing the defences was as vigorously proceeded with as the strenuous endeavours of the enemy to break through them would admit; but on the whole the day was a victory for the enemy, for the Austrian barricade was carried, and the French and Austrians who had been defending it were compelled to retreat to the French Legation. The Kansu troops behaved with a certain fierce gallantry, and, although losing heavily, managed to burn the Austrian and Dutch Legations, the Chinese Bank, and part of the Customs quarter. Prince Ching’s men behaved in a friendly manner all day, and on one occasion fired heavily into the Boxers, but Tung-fu-Hsiang’s men appeared imbued with a most fanatical hatred of everything foreign. During the day all members of the garrison not actively engaged in the defence, occupied their time by organising various committees, such as the Fortification Committee, Food Supply Committee, etc., etc., all of which eventually were of the greatest assistance, and did wonders towards the safety, not to say comfort, of the defenders.
In the evening the Austrian commander took over supreme military command; but on the morning of the 22nd, a rumour having spread that the American Legation had been abandoned, without taking steps to confirm the information, he ordered all the Legations east of Canal Street to be abandoned. There was a stampede. Italians, Austrians, French, and others all rushed alike to the British Legation, and a position of extreme danger was created. Before it was too late the mistake was rectified, and all the forces were sent back to their posts, which were re-occupied with but little loss. After this Sir Claude Macdonald was asked by the other Ministers to take supreme command, which he promptly did.
Before the Italians could reach their post, their Legation was found to be burning furiously. In consequence, it had to be permanently evacuated, and the Italians and Japanese subsequently occupied the Su-Wang-Fu, a fine inclosure of about 14 acres, which afterwards played an important part in the defence, although at first it was, through force of circumstances, but inadequately garrisoned. This latter fact formed at the time one of the greatest dangers to the defence; but the holding of this position was unavoidable, as, had it been left unoccupied, the remaining positions would have been seriously endangered.
Another weak spot was the Hanlin library, which, had it been fired, would have caused the greatest danger to the British Legation. Plans were formed to destroy it, but explosives were lacking, and so an opening was made into it in order that offensive operations might be made against any one using it as a sniping-ground, or in case the enemy should themselves determine to fire it. In spite of all precautions, however, the great library was set on fire the next day, and almost entirely gutted; in fact, the Legation itself was only saved by the extraordinary efforts of the defenders, who even managed to save a few of the extremely valuable works with which the building was stocked.