BASIL GUY RAN BACK AND BOUND UP HIS WOUNDS.
The troops then advanced across the causeway, suffering heavily from the incessant rifle fire, and from the shell and shrapnel fire of two guns which the Chinese had posted near a water–mill at the right of the road. The causeway was not more than thirty feet in width, so that the troops were unable to extend, and being therefore in close order, afforded an excellent mark to the enemy. Unfortunately by this time the Japanese and British guns had expended all their ammunition, but one of the Hong–Kong guns had still a few rounds left, and directing its fire upon the Chinese guns which were doing so much mischief, brought their fire on itself, and so succeeded in enabling the column to pass along the causeway with far less damage than it would otherwise have suffered. The Chinese fire was on the whole surprisingly good, and showed that their artillerymen had been well instructed. While our own guns were for the most part using black powder, the Chinese were using smokeless, and consequently it was very difficult for our artillerymen to locate their exact position.
The troops were glad enough when night came on. The day had been hot, and though heavy showers had fallen in the early part of the morning, their water–bottles were soon exhausted, and they were compelled to drink the green stagnant water in the ditches, with the result that a great number of them afterwards suffered from dysentery. The losses had been very heavy, and the question of retirement was mooted, only, however, to be at once rejected. To retire would be to add enormously to the prestige of the Chinese and to lower the spirit of the troops. It was therefore resolved that the ground won must be held at all hazards, and the attack recommenced in the morning. All through the night the enemy kept up a desultory fire, which was a trying ordeal for the troops, fatigued as they were by the long dayʼs fight, during which they had been exposed for hours to a blazing sun, with but a very small supply of food. The Japanese suffered most severely, as the ground they were holding on both sides of the causeway was two feet deep in water, and they had therefore to remain standing all night.
Just before sunrise the Japanese sappers stole forward to attempt to blow in the outer city gate. They were met with a tremendous volley of musketry, and one ball cut the electric wire which was to have been used for firing the charge. Lieutenant Inawe, however, pluckily rushed forward with a lighted fuse, and escaped, almost miraculously, unhurt. Meanwhile one of the Japanese soldiers had pluckily climbed the inner wall and unbarred the inner gate, and the Japanese poured into the city, the Chinese flying before them in all directions. The Japanese were followed by the Welsh Fusiliers, the rest of the troops marching round on the broad city walls to keep as many of the enemy from escaping as possible. There was a good deal of fighting in the streets and firing from the houses, but the greater part of the Chinese troops had retired during the night, having lost heart when they found that their assailants maintained their position and would recommence their attack in the morning. The Chinese loss was estimated at about five thousand; that of the allies was under eight hundred, of which five hundred occurred in the ranks of the Japanese.
The streets were littered with Chinese uniforms and the red sashes and badges of the Boxers, of which they had divested themselves as they ran. Numbers of bodies of people killed by the shells lay about, but only two women were found among them, which seemed to show that the greater portion of the inhabitants had fled before the attack began, leaving the city to be defended by the Boxers and the Imperial troops. The effect of the lyddite shells from the heavy guns had been terrible; indeed the Chinese looked upon lyddite as a sort of death–dealing magic.
The tactics of the attacking troops had not been good, owing probably to the divided command. Had they been marched during the darkness they could have gained their position in the houses under the walls with comparatively slight loss, and could have blown in the gate and assaulted the city at once, instead of which they were halted a long way in front of the wall and then marched in broad daylight across an open plain devoid of cover, and halted for a couple of hours under fire while the bridge over the canal was being repaired. Moreover, almost all the troops were engaged in the operation, only a handful being left to guard the settlements, while a large body of Chinese cavalry kept hovering about some little distance away, and had they been under a competent leader, might have effected an entrance into the settlements and swept them from end to end. Still, the capture of Tientsin was worth the risk; it opened the road to Pekin, and relieved both Peiho and Shanghai from a danger that was every day increasing. It also conduced to the safety of every foreigner in the interior of China.
While the fighting had been going on, the Russians and Germans on the other side of the river circled round and stormed the batteries on the Lupi Canal, taking them with comparatively little opposition. During their advance one of the Chinese shells fell into a building inside the Russian line, in which, unknown to its occupants, dynamite was stored. The explosion was terrific; the windows of most of the houses in the settlements were shattered by it, although it occurred some way off on the other side of the river. The Russian general, who, with his staff, was close by at the moment, had his hand damaged by a falling building, his trumpeter was killed, and a number of men were knocked down by the force of the concussion. The total German and Russian loss was about one hundred and fifty killed and wounded. The Russians were aided by a four–inch gun from the Algerine and a twelve–pounder from the Terrible, which rendered most valuable aid, as the Russians had with them only seven twelve–pounders of an old pattern.