With the Allies to Pekin: A Tale of the Relief of the Legations

by G. A. Henty

DELAYS

On the thirteenth the allies began a heavy bombardment of the native city, the guns being placed on a mud wall enclosing both the native city and foreign settlements. The British had sixteen guns of various sizes, and four Maxims; the Americans three guns and three machine–guns; the Japanese twelve mountain guns; the French six mountain guns; and the Austrians two Maxims and a Nordenfeldt. The Russians and Germans, who were encamped two miles away on the other side of the river, did not share in the bombardment. The cannonade was kept up with tremendous vigour, the British guns alone pouring in fifteen hundred shells in the course of the morning. So terrific was the fire that the Chinese batteries soon ceased to play.

Meanwhile an allied army of some five thousand men, under the command of the Japanese Brigadier–General Fukushima, the senior officer present, advanced under cover of darkness on the western side of the Peiho to a little arsenal about two miles to the north–west of the settlements. This force was composed of fifteen hundred Japanese, with two batteries of artillery, a British contingent under Brigadier–General Dorward, comprising one hundred and fifty blue–jackets, one hundred and fifty marines, one hundred and sixty men of the Welsh Fusiliers, one hundred of the Chinese regiment, one hundred and fifty of the Hong–Kong regiment, the Hong–Kong artillery, and the naval guns, also forty–five Austrian marines, nine hundred Americans under Colonel Meade, and nine hundred French under Colonel De Pelacot. The remainder of the Welsh Fusiliers and a number of blue–jackets were despatched at the same time to hold the enemy in check at the railway–station, while from their camp the Russians and Germans advanced in force on the east banks of the river to attack the batteries on the Lutai Canal. The best point of attack was the south–west angle of the city, as in this way they would have avoided the concentrated fire from the whole of the crenellated wall; but a canal intervened, and there was no means of bridging it, the Chinese having opened the sluices and flooded the country on both sides of it. The advancing force, moreover, would have been exposed to the fire of the Chinese fort two thousand yards away, on which were mounted several modern guns. It had been decided, therefore, to attack at the south gate, to which a narrow paved pathway ran in a straight line from the arsenal.

The troops were drawn up, the French on the right, the Americans on the left, and the Japanese, British, and Austrians in the centre.

The canal was formerly crossed at the arsenal by a small wooden bridge, but this had been burnt in order to keep the Chinese guns from going from the city to the race–course, from which they had for some days maintained a galling fire. The arsenal itself was not held in strength, being too much exposed to the Chinese fire, but a Maxim had been stationed in one of the houses by the bridge, to prevent the Chinese from repairing it. The French were the first to reach the remains of the bridge in order to take up their place on the right of the attacking force, and when they found that there was no means of crossing, they had to halt under cover of a very heavy fire from the Japanese sappers, until they had made it passable. The French and Japanese troops then crossed together, and proceeded along the pathway until they reached a ditch six feet wide, running at right angles to the pathway, and filled with stagnant water.

This ditch was about nine hundred yards from the wall. Crossing it the troops took shelter in a number of small houses a short distance beyond. Forty men were left to hold them, and two hundred more advanced along the causeway until they got under the shelter of the Chinese houses, situated a couple of hundred yards outside the city wall. The Japanese sappers threw up an entrenchment with great rapidity, and placed bridges across one or two ditches which obstructed the advance.

The attack was then developed as had been arranged. The Welsh Fusiliers and the Americans on the extreme left proceeded towards the western angle of the city wall, the advance company taking cover in a creek some three hundred yards from the wall, and the remainder settling themselves a little to the rear behind mud walls and any inequalities in the ground. Their position was an unpleasant one, for in addition to being exposed to the fire from the wall, they had to keep an eye upon a large body of Chinese horse which had drawn up just out of range in readiness to charge if opportunity offered itself. Unfortunately, two hundred of the American infantry, under Colonel Liscum, instead of continuing forward, turned almost at a right angle and marched directly across the front of the attack until they reached a position near the French settlements. They were in formation of sections of four, and were exposed to a terrific rifle fire from the whole line of the city wall and also from the Chinese houses lying between the wall and the settlements. They changed their line of advance, but did not better their position, and were obliged to take shelter behind the Chinese graves, with which the plain was studded. These graves are only small mounds of earth, and though they found protection behind them from direct fire from the walls, they were still exposed to a flanking fire from the houses. Colonel Liscum, while gallantly steadying his men, was killed, and four officers and seventy–two men were wounded.

An attempt was made to send them fresh ammunition. Captain Ollivant of the Chinese regiment was killed in a gallant attempt to draw off the line of fire with some ammunition mules, and the Americans were forced to lie where they were until nightfall, when they fell back to the arsenal with their wounded and dead, which amounted to just one–half of their whole number. In the course of the day Lieutenant Phillimore of the Barfleur had managed to get out to them with a few blue–jackets, and had assisted them materially, both in holding their position and in carrying back to the arsenal those who had fallen. Major Pereira of the 1st Chinese Regiment, who was next to them, went out to them twice to bring in their wounded. He was hit himself in so doing. His regiment had nineteen casualties, including two officers.

When the bombardment had somewhat weakened the Chinese fire, General Fukushima ordered the general advance. Unfortunately he received word that his men had effected a lodgment on the city wall, and had actually got inside the town, and he therefore requested General Dorward to stop the fire of the British guns, which was, of course, instantly done. Had they been kept in action half an hour longer the loss to the Japanese would have been considerably less, for the gunners had the exact range, and were causing great destruction. However, the whole line of attack pushed forward and took shelter in the houses outside the walls, and as soon as it was discovered that the Japanese were not in the city, all the guns again opened fire. This was maintained steadily all the afternoon, the fire of the large naval guns being particularly accurate. While the Americans were being retired from their advanced position in the evening these guns were ordered to sweep the Chinese barricades and line of defended houses, from which Colonel Liscumʼs force had been so much harried all day. The Americans were lying about three hundred yards from this fringe, and if they attempted to move they were in great danger of being hit, but the fire of the British guns was so accurate that the retiral was carried out without one casualty.

Early in the afternoon a company of marines was ordered to reinforce the Japanese and French, and the Austrian marines went with them. The fire was so heavy and accurate that a number of blue–jackets under Captain Beattie hurried forward to their support. A heavy cross–fire was poured upon them, and several of the men fell, among them being an able seaman named MʼCarthy. Basil Guy, one of the Barfleurʼs midshipmen, ran back and bound up his wounds. He then tried to lift the disabled man and carry him in, but, finding the weight too heavy for him, he ran forward again, got the stretcher, and returned with another seaman to assist him. As the rest of the party were all now under shelter, the whole fire of the enemy was concentrated upon him, and the ground was literally ploughed up with shot. MʼCarthy was placed on the stretcher, but as he was being carried in, he was again hit, and this time killed. For this gallant action Guy was awarded the Victoria Cross, being the only midshipman who had ever gained that honour.