August F. Chamot
THE Austro-Hungarian detachment consisted of thirty bluejackets from the cruiser Zenta. They arrived in Peking on June 3 by the last train, together with the German detachment. Lieutenant T. Kollar was in command, with Midshipman Baron R. Boyneburg von Lengsfeld and T. Mayer. With the detachment arrived also Captain Thomann von Montalmar and Lieutenant Ritter von Winterhalter, so that there were five officers and thirty men at Peking. When communication was cut Captain Montalmar took command himself.
In the legation there were only Dr. A. von Rosthorn and Mrs. von Rosthorn, the minister having left on leave in April and Vice-consul Natiesta being sick at Shanghai. His successor, Mr. Gottwald, tried to come up in the relief expedition under Admiral Seymour. The detachment guarded also the Belgian legation until the Belgian minister left there, and came to the Austrian legation on June 16.
On June 13, a Boxer attack on the new mint and the Imperial Bank of China was checked by rifle-fire from the east corner of the legation. A second attack was made at night and was also repulsed. During the search following the unsuccessful attack, several Boxers were killed a few hundred yards to the north on Customs street.
The next day the traffic on the Chang An street crossing Customs street was stopped by an outpost, and later on by a wire fence, in order to prevent the smuggling of disguised Boxers into the legation quarter.
During the night the guard at the Belgian legation was attacked, but beat off the Chinese. A patrol caught some suspicious people, who were handed over to the Chinese authorities. A part of the French detachment assisted them in their night watches at the barracks.
On June 20, the detachment was ready for marching, to escort Dr. and Mrs. von Rosthorn, as no notice had been given to Dr. von Rosthorn of the ministers’ new decision not to leave. On arriving, about 3 p.m., at the French legation, Dr. von Rosthorn was shown by Mr. Pichon a letter from the tsung-li-yamen to the ministers, promising them protection. Upon this, Dr. von Rosthorn returned with the detachment to the Austrian legation.
While all the posts were being reoccupied, and the bluejackets began to re-erect the fortifications, which had been pulled down before leaving to prevent the Chinese from using them, Tung Fu Hsiang’s soldiers, who were well hidden in the neighboring houses, opened a fierce firing from two sides at about 3.30 p.m.
The Austrian legation being entirely exposed, and untenable against any serious attack, it had been understood that the chargé d’affaires and the detachment were to retreat to the French legation. This was done under a galling fire, but there was only one man wounded.
The Austrians immediately hastened to a position in the barrier erected by the French some one hundred yards south of the customs compound. From that day they defended with the French the French legation.