Battle of Beicang
Battle of Beicang | |
---|---|
Part of the China | |
Result | Boxers victory |
British Empire
United States
France
Russian Empire
Nikolai Linevich
Alfred Gaselee
Adna Chaffee
Ronglu
61 killed, 271 wounded
The Battle of Beicang (
Background
The
On August 4, 1900, the soldiers of the
Battle
At 3:00 a.m. the Japanese launched the attack by capturing an artillery battery on the extreme right of the Chinese lines. They then pushed forward on the flank of the Chinese positions. At dawn an artillery duel began between the Japanese and Chinese that lasted about a half-hour. During the artillery barrage a Japanese regiment crept forward and launched a direct assault on the Chinese positions near the river, advancing in close order through fields of millet and corn with a barrage of fire from the Chinese trenches pouring onto them.[12] The Japanese had requested assistance from British cavalry for the assault but this failed to arrive, so the Japanese pushed ahead alone.[13] The Japanese suffered heavy casualties but forced the Chinese out of their entrenchments and into a hasty retreat.[14]
On the east bank of the Hai River the Russians and French were unable to get around the Chinese flank due to flooded terrain. However, the Japanese victory on the west bank forced the Chinese to retreat, which they did in good order. The Chinese preserved most of their artillery by withdrawing it early in the battle, an action that, according to a
About 50 Chinese were killed in the battle. Almost all the Alliance casualties were Japanese, amounting to 60 dead and 240 wounded. A few British and Russian casualties were caused by Chinese artillery fire.[15] The Americans were never engaged, not finding their way to the battlefield until the action was over.[16] American medics treated the Japanese casualties.[17]
Aftermath
The battle was over by 9:00 a.m. Pursuit of the Chinese army was hindered by the Chinese cutting through the river banks to flood the surrounding lowlands. The Alliance army bivouacked at Beicang and its supply train from Tianjin came up during the day. The first battle during the march to Beijing had been a relatively easy victory, albeit costly in casualties for the Japanese. The Chinese now awaited the Alliance in strong defensive positions at Yangcun.[15]
The assessment of one participant at the Battle of Beicang was that the "Chinese troops received a blow from which they never recovered. They ever after offered no determined resistance".[18]
Notes
- ^ War Department. Adjutant General’s Office. Report on Military Operations in South Africa and China, Vol. XXXIII, Washington: Gov Printing Office, July 1901, pp. 568-571
- ^ War Department, Adjutant General's Office, pp. 568-571
- ISBN 9780521148122.
- ISBN 9780802713612.
- ISBN 978-0-78645-338-2.
- ISBN 0-7007-1563-0.
- ISBN 978-0-295-80412-5.
- ^ Thompson, p. 85, 170-171
- ^ War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, p. 567
- ^ War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, p. 570
- ^ Landor, A. Henry Savage. China and the Allies. New York: Scribner’s Sons, 1901, p. 339
- ^ Thompson, p. 343
- ^ Landor, p. 343
- ISBN 0-393-04085-2. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
- ^ a b c War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, p. 571
- ^ Landor, p. 340
- ^ "D'Arc's Marionettes caught up in the Boxer siege of Peking and Tientsin, China's Ford of Heaven". p. 21. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
- ^ Landor, 351