tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29044268141064946972024-11-01T10:33:08.488+00:00Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-49449700252560708652014-03-06T08:57:00.000+00:002014-03-06T08:57:13.951+00:00<div align="justify"> <i>Whether it was the crushing defeats of January that changed the course of the war will, perhaps, never be known. What is certain, though, is that in February every man shared a morale so high that it brought an angel to every shoulder, and a confidence so great that it added the worth of an extra battalion to every conflict. Lord Roberts was rampant in the Orange Free State; General Buller strode the Natal as a giant. In just two weeks of brilliantly planned and heroically fought actions, the siege of Kimberley is broken; Cronje surrenders at Paadeberg; the Tugela Hills are won; Ladysmith is relieved and Botha’s army is fleeing to the north. The happy coincidence that these successes synchronised on February 27th with the anniversary of Majuba Hill, wiping out a dishonour of nineteen years' standing felt throughout the British Army, will doubtless feature in the newspapers of the day more highly than the catalogue of courageous leadership and individual heroism that made them possible. My diary notes for the month are included here to provide the fine detail so easily missed when viewing the broad sweep of history ...</i> <br /><br /> <b>1 February 1900</b> - The forced crowding and inactivity has led to outbreaks of sickness and many of the men are suffering with dysentery <br />-----<br /> <b>2 February 1900</b> - The medical staff at Chieveley are working miracles to keep us free from the enteric fever that is sweeping Lord Roberts troops <br />-----<br /> <b>3 February 1900</b> - After two days of difficult hauling our heavy artillery is now in place on Swartz Kop and the Boer positions are within range <br />-----<br /> <b>3 February 1900</b> - General Buller prepares to assault Vaal Krantz in his third attempt to break through the Boer lines blocking the road to Ladysmith <br />-----<br /> <b>3 February 1900</b> - I join Churchill with Major Lyttleton's Light Brigade and we move down the Tugela overnight to Mungers Drift opposite Vaal Krantz <br />-----<br /> <b>4 February 1900</b> - General Buller outlines his plan to capture Vaal Krantz, move east from Brakfontein and drive a wedge through from ridge to ridge <br />-----<br /> <b>4 February 1900</b> - If Buller succeeds with his Vaal Krantz plan the way will be open for a full frontal attack that will crumble the Boer defences <br />-----<br /> <b>4 February 1990</b> - As evening falls, the Engineers prepare their equipment for bridging the Tugela at Munger's Drift under cover of darkness <br />-----<br /> <b>5 February 1900</b> - Our attack is launched at first light with Colonel Murdoch, Lord Dundonald and Colonel Wynne leading a 3-pronged assault on Vaal Krantz <br />-----<br /> <b>5 February 1900</b> - Guided by the war balloon above, a thunderous barrage from our field guns ravaged the Boer trenches and silenced their fire <br />-----<br /> <b>5 February 1900</b> - Covered by our artillery, the Engineers bridge the Tugela and half of Major Lyttleton's force is across before the Boer realises <br />-----<br /> <b>6 February 1900</b> - After a day of competing gunfire, the order was given to "fix bayonets and charge" at which point the Boer turned and fled <br />-----<br /> <b>6 February 1900</b> - Vaal Krantz was ours but this was a victory destined not to last - by dusk the Boer had a Maxim in place raking our lines <br />-----<br /> <b>6 February 1900</b> - Lacking cover on the veldt, Major Lyttleton's Light Brigade suffered terrible privations and at sunset was forced to withdraw <br />-----<br /> <b>6 February 1900</b> - General Hildyard replaced Major Lyttleton and, with fresh troops in the field, routed the Boer and held the position at Vaal Krantz <br />-----<br /> <b>7 February 1900</b> - In military terms, General Buller's plan was a success. Topographically, though, we were beaten and could not press our advantage <br />-----<br /> <b>7 February 1900</b> - We had no advantage from Vaal Krantz and could not re-take Spion Kop - at dusk, General Buller calls his staff to a council of war <br />-----<br /> <b>8 February 1900</b> - Nobody can believe that the decision of our generals is that we are to retreat again - just what has everybody died for? <br />-----<br /> <b>8 February 1900</b> - Major General Hart is incensed at the decision to withdraw and demands that he is allowed another attempt to take Spion Kop <br />-----<br /> <b>9 February 1900</b> - Hart's protestations are to no avail and by midday we are again south of the Tugela wending our miserable way back to Chieveley <br />-----<br /> <b>10 February 1900</b> - What sadness must the hapless souls of Ladysmith be feeling as they hear of yet another British defeat and withdrawal <br />-----<br /> <b>10 February 1900</b> - As General Buller regroups at Chieveley, Lord Roberts launches his main attack planning to outflank the Boer at Magersfontein <br />-----<br /> <b>10 February 1900</b> - After supervising necessary command changes General Buller, shunning sleep, leaves for a reconnaissance of the Hlangwane foothills <br />-----<br /> <b>11 February 1900</b> - General Buller calls a conference to announce that he is putting everything into his fourth attempt to break through to Ladysmith <br />-----<br /> <b>11 February 1900</b> - General Buller's plan is to capture Hlangwane and hold this position at all costs to render all the surrounding hills untenable <br />-----<br /> <b>11 February 1900</b> - General Hildyard reports to General Buller that we have a superiority of ten-to-one in artillery and four-to-one in troop numbers <br />-----<br /> <b>11 February 1900</b> - I join Lt Colonel Byng on a reconnaissance to Hussar Hill, south-east of Hlangwane, overlooking Colenso and the route to Ladysmith <br />-----<br /> <b>11 February 1900</b> - We are massing a huge force but many Boer families have joined their menfolk in the laagers, fatally encumbering Botha's army <br />-----<br /> <b>12 February 1900</b> - From our reconnaissance report General Buller decides that Huzzar Hill, Mt Cingolo and Monte Cristo must be taken before Hlangwane <br />-----<br /> <b>12 February 1900</b> - Scouts report that Lord Roberts has outflanked the Boer at Magersfontein and Major General French is preparing to attack Kimberley <br />-----<br /> <b>12 February 1900</b> - Lord Roberts signals General Buller to confirm battle plans; both forces will strike within days, leaving the Boer nowhere to run <br />-----<br /> <b>12 February 1900</b> - News of our imminent attack has raised morale and re-ignited the mens' fire - General Buller is a man walking as a giant again <br />-----<br /> <b>13 February 1900</b> - Signal from HQ confirms that Major General French has advanced 70 miles in 3 days and is now over the Modder with Kimberley in sight <br />-----<br /> <b>13 February 1900</b> - Lord Kitchener has joined Major General French and they have taken control of the Modder river crossings at Rondeval and Klip Drift <br />-----<br /> <b>13 February 1900</b> - New field guns arrive as General Buller prepares the advance to Huzzar Hill and Hlangwane, now referred to as the Tugela Heights <br />-----<br /> <b>13 February 1900</b> - General Buller prepares for final push to Ladysmith and Major General French for Kimberley. Coincidence, or a signal that the end is near? <br />-----<br /> <b>14 February 1900</b> - General Buller's entire army is now on the move eastward to mount a three-pronged attack on the Boer positions on Huzzar Hill <br />-----<br /> <b>14 February 1900</b> - Our field guns blast the Boer but, as at Colenso, they repeat their tactic of silence allowing us to advance without hindrance <br />-----<br /> <b>14 February 1900</b> - After three hours against only a handful of sniper shots, Lord Dundonald's mounted brigade is in position to lead the final charge <br />-----<br /> <b>14 February 1900</b> - Late afternoon and hell is unleashed as the Boer open fire with everything they have - but too late - by dusk the Hill is ours <br />-----<br /> <b>14 February 1900</b> - No news of Major General French but we hear he has promised Lord Roberts that if he is still alive he would be in Kimberley by 15th <br />-----<br /> <b>15 February 1900</b> - After last night's capture, Huzzar Hill has today become a fortress with the full might of our artillery blasting the Boer <br />-----<br /> <b>15 February 1900</b> - Signal received at HQ that Major General French has broken through and Kimberley is relieved - a thunderous cheer splits the sky <br />-----<br /> <b>15 February 1900</b> - While still heavily defended by the Boer, the Tugela Heights are open before us and Hlangwane then Colenso must shortly fall <br />-----<br /> <b>16 February 1900</b> - We hear that the people of Kimberley suffered terribly during their ordeal, spurring us even more towards freeing Ladysmith <br />-----<br /> <b>17 February 1900</b> - General Buller's entire force sweeps from ridge to ridge towards Mount Cingolo, forcing the Boer to retreat to Monte Christo <br />-----<br /> <b>17 February 1900</b> - By sunset, Mount Cingolo is cleared of the enemy, our guns are in position and Monte Christo and Hlangwane are under fire <br />-----<br /> <b>17 February 1900</b> - With no rest from his actions at Kimberley, Major General French is in hot pursuit of Cronje's forces now fleeing for Bloemfontein <br />-----<br /> <b>18 February 1900</b> - All day our guns have pounded the Tugela ridges and now the infantry is subduing resistance on the flanks of Monte Christo <br />-----<br /> <b>18 February 1900</b> - With Monte Christo held, Hlangwane can not be long defended and after just a few hours rest Colonel Thorneycroft's troops sweep in <br />-----<br /> <b>18 February 1900</b> - Major General French catches up with the fleeing Boer, trapping Cronje and 5000 troops in a laager at Paadeberg on the Modder River <br />-----<br /> <b>18 February 1900</b> - Major General French and Lt General Kelly-Kenny propose bombarding the Boer into submission but Lord Kitchener orders a frontal assault <br />-----<br /> <b>18 February 1900</b> - Another day of disaster. Lord Kitchener's insistence on frontal assault leaves some 80 officers and 1000 men killed or wounded <br />-----<br /> <b>19 February 1900</b> - Storming across the ridges towards Hlangwane, Colonel Thorneycroft's brigade disturbs the Boers preparing their breakfast <br />-----<br /> <b>19 February 1900</b> - The Boers flee before us, leaving behind their entire camp equipment, tons of ammunition and the Transvaal flag hanging limp <br />-----<br /> <b>19 February 1900</b> - As the Boer abandons Hlangwane and the entire south of the Tugela, General Hildyard calls up our heavy artillery to bear on Colenso <br />-----<br /> <b>19 February 1900</b> - Lord Roberts arrives at Paadeberg and, surprisingly, refuses Cronje's request for a cease-fire to recover and bury the dead <br />-----<br /> <b>19 February 1900</b> - Lord Kitchener calls for more frontal assaults but, after a day of staff meetings, it is agreed that bombardment is better <br />-----<br /> <b>20 February 1900</b> - Boer positions are falling like dominoes and our infantry have now occupied Colenso and advanced the front to Colenso Station <br />-----<br /> <b>20 February 1900</b> - The Dublin Fusiliers press forward to the river under heavy shelling from a Boer brigade that has regrouped on the north bank <br />-----<br /> <b>20 February 1900</b> - Botha is forced to abandon Fort Wylie, his last defended position south of the Tugela - the Boer line must now give way <br />-----<br /> <b>20 February 1900</b> - With the Tugela still muddied by the fleeing Boer, our Engineers are already throwing pontoons across the river behind them <br />-----<br /> <b>20 February 1900</b> - Unable to withstand the increasingly heavy bombardment at Paadeberg, De Wet withdraws his commandos and abandons Cronje <br />-----<br /> <b>20 February 1900</b> - Signal received today from Lord Roberts HQ that we must press ahead with all haste or they will defeat the Boer before we do <br />-----<br /> <b>21 February 1900</b> - Under heavy fire General Coke leads three brigades across the Tugela, forcing the Boer to withdraw from the ground before Colenso <br />-----<br /> <b>21 February 1900</b> - Major General Wynne's 11th Brigade follow General Coke's troops across the river and capture the key Boer position at Horse-shoe Hill <br />-----<br /> <b>21 February 1900</b> - Confidence is now surging through all of us but we must remember the cost: almost 3000 killed and missing in the past month <br />-----<br /> <b>21 February 1900</b> - With De Wet gone, Cronje has 4500 men left at Paadeberg: he has said he will not surrender and they will surely die for nought <br />-----<br /> <b>22 February 1900</b> - Botha rallies his troops atop Grobler's Kloof and Pieter's Hill but gathering at the foothills are General Coke's three brigades <br />-----<br /> <b>22 February 1900</b> - After eight days and nights of continuous fighting, Botha's resistance is still costing us many lives for every yard gained <br />-----<br /> <b>22 February 1900</b> - The Inniskillings take appalling fire at Pieter's Hill - at roll call just 1 officer and 43 men answer for the 500 that had gone in <br />-----<br /> <b>22 February 1900</b> - Major General Wynne pushes forward from Horseshoe to a hill-top position north of Colenso and reports that Ladysmith is in sight <br />-----<br /> <b>22 February 1900</b> - Lord Roberts learns that women and children are with Cronje's men but his offer of a safe passage out for them is refused <br />-----<br /> <b>23 February 1900</b> - We are across the Tugela but every step of our way is frustrated by snipers and sharpshooters lurking in the brush and dongas <br />-----<br /> <b>23 February 1900</b> - Every division is now in conflict with the Boer over an area of four square miles between Grobler's Kloof and Pieter's station <br />-----<br /> <b>23 February 1900</b> - They defend to the death but a heliograph from Ladysmith tells us that lines of Boer wagons are already racing back to the Drakensberg <br />-----<br /> <b>23 February 1900</b> - It was just an hour before sunset when Colonel Thackeray's brigade crested Grobler's Kloof and won the first advantage of the day <br />-----<br /> <b>24 February 1900</b> - Without waiting for reinforcements Major General Hart storms the next hill to the north but his brigade is routed by a Boer rearguard action <br />-----<br /> <b>24 February 1900</b> - The Boer cling doggedly to their hill-top and more than 500 officers and men die in Major General Hart's valiant but failed action <br />-----<br /> <b>24 February 1900</b> - Pride swells every heart as we watch Lt Inkson carry his wounded comrade over four hundred yards under brutal fire to safety <br />-----<br /> <b>24 February 1900</b> - As chess pieces, General Buller moves his troops to strategic positions in a bid to outthink and outflank the Boer in the end-game <br />-----<br /> <b>25 February 1900</b> - As dawn breaks General Buller sends reinforcements to every forward position but the Boer resistance prevents any further advance <br />-----<br /> <b>25 February 1900</b> - Signals from Ladysmith indicate that behind their defiant lines of defence the Boer are abandoning their laagers and retiring <br />-----<br /> <b>25 February 1900</b> - A 6 hour truce is agreed to recover our wounded but from one bloodied Tugela hillside we recover just 3 survivors and 80 dead <br />-----<br /> <b>25 February 1900</b> - Report from Lord Roberts HQ tells us that hundreds of our troops are dead but the Boer is being crushed by our rolling bombardment <br />-----<br /> <b>25 February 1900</b> - General Buller orders the Engineers to move the pontoons north where, hidden by a bend in the river, we can form a new bridgehead <br />-----<br /> <b>26 February 1900</b> - General Buller orders a massive two-pronged assault - General Warren to attack the Boer left, Major Lyttleton the centre and the right <br />-----<br /> <b>26 February 1900</b> - For once it appears that General Buller has outhought Botha; having failed to anticipate our moves, the Boer retreat gathers pace <br />-----<br /> <b>26 February 1900</b> - Our three goals are Pieter’s Hill, the Railway and the hill that has become known as Harts;confidence is high for all of them <br />-----<br /> <b>26 February 1900</b> - Even in retreat the Boer hotly contests every yard of ground before finally turning and fleeing in the face of our forces <br />-----<br /> <b>26 February 1900</b> - Lord Roberts and General Buller both intend to force their enemy to defeat tomorrow to remove the festering sore that is Majuba <br />-----<br /> <b>27 February 1900</b> - Covered by a fearsome barrage, General Barton closes in first, then General Wynne and Col Norton - the Boer is now in full retreat <br />-----<br /> <b>27 February 1900</b> - Driven from Pieter's Hill, the Railway and Grobler's Kloof, Botha's line is broken at last and the road to Ladysmith is open <br />-----<br /> <b>27 February 1900</b> - A final charge by General Norcott's 4th Brigade clears the last crest and a huge cheer erupts as the Boer flee - it is Majuba Day <br />-----<br /> <b>27 February 1900</b> - Under cover of darkness, the Royal Canadians advance and entrench within yards of Cronje’s positions for a final dawn attack <br />-----<br /> <b>27 February 1900</b> - The Boer awake at dawn to find themselves staring into the muzzles of Canadian rifles - surrender is now their only option <br />-----<br /> <b>27 February 1900</b> - Cronjé surrenders at 6.00am with some 4000 men and 50 women and the slaughter at Paadeberg is at last over - it is Majuba Day <br />-----<br /> <b>28 February 1900</b> - We watch a great column of Boer horsemen and wagons moving rapidly north from Ladysmith but General Buller orders us not to follow <br />-----<br /> <b>28 February 1900</b> - Cyclists scorched into the city to confirm the news, signal rockets lit the sky and a ragged, shoeless crowd raced to meet us <br />-----<br /> <b>28 February 1900</b> - It is 5pm as two squadrons of British infantry commanded by Major Gough ride into Ladysmith to be greeted by General White <br />-----<br /> <b>28 February 1900</b> - Within just 24 hours, General Buller has broken through, Cronje has surrendered and Ladysmith is relieved - Majuba Day is revenged </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOF6EPN5LWWARggUrDQQgbecraqPWPqP7sWkTBJiYlfw_lhTonwXFcH_ib6mii0Dfn_U0khYAGpGOOwzA7NtW3bgaEzI3uvnj8_3rNWKE5QxEVVJ83e-gpFpZ9GPad-yeGtQ-L2Jh34Wa/s1600/french.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOF6EPN5LWWARggUrDQQgbecraqPWPqP7sWkTBJiYlfw_lhTonwXFcH_ib6mii0Dfn_U0khYAGpGOOwzA7NtW3bgaEzI3uvnj8_3rNWKE5QxEVVJ83e-gpFpZ9GPad-yeGtQ-L2Jh34Wa/s320/french.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">General French crossing Klip Drift en route to Kimberley</span> <br /><br /> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic; text-align:center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-I15ZUqYCYjVTB5ziApE0WcMcj3uho8U9FwWK5bt-npOT0eanUR8MIhdVhaOTnXddnb3n6KqSBLZZ7TFTTnyZvLZxe1ZDo3Rjl4-NAWjOdUJT2pDYEGRBZbnIUl9or7rBuLQmvWEPsTYb/s1600/cronje.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-I15ZUqYCYjVTB5ziApE0WcMcj3uho8U9FwWK5bt-npOT0eanUR8MIhdVhaOTnXddnb3n6KqSBLZZ7TFTTnyZvLZxe1ZDo3Rjl4-NAWjOdUJT2pDYEGRBZbnIUl9or7rBuLQmvWEPsTYb/s200/cronje.jpg" /></a><br /> General Cronje surrenders at Paadeberg<br />27th February 1900 </td> <td style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic; text-align:center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipC0pBGNmkDGdrnwgTw9u9vhbhQwCrqa2AmPoCqsMFHU7Nm9LoYsjgS9sLmGgt1HQkD9hEQk4npguTxR_9qz7peKrBExuyxaPvoXuV9VMtEER-zpfjvpdgvm3j7FafvjylGdgk7HoiIEf2/s1600/ladysmith1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipC0pBGNmkDGdrnwgTw9u9vhbhQwCrqa2AmPoCqsMFHU7Nm9LoYsjgS9sLmGgt1HQkD9hEQk4npguTxR_9qz7peKrBExuyxaPvoXuV9VMtEER-zpfjvpdgvm3j7FafvjylGdgk7HoiIEf2/s200/ladysmith1.jpg" /></a><br> Major Gough’s relief force in Ladysmith<br />28th February 1900 </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbndrJkBcrAOCT6Tvf482zpkqJA-S9KrQRqtTQ43HzztxwhzomYq30aKeCMG8OenZM_dimm8stMM0ri5Y74rivmzTX1aiX6xlbEI_p6q29L2w2UAvpT9yfhTVtcb8osh-up24G3SCarE2/s1600/ladysmith2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbndrJkBcrAOCT6Tvf482zpkqJA-S9KrQRqtTQ43HzztxwhzomYq30aKeCMG8OenZM_dimm8stMM0ri5Y74rivmzTX1aiX6xlbEI_p6q29L2w2UAvpT9yfhTVtcb8osh-up24G3SCarE2/s320/ladysmith2.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Media celebrations of the relief of Ladysmith </span> <br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a><br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=GeorgeClarkeMusgraveAVictorianAdventurer&amp;loc=en_US">or receive all posts by e-mail</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-59386292016502553112014-02-04T14:29:00.000+00:002014-02-04T14:29:21.642+00:00<div align="justify"> <i>It is too simple and too quick a judgement to cast blame and recrimination for the crushing losses of an entire army on to the shoulders of one man; particularly when that man is the very one that can lift his men from defeat to victory. The British government, though, took the defeats at Stormberg, Magersfontein and Colenso badly and, with Kimberley, Mafeking and Ladysmith stll under siege, saw this as the nadir of General Buller's career, sending in Lord Roberts as his replacement, together with yet more troops amounting to some 180000 men with further reinforcements being sought. It is widely reputed that this will be the largest force Britain has ever sent overseas and, in my diary notes for January, a number of observations suggest that, regardless of who is Commander-in Chief, this must be the force that finally defeats the Boer ...</i> <br /><br /> <b>1 January 1900</b> - Churchill confides to me and Burleigh that he will stand for Parliament in the next election - but first there is a war to win <br>-----<br> <b>1 January 1900</b> - No New Year celebrations but morale is high at the news that Lord Kitchener has joined Lord Roberts - arriving in a few days <br>-----<br> <b>2 January 1900</b> - General Buller must know that his time as commander is limited but he orders General Hildyard to prepare for another attack on Colenso <br>-----<br> <b>3 January 1900</b> - The floods on the Tugela are receding and the opportunity to exploit General Hildyard's plan to attack Hlangwane is now lost <br>-----<br> <b>3 January 1900</b> - Reports are filtering in that the Boer is building a dam on the Klip so that the river will overflow and flood Ladysmith <br>-----<br> <b>4 January 1900</b> - The recent Boer victories have led them to prepare a ludicrous plan for peace including the surrender of Mafeking and Ladysmith <br>-----<br> <b>5 January 1900</b> - Our scouts report that the Boer is withdrawing from Colenso in preparation for an all-out assault on the garrison at Ladysmith <br>-----<br> <b>5 January 1900</b> - General Buller decides that we can not follow the Boer because, although the flood is receding, the Tugela still blocks our route <br>-----<br> <b>6 January 1900</b> - At 2.00 am the Boer crept up against the Ladysmith defences, climbed Wagon Hill and attacked 'Caesar's Camp' south of the town <br>-----<br> <b>6 January 1900</b> - A day of skirmishes followed Joubert's dawn attack but never did the Boer make a greater mistake than to attack in the open <br>-----<br> <b>7 January 1900</b> - Seldom will history record a more prolonged or desperate duel between two bodies of resolute men than at Caesars Camp yesterday <br>-----<br> <b>8 January 1900</b> - Over 360 of General White's officers and men died in the battle for Caesar's Camp - but the Boer suffered even more heavily <br>-----<br> <b>8 January 1900</b> - Disheartened and angry, the Boer returns to Colenso and Joubert immediately redeploys his forces along the banks of the Tugela <br>-----<br> <b>9 January 1900</b> - Still blocked by the Tugela floods, officers with tiny escorts risked death by day and by night to sketch the Boer positions <br>-----<br> <b>9 January 1900</b> - Unable to engage in battle, this has become a war of the mind - of feint and subterfuge - neither side can gain any advantage <br>-----<br> <b>9 January 1900</b> - On the chess-board of Natal the skilled players, General Buller and General Joubert, are now able to anticipate each move of the other <br>-----<br> <b>10 January 1900</b> - High spirits and a mood of excitement sweeps camp at the news that Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener have landed at Cape Town <br>-----<br> <b>10 January 1900</b> - General Buller issues orders that we are to forge a crossing of the Tugela at Potgeiter's Drift, which lies 22 miles west of Frere <br>-----<br> <b>11 January 1900</b> - Lord Dundonald signals that he has seized the bridge over the little Tugela and is proceeding under forced march to Swartz Kop <br>-----<br> <b>11 January 1900</b> - After what seems like an eternity of inaction, we are on the move, making rapid progress with General Buller's traction engines <br>-----<br> <b>12 January 1900</b> - An entire army moved more than twenty miles across difficult country in less than 24 hours - an incredible achievement <br>-----<br> <b>13 January 1900</b> - General Warren has pressed into the township of Springfield and taken up a strong position overlooking the Little Tugela Bridge <br>-----<br> <b>13 January 1900</b> - Before nightfall General Clery has cleared the Boer from an area of two miles around Springfield and bivouacked outside the town <br>-----<br> <b>14 January 1900</b> - General Hildyard is now camped at Pretorius Farm within easy reach of Deel's Drift and the fords at Tugela junction <br>-----<br> <b>14 January 1900</b> - With the first gleam of the morning sun a heliograph on Swartz Kop blinked the welcome news that Dundonald held the ferry <br>-----<br> <b>14 January 1900</b> - General Warren moves his division westward against the Boer's extreme right flank, to cover General Hildyard's crossing of the Tugela <br>-----<br> <b>15 January 1900</b> - General Buller establishes camp at Spearman's Farm, awaiting the final positioning of his divisions before launching his attack <br>-----<br> <b>15 January 1900</b> - General Barton gains more time with a feint at Colenso, keeping the Boer occupied and allowing General Warren to advance further west <br>-----<br> <b>16 January 1900</b> - General Warren is ready to cross the Tugela at Trigaard's Drift, while Major Lyttleton's Rifles await orders at Potgeiter’s Drift <br>-----<br> <b>16 January 1900</b> - General Buller orders the advance but excessive caution seems to have gripped our band of General - is Colenso to be repeated? <br>-----<br> <b>17 January 1900</b> - We are in position to attack but our Generals insist that we await a thorough build-up of logistics, supplies and reserves <br>-----<br> <b>17 January 1900</b> - The Boer sits exposed on the ridges before us, awaiting developments but we are doing nothing, offering them no challenge <br>-----<br> <b>18 January 1900</b> - General Buller's plan is for General Weller to force a way through the Boer lines and strike across the open country towards Ladysmith <br>-----<br> <b>18 January 1900</b> - If General Weller's assault to cut through the Boer lines is quickly pressed, it will almost certainly be assured of success <br>-----<br> <b>19 January 1900</b> - Cable from General Warren to HQ is received explaining the reason for delaying his attack on the Boer lines .. it makes little sense <br>-----<br> <b>19 January 1900</b> - Lord Dundonald reaches the extreme flank of the Boer lines with a clear run to Ladysmith but is recalled to guard supplies <br>-----<br> <b>19 January 1900</b> - General Clery has made no progress at Tabanyama in three days, and Major Lyttleton is still awaiting orders at Potgeiter's Drift <br>-----<br> <b>20 January 1900</b> - The first hard blow is struck - with General Hildyard we leave Deel's Drift in a swift advance to support General Warren's right flank <br>-----<br> <b>20 January 1900</b> - Churchill is with Lt Colonel Byng's South African Light Horse as they storm a high Kopje under fire to reinforce General Warren's left <br>-----<br> <b>21 January 1900</b> - Corporal Tobin, an American with the Light Horse, climbs alone to the summit of a Boer kopje - and announces that the hill is his <br>-----<br> <b>21 January 1900</b> - Under a massive bombardment from the rear, we charge across the intervening valley and take the line of kopjes below Spion Kop <br>-----<br> <b>22 January 1900</b> - Signal from Lord Roberts HQ relieves General Buller as Commander in Chief but he temporarily retains control of current operations <br>-----<br> <b>22 January 1900</b> - Our guns blast the Boer positions from dawn to dusk but fail to make any impact and we remain entrenched for the entire day <br>-----<br> <b>23 January 1900</b> - General Buller arrives to survey our positions and, dismayed at the men's exposed conditions, he advised General Warren to retire <br>-----<br> <b>23 January 1900</b> - At 6.30 pm General Woodgate and Lt Colonel Thorneycroft's Infantry advanced in the dusk to surprise the Boer positions on Spion Kop <br>-----<br> <b>23 January 1900</b> - After 9 hours hard climbing the treacherous summit of Spion Kop was gained in complete surprise, the Boer fleeing in confusion <br>-----<br> <b>24 January 1900</b> - By dawn a vicious rifle fire was opened on our position by a handful of Boer marksmen, who had crept up unseen in the fog <br>-----<br> <b>24 January 1900</b> - In two hours the Boer fired over a thousand shells from Tabanyama against the exposed summit held by our thin line of khaki <br>-----<br> <b>24 January 1900</b> - We held the Kop summit but despair, the final weapon that sometimes achieves victory, stimulated the Boers to heroic exertion <br>-----<br> <b>24 January 1900</b> - Behind the cover of rocks and outcrops, the Boer crept to within yards of our position and opened a fire of slaughter upon us <br>-----<br> <b>24 January 1900</b> - General Woodgate is shot through the head and dies before us - most of the officers are fallen and at least half of the men dead <br>-----<br> <b>24 January 1900</b> - Major Lyttleton's brigade mounts a frontal attack, obtaining a ledge on the north spur, which they hold tenaciously under fire <br>-----<br> <b>24 January 1900</b> - General Coke arrives with reinforcements but finds the ground littered with dying and dead - and turns back to General Warren’s HQ <br>-----<br> <b>24 January 1900</b> - With the men battered and shot at until few had escaped injury, Colonel Thorneycroft is now in command and orders a withdrawal <br>-----<br> <b>24 January 1900</b> - Carrying all our wounded but leaving our dead on the field, Colonel Thorneycroft leads us down quietly, evacuating in the darkness <br>-----<br> <b>25 January 1900</b> - Last night’s withdrawal was accomplished without the loss of a man, but many wounded were not able to be moved and died today <br>-----<br> <b>25 January 1900</b> - Our retirement was a heart-breaking experience and it now seems that each of those precious lives has been uselessly expended <br>-----<br> <b>25 January 1900</b> - General Buller orders our forces to fall back across the Tugela for rest and recuperation - has all of this then been for nought? <br>-----<br> <b>25 January 1900</b> - With hopes dashed once more, the hapless Ladysmith must settle again in despair to further fight their starvation and disease <br>-----<br> <b>26 January 1900</b> - Only this morning did we discover that after our retreat the Boer had also withdrawn and, had we stayed, the battle was won <br>-----<br> <b>26 January 1900</b> - We re-unite with Churchill who tells us that, as a courier for HQ, he carried the signal promoting Colonel Thorneycroft to General <br>-----<br> <b>27 January 1900</b> - Three thousand reinforcements from Chieveley, together with a horse battery and more cavalry, arrived opportunely today <br>-----<br> <b>27 January 1900</b> - The reports and analysis after Spion Kop identified a catalogue of poor decisions, command errors and communication failures <br>-----<br> <b>27 January 1900</b> - General Buller blames General Warren: General Warren blames General Coke: General Coke blames General Warren: it seems that all are at fault <br>-----<br> <b>28 January 1900</b> - Lord Roberts is now only days away and, despite his orders, General Buller decides to launch another attack to re-take Spion Kop <br>-----<br> <b>28 January 1900</b> - Our final casualty count reveals 243 men killed and 1250 wounded or captured: the Boer has 335 casualties of which 68 are dead <br>-----<br> <b>29 January 1900</b> - General Buller orders our heavy guns to be positioned atop Swartz Kop from where the Boer on Spion Kop will be within our range <br>-----<br> <b>30 January 1900</b> - General Buller ignores the recriminations of the Spion Kop disaster and orders preparations for a further assault on Vaal Krantz <br>-----<br> <b>30 January 1900</b> - Signal received from HQ to inform General Buller that Lord Roberts' forces are now positioned at Orange River and will advance to Kimberley <br>-----<br> <b>31 January 1900</b> - Lord Roberts and Lord Methuen have now combined their forces of more than 40000 under the overall command of Major-General French <br>-----<br> <b>31 January 1900</b> - Despite our recent losses and defeats there is a confidence beginning to spread from man to man like a bush fire on the veldt <br> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic; text-align:center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgreMIWrhwYtKm3Oi824Xrk9W3h29KPNnTNr5HoOZwIW8oxh3MIt3xFeUVHjgoyz-kxwaHUikW51SfCFUllvssa4FfAoM4VQFMP9jGyaqUV4pkPtwU5s0Z07MhfJOnqMtIVsKhWIeSAFO/s1600/Warren+Message.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgreMIWrhwYtKm3Oi824Xrk9W3h29KPNnTNr5HoOZwIW8oxh3MIt3xFeUVHjgoyz-kxwaHUikW51SfCFUllvssa4FfAoM4VQFMP9jGyaqUV4pkPtwU5s0Z07MhfJOnqMtIVsKhWIeSAFO/s1600/Warren+Message.jpg" /></a><br> General Warren's Message to HQ Staff <br /><br /><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc9nFq7u_VzAIEgRGTK2mdGs6QPXmLTVBPD_zl-fJ-WEAck2tiBq8hJ9GLywa_Ubf_5NAqUAC3XD5KwHBGnElIwylpIVTk0_PbnXWDI2vsAtcL5_NmHmHjVizFc6mi5g8QAfnV5R584aQ/s1600/SpionKop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc9nFq7u_VzAIEgRGTK2mdGs6QPXmLTVBPD_zl-fJ-WEAck2tiBq8hJ9GLywa_Ubf_5NAqUAC3XD5KwHBGnElIwylpIVTk0_PbnXWDI2vsAtcL5_NmHmHjVizFc6mi5g8QAfnV5R584aQ/s1600/SpionKop.jpg" /></a> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a><br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=GeorgeClarkeMusgraveAVictorianAdventurer&amp;loc=en_US">or receive all posts by e-mail</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-53365144112311399982014-01-24T14:47:00.001+00:002014-01-24T14:55:45.749+00:00<div align="justify"> <i>It was in their concerted effort to relieve Ladysmith that Britain suffered one of its most extraordinary defeats of the war with the Boer at Spion Kop. A army of 22,000 British soldiers attacked, won and camped up on this small rocky hill, where, In the early misty hours of the next morning, they were attacked by around 3,600 Boers. The ensuing battle was a shambles. Messages were not delivered. No one knew who was in charge - at one point, three different British officers thought they were in command. People surrendered then changed their minds, and stopped firing because they thought they were firing on their own troops they weren't. The battle raged all day and in the end, both sides thought they'd lost and gave up the hill. It was only when four Boers crept back up to try and rescue wounded comrades that the truth came out and they took the day. Hundreds were dead, many more wounded and captured. The hill today is littered with graves of people buried where they fell.</i> <br /><br /> <b>On Tuesday, January 16th, General Sir Charles Warren </b>was encamped below Springfield on the right flank of the Boer Lines when General Buller ordered the full advance. General Lyttleton's brigade was first across in the centre. The Rifles, crossing the flooded drift at Potgieter's by a continuous chain, formed along the bank in skirmishing order, sweeping the Boer outposts and advance guard back to the main position. They also laid down a vicious fire from the flanks until a pontoon ferry could be fixed and the howitzer and field batteries sent over. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Seven miles further west General Warren threw his division over the Tugela, at Trigaardt's Drift, the Engineers erecting a pontoon under a heavy fire. He bivouacked at night toward the flank of the main Boer line, which extended southeast to Potgieter's along a series of ridges dominated by a great bastion, Spion Kop, on which the Boer right rested, and rapidly extended west along ridges through Acton Homes into the spurs of the Drakensberg, beacons being lit for reinforcements. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Although in ideal position, an excessive caution seemed to have seized the British generals. Unwilling to repeat their failed tactics at Colenso, they clung to the outer flanks of the enemy while the artillery made a thorough preparation for assault, in which the kopjes suffered severely, the Boers resting securely in their bomb-proofs, or in rear of the ridges, awaiting developments. If the assault had been quickly pressed it would have stood greater chances of success. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General Buller's idea, though, was to engage the enemy along the front while Warren's division forced its way by a detour through Acton Homes, passing round the Boer right and striking across the more open country to the hills surrounding Ladysmith. For this purpose he delayed until he had sufficient rations in reserve to send to General Warren. But while the troops in the centre had established themselves in positions that would keep the line of communications clear to the westward, General Warren, who was allowed great initiative, decided that it would be impossible to extend a line of communications round the extreme flank. He sent the following despatch for the commander-in-chief:<br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLI9JqIWoUPsAd5TP1M6YjKCJpp5Q6wJmtFeXxqGsx7ZPnfsdRDA8lWVrfq1GvFAGt63uLLnZC4S1sFK0vQrwMJqT-ZazofrI9vJDeZ4WsltTEVIPBrPfiGkbGrAcRuMAKUb3iniCHIbg/s1600/Warren+Message.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLI9JqIWoUPsAd5TP1M6YjKCJpp5Q6wJmtFeXxqGsx7ZPnfsdRDA8lWVrfq1GvFAGt63uLLnZC4S1sFK0vQrwMJqT-ZazofrI9vJDeZ4WsltTEVIPBrPfiGkbGrAcRuMAKUb3iniCHIbg/s400/Warren+Message.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:13px; font-style:italic;">Telegram from General Warren to General Buller's HQ</span> <br /><br /> </div> A council of officers confirmed the impossibility of getting round with transport for only three days rations, and it was decided to force back the Boer line until the division could break the cordon and press through to the rear, via Rosalie, to raise the siege, with haversacks and emergency rations in lieu of transport.<br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgngS4yP9ydWLIHIcLa9A1ODllpB3bVZmE0fZOM-vU3iV8J8JFBUxaT8cHqgQylVqtz25Nh9KJvfkzz2t1nqTSYYOPWT8OvNA6UluzzZEJ0IG1k7R-SXKw2eU9XAwAcs0vNqg2nr6wQP4_z/s1600/Fieldmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgngS4yP9ydWLIHIcLa9A1ODllpB3bVZmE0fZOM-vU3iV8J8JFBUxaT8cHqgQylVqtz25Nh9KJvfkzz2t1nqTSYYOPWT8OvNA6UluzzZEJ0IG1k7R-SXKw2eU9XAwAcs0vNqg2nr6wQP4_z/s400/Fieldmap.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:13px; font-style:italic;">Area of Operations - Natal (from "In South Africa with Buller")</span> <br /><br /> </div> On January 20th, the first hard blow was struck. General Hildyard moved from Deel’s Drift on the right to support General Warren, and the irregulars covered the left flanks. The Light Horse rushed recklessly into the fray on the left, carrying all before them, and storming a sugar-loaf kopje in face of a heavy fire. Several Americans serving with this force behaved with especial gallantry. Corporal Tobin, one of the coolest, and a trained athlete, outstripped his squadron in the ascent, and as the burghers clung close to cover, he reached the ridge unperceived. Disturbed by the shouts of the stormers below them, whom they could not assail, his hoarse voice rising suddenly from the crest itself, "Now, boys, in with the bayonet!" decided the burghers, and they swarmed down the reverse. Tobin seated himself nonchalantly on the summit, and announced to his breathless comrades that the hill was his. His fame spread from drummer-boy to general. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The regulars closed in swiftly, General Hart's Irish in the centre and General Woodgate's brigade on the right. Their charge was covered by the concentrated fire of the field batteries, which disconcerted the burghers, and the entire row of entrenched ridges were brilliantly carried with the bayonet. But the disheartening topography of Natal killed the triumph. A second row of kopjes, even stronger, lay beyond; successive positions dominated the captured ridges, which became the objective of every gun in the vicinity. But sunset brought relief. When the next day, Sunday, was very young, the Boers, preparing their morning coffee, were sent to shelter by a sudden bombardment, under cover of which the irrepressible British charged across the intervening valley and carried the next position, despite heavy stone breastworks and a cross fire. The burghers did not appreciate the breach of the fourth commandment, and left their breakfasts cooking. But some of their gunners were "foreign infidels," and thus their guns could be worked with immunity on the Sabbath. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On Monday 22nd, the British rested in the trenches under a heavy shell fire from the eminences in rear. The naval guns and field batteries strove all day to silence the artillery, but those splendid Boer gunners sustained a fire that could neither be silenced nor excelled. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General Buller visited the position on the 23d, and was dismayed at the exposed condition of the division. He strongly advised General Warren to retire gradually and revert to the original plan of detouring on the left. He refused to sanction further delay; the assault must be pressed, he ordered, or abandoned for the former manoeuvre. It was pointed out that the massive eminences beyond must be taken by surprise, and that all preparations had been made for a night attack on Spion Kop. He then waived his supreme authority and left the operation to develop, so that the previous days' sacrifices might not be in vain. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From Spion Kop to the hills against Ladysmith were sixteen miles of tolerably level veldt. With a hostile force there, the holding of the Tugela would have been impossible, and the Boers fully realized their weakness by making the Kop their strongest point. On the heights, trenches had been blasted from solid rock, and gun emplacements constructed on approved plans. The Kop is about four miles long, very steep on the western side, and with two high peaks on the northeast, and innumerable cuts and depressions in its gnarled, irregular summit. It completely bisected the Boer line. Held with artillery, it would become a pivot on which the right wing could be forced back, opening thereby a clear route to Ladysmith. The strong ridges of Brakfontein would also be exposed to artillery fire on their left rear, and rendered untenable. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On the evening of January 23rd, at 6.30 pm. General Woodgate, with the Lancashire Fusiliers, Royal Lancashires, 17th Company Royal Engineers, and Lt Colonel Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry, with two companies of the Connaught Rangers and the Imperial Light Infantry in support, advanced quietly to surprise the position. The stormers had a long and difficult advance in the darkness, but finally reached the Kop and commenced the ascent. After nine hours hard climbing, the treacherous summit, 1600 feet above the river, was gained. General Woodgate led the assault, guided by the fitful gleam of the Boer camp-fires. The camp was taken completely by surprise; the burghers, awakened from sleep, turned and fled in confusion, pursued by rapid volleys from the British, who gained the position with a loss of three men. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Engineers hastily constructed a trench, the rocky nature of the ground making it impossible to dig effectively. Rain had fallen the whole night and the troops were thoroughly exhausted by their long march and the ascent, but there was little time to rest. A crash of Boer artillery announced the early dawn. In the darkness the trench had been constructed across a gentle slope, so that guns from three sides could rake the position; and the defence was commanded by high spurs and irregular rocky eminences on the Kop itself, all of which could be reached without risk from the plain below, the approaches being entirely covered. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Despite a heavy fog, the guns quickly found the range and commenced to search out every inch of the sorry breastwork so hurriedly constructed. And ere means could be taken to strengthen it, a rifle fire was opened by daring marksmen, who had crept up unseen in the fog and completely enfiladed the position. A few of their own shells burst near, but they were safely ensconced among the rocks, and faced them with impunity. From Taba Myoma, less than a mile distant, the enemy was able to sustain an incessant shrapnel fire. In two hours the Boers had fired over a thousand projectiles against the exposed summit held by the thin line in khaki. The automatic 1-pounders then added to the horrors, searching out the trench repeatedly, and despite all efforts of support, it became choked with dead and wounded. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Attempts to strengthen the breastworks were repeatedly defeated by the resolute Boer riflemen, who pumped their Mausers incessantly all day and forced every one to cover, though they were less than 500 strong. But they knew the position, and thus were not so troubled by the fog, which completely baffled the British and negated any strong artillery support from the batteries before Potgieter's. And when the fog lifted, an advanced party of infantry, moving down to clear a connecting nek, were exposed to a a rain of projectiles from a British field battery firing under a misapprehension, to accomplish the same task. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When General Warren commenced his operations Botha was on his way to Pretoria, and the first British success led the President to order him to supreme command on the upper Tugela. The burghers were hard pressed and disorganized when he arrived, and the subsequent loss of Spion Kop on his right centre was a hard blow to his plans. But this brave young farmer-general, whose modesty deserves the world's respect and his compatriots' emulation, had rapidly directed operations to retrieve the loss. The mist favoured him, and though it lifted, it soon gathered again. Covered by this fog, he led small parties of burghers to the summit and placed them in various points of vantage, where they could sweep the British exposed on the flat and lower portion of the eminence. Despair, the last weapon that sometimes achieves victory, stimulated the Boers to heroic exertion. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the fog some burghers crept within two yards of the advanced British position; others crawled behind rocks, where they could enfilade the shallow trench; then they opened simultaneously. More than half the soldiers had been killed or injured by shell fire, and the survivors were soon, forced to surrender. Shalk Burger sent a portion of his command to the spurs on the far side of the Kop, and they soon assailed the British rear, gaining splendid cover among the irregularities of the vast summit.<br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc9nFq7u_VzAIEgRGTK2mdGs6QPXmLTVBPD_zl-fJ-WEAck2tiBq8hJ9GLywa_Ubf_5NAqUAC3XD5KwHBGnElIwylpIVTk0_PbnXWDI2vsAtcL5_NmHmHjVizFc6mi5g8QAfnV5R584aQ/s1600/SpionKop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc9nFq7u_VzAIEgRGTK2mdGs6QPXmLTVBPD_zl-fJ-WEAck2tiBq8hJ9GLywa_Ubf_5NAqUAC3XD5KwHBGnElIwylpIVTk0_PbnXWDI2vsAtcL5_NmHmHjVizFc6mi5g8QAfnV5R584aQ/s1600/SpionKop.jpg" /></a> <br /><br /> </div> General Woodgate was shot through the head at this juncture, and most of the officers had fallen, but a company of troops in the main position fixed bayonets and attempted to expel the enemy from the ridge that they had gained on the crest. They were thrice forced back with loss, however, but then British reinforcements arrived, climbing the ascent enfiladed by the automatic gun. They drove the Boer riflemen from their lodgement, but found it impossible, from the formation of the ground, to get any cover from the shelling. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Major Lyttleton's brigade strove to relieve the pressure by a frontal attack, the 60th Rifles gaining a footing on the northern spurs and the Scottish Rifles obtaining a ledge on the other side. They were exposed to severe small arms fire from the surrounding kopjes, but hung on tenaciously until dark. The gallantry of the regulars was equalled by the stolid bravery of the burghers, who showed the courage only inspired by intense devotion. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When General Coke rode out to assume command of the Kop, darkness had stilled several of the Boer guns, though an intermittent shelling was sustained. The condition of the men on the summit was desperate, however. The ground was littered with dying and dead, the men had been without food or water, and were in no condition to sustain a further defence at daylight. Leaving Lt. Colonel Thorneycroft in charge, General Coke rode back to confer with General Warren as to the best means of strengthening the position, and Sir Charles at once arranged for artillery and engineers to be sent to the summit. A proper system of defence was devised, and preparations were made to hold the Kop at all hazards until resistance could be swept away on the flanks. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Unfortunately, General Warren had remained on the extreme left to guide the turning movement. General Coke took long to reach him, and ere fresh orders arrived, the surviving officers on the Kop held a council of war, at which a large majority favoured evacuation to save extermination at daylight. A desultory cannonade started later, giving the worn men no chance to eat or rest. There is also a story of a despatch, intended for Colonel Riddell, ordering him to withdraw his force, the 60th Rifles, from the exposed position where they would mask the fire of the British artillery. The colonel had been killed prior to its delivery, and Lt. Colonel Thorneycroft, receiving the despatch, as next senior officer, applied it to the entire force. This incident is not mentioned in the reports of either Buller or Warren. The former says that Colonel Thorneycroft used a wise discretion, but Lord Roberts severely censures him for taking the initiative when he could have sent to consult Warren. The Divisional Commander is also blamed for remaining on the extreme flank and not visiting Spion Kop in person, when the entire success of the movement rested on its retention. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Much may be said in Lt. Colonel Thorneycroft's favour. His worn men could not face the emergency. They had been battered and shot at until few had escaped injury, and the nocturnal shelling started a panic which only an order to retire averted. Carrying all the wounded, leaving the dead on the field, the shattered commands quietly, evacuated in the darkness, and were returning to the main British line when they met Colonel Sim with the Mountain Battery, two naval guns, a strong force of Engineers, and 600 men for a working party, going up to thoroughly entrench the position. Explanations followed. Officers on the spot had decided that the position was untenable in any case, and not as useful as supposed, being in turn dominated by other hills. With the time that elapsed to get a galloper to General Warren and receive his reply, dawn drew near, and it was too late to retrieve the blunder. Certainly no one could accuse Colonel Thorneycroft of cowardice or lack of resolve. He had far more dead, and wounded men who could not fire a rifle, than men able to fight; few had escaped splinter wounds. The exposed portion of the Kop was solid rock and could not well be entrenched, and he was not appraised of. the reinforcements destined for him. To save his wounded, it was necessary that the retreat should not be delayed. The only surviving staff officer, General Coke's Brigade Major, the Colonel of the Middlesex, and other officers strongly protested, however, against the decision. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the event, however, the withdrawal was accomplished without the loss of a man, but the ambulances could not get in close, and many wounded were not moved from the vicinity until the next day. A prejudiced writer could fill a chapter of incidents which would either prove the Boer a barbarian or a saint. Evidently the burghers vary greatly. Many of the dead were found with fingers hacked off for rings, a few abandoned wounded were robbed, and some murdered in cold blood. Yet Boers with tear-streaming faces gazed on the shattered bodies rent and mutilated by bursting shell, and many showed. kindness to the wounded. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The retirement was a heart-breaking experience for the British. It seemed that the precious lives had been uselessly expended. For once Tommy was depressed, and his curious mixture of gaiety and serious determination became blended with a surly moroseness. Truly the companies on the Kop were heroes, and had fought to a clean knock-out. Yet there were hundreds of fresh soldiers ready to take their place, and in the end, they might have licked the Boers. The "squaddy " is a clear reasoner, and if he expressed his disgust at the whole operation in unparliamentary language, who shall blame him? He knew that to make the same mistake twice was unforgivable, and here twice was the British army checked by an army of farmers. The famished garrison in Ladysmith, so eagerly waiting for relief, were naturally despondent at this second failure, and the men who had long combated disease, wishing to keep off sick report to the end, could control themselves no longer, and the hospitals received a great influx of patients who had buoyed themselves up with a hope which long deferred made heart and body sick. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General Buller now withdrew his forces across the Tugela, and the army had a spell of rest and recuperation. Spirits and resolution were alike restored in the interval. Three thousand reinforcements arrived opportunely to replace casualties. With them came a horse battery and more cavalry, and no one doubted the success that a third attempt to cut a passage would bring. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On Saturday, February 3rd, the heavy guns were hoisted to the highest point of Swartz Kop, from which the guns the Boers had rapidly mounted on Spion Kop and Doom Kloof were outranged. The artillery also had clear play on the frontal ridges of Brakfontein, and for once the British gunners answered the Boers on equal terms and showed the Boer that under such conditions their fine shooting could be matched if not surpassed. But the effect of lyddite on the massive defences was trivial, and unless a shell exploded right in a trench the splinter-proofs sheltered the Boers from harm. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For the third attempt to pierce the line of rock, steel, and brawn that barred the Ladysmith Road, General Buller decided to make Vaal Krantz his objective. This position runs almost at right angles to and east of Brakfontein, and its capture, it was thought, would enable a wedge to be driven from ridge to ridge until the reverse of the frontal position was assailed. A frontal attack pressed home at that juncture would crumble the defence of the line and open a wide gap to relieve White. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On Monday, February 5th, the advance began, the augmented cavalry division being divided, Colonel Burn Murdoch taking the 1st Brigade and Lord Dundonald retaining his Colonials. Covered by a terrific bombardment, Colonel Wynne led forward General Woodgate's old brigade against the centre to cover the assault on the Krantz. For a time the Boers held their fire, but the infantry finally unmasked their guns, allowing a steady artillery duel, when their splendid gun pits alone kept their pieces in action. Shell after shell fell right against the epaulments, but failed to silence the guns.<br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZL8-e7SE_dVr895QyBdQPduXv-607MG8GCIFTBoPEOypVDSzJAVWmeB6tnJdccyAgw2X6f9OX8G8VpPPu2BalrdqYzuCPRaeOquUMj1Uv9Yo_tNXeQBi5jXvC-E6pY9_AHCqOcctpB-C/s1600/Balloon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZL8-e7SE_dVr895QyBdQPduXv-607MG8GCIFTBoPEOypVDSzJAVWmeB6tnJdccyAgw2X6f9OX8G8VpPPu2BalrdqYzuCPRaeOquUMj1Uv9Yo_tNXeQBi5jXvC-E6pY9_AHCqOcctpB-C/s640/Balloon.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:13px; font-style:italic;">Observation Balloon over the Tugela</span> <br /><br /> </div> The long grass on the hillside was speedily lit by shrapnel, but the war balloon, ascending high above the smoke, carefully located the Boer trenches, and by telegraph the positions were so dusted out with shrapnel from the concentrated field batteries that the rifle fire in the main position was practically silenced. A shell from the Vickers Maxim managed to reach the balloon, however, and temporarily ended its usefulness. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Under cover of this assault, the Engineers bridged the Tugela lower down, at the dangerous Hunger's Drift' in direct line for Vaal Krantz, and half of Major Lyttleton's Light Brigade was over the river ere the flanking movement was discovered. But the ubiquitous burghers were soon in force, their guns were slewed round to meet the new attack, and the final movement was anticipated. But the regiments deployed along the river bank, and after a brief delay, during which the infantry and batteries covering the feint against the front were skilfully withdrawn under a heavy fire and the artillery diverted to the flank, the word was passed to fix bayonets and charge. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Covered by a shower of shrapnel, the Light Infantry sprang forward from their shelter at a note of the bugle, and went straight against Vaal Krantz. In vain the burghers strove to stem the rush, and leaned over the brim of the leading trench to fire at their assailants crawling up the steep ascent. The British drew closer and closer, and ere they saw the glitter of the dreaded bayonets, the defenders fled panic stricken, though the leading company of the Durhams caught a number as they ran and cut through them, capturing many who surrendered. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The capture of Vaal Krantz accomplished, a general concentration of guns was made, that the wedge of troops might be pressed further in. But again the configuration of Natal foiled a most able plan. Like most eminences in South Africa, the Krantz had a difficult face to assail, and it was found impossible to place artillery on the summit, but it sloped down gently on the reverse, and could be swept by Boers with gun and rifle. It did not extend far enough to cut into Brakfontein, as desired. A deep donga also enabled the Boer riflemen to advance within effective range, covered by their guns on the surrounding heights; and though ten thousand men might have carried out the movement, the risk of failure and the heavy loss that must be entailed without artillery support did not justify a further movement. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As Major Lyttleton's brigade held to the captured position, a Boer ambulance drove quietly over the plain, a Red Cross flag flapping proudly. It reached a ridge a mile beyond, and coolly and in clear view unshipped a Vickers Maxim, just out of rifle range. Rocks were piled up before it, and soon the demoralising shells came buzzing over the British trenches. Rifle fire from a handful of snipers in the donga also tried the troops severely, and they were unable to leave the trenches for food or water. Until the second evening they held out, suffering terrible privations. After sunset the position was quietly evacuated, and General Hildyard replaced Major Lyttleton’s troops with the West and East Surrey and the West Yorks regiments. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Counting on the fatigue and demoralisation of the British after long exposure, the Boers gathered in force to surprise and recapture the position. Crawling up the donga, they were able to form an extended line, and almost gain the crest before the outposts discovered them. But they found fresh troops awaiting them in the trenches, and were driven back with heavy loss. General Hildyard then maintained his position with ease, while the cavalry scouted in every direction with the hope of finding a weak spot assailable from the Krantz. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General Hart's Irish Brigade demanded that they should be allowed to retrieve the disaster of Spion Kop, by attempting its recapture on February 7th, pointing out that with the occupancy of the Krantz the Boer forces could not be concentrated. But after a council of war all attempts to force the line on the west were discarded as impracticable, and by midday on the 8th the entire army was again south of the Tugela, wending its way back to the railhead at Chieveley. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On Sunday, February 11th, the old camping-ground before Colenso was reoccupied, and hapless Ladysmith settled down once again in despair to further fight starvation and disease. <br /> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <div align="center"> <br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a><br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=GeorgeClarkeMusgraveAVictorianAdventurer&amp;loc=en_US">or receive all posts by e-mail</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-88243302061083380262013-12-31T08:53:00.000+00:002014-01-14T08:07:01.187+00:00<div align="justify"> <i>In every war there comes a critical period when the tide turns. This is triggered sometimes by the outcome of a particular battle; sometimes by the unknowing and often uncaring intervention of ignorant politicians; sometimes by the life and death decisions of generals. In our conflict with the Boer, this period came early, just two months from the outset, and was primarily characterised by the arrival of General Sir Redvers Buller as supreme commander. His early successes in the field were soon followed by three crushing defeats, with many hundreds of men lost, killed and captured. This led to Buller's ultimate subordination and demotion but it was his leadership, battle-skills and bravery in the face of these adversities - and the way in which he was able to lift the minds of his men - that put us back on the path to victory. This is December 1899 and in my diary notes for the month I have attempted to chronicle the events of these trigger days and the ways in which they brought about the turning of the tide ...</i> <br><br> <b>1st December</b> - General Hildyard moves camp to Frere and oversees superb effort to rebuild bridges destroyed by the Boer so that General Clery can advance <br>-----<br> <b>2nd December</b> - General Clery arrives at Frere and assumes command south of the Tugela in preparation for the immediate relief of Ladysmith <br>-----<br> <b>2nd December</b> - General Hildyard joins forces with Lord Dundonald and chases the fleeing Boer to within two miles of Colenso before withdrawing <br>-----<br> <b>2nd December</b> - General Buller arrives in Natal to personally lead major operations in the area and establishes his HQ at Pietermaritzburg <br>-----<br> <b>3rd December</b> - The railway line is now fully restored to Frere and trains are arriving rapidly at the front with troops, ammunition and stores <br>-----<br> <b>4th December</b> - No General or correspondent can understand why the Boer retreats so readily in the face of our forces as they are still building <br>-----<br> <b>4th December</b> - Scouts from Ladysmith report that despite constant shelling through November, losses have thankfully been relatively small <br>-----<br> <b>4th December</b> - Reinforcements arriving daily by train at Frere are mobilised to forward positions to prepare for the advance in force to Ladysmith <br>-----<br> <b>5th December</b> - Today, I ride out with Major Elliot (RE) to sketch the Boer positions beyond the Tugela - he risks his life daily gathering this reconnaissance <br>-----<br> <b>6th December</b> - Sir Redvers Buller arrives at Frere in the early hours - hundreds of eager troops turn out in the dark to welcome their Commander in Chief <br>-----<br> <b>6th December</b> - General Buller's first duty is to officiate at the funeral of the 47 heroes who died in the armoured train disaster - 2000 officers and comrades are in attendance <br>-----<br> <b>6th December</b> - Just hours after his arrival, General Buller joins Lord Dundonald’s cavalry to reconnoitre the Boer positions on the Tugela - our attack is being formulated <br>-----<br> <b>7th December</b> - After many failed attempts Captain Cayzer of the Dragoons has established heliograph communication with General White at Ladysmith <br>-----<br> <b>7th December</b> - Signals from Ladysmith confirm that casualties are light but lack of food and water poisoned by the Boer are the real killers <br>-----<br> <b>7th December</b> - A strange air of mirth and jollity pervades our preparations for battle at the news that today is General Buller's 60th birthday <br>-----<br> <b>8th December</b> - High morale today at the news that a sortie from Ladysmith last night under General Hunter spiked the Long Tom at Lombards Kop <br>-----<br> <b>9th December</b> - A second Long Tom atop Surprise Hill destroyed by a 250 strong sortie under Lieutenant Jones but at a cost of 60 killed and 28 captured <br>-----<br> <b>9th December</b> - General French outflanks the Boer with his horse artillery to attack and hold the vital railway at Naarport Junction <br>-----<br> <b>10th December</b> - The Boer is under heavy attack on all fronts: General Gatacre is closing on Stormberg and Lord Methuen is moving against Magersfontein <br>-----<br> <b>10th December</b> - My brief is still to be with General Gatacre so I am leaving today with a supply column to join him outside Stormberg <br>-----<br> <b>11th December</b> - General Gatacre is crushed by the Boer at Stormberg with 135 battle casualties and more than 600 captured in the field after retreat <br>-----<br> <b>11th December</b> - Lord Methuen attacks the Boer at Magersfontein but after a day long battle is forced to withdraw, losing 800 killed and wounded <br>-----<br> <b>11th December</b> - Relief for Kimberley and Mafeking is now delayed because of the repulses today of Lord Methuen and General Gatacre - a critical time <br>-----<br> <b>12th December</b> - General Clery has readied 22000 men and 44 guns for General Buller's attack on Botha's forces at Colenso, opening the road to Ladysmith <br>-----<br> <b>12th December</b> - On hearing of the losses at Stormberg and Magersfontein, General Buller changes his plan and decides to attack Colenso directly <br>-----<br> <b>12th December</b> - General Barton's Fusiliers set a battery of 6 naval guns to dominate the Boer entrenchments menacing the bridges over the Tugela <br>-----<br> <b>12th December</b> - Despite the defeats of Gatacre and Methuen, the Ladysmith relief force of 22000 men under General Clery is now fully prepared <br>-----<br> <b>13th December</b> - Failing to reach General Gatacre, I have been re-assigned to General Hildyard's brigade for the forthcoming attack and the onward press with the relief force <br>-----<br> <b>13th December</b> - General Barton opens the assault on Colenso with a massive bombardment but there is no reply from the Boer - have they withdrawn? <br>-----<br> <b>13th December</b> - After the devastating losses at Stormberg, General Gatacre has withdrawn to Molteno. I can not reach him so I stay with General Buller <br>-----<br> <b>14th December</b> - General Barton's guns are re-sited at Chievely and again pound the entrenched enemy positions but, again, the Boer remains silent <br>-----<br> <b>14th December</b> - There is much celebration in General Hildyard's camp tonight at the news that Churchill has escaped from the prison camp at Pretoria <br>-----<br> <b>14th December</b> - General Buller orders a full advance to a position beyond Chievely in preparation for an attack in force on Colenso tomorrow <br>-----<br> <b>15th December</b> - Camp at Chieveley was struck at 8 am and General Buller's entire force of 22000 men moved forward towards the Tugela and Colenso <br>-----<br> <b>15th December</b> - We passed over empty trenches and thought the Boer had fled, but then burst a thunder as if all the fiends of hell were loosed <br>-----<br> <b>15th December</b> - As the clock ticked to 9.15 am, from every ridge and trench in front of us, a terrible small arms fire burst in our faces <br>-----<br> <b>15th December</b> - The small arms assault on our front line was now joined by batteries of Maxims from across the river and the surrounding hills <br>-----<br> <b>15th December</b> - Within four hours of launching our attack, we were pinned down by the Boer on all sides and trapped in a cauldron of slaughter <br>-----<br> <b>15th December</b> - As his men and officers fall around him, General Buller orders a retreat - but hundreds are still trapped and can not escape <br>-----<br> <b>16th December</b> - An early morning armistice reveals 145 of General Buller's men killed and 1200 missing or wounded, with only 40 Boer casualties <br>-----<br> <b>17th December</b> - We carry our 300 wounded back to Chieveley but leave more than 800 of our comrades in the hands of Botha and his Boers <br>-----<br> <b>17th December</b> - How quickly disaffection spreads - the men who loved their leader yesterday now speak of him, not as Redvers but as Reverse <br>-----<br> <b>18th December</b> - After our recent defeats, the drive for victory has faltered and this war is reduced to a hotch-potch of minor skirmishes <br>-----<br> <b>18th December</b> - It is now beyond all doubt. General Buller's reputation is in tatters, he has lost the respect of his men and he must be replaced <br>-----<br> <b>19th December</b> - Our scouts report that General Joubert, now recovered, has returned to the front ... will he attack us as we regroup at Frere? <br>-----<br> <b>20th December</b> - Morale is once again lifted at the news that Lord Roberts is just days from Durban to take overall command from General Buller <br>-----<br> <b>21st December</b> - The news of Lord Roberts' imminent arrival has whetted the men's appetite for fighting and stiffened their resolve for victory <br>-----<br> <b>22nd December</b> - It seems from our field scout reports that the Boer is expecting us to desist and retreat after the defeat at Colenso - fools! <br>-----<br> <b>23rd December</b> - Confirmation received that Lord Roberts has left Southampton today on board the Dunottar Castle and is expected by mid January <br>-----<br> <b>24th December</b> - We remain locked at Chieveley with the Boer still barring any progress to Colenso or onwards - stagnation of men and minds <br>-----<br> <b>24th December</b> - The Boer has us trapped - so why are they now setting their limber and removing their guns, leaving the road to Colenso open? <br>-----<br> <b>25th December</b> - A truce on the Tugela fields today, but a fearful bombardment from the Boer robbed Ladysmith of any goodwill or peace on earth <br>-----<br> <b>25th December</b> - Our stores from home are delayed but a handful of Hussars march in with a dozen oxen stolen from the Boer .. dinner is served <br>-----<br> <b>26th December</b> - The distant thunder of an artillery storm over Ladysmith tells us now why the Boer removed their heavy guns from Colenso <br>-----<br> <b>26th December</b> - We are joined at Chieveley by seven units of Australians - ill-trained as regular soldiers, but highly effective against the Boer <br>-----<br> <b>27th December</b> - We hear today of a society event for the ladies of Cape Town - a day trip by train to see and touch the Long Toms at Ladysmith <br>-----<br> <b>27th December</b> - Bennett Burleigh arrives with four cartloads of cake, cigarettes and beer - men die while our war becomes stranger by the day <br>-----<br> <b>28th December</b> - Churchill returns and is greeted as a hero - he tells us of the excitement in Durban about Lord Robert's imminent arrival <br>-----<br> <b>29th December</b> - General Buller orders reconnaissance sorties to assess the strength of the Boer at Colenso, Fort Wylie and along the Tugela <br>-----<br> <b>29th December</b> - The incessant thunder of the shelling at Ladysmith increases by the hour - we must move soon or slaughter will surely follow <br>-----<br> <b>30th December</b> - The Tugela is in flood after massive overnight storms - hundreds of Boer on the Chieveley side are stranded and captured <br>-----<br> <b>30th December</b> - General Hildyard requests an attack on the Boer stronghold at Hlangwane after floods sweep away the bridge that they have built <br>-----<br> <b>30th December</b> - General Buller accepts General Hildyard's plan but orders that the attack must be meticulously planned in order to ensure success <br>-----<br> <b>31st December</b> - The Boer celebrates the century's end with a murderous shelling of the garrison and hospital at Ladysmith ... Happy New Year! </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <span style="font-size:13px; font-style:italic;">Generals and Commanders - December and January 1900</span> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic; text-align:center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7fDsMCLKbazQCRtSViqSzSukwCks_3pbpo7AD_-Eow002GHwL5opcp3uEB6GFMPNMUU9D9ZSTOA7LKb0RL4t_cktmkTWo5W3vRkYWgvtxF0WLvOJZslAmP-bwWCaU-bAeQOdtwdqQ5Jn/s1600/GenRobertsmain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7fDsMCLKbazQCRtSViqSzSukwCks_3pbpo7AD_-Eow002GHwL5opcp3uEB6GFMPNMUU9D9ZSTOA7LKb0RL4t_cktmkTWo5W3vRkYWgvtxF0WLvOJZslAmP-bwWCaU-bAeQOdtwdqQ5Jn/s200/GenRobertsmain.jpg" /></a><br> Lord Roberts </td> <td style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic; text-align:center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-khCXIprA6PRG33m59N4bD2DbSu_Cnw04o_ej2em49xyJODbPUAJVOWaYo2CFh6exBQmcmKWCz-n08lahVheFubv0wemP0UhWtuUWX-NJB-aX4sLDjzyYSfiR8jYpkOHyty-UcE0AQxW/s1600/GenKitchenermain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-khCXIprA6PRG33m59N4bD2DbSu_Cnw04o_ej2em49xyJODbPUAJVOWaYo2CFh6exBQmcmKWCz-n08lahVheFubv0wemP0UhWtuUWX-NJB-aX4sLDjzyYSfiR8jYpkOHyty-UcE0AQxW/s200/GenKitchenermain.jpg" /></a><br> Lord Kitchener </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic; text-align:center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoNVoK7RA2ZyBLASuBsOL6vEeeYmokEkYqYw38vJWop6ED3THRwOEbNZEDeGq7czAldYblTrCC24dKoT4BTeUACg_MaZ4c_SduMJt0kdFgzH9VgC726q4DCuAWo2EEOlh9foAR6IaIr2u/s1600/GenBullermain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoNVoK7RA2ZyBLASuBsOL6vEeeYmokEkYqYw38vJWop6ED3THRwOEbNZEDeGq7czAldYblTrCC24dKoT4BTeUACg_MaZ4c_SduMJt0kdFgzH9VgC726q4DCuAWo2EEOlh9foAR6IaIr2u/s200/GenBullermain.jpg" /></a><br> General Buller </td> <td style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic; text-align:center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfo1JyQzUGbmoOYooeWegG4px0kFwwG5bXZrmWH-1WfIIwaq3qwcpzuAg8zA-rdbpnceZMpStqbiOeIS0RGTNp4_3ndRAfI_4SG3O4VAZU1l7ZTQnN3nZuRogfwOFgXwiwLXuMqQsLpzR4/s1600/GenWhitemain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfo1JyQzUGbmoOYooeWegG4px0kFwwG5bXZrmWH-1WfIIwaq3qwcpzuAg8zA-rdbpnceZMpStqbiOeIS0RGTNp4_3ndRAfI_4SG3O4VAZU1l7ZTQnN3nZuRogfwOFgXwiwLXuMqQsLpzR4/s200/GenWhitemain.jpg" /></a><br> General White </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic; text-align:center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMZ-N12QYzrCI7WM5rEAYSYHS0xVBgvYBioLBGRWVm2Dy1Lcm9KqxUP9lcpnHgmmyPNGQOXgBr40xhyUEpOJgTqw6N0Y-kMshovRfAZ7QtaaHys6_mVrYT8IbTGG4MBbZhyERPrXw_O9e/s1600/GenGatacremain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMZ-N12QYzrCI7WM5rEAYSYHS0xVBgvYBioLBGRWVm2Dy1Lcm9KqxUP9lcpnHgmmyPNGQOXgBr40xhyUEpOJgTqw6N0Y-kMshovRfAZ7QtaaHys6_mVrYT8IbTGG4MBbZhyERPrXw_O9e/s200/GenGatacremain.jpg" /></a><br> General Gatacre </td> <td style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic; text-align:center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOk6BUXSbExqj2iTmXi_UJDMRhJk_wlY7av7cAHb_TWLKvFCAtua6QFJa1SYfhamxzNzx7C7oFvRR1uMyTZ39frkHdGB8a4X6KjEeLzcJigYavlVwV9KIKBKdKnsLUR7XxGYHyB6VMxnJt/s1600/GenMethuenmain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOk6BUXSbExqj2iTmXi_UJDMRhJk_wlY7av7cAHb_TWLKvFCAtua6QFJa1SYfhamxzNzx7C7oFvRR1uMyTZ39frkHdGB8a4X6KjEeLzcJigYavlVwV9KIKBKdKnsLUR7XxGYHyB6VMxnJt/s200/GenMethuenmain.jpg" /></a><br> Lord Methuen </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <br> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a><br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=GeorgeClarkeMusgraveAVictorianAdventurer&amp;loc=en_US">or receive all posts by e-mail</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-90127658360214508402013-12-30T14:02:00.000+00:002014-01-24T14:03:27.098+00:00<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:16px;"><b>Military Incompetence? Public Reaction? or Political Panic?</b></span> </div> <br /><div align="justify"> <b>General Sir Redvers Henry Buller</b>, known to all as “Reevers”, arrived at Frere during the early hours of December 6th 1899, the eager troops turning out in the darkness to give their leader a welcome that must have touched his soldier heart. A veteran of numerous campaigns, General Buller has earned no feather-bed honours; his V. C., G. C. B., and K. C. M. G. have been won with the sword in a literal sense and in the ranks he is respected as a stern disciplinarian. He combines the essential qualities for a commanding general; the strict discipline of the soldier, toned with tactful geniality as an administrator. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; His first duty as commander-in-chief was to officiate at the service held over the graves of the first heroes to fall in the relief of Ladysmith, the victims of the armoured train disaster. Over two thousand troops attended, with General Hildyard, Colonel Cooper, Prince Christian Victor, and many other officers. Doctrinal differences are forgotten in war, and since Dublins and Colonials lay together, Father Mathews, the plucky chaplain of the Fusiliers, and Rev. Mr. Twemlow, of the Colonials, combined for a simple and touching service, a possible tribute to the reunion of Christendom. As the farewell volleys echoed over the kopjes, the bugles softly sounding the last post, distant guns boomed out at Ladysmith as if conscious of the ceremony, and a fierce salvo of heaven's artillery reverberated through the mountains, typifying the insignificance of man in all his martial power. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A few hours later, General Buller accompanied Lord Dundonald's cavalry brigade in a reconnaissance along the Tugela. The force halted on a ridge within range of Colenso, and the staff carefully studied the Boer position, apparently unnoticed by the enemy. The fords of the river were carefully noted, and the party returned safely, to formulate the plan of attack on Colenso and, subsequently, the relief of Ladysmith. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the next few days, buoyed by news that the Boer is under heavy attack on all fronts - General Gatacre is closing on Stormberg; and Lord Methuen is moving against Magersfontein - morale in camp reaches a new high. On the 10th news was heliographed from Ladysmith of two successful sorties made by the garrison to destroy the enemy's artillery. The first assault took place on the night of the 7th when, to preclude espionage, orders were only issued after "Lights out!" had sounded and the garrison retired. Two squadrons each of the Light-horse, Natal Carbineers, and Mounted Rifles, and sections of the diminished gunners of the 10th Mountain Battery and Royal Engineers were selected. Under General Hunter, with Major Henderson and twelve guides of the Intelligence Department, this force moved out at 11pm. against the Boer lines at Lombard's Kop, seven miles distant, which were breached without incident. Three explosions then announced to anxious Ladysmith that the enterprise was successful. The breech-fitting of the massive 40 pounder was torn out, the bore scored, the muzzle split, and the gun rendered useless. The Sappers completed the wreck with sledge hammers, smashing the sights, recoil buffer, and elevating gear, removing the breech-block as a trophy. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General White arranged a second sortie two nights later to destroy a 4.7 inch howitzer on Surprise Hill, only three miles from camp. Colonel Metcalf with five hundred men of the Rifle Brigade followed General Hunter's tactics from the previous sortie, and two companies of stormers reached the hilltop unobserved. The Boers, however, were bivouacked in force close behind the gunpit, and though they were surprised and retreated hurriedly, they sustained a heavy fire from a further position. Lieutenant Jones coolly placed charges round the howitzer under a spatter of bullets, and lit the fuse. It failed to explode, and other commandoes closed in, but the Rifles held their ground steadily while another charge was prepared and ignited, this time successfully demolishing the piece. These successes by the Ladysmith garrison, however, were soon overshadowed by a series of critical defeats, which forced General Buller’s hand. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General Gatacre, known in the army as "Backacher" from the feats of endurance that he has accomplished with his forces, marched his column against the Boer position at Stormberg, intending to surprise the laagers in the darkness and re-conquer the annexed district of Cape Colony. General Gatacre had only two thousand available men in his command, but, with an experienced guide, the column moved out from Putter's Kraal at 4 am. on December 9th, swooping down on Molteno, which was hovering between British and rebel control. Rapidly mobilising in the town, the force pressed forward after sunset along the left road to Steynsburg, intending to turn off at right angles to take the Boer position in flank. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The risks of night operations in South Africa are stupendous, not the least of which are caused by the falsity of compass bearings among the ferruginous rocks and, unfortunately, the guide missed the turning and led the troops sixteen miles instead of nine. More faulty bearings finally placed the force on a further turning from the main road, which ran directly parallel to the reverse of the Boer position. Day was just breaking, the General was urging on his worn-out men, expecting every minute to find the target position looming up on his direct front, when a sudden and furious fire burst at close range along the entire length of his column. After a moment of confusion the leading companies took a sharp right turn, and dashed up the enfilading ridge. But perpendicular rock surmounted by loop-holed stone walls checked their onslaught, and the line was hurled back to the road as the British bugles sounded "Retire !" <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shot at every foot of the way and worn-out by twenty four hours of continuous exertion, the column slowly extricated itself, fighting as it retired to Molteno, harassed by bullet and shell into the very outskirts of the city. When roll was called six hundred men out of the small column failed to answer their names, either killed, wounded or prisoners. It is little credit to the Boers that General Gatacre was not overwhelmed. Far superior in number, they had the column in a trap which simple tactics could have closed. But the Boer’s dislike of open fighting, even when great things might be accomplished thereby, enabled the British to execute their masterful retirement with three-fourths of their force intact.<br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfA9FDYL9TyAW2gRVdPoIFMjASuma4djxP4MQ6beVlNvgrtA68hU5TKmLbcJX_-Bh_3u89FCRhi1ihdzpk2C1S5O9uhPzv2qZ5fMQ-6rBmi6j_q6XO1OItBq8dayBPkUm5hjLNH-K92SGU/s1600/Comm1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfA9FDYL9TyAW2gRVdPoIFMjASuma4djxP4MQ6beVlNvgrtA68hU5TKmLbcJX_-Bh_3u89FCRhi1ihdzpk2C1S5O9uhPzv2qZ5fMQ-6rBmi6j_q6XO1OItBq8dayBPkUm5hjLNH-K92SGU/s400/Comm1.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:13px; font-style:italic;">General Gatacre’s forces trapped and under fire at Stormberg</span> <br /> </div> <br /> On the western border Lord Methuen, after fighting severe but successful actions at Belmont, Graspan, and Modder River, hurling the Boers back at each step, moved against their main position at Magersfontein on December 11th. The Boers had been located along a line of steep kopjes, strongly entrenched. But the advance, which had appeared clear on the previous day to the scouts was found to be intersected by a long, cunningly concealed trench running along the base of the kopjes, and strongly defended by an impenetrable tangle of barbed wire. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For two days a terrific bombardment had been sustained against the Boer position, and the column advanced confidently at midnight, expecting to surprise and overcome a demoralized enemy entrenched as of yore along the ridges. The Highland brigade was in the van, the men marching in quarter-column to sustain touch and direction in the darkness, the order being to extend along the base of the positions at dawn, after crossing the open without loss, and then press the attack. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By 3.45 am. General Wauchope had led his men almost to the base of the kopjes, the Boer outpost guards, sleeping quietly, were captured, sleeping quietly and the men had even loaded without discovery. Then a rifle was discharged accidentally, there was a hoarse challenge from the long trench, awaking the Boers, who sprang to their arms and opened wild volleys into the darkness. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Individual soldiers fired back, their flashes revealing the brigade, caught in massed formation but one hundred and sixty yards from the rifles. Men fell in heaps, but Wauchope rallied and hastily extended his regiments, and then ordered a charge. In the face of terrific volleys, the Highlanders swept into the wire defences, and though officers and men strove to break down the obstruction, mesh succeeded mesh, and the attacking line melted away before the point-blank fire, the supports falling back. Wauchope fell riddled with bullets at the head of his men. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The supports rallied, reinforcements moved up, and, checked but undismayed, the British formed on the open veldt and lay pouring ineffectual volleys at the sheltered enemy from sunrise to sundown, exposed to a pitiless fire in return. At midday the Boer fire slackened, and again the Highlanders sprang up and dashed forward with the bayonet. Again the barbed wire checked them, the leading lines were swept away, and the remnant were driven back in dire confusion, their rout being covered magnificently by the guards. For the third time the survivors were rallied, the Gordons in the van, and pressed forward with short rushes. Backed by the Scots Guards the shattered brigade again drew close, ordered to hold on until sunset and then charge. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General Cronje sent in a contingent to attempt a flanking movement on the open veldt and brought several guns into action at the close of the day, sweeping the utterly exhausted companies with a murderous fire. Flesh and blood could endure no longer. Without food or water, under a terrible fire, their arms, legs, and backs covered with vesicles from the blazing sun, the troops were unable to make further effort, but lay where they had fought, far into the night, and then crawled back out of range. Reluctantly Lord Methuen was forced to withdraw his command to the Modder River.<br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLNCEOI-62gfANTGRpugTl0WMFckoj8dpKNg8DiKqYHDxNrTenONVgnNZuVeBvXuCAehM-ELUmeLNMHcgGTAFZWoO3CDb3hytnkM4uV8hU6hJYRb7fqqb86lHCuK6thHfIAgcs4UVxils/s1600/Comm2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLNCEOI-62gfANTGRpugTl0WMFckoj8dpKNg8DiKqYHDxNrTenONVgnNZuVeBvXuCAehM-ELUmeLNMHcgGTAFZWoO3CDb3hytnkM4uV8hU6hJYRb7fqqb86lHCuK6thHfIAgcs4UVxils/s400/Comm2.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:13px; font-style:italic;">Lord Methuen’s troops fall back to the Modder River</span> <br /> </div> <br /> In spite of these defeats, however, the mobilisation of the Ladysmith relieving column was completed by General Clery on December 11th, when General Buller reviewed the command, numbering 22,000 fighting men. Barton's composite brigade made the first advance on December 12th, escorting six naval guns to a kopje east of the railroad, dominating at 7,000 yards the entrenched ridges that menaced the wagon bridge crossing the Tugela. A heavy bombardment of the Boer position was sustained from 7 am. to 1 pm. on the following day, the Lyddite shells blowing great gaps in the opposite entrenchments. The enemy made no reply, and current rumour had it that they had become demoralised by the fire and had withdrawn. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On December 14th a general advance was ordered; camp was struck and moved forward to a position beyond Chieveley, preparatory for an attack in force on the morrow. The naval guns advanced nearer the river and again pounded the enemy's position; but again the masked Boer guns were silent, and mounted patrols who ventured close to the river were not fired upon. When general orders were read that evening for the attack at daybreak, no one expected a severe fight, and most decided that the effective fire of the naval guns had taught the farmer foe a salutary lesson. The general supposition was that the enemy had removed his cannon out of range, and would make little opposition <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The railroad crosses the river by a massive bridge at Colenso, where the road runs north; and a wagon bridge and drift also cross at this point. The Boers had taken up a strong position on the north side of the crossing, where the advance of relief for Ladysmith, following the railroad from the coast, must cross the river. Meyer's defeat at Talana had led to the selection of Louis Botha, as direct commander under General Joubert to oppose the British advance. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Boers destroyed the massive railroad bridge at Colenso, but left the road bridge intact, occasionally sending patrols over as if they had retained it for their own use, and afterwards occupying the houses on the right bank to lure on the force. On their side of the river, Fort Wylie, evacuated by the British early in November, dominated the bridges. It was greatly strengthened by earthworks. The drifts or fords over the Tugela, marked on the field map, were cunningly altered by throwing dams across at night, rocks abounding for this purpose. Rows and rows of trenches were erected before these drifts, the defences being masked by brush and the natural rocks of the kopjes.<br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUaHc051Jf_RU3-twrOMsy7UQiOVJpoHFZFPFHazbl7Y2V0w2MaSyg3on_MGaS4UKy8M4ewIHcp_USjMQrxOFlcOtkTZCEEknx7ggJPM_FnQYtlBUMpvcz9UY51fEiIv7hjb-kxKCk7Om/s1600/Comm3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUaHc051Jf_RU3-twrOMsy7UQiOVJpoHFZFPFHazbl7Y2V0w2MaSyg3on_MGaS4UKy8M4ewIHcp_USjMQrxOFlcOtkTZCEEknx7ggJPM_FnQYtlBUMpvcz9UY51fEiIv7hjb-kxKCk7Om/s400/Comm3.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:13px; font-style:italic;">The railway bridge at Colenso tactically destroyed by the Boers<br /> (viewed from Fort Wylie)</span> <br /> </div> <br /> From the left or Boer bank of the river successive kopjes rise in tiers, extending along the entire front and ranging backward toward the north in irregular groups to lofty eminences, Grobler's Kloof and Red Hill, which formed the centre of the Boer position, commanding the entire sloping plain on the line of advance. On these heights they mounted their big guns. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General orders were issued that night and at 3 am. on Friday, December 15th, the British camp was struck and the entire force moved forward. Outposts and scouts advanced toward the river, but not a shot was fired. A few burghers galloped madly across the bridge and away as General Hildyard's brigade moved forward in open order beside the railroad. Skirmishers fired at the houses on the south side of the water, which had been occupied by the enemy on the previous day, but not a rifle replied, and there was not a sign of life on either side of the Tugela, save on the far kopjes at the north centre of the position, where a group of mounted burghers were apparently riding away for dear life. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Afraid of our naval guns! They have moved their own heavy pieces out of action!" was the general comment. The troops stepped forward with an eagerness of action after long restraint, and the proud smile of victory assured. No one supposed that the farmer foe would be mad enough to place their advance across the river which would cut off their retreat, to face advancing columns that must hurl them back into the water. Perhaps such tactics were the result of Boer over-confidence, but such over-confidence, if it invites disaster, sometimes achieves victory.<br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzI43aSJYeLDcthJbEna42Sny8RB55hgZO6Xmv-0h3bF3MPHusqQgPLvBi1zCUIndxGm4ZAgfomsAgJTpPqNkwQ3Bp5FaKJQckXwF7tbHWWYNa1XWgk1VWpgCPZTXzTa5n8sIE6Po9JNP/s1600/Comm4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzI43aSJYeLDcthJbEna42Sny8RB55hgZO6Xmv-0h3bF3MPHusqQgPLvBi1zCUIndxGm4ZAgfomsAgJTpPqNkwQ3Bp5FaKJQckXwF7tbHWWYNa1XWgk1VWpgCPZTXzTa5n8sIE6Po9JNP/s400/Comm4.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:13px; font-style:italic;">A 4.7 inch naval gun in action at Colenso</span> <br /> </div> <br /> Down toward the Tugela moved the brigades, looking only at the positions across the water. On the right centre bombardiers rode right to the river bank crossing empty Boer trenches that led from a clump of woods. With Captain White-Thomson they found the range in the open without molestation, and reported the ground clear of the enemy. Colonel Long, leaving the slower oxen to bring forward the naval 12 pounders, then led the two field batteries of his division at a smart trot far ahead of the infantry to within 800 yards of the river to sweep the kopjes on the far side. Sectional commanders gave the objective, Fort Wylie, the range 1,200 yards, and the guns swept down in line at 6.20 am. with neither sight nor sound of the enemy. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Suddenly .. "Bang!" .. from a signal gun beyond the river. Then burst a sound like an anchor chain rattling through the hawse hole, a crash of thunder and a ripping, tearing, whistling and detonation as if all the fiends in hell were loosed. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maxims and automatic 1-pounders had opened from the kopjes by the river, every gun on the hills behind had spoken. And from every ridge and the fort beyond the Tugela, and worse yet, from the trenches on the south bank of the river, which had been quickly reoccupied by the Ermelo commando under cover of the thicket, a terrific rifle fire burst in the face of the British. The two batteries bore the brunt in the centre. Without direct support, they were assailed with a hail of bullets poured in at point-blank range, the terrible phut-phut gun across the river searched them out with its cruel little shells, and ere the guns were unlimbered half the teams were down, gunners and drivers were writhing on the ground, and it was impossible to retire from the trap. The discipline of the artillery responded to the test. The wagons were somewhat sheltered in a donga, but the detachment numbers, rushing forward, cut loose the tangled teams, dragged the limbers behind the guns, changed teams to replace casualties, and served ammunition as if on a field day, the gunners working the guns steadily until Fort Wylie and the surrounding kopjes erupted with bursting shrapnel. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Creusots on Grobler's had the exact range, however, and their 40-pound missives of steel and balls ploughed their way through the devoted batteries. One shell wiped a sub-division practically out of existence, but the survivors, finding their gun useless, ran to augment the detachments on either side of them. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Colonel Long fell dangerously wounded fifteen minutes after the fight opened, and was carried to a donga in rear, shot through the stomach, arm, and back. Delirious from the sun and loss of blood, he continually muttered, “My brave gunners! my brave gunners!” The two battery captains, Goldie and Schrieber, were shot dead. Colonel Hunt fell next. Then Lieutenants Gethin and Elton were wounded, but they clung to their guns until a second bullet brought down Elton, and Gethin fainted from loss of blood. Lieutenant Gryles was shot trying to aid Schrieber; the sub-division sergeants had suffered as severely, but the surviving subalterns, Holford, with his face gashed by a splinter, and Birch, distributed the depleted detachment through the batteries and slaved at the guns with their men to the last. Splendid fellows were these stalwart British gunners who grimly stood by their guns in the face of certain death. Hellas could not have produced greater heroes; Leonidas would have been proud of such. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "You must abandon the battery," shouted a sergeant as he sank wounded and the fire increased. "No use being torn up like field dummies," screamed a Dublin officer, as he scrambled down the bank and felt his way into the drift. He fell, but a few men were following. Then a little bugler of the Dublins named Dunn, who had been ordered to the rear but had trudged on with his company, ran in the lead, sounding the advance. Several companies immediately fixed bayonets and dashed down to the water. They were met with a heavy fire, but the shrill notes of the boy rang above the volleys, until a shrapnel burst over him, mangling the brave young body which was swept down stream. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General Buller, together with General Clery, who was in operational command, had followed the advance closely. They had ridden along the line to try to avert disaster, fearlessly exposing themselves. Both were slightly wounded, Buller by a shrapnel ball, Clery grazed by a bullet, and several officers of their staff were killed around them. The enemy pressed their advantage, closing in force on the right of the British line. Along the whole British line, the checked regiments held their ground. The midsummer sun blazed down furiously on the unprotected men, but continued exposure was futile, and after eight hours' heavy fighting a general retirement was ordered. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At 1.30 pm. the worn troops were at last out of rifle range, and plodded their way into camp, pursued by heavy but fortunately inferior shelling from the hills. The Boers then crossed the bridge, reoccupying their position along the south bank, which had taught a costly lesson that day. The withdrawal completed, the burghers swarmed over the bridge or swam the river at all points, and commenced to strip the wounded and dead. The veldt was strewn with helpless forms, and near Bridle Drift the dead lay in heaps. Their need of clothes and outfits may excuse the Boers, but brutes alone would strip wounded men and leave them naked under a blistering sun. Ghouls also hacked fingers off to secure rings, and some mocked and maltreated the stricken men. The Roman Catholic chaplain of the Irish, who remained on the field, reported that one Boer deliberately smashed in the face of a wounded private of the Rangers with his heel, shouting that he would "end all damn rooineks". <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The looting was stayed only by the approach of the ambulances, which were greeted by two field guns and several volleys fired at close range. The bearer companies were recruited from the Uitlanders, and several Americans were enrolled therein. They advanced steadily with a large Red Cross flag at their head, until the emblem itself was torn by bullets. In vain the surgeons, galloped to the Boer lines waving their handkerchiefs and pointing to the flag. Eighteen of the ambulance men were killed or wounded ere a Boer officer, more humane than his fellows, rode down the line and checked the firing. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By sunset over 800 wounded had been collected on the field, passed through the Field Hospital, and been sent by train to the permanent hospitals at Estcourt, Pietermaritzburg, and Durban. During the evening an informal truce was arranged to bury the dead. The naval guns in rear had been trained to cover the abandoned batteries, and volunteers were ready to extricate them at night. Operations were suspended by the truce, under cover of which General Buller could have brought in his guns. He forbade the attempt, however, as a violation of the armistice; but the Boers, having no such scruples, and covered by the truce, hooked up teams and took the pieces over the river. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In these disastrous days from December 6th to 17th then, we have suffered three crushing defeats with 2,776 men killed, wounded and captured. General Buller has suffered the commander’s ultimate failure; he has lost the respect of his men. And how quickly disaffection spreads; in a clever but cruel twist of word, the men who loved their leader yesterday speak of him, today, not as “Reevers” but as “Reverse”. It is now beyond doubt that he must be replaced and, just three days later, Tommy’s fragile morale is once again restored at the news that Lord Roberts is to leave Southampton imminently to take post as our new Commander-in-Chief. </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br> <div align="center"> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a><br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=GeorgeClarkeMusgraveAVictorianAdventurer&amp;loc=en_US">or receive all posts by e-mail</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-12910374369390338692013-12-24T08:51:00.000+00:002014-01-24T08:53:31.946+00:00<div align="justify"> <i>The dust and heat of South Africa do not inspire literary style, and chapters written on horseback, after hours in the saddle, lack the polish bestowed by writers reclining in comfort and clean linen. I had planned to write a personal story, after the prevailing fashion, but finding that peerless artists were preparing word pictures of the campaign, I concluded that a plain account of the war and some of its less publicised nuances, based on personal experience and investigation, would supply the wants of an interested readership within my limitations. Hence, these observations from the field ...</i> <br /><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As the army of deliverance advanced to the front a line of pain moved from up-country hospitals to make room for fresh casualties. It was pitiful to witness the difference between the stalwart men &quot;going up&quot;, eager for the fray, and the shattered wrecks who had borne the brunt of early battles. But the examples of war raised desire for reprisal rather than fear in the hearts of the new-comers, many of whom were destined ere long to be stark on the veldt. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If war has increased in its horrors so have the means of mitigating its sufferings correspondingly progressed. A peep into the base-hospital at Wynberg, a high suburb of Cape Town, showed what might be accomplished in a short time. Some of the buildings sprang up or were improvised in a night, equipment was supplied with a generous hand, and Colonel Anthonisz, RAMC, had the finest military hospital that war history records. Then there were hospitals at Durban, Maritzburg, and Eastcourt, besides the efficient field hospitals with the columns, various hospital ships and several convalescent homes. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I do not wish to make invidious comparisons between American and British wars under modern conditions. But in care and commissariat the British soldier is a pampered epicure compared with the American, and when one sees the egregious blunders of the British leaders and the faults of their system, the thought will arise, &quot;what would Shafter's army have done under such conditions?&quot; Spain's disabilities saved disaster in Cuba; but if another war should come, which God forbid, this nation should not again be found unprepared. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Think of the mere handful of surgeons that landed in Cuba, and the frightful absence of equipment or common appliances; and then consider that with Buller's army in its original form were: 282 medical officers, 68 contract surgeons, 56 nursing sisters, 28 RAMC quartermasters and 2,650 hospital orderlies. This staff has been proportionately increased with the rapid growth of the South African field force. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Surgical science, indeed, is triumphing. With Rontgen rays in the field hospital, painful probing is obviated; shell splinters and certain bullets are extracted by magnetic contact; anaesthetics are administered for all painful operations, and antiseptic treatment reduces the risk of gangrenous complications to a minimum. Ice can now be supplied at the front, even in Natal’s inferno. Hospital trains fitted on the American sleeping-car principle, carry the patients gently down to the base, and hospital ships with electric punkah wallahs and many a delicacy, now take the invalid home. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At the opposite end of the life-death spectrum that is modern day war, as the fortunate recipient of three Mauser bullets I can testify to the merciful qualities of the modern rifle. The penetration and clean qualities of the nickel-plated bullets are well enough known, perhaps, to need no recapitulation. When Edward Marshall, a valiant war correspondent with whom I was billeted at San Juan Hill, was shot in the spine, such wounds were precedentedly fatal, but he survived. A number of soldiers here have surprised the British surgeons with similar recoveries and even men shot through the brain have recovered. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Unfortunately, though, the Boers soon discovered that the disablement caused by the wounds that they inflicted was but temporary, and they speedily remedied this defect. Prisoner after prisoner has been found with his ammunition doctored by an incised cross on the nose of the bullet, which makes it spread far more terribly than the Dum-Dum. Some, also, have been found with their bullets plastered with verdigris. Individual British soldiers have retaliated by filing the tips of their bullets, after the Dum-Dum pattern, until detected and the men severely punished. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But pause in your denunciations, good people. Your horror of Boer barbarism may be mitigated by the knowledge that the evil of poisoned bullets is greatly reduced by the heat generated in discharge and the rapid flight through the air. The incised bullet contravenes civilised warfare, but the Boer individually knows not of the Geneva conventions. As to the British Dum-Dum, while I can state that, to my knowledge, it has not been issued in South Africa, it is certainly less inhumane than the leaden bullets of the Springfield used in Cuba, or those of any other rifle used in war before the recent adoption of coated pellets.<br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YR397-uO1Ksg_wITskORhANMJ7Bt8eeK7fEB3IWcyP9NYVhBwudYgMGDpnoCWkBxtdV-XDUhztp4OzI0m_d5A-wyQDc-p_l5XFvTjhZvXPfYCN1dJZI5Jcnzo5qbEw8lz5U3LNkWCn1p/s1600/Dumdum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YR397-uO1Ksg_wITskORhANMJ7Bt8eeK7fEB3IWcyP9NYVhBwudYgMGDpnoCWkBxtdV-XDUhztp4OzI0m_d5A-wyQDc-p_l5XFvTjhZvXPfYCN1dJZI5Jcnzo5qbEw8lz5U3LNkWCn1p/s1600/Dumdum.jpg" /></a><br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Cross sectional views of the Dum-Dum Bullet</span></div> <br /> The factory at Dum-Dum, Calcutta, turns out several kinds of ammunition for Indian use, and the cases marked Dum-Dum found by the Boers at Dundee contained regulation cartridges made there, not Dum-Dum bullets. That offensive Boer sympathiser, Mr. Webster Davis, is triumphantly exhibiting split bullets of English make, and claiming that they are 'therefore used by Buller's forces.' In point of fact, though, these bullets are nosed sporting bullets made by Eley of London, many tons of which have been shipped to the Boers for hunting. I have seen several cases of them captured after various battles and I can say with certainty that they cannot be used in the Lee Metford rifle. Moreover, the fact of their imprint by a private London firm negates rather than proves the charge that they are used by the British soldier. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At this point, in addition, it is perhaps worth a brief analysis of the British Government’s official position following the Hague Peace Conference at which the matter of ammunition was discussed at great length. On July 29th 1899 the wording adopted by the full conference, drawn up largely by Russia, Romania and France despite the objections of Great Britain and the United States, stated that: <blockquote><i>'The Contracting Parties agree to abstain from the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core, or is pierced with incisions. The present Declaration is only binding for the Contracting Powers in the case of a war between two or more of them. It shall cease to be binding from the time when, in a war between the Contracting Parties, one of the belligerents is joined by a non-Contracting Power'</i>.</blockquote> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In October 1898 George Wyndham, under-Secretary of State for War was asked in the House of Commons @whether he will consent to lay upon the Table of the House accounts of the surgical experiments as to the effects of the Mark IV missile, on the basis of which experiments the bullet is now being served out to British soldiers sent on service to South Africa; and if he can state whether the reported condemnation of the Dum-Dum bullet by the Peace Conference at the Hague has been officially brought under the notice of the War Office authorities'. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Wyndham replied that: 'The Mark IV has been the service bullet for the British Army since February 1898 and, as such, has been issued to our troops in South Africa'. When asked: 'Is it not a fact that this bullet has been constructed with a view to expand on striking like the Dum-Dum bullets?' Wyndham replied with what has since come to be regarded as a classic of its kind: 'The bullet has been constructed to achieve a number of objects, one of which is that its calibre should be greater later on than when it leaves the muzzle of the rifle'. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; With all the uproar over 'Dum-Dum bullets' still hanging in the air, caused not least by Great Britain’s refusal to accept the Declaration, the British government realised that the Boers would be handed a propaganda gift if it left the Mark V in use. After much discussion and soul searching it bowed to the inevitable and reluctantly withdrew it. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wyndham was then asked whether: 'either explosive or expanding bullets have been sent to South Africa for the use of the troops there or for any other purpose?' He replied: 'The bullet in use in South Africa for the rifle is the Mark II solid bullet. Mark V bullets were recalled, and have never been used by the troops. Neither have any Dum-Dum bullets been used by the troops'. This last statement was perhaps a little naive because the Mark II was susceptible to improvised modification and each side was by now regularly accusing the other of using Dum-Dum bullets at one time or another during the war <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Despite these advances in the politics and the practice of weaponry and surgery, and notwithstanding the relatively healthy reputation of South Africa, it still - and will always - remain the case that troops cannot sleep and march and fight for days, without shelter and often without food, in alternate pouring rain, blistering sun, and chilling wind. The strongest constitution will be broken under the strain. Enteric fever, dysentery and typhoid ensue, and, despite all precautions, the life and death decisions of our generals will ensure that these killers outnumber bullets in their deadly claim for victim numbers. <br /> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a><br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=GeorgeClarkeMusgraveAVictorianAdventurer&amp;loc=en_US">or receive all posts by e-mail</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-69876031981182540842013-11-30T08:43:00.000+00:002014-01-01T17:42:53.862+00:00<div align="justify"> <i>As with each of the wars that I have known, the inevitable press falsehoods, distortions and exaggerations are now masquerading as the truth. From their cosy armchairs and offices in London and New York, the architects of our history are already penning the works that will become the school-books for our children. The self-important politicians and entrepreneurs are already forming the versions of reality that will best suit their corporate interests. Now, more than ever before, in this time of increasingly rapid and ever more efficient communications, it falls upon the writers who have travelled to the field, witnessed the battles and felt the pain of those who are dying, to build their library of truth - hence the inclusion, here, of my diary notes, thoughts and experiences for November 1899 ...</i> <br /><br /> <b>1st November</b> - Reports from Ladysmith that General White has lost 1200 men at Lombards Kop - he has fallen back and the city is now surrounded <br />-----<br /> <b>2nd November</b> - General White's troops are now all captured or have fallen back to Ladysmith which, like Mafeking and, Kimberley is now under siege <br />-----<br /> <b>2nd November</b> - I am intrigued to learn from an article in the Cape Town Press that I was captured by the Boer at Dundee and am presumed dead <br />-----<br /> <b>2nd November</b> - General Redvers Buller is expected at Cape Town in days with 1st Army Corps and support forces comprising a total of some 70 thousand men <br />-----<br /> <b>3rd November</b> - It seems that Buller is to head for Bloemfontein to relieve Ladysmith - but this leaves Joubert free to cross the Tugela <br />-----<br /> <b>4th November</b> - Cape Town is bursting and General Gatacre is now to land at East London instead - I must go there to fulfil my assignment for Black and White <br />-----<br /> <b>5th November</b> - General Buller arrives at Cape Town to scenes of great rejoicing - I decide to delay my trip to East London to attend his press briefing <br />-----<br /> <b>5th November</b> - General Buller splits his force into 3 divisions - Lord Methuen to Kimberley and Mafeking, General Gatacre to Stormberg, Buller himself to relieve Ladysmith <br />-----<br /> <b>6th November</b> - Reports from Ladysmith that General White has lost 400 men killed and wounded, with 800 captured by the Boer and many hundreds missing <br />-----<br /> <b>6th November</b> - Cape Town's negroes cannot fight for the Queen so they are volunteering for all kinds of work to release white men for the front <br />-----<br /> <b>7th November</b> - Refugees and wounded continue to flood into Cape Town .. rumours of British atrocities are being spread everywhere by the Boer <br />-----<br /> <b>8th November</b> - Unconfirmed reports that General White is dead, his troops slaughtered and Ladysmith is in flames put General Buller's preparations on hold <br />-----<br /> <b>9th November</b> - Joubert leaves Ladysmith under siege and moves 4000 troops south of the Tugela threatening Colenso and on to Pietermaritzburg <br />-----<br /> <b>9th November</b> - General Hildyard is now in Durban ahead of General Gatacre - his first move is to send a force to assist Colonel Long at Eastcourt <br />-----<br /> <b>10th November</b> - General Gatacre, to whom I am assigned, has now disembarked at East London to deal with the Boer threat in the Stormberg district <br />-----<br /> <b>10th November</b> - A runner from Colonel Long at Eastcourt reports to General Hildyard that the township will fall within hours unless relief forces arrive <br />-----<br /> <b>11th November</b> - Awaiting General Gatacre's arrival, I travel by overnight train to Eastcourt in the company of correspondent Winston Churchill <br />-----<br /> <b>12th November</b> - Churchill and I join the armoured train from Eastcourt used daily for reconnaissance trips north towards Frere and Chieveley <br />-----<br /> <b>12th November</b> - The Boer has pickets and snipers all over the hills, with field guns arriving daily - 9000 Boer troops are within a day's march of Eastcourt <br />-----<br /> <b>13th November</b> - Eastcourt is now being shelled by the Boer from the surrounding hills - to surrender or to hold out for relief is now a stark choice <br />-----<br /> <b>14th November</b> - Slender hopes are raised again in Eastcourt at the news that Hildyard with the West Yorks regiment is less than a day's march away <br />-----<br /> <b>14th November</b> - Our Natal field scouts report that Colenso is now under control of the Boer, but there are no details of battles or casualties <br />-----<br /> <b>15th November</b> - Our armoured train from Eastcourt has been attacked and wrecked on the gradient between Frere and Chieveley - we are now under heavy fire <br />-----<br /> <b>15th November</b> - The engineer has managed to raise steam and haul the stricken train out of the Maxims range - Churchill has returned to the fight <br />-----<br /> <b>16th November</b> - General Hildyard reaches Eastcourt with 1400 men from the Dublin Fusiliers and West Yorks regiment but will this be enough to defeat the Boer? <br />-----<br /> <b>16th November</b> - No news of Churchill or the men from the fight at Frere - I fear that they are killed but pray that they are captured and safe <br />-----<br /> <b>17th November</b> - Scouts report 47 killed in the 'Death Train' ambush at Frere - Churchill and 93 survivors are being taken to POW camp at Pretoria <br />-----<br /> <b>18th November</b> - from his HQ at Eastcourt General Hildyard decides to attack and clear the Boer from all areas south of the Mooi River <br />-----<br /> <b>19th November</b> - Reports received today confirm that Churchill is being held in a POW camp at Pretoria - thankfully, a brave man still alive <br />-----<br /> <b>20th November</b> - The British push is on - Methuen en route to Kimberley, Buller to Ladysmith and Gatacre to Cape Midlands, where I must now go <br />-----<br /> <b>21st November</b> - General Hildyard advances towards Willow Grange without opposition and mounts a 4.7 inch naval gun on Beacon Hill, threatening the Boer positions <br />-----<br /> <b>22nd November</b> - a fearsome storm traps General Hildyard atop Beacon Hill - two soldiers are knocked unconscious and six horses killed by lightning <br />-----<br /> <b>22nd November</b> - I learned today that my friend Bennet Burleigh is at Beacon Hill - he has reported that the Boer is closing in on Eastcourt <br />-----<br /> <b>23rd November</b> - Lord Methuen successfully assaults a 2000 strong Boer force at Belmont but loses almost 400 men in the battle and the aftermath <br />-----<br /> <b>24th November</b> - I am just hours from Stormberg to meet General Gatacre when I learn that his forces have been split and diverted to action in Natal <br />-----<br /> <b>25th November</b> - Continuing defeats force Joubert to retreat from the Eastcourt hills back to Colenso - General Hildyard follows, moving his HQ to Frere <br />-----<br /> <b>26th November</b> - General Gatacre is struggling to co-ordinate his forces which are now split into three groups so small that they are practically ineffective <br />-----<br /> <b>27th November</b> - General Gatacre's plan to invest Stormberg is now in disarray - realising this, the Boer advances and takes the railway junction with no resistance <br />-----<br /> <b>28th November</b> - Unable to link up with General Gatacre, I return northwards and join Lord Methuen's forces just as they attack the Boer at Modder River <br />-----<br /> <b>28th November</b> - General Koos de la Rey has ensured that the Boer is heavily entrenched and the battle for Modder River becomes a day-long stalemate <br />-----<br /> <b>29th November</b> - In what has become the fiercest battle yet fought in this war, Lord Methuen routs the Boer but at the cost of 480 killed and wounded <br />-----<br /> <b>30th November</b> - Despite De la Rey’s containing tactics, it appears that the Boer feared that they may be outflanked and have withdrawn overnight <br />-----<br /> <b>30th November</b> - Amongst the casualties of Modder River, Lord Methuen is wounded but safe, while De la Rey’s eldest son, Adriaan, is killed by a shell </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <div align="center"> <br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a><br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=GeorgeClarkeMusgraveAVictorianAdventurer&amp;loc=en_US">or receive all posts by e-mail</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-77579860759214578492013-10-31T14:57:00.000+00:002013-12-10T06:11:12.062+00:00<div align="justify"> <i>It is too early, at this date, to record the history of the South African war. We live in an age, however, when interest is ephemeral, and, unless one is content to write for reputation alone, a work must be published during the height of public interest to command relevance. Thanks to electricity and newspaper enterprise, the author who has gathered his material in the field, at the risk of life and health, and at personal expenditure of energy and money, is now able to erect very readable works around the slender fabric of cables and brief despatches - hence the inclusion, here, of my diary notes, thoughts and observations for October 1899 ...</i> <br /><br /> <b>5th October</b> - War with the Boer is now inevitable. I am making my way there and should arrive with the British by mid-month <br />-----<br /> <b>11th October</b> - Travelling to join General White at Ladysmith when war is declared as the Boer mounts an offensive in Natal and Cape Colony <br />-----<br /> <b>12th October</b> - British garrison at Kraaipan attacked and captured - railway line and all communications with Mafeking cut .. the die is cast <br />-----<br /> <b>13th October</b> - Mafeking surrounded and under siege - Ladysmith and Kimberley are likely to fall soon - General Cronje's forces are rampant <br />-----<br /> <b>14th October</b> - General White mounts disastrous sortie against Boer artillery besieging Ladysmith - 140 men killed and over 1000 taken prisoner <br />-----<br /> <b>14th October</b> - Baden-Powell's locally recruited militia of 1200 defending Mafeking against General Kronje's 6000 strong Boer force <br />-----<br /> <b>14th October</b> - Colonel Kekewich endorses Baden-Powell's order for women and children to leave Kimberley and sets up a 15 mile defensive perimeter <br /><br /> <b>14th October</b> - The Boer is everywhere and I will not reach Ladysmith - now trekking to Dundee instead with small party of Dutch farmers <br />-----<br /> <b>15th October</b> - Water supply to Kimberley is cut at Riverton - Cecil Rhodes declares &quot;water in the De Beer mines is now more valuable than diamonds&quot; <br />-----<br /> <b>15th October</b> - the Boer cuts all telegraph line from Kimberley to the Cape - Colonel Kekewich declares Kimberley under martial law <br />-----<br /> <b>15th October</b> - Newcastle occupied - Jan Uys has challenged Boer commander Cornelis Spruyt to a single fight but he has been arrested and sent to Pretoria <br />-----<br /> <b>15th October</b> - Reached Dundee to find panic over news that Joubert's Boers are just a day away - General Penn-Symons is too late with defences <br />-----<br /> <b>15th October</b> - I meet Lester Ralph in Dundee - he gives me brief from Black and White magazine that I am to join General Gatacre at Stormberg on 30th October <br />-----<br /> <b>16th October</b> - 8000 Boers now surround Mafeking - first shells fall on the city after Baden-Powell ignores Kronje's 9.00 am surrender ultimatum <br />-----<br /> <b>16th October</b> - Scouts report that a Boer force of 1000 is moving towards Elandslaagte to take control of the road from Dundee to Ladysmith <br />-----<br /> <b>18th October</b> - News today that General Redvers-Buller is expected at Cape Town with around 10000 men on 29 October - the Boer has 70000 men under arms <br />-----<br /> <b>18th October</b> - Cyclist scouts report that Elandslaagte is now virtually surrounded but not yet attacked by at least 1000 men under General Kock <br />-----<br /> <b>18th October</b> - General Joubert's forces now in strength to the north and south of Dundee - attack must be imminent but Penn-Symons waits .. and waits <br />-----<br /> <b>19th October</b> - Elandslaagte occupied - station overrun, mail train captured, communications cut and everyone in the vicinity taken prisoner <br />-----<br /> <b>19th October</b> - Dundee now cut off from Ladysmith - General Penn-Symons forces are isolated and vulnerable to imminent attack from Joubert's Commandos <br />-----<br /> <b>19th October</b> - At less than 2000 yards distant, we watch the Boer mounting their field guns on Talana Hill overlooking Dundee <br />-----<br /> <b>19th October</b> - General Erasmus holds Impati mountain to the north with a force of 1500 Boer - Dundee is surrounded and will be shelled within hours <br />-----<br /> <b>20th October</b> - from Talana Hill, the Boer guns open fire at first light but they are firing harmless dud shells, causing nothing but minor damage <br />-----<br /> <b>20th October</b> - With 2000 infantry, General Penn-Symons mounts a direct uphill attack against the 4000 Boer atop Talana - he is mortally wounded. <br />-----<br /> <b>20th October</b> - The Boer is routed at Talana Hill but at a cost of 45 killed, almost 200 wounded and 220 men of the 18th Cavalry captured <br />-----<br /> <b>21st October</b> - Major General French arrives at Elandslaggte from Ladysmith and opens bombardment of General Kock's troops under thunderous skies <br />-----<br /> <b>21st October</b> - Kock counter-attacks and temporarily drives back the British but falls and dies in the mud before Major General French takes victory <br />-----<br /> <b>22nd October</b> - Brigadier General Yule is in command after the fall of General Penn-Symons and, with no sign of the expected reinforcements from Elandslaggte, is now on foot to Ladysmith <br />-----<br /> <b>22nd October</b> - Fearing imminent attack, Sir George White orders Major General French to abandon Elandslaggte and Dundee and return to Ladysmith <br />-----<br /> <b>23rd October</b> - Joubert attacks Dundee again with 12000 men, only to find that General Yule had already breached the Boer line in retreat to Ladysmith <br />-----<br /> <b>23rd October</b> - General Joubert enters Dundee to find Penn-Symons among the wounded and dying, with campfires blazing and lighted candles in empty tents <br />-----<br /> <b>23rd October</b> - After 12 hours forced march, General Yule's force reaches the Waschbank Pass, but the Boer is in the area and they have to continue <br />-----<br /> <b>23rd October</b> - General Penn-Symons dies from wounds as a POW insisting that his epitaph reads &quot;tell everybody that I died facing the enemy&quot; <br />-----<br /> <b>24th October</b> - Joubert depatches a large force to attack General Yule and cut off our retreat at Biggarsberg but the British column beats them through <br />-----<br /> <b>24th October</b> - General White moves to Modder Spruit with 4500 men to cover General Yule's retreat and engages the Boer at Rietfontein and Tinta Inyoni <br />-----<br /> <b>24th October</b> - Exhausted from our 4 day field march but we must now join General White's attack .. shells explode in our midst from the Boer above <br />-----<br /> <b>26th October</b> - 6 days of fight and flight .. and now we arrive at Ladysmith. Penn-Symons called General Yule a coward at Dundee but now he is a hero <br />-----<br /> <b>26th October</b> - Nevinson and my friend Bennett Burleigh arrive in Ladysmith with General Kock's body and the wounded from Elandslaggte <br />-----<br /> <b>27th October</b> - We fought off the Boer at Dundee and Elandslaggte - three days later both are lost again - hundreds of brave men are dead for nought <br />-----<br /> <b>27th October</b> - Joubert is re-building his forces with Transvaal commandos and preparing for a direct assault on General White at Ladysmith <br />-----<br /> <b>28th October</b> - General White launches an attack on a commando at Lombard's Kop but, on Joubert's orders to not fight until ready, the Boer withdraws <br />-----<br /> <b>28th October</b> - General Joubert now occupies all the hills around Ladysmith with 12000 men and a huge artillery force - his attack must be imminent <br />-----<br /> <b>29th October</b> - The Boer begins shelling Ladysmith with their fearsome &quot;Long Tom&quot; atop Pepworth Hill .. scouts report that they have two more <br />-----<br /> <b>29th October</b> - General White plans a surprise counter-attack on the Boer but, by numbers alone, it is doomed to failure .. Ladysmith will fall <br />-----<br /> <b>29th October</b> - I have a choice - stay to follow White's defence and witness the fall of Ladysmith - or leave today and try to make Cape Town <br />-----<br /> <b>30th October</b> - General White orders that the wounded leave but civilians and non-combatants stay, so a blood-stained leg bandage becomes my ticket out <br />-----<br /> <b>30th October</b> - De Botha's forces join Joubert's and there are now more than 20000 Boer investing Ladysmith - General White still believes he can win <br />-----<br /> <b>30th October</b> - The Boer closes in and the Long Toms are pounding the city as we leave on what must be one of the last trains for Cape Town <br />-----<br /> <b>31st October</b> - Cape Town is chaos .. in just a few short weeks it has become the de facto HQ for the largest army ever sent across the sea </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzrvIYR3oLpbvMASwyxD-AZO7HasIGLcd0mdNsLOP2bECYnIwOL4xgR6EUwsIPLcJXxGDiXExq__d86fpx4U6lqNJ02dFynp63mcKEZpiSZ3sPqZlgCweWwF8jJdoQIBRGkAtVnTaZFG-/s1600/Boer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzrvIYR3oLpbvMASwyxD-AZO7HasIGLcd0mdNsLOP2bECYnIwOL4xgR6EUwsIPLcJXxGDiXExq__d86fpx4U6lqNJ02dFynp63mcKEZpiSZ3sPqZlgCweWwF8jJdoQIBRGkAtVnTaZFG-/s320/Boer1.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">With the Defenders of Kimberley</span> <br /><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1NxyAP6z1KtrQ9KMEs8sSmf5b1EL2yD2CWmJk3zy8gEurwHU8VW67b-tz7IMujwmXb-RbBfHA9C1SMPDNxrCKUi2Y6VDD-6bwZorO_aAEyA5Tay8N6I5Tmihr1MRFOxpemLoRoO4T4d3V/s1600/Boer2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1NxyAP6z1KtrQ9KMEs8sSmf5b1EL2yD2CWmJk3zy8gEurwHU8VW67b-tz7IMujwmXb-RbBfHA9C1SMPDNxrCKUi2Y6VDD-6bwZorO_aAEyA5Tay8N6I5Tmihr1MRFOxpemLoRoO4T4d3V/s320/Boer2.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">After the Battle of Elandslaggte</span> <br /><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9dTJNQCIxSZ5UNxhJQ2-nHThve-vxGjmxLe4eWW8aByIBXd1olN8dlYaO1fkjnO0MpsJ-aCvXvhNV9vcwwZaEjDSAYHLCTaBif-TF5fMOrEgGaBdbF76OXnFPIEQekB9iYxoJaOFodm7/s1600/Boer3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9dTJNQCIxSZ5UNxhJQ2-nHThve-vxGjmxLe4eWW8aByIBXd1olN8dlYaO1fkjnO0MpsJ-aCvXvhNV9vcwwZaEjDSAYHLCTaBif-TF5fMOrEgGaBdbF76OXnFPIEQekB9iYxoJaOFodm7/s320/Boer3.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Long Tom en route to Ladysmith</span> <br /><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a><br /> <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=GeorgeClarkeMusgraveAVictorianAdventurer&amp;loc=en_US">or receive all posts by e-mail</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-26037056094328482602013-08-27T12:01:00.000+01:002013-09-12T15:02:42.254+01:00<div align="justify"> We were called at 5 a.m. on 21st August and actually left the compound just before 7 o&#39;clock. There were about eighty people in the convoy, nearly all travelling in Peking carts, one or two in chairs, whilst a few coolies with sedans followed in case anybody fell sick by the way. It was a clear day but very hot, and we completed the journey to Tung Chow in good time considering the number of our carts and the frailness of many of our number. On the way we passed villages, and scattered farms, all absolutely deserted. The crops were ripening in the fields, but there was no one to look after them or to reap, and they were left to rot. At a time in the season when, in other years, the country would be alive with men, women, and children, all turned out to bring in the harvest, now not a soul was to be seen. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When we reached Tung Chow the sight that met us was terrible; we had seen ruin and destruction enough in Peking, but even that was nothing to compare with Tung Chow. The havoc wrought by this war was appalling; the city had been sacked by the Russians; the gates destroyed; the main street a mass of debris. In Peking the Chinese had carried off every stick, every stone which could be used for any purpose. Here all was left as it had been destroyed. Fires still smouldered on every side and even to enter some of the temples and houses was dangerous for the charred timbers could fall at the least movement. In our journey across the city I saw only two Chinese standing at a place where two roads met, and they simply stood there, emotionless, staring with unseeing eyes as our convoy passed them by. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We were glad to leave the place behind us and to find ourselves upon the river bank. Here were a number of grain boats on which had been erected simple matting shelters. Each boat was to take four or five passengers, their servants, and four Beloochi tribesmen as guard. I wanted nothing to do with the company of men at this stage; no conversation of war or killing, and I was pleased that our party, comprising the Deaconess Ransome and Miss Lambert from the church in the British Legation, their Chinese charges, a servant, and myself, were allocated a boat to ourselves. The Deaconess and the other women slept in the mat-shelter, and I slung a simple hammock outside. We were all on board by three o&#39;clock, expecting to start at once and accomplish the first stage of our journey before nightfall, but the order was that we were not to leave until 5 o&#39;clock the next morning. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It was quite chilly at night on the open boat, and it seemed an age before day broke; and then delay followed delay, so that we did not start until 8 a.m. The boats were beached high, and some had to be dragged into deeper water, one by one, so some were a long way ahead before the last had started. The boatmen were for the most part raw coolies; only a few seemed to be capable of managing the boats, and there was a general disagreement as to the course. The river was shallow and full of shoals, so that one boat after another ran aground, and was only pulled off again with difficulty. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There were no orders to keep the boats together, no one in supreme command to direct the crowd. The boats with the best boatmen or the lightest draught speedily forged ahead, and the convoy was soon scattered and divided by great distances; often we floated along with no other boat in sight, or perhaps only a shadow of one a mile or so away. Despite my best efforts to keep my mind free from any thoughts of killing, I could not help thinking how simple it would have been for an enterprising enemy to have cut that convoy to pieces. The great millet, growing to a height of twelve or fifteen feet, grew thickly right down to the water&#39;s edge, forming a dense and impenetrable cover, and half a dozen men hidden in the crops could have easily picked off the guards as the boats passed without our being able to fire a shot in reply. The enemy would have been invisible. He had only to move a few yards and lie down, and then a full body of men might have searched for him for hours in vain. Scattered as we were, our boats could not have supported one another, but happily we did not have to deal with any such attack. Instead, in an air of peace and calm that belied the reality, the boats glided gently down stream and, for some precious hours, I was able to let the quiet motion, the stillness of the atmosphere and the glistening lights on the water work their soothing effect upon my mind. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The overriding backdrop, though, was that all the way down the river we saw the same sights that we had seen on the road to Tung Chow. Where there had been crowds of busy, inquisitive, greedy Chinese, there was now not a living soul. We saw a few coolies working lazily, but no workmen in the fields, no harvest crops being gathered; no boats laden with rice or copper for the markets. We seemed to be the only people abroad in a land of deserted wealth. We saw also the harsh reminders of war only too frequently; villages in flames, shattered buildings, homes and communities, dead bodies floating down the river or stranded on the banks. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thus we journeyed until Tuesday night. We had hoped to reach Tientsin during the day but had made slow progress and it was 11 p.m. when we reached the final sweep of the river into the harbour. Instead of anchoring against the bank as we would normally have done at that hour, the boatmen let her drift and we slid quietly downstream. There was no moon, but it was a clear starlit night, and we could see the course of the river perfectly, with all the buildings on either side half-revealed, then half-hidden in a beautiful soft white light. The stars were reflected in splashes of gold on the dark water, and the morning star, which shone with a splendid brilliance, cast a long stream of light on the river. It was difficult to distinguish where substance ended and shadow began but as we neared the harbour, the star-glow softened the harsh outlines, hiding the horrors of destruction and the squalor of the sordid surroundings in a soft mystery. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We drifted towards the harbour&#39;s outer swing bridge, which we found closed, so we had to anchor and wait for the dawn. Slowly the day broke, chill but bright. Crowds of French soldiers were passing the bridge by the light of great fire- torches and it seemed as if we might wait for ever. At last they were all over, the bridge was opened and with some difficulty, for the current was very strong, we passed through. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So we arrived at about 7 o&#39;clock in the morning of Wednesday 27th August. My fellow passengers would soon make their way to the Mission, but for me the direction was towards the dockside warehouses where I reasoned that I would find the offices organising the manifests and the movements of the great flotilla of ships berthed in the waters of Bohai Bay; and, within the hour, this was done. I located the headquarters of the American Logistics Corps, but a QM Sergeant there told me that the next ship leaving would be the USS Nashville on 7th September. He directed me to the British offices and, although I was not over-confident of help from this quarter, I was pleasantly surprised when, after a somewhat cursory inspection of my identity papers, a young lieutenant pointed to a supply barge that was being loaded and said, &quot;If you can be aboard her in the next thirty minutes, you can join the <i>Surprise</i>, leaving for San Francisco this afternoon&quot;. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He was a little taken aback at the effusiveness of my gratitude, thrust my passage docket into my hand and showed me to the door. I walked - perhaps skipped might be a more accurate description of my gait - across the quay to the barge and jumped aboard. Within just a few minutes we were pulling away from Tientsin harbour, and an hour later I was aboard HMS Surprise. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Peking was behind me - it was over ... </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcpsmQUwGk9oFk5bawUhs3uSyN5gm6GKhWXQWPBF2j9WH5DpAzrD-v2dueE9xUScdgsJsNAAfdXIKTDBt-nxOCxjByD60BK8Y9XP49cBLSBVVT-SVOKvn8_1h75SNQxVHRoZ3xlr3pYV0/s1600/tientsin-press29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcpsmQUwGk9oFk5bawUhs3uSyN5gm6GKhWXQWPBF2j9WH5DpAzrD-v2dueE9xUScdgsJsNAAfdXIKTDBt-nxOCxjByD60BK8Y9XP49cBLSBVVT-SVOKvn8_1h75SNQxVHRoZ3xlr3pYV0/s320/tientsin-press29.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Our convoy from Peking on the River Peiho - 25 August 1900</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdVCwrMmJ5kXWOEikuS3uaI_Fk0HKE5RvxqCiCObT1tocMlP-KnlKENDzJxr7JZuV5L7Ud8fMYBvrGlUyTuk8srEa_M0387F3Y0-l0fWbJ1qgbD477srlI6np_PFfJoPQIGbambMSWPyc5/s1600/tientsin-press31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdVCwrMmJ5kXWOEikuS3uaI_Fk0HKE5RvxqCiCObT1tocMlP-KnlKENDzJxr7JZuV5L7Ud8fMYBvrGlUyTuk8srEa_M0387F3Y0-l0fWbJ1qgbD477srlI6np_PFfJoPQIGbambMSWPyc5/s320/tientsin-press31.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">HMS Surprise moored off Taku preparing<br />to leave for San Francisco - 27 August 1900</span> <br /><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-9947667022854956852013-08-20T09:00:00.000+01:002013-09-08T10:25:56.721+01:00<div align="justify"> It was a misery to walk the city and see its desolation. Peking had twice been looted before, by the Boxers, then by the Imperial soldiers, and now it was being ravaged again by the allies. At each fresh step in this depressing history, the inhabitants had fled to places where they hoped to find greater peace and safety. Now the place was a ruin, the restoration of which, if even possible, could only be accomplished over a long period of time. Peking was no great natural hub of trade, able to recover from such a disaster through the economic influence of renewed commercial life; it was simply the fortified home of the Imperial Court, which had attracted the crowds that always migrate to such places to supply the wants and luxuries of the wealthy. The moment the Court left, Peking had sunk to the level of a dingy, second-rate market town. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lost in this sorry reverie, I hardly noticed General Gasalee, General Chaffee and their staff officers walking across the compound towards the Russian Legation. Gasalee ignored me but General Chaffee invited me to join them. I fell into line alongside the familiar figure of Lieutenant. John Furlong, Chaffee&#39s aide-de-camp, who informed me that a full conference of all the military Commanders and foreign Ministers had been called to discuss what action should be taken in respect of the Imperial City. Shortly before 9.30 a.m. we arrived at the Russian Army Headquarters where the conference was to be held. Following my earlier failed bid to make contact with Morrison, I was pleased to see a number of familiar faces. George Lynch, war correspondent for the London Daily Express was there, as was Emile Dillon, Russian correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, together with my old friend, Bennet Burleigh, who had been billeted with the British forces. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There was but one item on the agenda and, after some brief, token discussion, the representatives of the foreign powers came to their decision. At 10.15 a.m on the morning of 17th August, they agreed and recommended that ... <blockquote><i>&quot;As the advance of the foreign troops into the Imperial and Forbidden Cities has been obstinately resisted by the Chinese troops, the foreign armies should continue to fight until the Chinese armed resistance within all the Cities of Peking and the surrounding country is crushed ... because in the crushing of that armed resistance lies the best and only hope of the restoration of peace&quot;.</i></blockquote> This proved to be a fateful time, date and proclamation, for not only did it initiate the final attack by the allied forces on the Imperial city itself, it was as though the firm military stance of the allied forces had been perceived by the civilian residents as a signal for the abandonment of the very rules and mores of society itself. Within hours, it seemed as though the closeness of community that had been succour to the besieged just days earlier, had all but disappeared and been replaced by a raw, almost animalistic survival instinct. Alongside the hundreds already engaged in their brazen looting of property and person, many of the foreigners packing up and preparing to leave the Legations with their possessions, now began gathering in small parties, arming themselves and rampaging out in search of anything valuable that they could find. Some were bent on robbery and some on revenge, while others sought satisfaction of even baser impulses. Thus, over the next two or three days, a cascade of vile atrocity erupted; on all sides fighting, burning, torture, rape and killing. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For some vestige of protection, the four of us stayed together and did what we could to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. The main battles were now over and the Boxer forces were in disarray, retreating in all directions. Peking would soon become a post-war city and we had a responsibility to find out what we could within this period of transition. As we skulked around the grounds, though, grim and for the most part, silent, we were witness to an unfolding kaleidoscope of human behaviour more nightmarish and more brutal than any of us could have believed possible. We saw prisoners chained and fettered so heavily that many collapsed and died under a sword, a bayonet or a beating when they could not rise; we saw row upon row of kneeling captives collapse crumpled into ditches filled with the still-writhing bodies of their brothers as the bullets from the firing squads smashed their skulls; we saw hordes of terrified men, accused and instantly guilty on the merest suspicion of being Boxers, beheaded at the many thickly blooded killing grounds scattered throughout the city. The Japanese are said to be the most prolific exponents of these grisly forms of execution, but so many now followed their lead that General Chaffee wrote &quot;It is safe to say that where one real Boxer has been killed, fifty harmless coolies or labourers on the farms, including not a few women and children, have been slain&quot;. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This butchery was open and evident to anybody who cared to cast an eye around the city; and for those preferring to avert their view, accusations, reports and rumour served as powerful sources of second-hand information. Through his tears, a young US Marine told us how he could do nothing as he watched French and Russian troops bayonet women after raping them. American missionaries spoke to us of Russian soldiers ravishing young girls, of women and children hacked to pieces; and of men trussed like fowls, with noses and ears cut off and eyes gouged out. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The conduct of the Russian soldiers was generally considered atrocious, the British and Americans somewhat better, and the French perhaps worse than any. The Japanese, whose officers had brought along prostitutes to stop their troops from raping Chinese civilians, despised the Russians and on at least three occasions of which I was told, executed Russian soldiers caught ravaging local women. It was also widely believed that a group of US troops had taken upon themselves the role of vigilante to patrol the city and castrate, then execute, any rapist that they identified. Nevertheless, many Chinese women chose to commit suicide to avoid rape by allied forces; and, on one of our darkest days, we began to perhaps appreciate a fraction of their torment as we witnessed the funeral pyres of the hundreds of mutilated corpses of women and girls raped and killed by the alliance troops. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And we saw more, much more; much more that was more inhuman, more grotesque, more repulsive. As journalists our natural intent was to report all that we had seen but we knew that this was different. We had all experienced the horrors of war in different, distant arenas, but not one of us had ever known such an assault on the senses; not one of us had ever been exposed to such obscene visions of reality. In our hearts we all knew, but it was Lynch who first voiced our silent understanding and our shared pledge when he whispered &quot;there are things that we must not write, and that may not be printed for our readers, which show that this Western civilisation of ours is merely a veneer over savagery&quot;. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That evening, a notice was sent round to collect the names of all those who wished to travel to Tientsin by the first convoy, which was expected to leave the next day, Tuesday 21st. I knew that I was done here and that I had to leave this evil place. Lynch, Dillon and Burleigh understood and, for us, there was no need of a farewell. I walked slowly back to my quarters and spent the next few hours packing the scraps that were left of my kit. At midnight, I made my way to the grounds of the Temple of Heaven, from where the convoy was to depart at 5.30 in the morning. I was there, ready to leave, at 2 o'clock ... </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <span style="font-size:13px; font-style:italic;">Men accused of looting and robbery - Peking, August 1900</span> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tr> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVj68I9kQy7GUfxL7OAWa7T1V8DnpDaurwMaeLkYJbDsR6dkblltvD2ybZz6FO7ueBjd26RHBu-wfX8cIFDETcEVIr0YwUdZHyXZS1YAIUwevP-mi76AZypRn8uC6JaeogHsP74cfDAarc/s1600/tientsin-morrison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVj68I9kQy7GUfxL7OAWa7T1V8DnpDaurwMaeLkYJbDsR6dkblltvD2ybZz6FO7ueBjd26RHBu-wfX8cIFDETcEVIr0YwUdZHyXZS1YAIUwevP-mi76AZypRn8uC6JaeogHsP74cfDAarc/s200/tientsin-morrison.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">George Ernest Morrison<br />London Times Correspondent</span></div> </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg08HIGZwhIjn9LP4tm1l8KwO4AN2sAZhI1TOfAGH5lzfpneg1PIIMlfso6XtghNV_p1hZ9GWO-5IVj1FFWRxDPUJczb3TrFgtouD7hgTNGLqYGcY3WmwTiVAKjq1FAUN3IQJW19O5XDNC/s1600/tientsin-ament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg08HIGZwhIjn9LP4tm1l8KwO4AN2sAZhI1TOfAGH5lzfpneg1PIIMlfso6XtghNV_p1hZ9GWO-5IVj1FFWRxDPUJczb3TrFgtouD7hgTNGLqYGcY3WmwTiVAKjq1FAUN3IQJW19O5XDNC/s200/tientsin-ament.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">William Scott Ament<br />American Missionary</span></div> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tr> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZh2dUnDTEfHZVa9np5eDMwvBIbt68SJh8d1FybYxQ6NVXgXSQCKOeHaQtWAX5azvO99rEoFSXINBbOJtUrKS9CWeSACaCwG5NjI1gM2vgrs9jReecRjHZACayjvaYYD2rz8nrKqiLod_T/s1600/tientsin-squiers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZh2dUnDTEfHZVa9np5eDMwvBIbt68SJh8d1FybYxQ6NVXgXSQCKOeHaQtWAX5azvO99rEoFSXINBbOJtUrKS9CWeSACaCwG5NjI1gM2vgrs9jReecRjHZACayjvaYYD2rz8nrKqiLod_T/s200/tientsin-squiers.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Herbert Goldsmith Squiers<br />Secretary at US Legation</span></div> </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAi4u7iETHgZ8xiAbDdphAZNGZBKfyUxO1DpoxIEXy9GQNro_EglJb_xC321AZb1lJV6LN1na4ArhqN8WpsU5BMjpgJ_Lmozv6YeNPsqScxipYS6-rUp6N5u6sY5WXT2QJpmei3yvVJMX/s1600/tientsin-favier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAi4u7iETHgZ8xiAbDdphAZNGZBKfyUxO1DpoxIEXy9GQNro_EglJb_xC321AZb1lJV6LN1na4ArhqN8WpsU5BMjpgJ_Lmozv6YeNPsqScxipYS6-rUp6N5u6sY5WXT2QJpmei3yvVJMX/s200/tientsin-favier.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Monsignor Pierre Favier<br />Roman Catholic Bishop</span></div> </td> </tr> </table> <br /> <span style="font-size:13px; font-style:italic;">Some scenes that can be displayed - Peking, August 1900</span> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tr> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLflgcK4D-3EkA3RO1eNj7VQyjPpQ9N2KyXEsuYYkPTgaVSAP2hk8lnDg51Nq2B1jnfDJF64twSPbiNdlFNHjHvPchrdk0d5-vcOrv951WhkWie8SjKW1zOUN0Ju-cyUnNpKmsTXH8dvx9/s1600/tientsin-press26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLflgcK4D-3EkA3RO1eNj7VQyjPpQ9N2KyXEsuYYkPTgaVSAP2hk8lnDg51Nq2B1jnfDJF64twSPbiNdlFNHjHvPchrdk0d5-vcOrv951WhkWie8SjKW1zOUN0Ju-cyUnNpKmsTXH8dvx9/s200/tientsin-press26.jpg" /></a></div> </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtmlTiiWZjd8RC8z70JScZhsnCddovgzEGNO3GE-RjqAg3FqQZ73JKo9-9vlW7DzSeIp3OvTpQZGWTkQWes7M6edbHjjnFodQwaz7u2AhaIAiNDtUI_WGoVRc9zuhwRLokTw9SjTCAVkRi/s1600/tientsin-press25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtmlTiiWZjd8RC8z70JScZhsnCddovgzEGNO3GE-RjqAg3FqQZ73JKo9-9vlW7DzSeIp3OvTpQZGWTkQWes7M6edbHjjnFodQwaz7u2AhaIAiNDtUI_WGoVRc9zuhwRLokTw9SjTCAVkRi/s200/tientsin-press25.jpg" /></a></div> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tr> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPhcEREMgtYUpz9ZpvrSoU8Xf8aRQyQF9YKB4xi-BJN246CiJTM3mLfvsy__UT1rOrzASAkOQU17B9pp0iQzCia9tP1jO4hXiGoc2kU6I5YA4paeqFCLJoaifC86RHJO297ggZ3_WW3fg/s1600/tientsin-press28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPhcEREMgtYUpz9ZpvrSoU8Xf8aRQyQF9YKB4xi-BJN246CiJTM3mLfvsy__UT1rOrzASAkOQU17B9pp0iQzCia9tP1jO4hXiGoc2kU6I5YA4paeqFCLJoaifC86RHJO297ggZ3_WW3fg/s200/tientsin-press28.jpg" /></a></div> </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06IkBPUWZjtm9KMnt8en3wY68BrYM02_kPh2MxMW4goghn3PptDe41X-sg4C7l6b3dwH3TzG5hw_Atl5fVyJ-fa5xVQ4a2v30zwUVmQ7x0-qnH8cbB5wOTJ-fXtlKB20IfpB8RXihuo1J/s1600/tientsin-press27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06IkBPUWZjtm9KMnt8en3wY68BrYM02_kPh2MxMW4goghn3PptDe41X-sg4C7l6b3dwH3TzG5hw_Atl5fVyJ-fa5xVQ4a2v30zwUVmQ7x0-qnH8cbB5wOTJ-fXtlKB20IfpB8RXihuo1J/s200/tientsin-press27.jpg" /></a></div> </td> </tr> </table> <br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-44304034956767060982013-08-16T12:17:00.000+01:002013-09-05T15:19:29.049+01:00<div align="justify"> It was with strange feelings that we rose on the morning of 16th August. In less than twenty-four hours the entire experience of our expedition had changed. The crowds had been greatly excited at our arrival the day before, but now people rushed to and fro in urgent, animated groups to discuss the latest news or probabilities. The whole place was in a turmoil; the trappings of battle were everywhere; guns, ammunition wagons, baggage trains, carts, clogged all the roads and passageways. The lawns and gardens were crowded with soldiers and civilians, every yard of space and every corner packed. The arrival of the relief force should have restored order and a sense of normality; for the moment, though, it seemed as if confusion and rumour were the orders of the day. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It was widely believed that the Dowager Empress, Cixi, disguised as a peasant woman, together with the emperor and several members of the court, had slipped out of the city in three wooden carts at the moment the allies entered. Her departure, along with the immediate subjugation suffered at the hands of the alliance forces, had triggered a total breakdown in morale and disciple amongst the Chinese, and the disintegration of the Boxer movement in the city. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Chinese forces were in disarray, fleeing the city in their thousands; and the fire of numerous clearing skirmishes was a constant rumble as the Japanese worked their way around the north of the Imperial City, while the Americans and French were shelling the entrance to the Palace from the south by the Chien-men. The noise of a significant battle taking place some distance to the north could be heard all over the city, but nobody in our force knew what this was and it came as an enormous surprise to all of us when two runners came in and reported that the Catholic Cathedral at Peitang had been relieved. Japanese troops had engaged the Boxers surrounding the Cathedral and after a barrage lasting less than an hour, had put them to flight. They had then entered the Cathedral but, without a common language, they and the besieged were both confused. Shortly afterwards, however, French troops arrived and marched into the Cathedral to the cheers of the survivors. As the Cathedral was located inside the grounds of the Imperial City, about two miles from the Legation Quarter, nobody had any idea that during the siege, almost 4000 people had sought sanctuary within the stone walls, which had been defended for more than a month by only 41 French and Italian marines, led by two French officers. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At a conference of the generals on the afternoon of the 16th, the city area was divided up and sections allocated to the various forces for security and protection of the inhabitants. The 14th Infantry and the marines were assigned to the west half of the city, and to that section lying between the Chien-men gate and the south wall of the Imperial city. I would have been part of this activity but, now that the main fighting appeared to be behind us, I had other priorities than to continue my attachment with the US forces. After clearing my departure with General Chaffee, and bidding my farewells to the brave troops who had become my friends and brothers-in-arms, I set off with the notion of reporting on the developing situation inside the Legation quarter. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Making my way through the outer grounds, past the Italian, French, German and Japanese compounds, I met not a soul but saw that every wall and roof was down and the whole place levelled to the ground. There was nothing more than a vast field of smashed brick and rubble, in which it was difficult even to trace the ground plan of the houses. I passed a well that had been filled in; a dead body rotting in the drain. Nothing remained standing and not a tree, not a stick, not a shrub had survived; I was walking in a bare and empty wilderness. As I neared the larger and better defended American, Russian and British legations, however, I came across an occasional house or shop that was untouched, from where a few people came out professing friendliness and welcoming me like a lost brother, offering me tea and such-like tokens of goodwill. It was not difficult to see through their thinly veiled hypocrisy, or to guess why they had suffered no harm. I declined their offers but I did go into a large pawn-shop, where I surmised that a number of foreigners would have deposited their treasures for safe keeping. If, indeed, they had done so, their belongings were now lost. The shop was deserted, empty, looted. Nothing remained except heaps of paper, account books, pawn tickets, and other rubbish. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; More and more people were around as I walked up South Bridge road, the track that separates the US Legation from the Russian and British compounds. Dozens of covered wagons, with horses straining at their load, were hurriedly leaving the US Legation; and in the Russian grounds there was much bartering and bickering over the price of looted goods. In full and open view of anybody who cared to look, two peaceable, well-dressed men were surrounded by a dozen or so Russian soldiers, suffering the crude but simple act of being made to undo their girdles and hold up their tunics whilst the soldiers felt all around their waists for watches or money; a blatant example of highway robbery in its most disgusting form. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Adjacent to the British Legation was the Carriage Park which housed the Field Hospital and a warren of troop quarters in the large halls, dim, cool, and dusty, where the Emperor's state sedans had been stored. By now, these had all been dragged into the open, and soldiers of many nationalities were busy clearing away the dust of ages and stripping the great chariots of their rich embroidered silks and the fineries of Imperial Majesty. In the bomb-proof shelter just outside the hospital, a large party of coolies had taken up quarters, spending their time gambling and, for small commissions sufficient to fund their wagers, selling the silk and silver treasures supplied to them by the soldiers. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the British Legation no soldier was supposed to have private loot, but foraging parties were sent out under the command of an officer and brought in vast quantities of silk, furs, china, silver plate, and jewellery of all kinds, which was sold by public auction for the benefit of the soldiers. People were expecting to leave Peking within days and, consequently, those with funds were prepared to pay highly for their treasures and memorabilia. In my heart I knew that I should have challenged this behaviour, but I knew also that to do so would not have changed a thing; and to salve my conscience, I rationalised that I had come to the British Legation for a different purpose. I was here to find George Morrison, the China correspondent of the London Times; and the man with whom I had been jointly named as &quot;missing in action&quot; in the Washington Times report of 2nd August. <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At the other side of the yard outside the hospital a group of about a dozen men were engaged in some animated discussion. I crossed towards them and was pleased to recognise the bearded features of Arthur Smith, the American missionary from whom I had learned so much about the siege when we met a couple of days previously. He welcomed me warmly and we chatted briefly before I enquired whether he knew of Morrison or his whereabouts. I was a little taken aback when, with an abrupt and what seemed like a somewhat sardonic laugh, he pointed me towards two people busily loading a small cart with what looked to me like coats and stoles of expensive fur, and said ... &quot;he&#39;s over there with his friend Favier, arguing about prices, I would guess&quot;. I had never met Morrison but I was aware of his status and reputation as one of the most experienced journalists in the field. Neither was I acquainted with Monsignor Favier but I did know his name as that of the the Roman Catholic Bishop from the Cathedral at Peitang that had been relieved just hours earlier. </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7GeIkDM0bALv9lQ-ozfqLAmwfbqFF-reKpbRYgJZ7vbZc9cDTGnWPEY_TXmkMY5eyb2DcU9ywca_e_sXkR7CN0dJhv_oJAv3fJW3h0IbqTlODegxGraGh72Xp7HLbGqX0QUrJjBerPGc/s1600/tientsin-press5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7GeIkDM0bALv9lQ-ozfqLAmwfbqFF-reKpbRYgJZ7vbZc9cDTGnWPEY_TXmkMY5eyb2DcU9ywca_e_sXkR7CN0dJhv_oJAv3fJW3h0IbqTlODegxGraGh72Xp7HLbGqX0QUrJjBerPGc/s400/tientsin-press5.jpg" /></a></div> </td> </tr> </table> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As I approached, both men were deep in conversation and had not yet seen or heard me. I drew to within just a few yards of them, where I could clearly hear their words, and my darkest suspicions were confirmed. These two supposed pillars of society; one with whom I had envisaged a satisfying, professional relationship; the other, feted as a hero and a saviour of souls, were squabbling over which of their &quot;customers&quot; would come up with the best financial return for their stolen goods. I stopped at this point, turned and re-traced my steps, my thoughts enveloped in a dark cloud of distaste, despair and disappointment ... sad but, at the same time, angry. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I had seen all of this before, of course, in Tientsin where, just a few short weeks before, the military occupation had turned into an orgy of looting and violence. Little did I realise, though, that the relief of Peking was about to become a bloodbath of human atrocity in which soldiers, civilians, diplomats, missionaries, and journalists all participated ... </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DaLe_SzsEYSZpnsvVF-H5g37JC7wHVRcoJSdjbmTSyauT8bXZN4RCAMnTRQNUmQ9eDwuDAC_x9-7aFHSriz_43_UMMc7QXGTHD_uqt20GiRCdNdkFr4WH0LtumChn6i9IQB6nLQebLTK/s1600/tientsin-press22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DaLe_SzsEYSZpnsvVF-H5g37JC7wHVRcoJSdjbmTSyauT8bXZN4RCAMnTRQNUmQ9eDwuDAC_x9-7aFHSriz_43_UMMc7QXGTHD_uqt20GiRCdNdkFr4WH0LtumChn6i9IQB6nLQebLTK/s320/tientsin-press22.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Plan of the Legation Quarter</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7S23M5mTtEUnZV1l7ZfjT5okIJJyhoItUWK5PWyjZp4v2rZggzvv6dE32NIavUJlK4eAxp32x45VhqY9shBqwJyONqmRxmqgNlECRRk77jFwJu6w1olYM2MmyRTjgq-I6LCf-YCG7_r5Q/s1600/tientsin-press19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7S23M5mTtEUnZV1l7ZfjT5okIJJyhoItUWK5PWyjZp4v2rZggzvv6dE32NIavUJlK4eAxp32x45VhqY9shBqwJyONqmRxmqgNlECRRk77jFwJu6w1olYM2MmyRTjgq-I6LCf-YCG7_r5Q/s320/tientsin-press19.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">South Bridge Street in the Legation Quarter</span> <br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-76170614902409998682013-08-15T17:19:00.000+01:002013-08-28T18:52:48.180+01:00<div align="justify"> We broke our camp at 5 a.m on the morning of 15th August and moved in column back towards the Water Gate entrance to the inner city. Upon entering the Legations, the cheering and glad-handing of the previous day was continued, but the appearance of the people and their surroundings, buildings, streets and homes, presented us with clear evidence of how they must have suffered during the siege. Barricades of every sort of material were built everywhere, topped with sandbags made from every conceivable sort of cloth, from sheets and pillowcases to dress materials and brocaded curtains. Most of the Legations had been reduced to piles of rubble, and those of the British, Russian, and American residents, though standing and occupied, were riddled with bullet holes from small arms fire and, often, with larger gaping holes made by shell. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The children presented a pitiable sight, white and wan for lack of proper food, but the adults, as a rule, seemed cheerful and little the worse for their trying experience, except from anxiety and constant worry. The Legations had been ransacked for supplies but food and water were seriously inadequate, with most living on short rations, a portion of which consisted of a few mouthfuls of horse or mule meat daily. The Chinese Christians had fared worse than most, being fed upon whatever scraps could be secured, and often reduced to killing dogs and rats for meat. American missionaries had taken over the management of sanitation and health and although medical supplies were also scarce, the doctors and nurses had managed to operate a field hospital that had saved many lives. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Legation guards were not well armed and only the American marines had sufficient ammunition. The defenders had just three machine guns and a small cannon but, fortunately, an old cannon barrel and ammunition had been found and from it a serviceable artillery piece with the original Italian carriage and a British barrel firing Russian shells had somehow been forged. This was manned by marines of the American guard, who had christened their fearsome weapon &quot;Betsy&quot; - to everybody else, though, it was known as the &quot;International&quot;. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General Chaffee had been informed by Minister Conger that part of the Imperial City directly in front of the Chien-men gate had been used by the Chinese as a base to fire on the Legations. Our scouts had reported that this enemy force was still in position and Chaffee had decided to force the Chinese troops out. It took some time to prepare our attack but by 7 a.m four guns of Captain Reilly&#39;s 5th Artillery battery had been hauled to the top of the wall above Chien-men gate and proceeded to sweep the walls to the west, all the way to the next gate, from where there was some slight opposition supported by poor artillery. At about 8 o&#39;clock, the Chinese opened fire on us at Chien-men gate, whereupon General Chaffee deployed a direct attack on the first Imperial City gate, and in a short while Reilly&#39;s second-in-command, Lieutenant Charles P. Summerall had opened the door of this gate. The 14th Infantry and the Marines entered, and were immediately met with severe fire from the next gate, about 600 yards distant. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Our fire was directed upon this second gate and in less than half an hour the Chinese guns was silenced. Colonel Daggett led forward the 14th to the base of the gate and directed Lieutenant Summerall to open this gate with artillery, which he did. This assault pattern was then repeated for a total of four gates, the Chinese troops being driven from each one in succession. The fourth gate presented no direct threat because it was at the rear of the Imperial City, near an area known as the Palace Grounds, which was only lightly defended by the &quot;Imperial Guards&quot;, and it was here that General Chaffee called a halt to the action. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And then, the news that brought grief to all of us. Captain Henry Reilly had been killed. At just a few minutes before 9 o&#39;clock, the courageous commander of the Artillery battery that had supported us and taken a decisive stance in every battle that we had fought from Tientsin to Peking, had taken a bullet in the mouth and died almost instantly while standing next to General Chaffee observing the effect of a shot from one of his guns. With his deep sadness quelled by an innate sense of duty and responsibility, Lieutenant Summerall immediately assumed the de facto role of acting battery commander. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We were now in a position to take control of the Imperial City but at a conference in the afternoon a majority of the Legation Ministers and the alliance Commanders decided that only the grounds should be occupied. I am sure that General Chaffee was not in agreement with this, but he nevertheless deployed his forces accordingly, with the 14th Infantry and some Marines on three sides of the grounds in cover positions, to provide a full cross-fire defence; the remaining Marine battalion on the fourth side, protecting the ground back to the Legation Quarters; the Artillery battery on the wall above the Chien-men gate; and the 9th Infantry at the gate where our earlier attack had ceased. Thus, by mid-afternoon, we were embedded and had set up established defence positions against attack from all sides. There was a general acknowledgement that the battle had probably not yet reached its conclusion, but it was unlikely that there would be any more fighting today. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Having been in similar positions of conflict on a number of other occasions, I knew that this was the time at which Generals needed casualty lists for their despatches. I also knew that all the men were exhausted, so I approached Colonel Daggett and volunteered myself for this task. He assigned a trooper to accompany me and we scurried off at half-crouch around the three miles or so that now made up our perimeter. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We took a couple of desultory sniper shots but, unhurt, we were back in less than two hours with our list which detailed that, apart from the tragic death of Captain Reilly, our casualties for 14th and 15th August, culminating in our attack upon the four Imperial City gates, were:<br /><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>5th Artillery</b><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1 officer and 2 enlisted men killed<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8 enlisted men wounded<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>9th Infantry</b><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2 officers and 3 enlisted men killed<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4 enlisted men wounded<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>14th Infantry</b><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1 officer and 6 enlisted man killed<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4 officers and 22 enlisted men wounded<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>US Marines</b><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1 officer and 9 enlisted men killed<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5 enlisted men wounded <br /><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Heroes all - and I am certain that nobody in Peking on that day would disagree ...</div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"> </div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWhHRhpN_f_IYENE7x0xVgfGIZF2jGbRzqHprbbtZ5kmmiaw7CDLczrImufIvut5Tkx-N8jfautIxDFtlpv0LJE4grBM_UPF303rp-ypCPaOCMPtVKgbBdyvxOi3U70a_1S67SSA0SNoC/s1600/tientsin-press21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWhHRhpN_f_IYENE7x0xVgfGIZF2jGbRzqHprbbtZ5kmmiaw7CDLczrImufIvut5Tkx-N8jfautIxDFtlpv0LJE4grBM_UPF303rp-ypCPaOCMPtVKgbBdyvxOi3U70a_1S67SSA0SNoC/s320/tientsin-press21.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-style: italic;">Legation Guards manning Barricades</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1Q6f13RtwJI6m398oO_VfGVLD5SXN3KlSGDVOuIFBrJ9-sJwAlp7T9M2sVOvc4JrP6vVbyhpINtI_v9XHiX4Ev7y4MQOrTWP58J8DNG0MosPhEJxF1slu-gRIzHjiO4RnYH_35hpTRk6/s1600/tientsin-press20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1Q6f13RtwJI6m398oO_VfGVLD5SXN3KlSGDVOuIFBrJ9-sJwAlp7T9M2sVOvc4JrP6vVbyhpINtI_v9XHiX4Ev7y4MQOrTWP58J8DNG0MosPhEJxF1slu-gRIzHjiO4RnYH_35hpTRk6/s320/tientsin-press20.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-style: italic;">&quot;Betsy&quot; or the &quot;International Cannon&quot; in action</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5jlGZIPMKGC7S7q13yqcTei-S2xM65qsYes9FKNIwdg5CBTYREOnh4MVSZC7pbg8WA6Xp064hCoUE0GeI8L2Rvh0jsLhjEx7IW7p9ZoNbaN0FYNaa0ywUpf5dYrF-ggHEBQ4tr8hoGX7/s1600/tientsin-press18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5jlGZIPMKGC7S7q13yqcTei-S2xM65qsYes9FKNIwdg5CBTYREOnh4MVSZC7pbg8WA6Xp064hCoUE0GeI8L2Rvh0jsLhjEx7IW7p9ZoNbaN0FYNaa0ywUpf5dYrF-ggHEBQ4tr8hoGX7/s320/tientsin-press18.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-style: italic;">Ammunition stores at Chien-men Gate</span> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif" /></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 10px;"> </div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"> </div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-24116972249624784972013-08-14T22:31:00.000+01:002013-08-28T18:55:18.321+01:00<div align="justify"> To set the record for those who consider such exactitude important, although General Chaffee&#39;s force actually entered the city before any other, it was British troops that arrived first inside the Legation Quarter. The regimental colours of the 14th Infantry were the first to fly over Peking and the men of the 14th were the first to set foot inside the city at a little after 2 p.m, but the enemy resistance that we encountered had held up our advance for some one and a half hours and, meanwhile, the British had entered the city at the Zua-anmen gate. Without sight of a single enemy soldier, they had followed a road to a position opposite the legations, where they set up a temporary headquarters near the Temple of Heaven. Then, shortly before 3 o&#39;clock that afternoon Captain Pell, A.D.C to General Gaselee; Lieutenant Keys, a Sikh officer, and four Sikh privates walked into the Legation gardens. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Some thirty minutes later, the 14th Infantry entered the inner city through the Water gate, at the same time as Captain Reilly&#39;s battery was passing through the Chien-men gate, which had been opened for them by the American and Russian marine guards of the besieged Legations. First or second into the city meant nothing, though, as we were all greeted by a cheering throng of the besieged foreigners, all decked out in their finery; all wishing to hug us and shake our hands. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; All afternoon the allied forces came pouring into the Legation compound in an endless succession until the lawn was fairly covered with them. Everybody was dancing for joy, and some could scarcely restrain their tears. Amid this cheering and jubilation, the confusion was as great as the euphoria and every new troop was greeted as the bringer of victory and deliverance. As a sharp reminder, however, that our task was far from over, some Chinese soldiers still in hiding around the walls of the Legation Quarter kept up an intermittent threat by firing into the crowds. A Belgian women received a flesh wound to the side of her face; and a Bengal Lancer, whose troop had been sent out in defence of the barricades was sadly killed when, looking through a loophole, he was instantly struck by a bullet to his face. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At about 4.30 p.m General Gasalee and General Chaffee met with Minister Conger and Sir Claude McDonald, the senior US and British Legation diplomats and, to ensure that the joyous mood of that evening did not get out of hand, the British decided to maintain their headquarters at the Temple of Heaven and General Chaffee agreed to withdraw our troops from the Legation quarters and camp just outside the wall for the night. As the only correspondent with the 14th Infantry, though, I considered that my place at that time was with the foreigners inside the Legations so, with Chaffee&#39;s permission, I re-entered the quarters and soon found myself in the company of one Arthur Smith, an American missionary, who summed up the military situation for me… &quot;It&#39;s a miracle that we have survived at all&quot; he said, &quot;but we can&#39;t understand why the Chinese did not extinguish our defences … if they had been ready to make a sacrifice of just a few hundred lives, we would all be dead now&quot;. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Missionary Smith was an avuncular sort of fellow; one who would hold the affection and respect of his fellows in any circle of which he was a part. He had much to tell me and for this report, it is worth repeating his own words … <blockquote><i>&quot;Many of the Chinese Christians who have been sheltering here and Chinese soldiers have been killed, but we have not been able to record how their numbers. What we do know is that the foreign guards who have been defending the Legations have suffered heavy casualties. Up to yesterday&#39;s count, of the 409 guards, 55 are dead and 135 wounded. It seems odd but our records show that the small Japanese force of one officer and 24 sailors commanded by Colonel Shiba suffered greater than 100 percent casualties. This happened because many of the Japanese troops, including Colonel Shiba, were wounded, entered into the casualty lists, and then returned to the line of battle only to be wounded once more and again entered in the casualty lists. In addition, 13 civilians have been killed and 24 wounded, mostly men who took part in the defence. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Almost everybody helped with some part of the defence effort and we had committees of all kinds. It was an American idea, and there were about forty altogether, one a cobbling committee to mend our shoes, another a washing committee to wash out clothes, a third a milling committee to grind the wheat, and so forth. The idea was a good one, and some of the committees did valuable work. But head and shoulders above all others as the most important man in our small community was an American missionary, Frank Gamewell who was the head of our fortifications committee. Where he got his ideas about fort and barricade building and construction I don't know; probably he doesn&#39;t know himself, but he had a genius for the work. No Royal Engineer could have done it better, and he did everything without a fuss of any kind. &quot;Gamewell,&quot; we said, &quot;we want a barricade, here, or a trench there, or a gun platform somewhere else&quot;. Not another word was necessary. Mr. Gamewell got together his team, known as the &#39;Fighting Parsons&#39;, and his coolies, you know we had a lot of native Christians in the compound, who did the labouring work for us, and in less time than most men would have taken talking about how the job was to be done the thing was complete. He raised no difficulties, asked no one's opinion, took up nobody's time with questions, simply got the work done, and surprised us all by the ingenuity and excellence of it. Mr. Gamewell and Colonel Shiba were our two best men without whom it does not seem possible we could have won through. I tell you now, after knowing these two men, I am beginning to lose my blind, unquestioning faith in Englishmen as the solitary salt of the earth.&quot;</i></blockquote> Smith and I talked for some hours, until I had to leave and make my way back to my quarters, or face the post-curfew challenge of the US sentries. As I walked back through the gathering dark, I thought about the times I had spent with many brave, outstanding men from foreign lands; and I could not help but agree with him ... </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tr> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SegyzZre0Fk9eyaW4ZZ9qCeL9uME8yd__KHAE_vEXSwlK-3UV-bvDpgMVsLlSxqDNT2vmaBgnUz7oWZENqzFDG42tR0Byv7s2uAwR5aRzunKVsrwqI80_XOEQ7iZwRXAf_UGw62SmJf9/s1600/gasalee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SegyzZre0Fk9eyaW4ZZ9qCeL9uME8yd__KHAE_vEXSwlK-3UV-bvDpgMVsLlSxqDNT2vmaBgnUz7oWZENqzFDG42tR0Byv7s2uAwR5aRzunKVsrwqI80_XOEQ7iZwRXAf_UGw62SmJf9/s200/gasalee.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">General Albert Gasalee</span></div> </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPWCenXsoG8hGFk4R38WdAn_QtGlkC8rcaYYPdUEFH_aIri8jEQpgQJwfB87fZ2gqPdS7JVvWwmpvNAxGs61hj9VBoHAn7wcp9SFULO8VlB0sd7R8hDAC_0ugZBIzFuOH5UFuzXh2BG4C/s1600/chaffee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPWCenXsoG8hGFk4R38WdAn_QtGlkC8rcaYYPdUEFH_aIri8jEQpgQJwfB87fZ2gqPdS7JVvWwmpvNAxGs61hj9VBoHAn7wcp9SFULO8VlB0sd7R8hDAC_0ugZBIzFuOH5UFuzXh2BG4C/s200/chaffee.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">General Adna Chaffee</span></div> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tr> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aEVaKS4rBUcKYz-bl0wpJOF-l9jzX1yJT7-JpC25GdaajaL9-BVQfM9sM_xluj5Sj7Ksii_IQbFtBe5rQzP1FBuSCJHoNtjO3dOZpa3oHfBLiOckyDt54Y81l-1DW1Ja5mce9V8PMGsC/s1600/mcdonald.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aEVaKS4rBUcKYz-bl0wpJOF-l9jzX1yJT7-JpC25GdaajaL9-BVQfM9sM_xluj5Sj7Ksii_IQbFtBe5rQzP1FBuSCJHoNtjO3dOZpa3oHfBLiOckyDt54Y81l-1DW1Ja5mce9V8PMGsC/s200/mcdonald.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Sir Claude McDonald</span></div> </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIWlmhBdqpYCdSvyD2q_pO2cXo-OSwXfb20QlOEacC-SeqpNrK2r8NRnX2yWJAXkkwN8yzonDgw41orckOxXY1WmWm9Ewb3_SJJoB9bPuWZr8PKmPQ6ham2pxfz6HhY0MRVHQQr2jg9Hj/s1600/congar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIWlmhBdqpYCdSvyD2q_pO2cXo-OSwXfb20QlOEacC-SeqpNrK2r8NRnX2yWJAXkkwN8yzonDgw41orckOxXY1WmWm9Ewb3_SJJoB9bPuWZr8PKmPQ6ham2pxfz6HhY0MRVHQQr2jg9Hj/s200/congar.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Minister Edwin Conger</span></div> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="12"> <tr> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C5hUf4hwJh1fZiUq57vRBs6RLb9NJfNjJUEQIPEan7drWcXxXyopFS4hODbLD5pXWCIxNe2lRs3VEBWoNZDTxuu2gIy9Xm4fDgpBZg5CK7BWx7OlKMZWKXPNy3Z_tGhQW0RvpclRbB-l/s1600/smith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C5hUf4hwJh1fZiUq57vRBs6RLb9NJfNjJUEQIPEan7drWcXxXyopFS4hODbLD5pXWCIxNe2lRs3VEBWoNZDTxuu2gIy9Xm4fDgpBZg5CK7BWx7OlKMZWKXPNy3Z_tGhQW0RvpclRbB-l/s200/smith.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Arthur Henderson Smith</span></div> </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66mdrddyehxFgt5AVZkLe9oIJkcnf_6_fDuLE9G9XZ9FxLD7D-dGYuzr9dxyw4mCViPJfa1AGhfvyXWXqVGs3WZ82n11i0Nb2FtRSQZXijma4OOXFgJdoLwhrMfof97SV1sQ2m1g7Cu13/s1600/shiba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66mdrddyehxFgt5AVZkLe9oIJkcnf_6_fDuLE9G9XZ9FxLD7D-dGYuzr9dxyw4mCViPJfa1AGhfvyXWXqVGs3WZ82n11i0Nb2FtRSQZXijma4OOXFgJdoLwhrMfof97SV1sQ2m1g7Cu13/s200/shiba.jpg" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Colonel Shiba Goro</span></div> </td> </tr> </table> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtT0KfmscZ3g55mfW7Kr1jTMnkijzNgt4wg91bGHursl5Le-vk1Jq3lfEuBbgUBQVdm3yPXYDVeqaesIMH53c4xbhFNahs6XL_rYhcwaVmI8f4xjPximZTOxZBVegGm4rRj5l_l1g_45CV/s1600/tientsin-press17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtT0KfmscZ3g55mfW7Kr1jTMnkijzNgt4wg91bGHursl5Le-vk1Jq3lfEuBbgUBQVdm3yPXYDVeqaesIMH53c4xbhFNahs6XL_rYhcwaVmI8f4xjPximZTOxZBVegGm4rRj5l_l1g_45CV/s320/tientsin-press17.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Frank Gamewell and his Fighting Parsons</span> <br /><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-17217313372982159972013-08-14T09:40:00.000+01:002013-08-28T06:51:56.537+01:00<div align="justify"> Captain Reilly’s guns had been remounted on their carriages, and with them we left our forward positions at about 4 a.m, as an advance party to cover the few remaining miles to Peking on that memorable 14th August. Heavy rains the previous night had made the roads thick tracks of mud and water, through which the miserable horses tried to drag the guns and their limbers. As we proceeded the sun began to make itself felt, and the day to become unpleasantly hot. The combined influence of those awful roads and the heat made our progress necessarily very slow, and many of the men were nearing exhaustion. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Without serious opposition we arrived at the northeast corner of the Chinese city, having brushed away some enemy troops that fired from villages to our left and front. At about 10 o'clock, Colonel Chaffee held up our advance to maintain the advantage of the ground that we had obtained, while the rest of our force moved up behind us. Then at 11, two companies of the 14th Infantry, under the immediate command of Colonel Daggett, assaulted the wall of the Chinese city and, with the assistance of Reilly’s guns below, drove the Chinese defenders from the corner of the wall towards the Guangqui gate to the south of the city, where the British entered without opposition later in the day. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The shared sense of pride and victory that inevitably accompanies the achievement of a military objective such as this was soon tempered, however, by the news brought back to Chaffee by one of our forward scouts. He reported what many of us had already suspected; that, in search of glory in being the first force to relieve the Legations, the Russians had violated the agreed battle plan, ignored their assigned target, the Dongzhi gate, and instead attacked the Dongbien gate during the night. They had killed a number of Chinese soldiers outside the gate and blasted a hole in the door with artillery. Once inside, though, in the courtyard between the inner and outer doors, they had been caught in a crossfire and had been pinned down there for several hours. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We made haste to the gate and arrived soon afterwards to find the Russian artillery and troops in great confusion in the passage, their artillery facing in both directions, and no clear effort being made to extricate themselves and give passage into the city. One company of the 14th was deployed in the buildings to the right of the gate and poured effective fire onto the Chinese troops atop the wall. Captain Reilly got two guns through a very narrow passage to his left, tearing down a wall to do so, and found a position a few yards to the left of the road where he could enfilade the enemy, section by section, with shrapnel. A second company crossed the moat and, taking a parallel position, deployed along a street facing the wall from where, with the aid of the artillery they swept it of Chinese troops. In this way, gradually working to the westward, the great wall was cleared of opposition. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A young trumpeter, Calvin Titus, approached Colonel Chaffee volunteered to climb the 30-foot wall which, given permission, he did successfully. Others followed him, and just before noon, the American flag was raised on the wall of the Outer city. We exchanged fire with the few remaining Chinese soldiers on the wall and then climbed down the other side and headed west toward the Legation Quarter in the shadow of the wall of the Inner city. Here we encountered heavy resistance from a group of about 30 Chinese snipers who had taken good cover in the many destroyed buildings in the grounds. We had little cover and some four hundred yards of open ground to cross but the snipers had us pinned down and a number of our men were wounded. This halted our advance until General Chaffee deployed the marines to clear the ground, which task they achieved successfully within an hour, but at the cost of seven of their number killed. Thus at about 3.30 p.m we arrived at the wall of the Legations, the fire of the Chinese having now all but ended. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We entered the Legation grounds by the Water Gate, a drainage canal running beneath the wall of the Inner city. The 14th Infantry was selected to enter as the leading force on this occasion, in recognition of their gallantry at Yangtsun and during this day; I was proud to be with them … </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQLZcr1Cp4VZxvhxiqD94te_wuEegTsZrAmx1-7Jjxtc1DJljrP-TV-0E9xz61TeufgKFVQ_ZIJHUxlhV6W3caMOAX3C65yWEaVb3p_wF02XGfNbvL6oChd1nS05fNnjxWL57OuRUhRiZ/s1600/tientsin-press16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQLZcr1Cp4VZxvhxiqD94te_wuEegTsZrAmx1-7Jjxtc1DJljrP-TV-0E9xz61TeufgKFVQ_ZIJHUxlhV6W3caMOAX3C65yWEaVb3p_wF02XGfNbvL6oChd1nS05fNnjxWL57OuRUhRiZ/s320/tientsin-press16.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Original Image by Capt C F O'Keefe, 36th Infantry, USV <br /> (courtesy of Digital Collections. NYPL) </span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsxBsM56w_EfIRXoKB7IgTgSDX46UZHeusw0JdZ3XpnToV8QTSD9d8xgnF85GuuwU62tpELSHvLnzPXLDASIwucluEHxeKosepq9Ps_VyCAuryvdxy6GFQZx5p39t_Q2WbwO2OB0aHI-9/s1600/peking+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsxBsM56w_EfIRXoKB7IgTgSDX46UZHeusw0JdZ3XpnToV8QTSD9d8xgnF85GuuwU62tpELSHvLnzPXLDASIwucluEHxeKosepq9Ps_VyCAuryvdxy6GFQZx5p39t_Q2WbwO2OB0aHI-9/s320/peking+map.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Map of Peking City Walls</span> <br /><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-34882135136034215292013-08-13T15:13:00.000+01:002013-08-26T07:25:16.097+01:00<div align="justify"> Our schedule for leaving Ho-hsi-wu on 9th August was for the Japanese to head our advance at 4 a.m, followed by the Russians, then our force, and finally the British. In the event, more communication problems and what many saw as a lack of moral fibre on the part of the Russian commanders and staff, delayed our start and it was almost 7 a.m when we moved out on to the road for Matou and Tung Chow. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Even though it had rained heavily through the night, the sun was well risen at this hour and the torrid heat, together with the swarms of vicious insects that turned any exposed skin raw with bites in minutes, left many of our troops prostrated by the roadside, to usually regain camp during the night. From Yangtsun the railway splits off from the road, which then follows the Pei-ho river in a north-westerly direction to Tung Chow and Peking. The road had been destroyed by the retreating Chinese, though, making for tortuously slow and difficult progress; and during the four days' marching from Peitsang to Tung Chow, our forces were physically distressed and ultimately depleted by about a quarter. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We had made only some three or four miles, and were halted by a tiny village when there was a loud, reverberating report that we thought was a gun fired quite near us. For a moment we thought that if we were not under fire, someone at least was firing close to us, until we saw to the south behind us a dense column of smoke and dust slowly ascending into the air. An immense store of powder had been found by the British in a temple at Ho-hsi-wu - some said it amounted to eighty tons - and as it was of no use to us, it was ordered to be fired. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We reached Matou to our west at about 10 a.m on 10th August, and a troop from the 14th infantry, together with a squad of around 30 marines, was detailed to prepare for the expected resistance. Two scout patrols were sent to assess the strength of the enemy, but shortly reported back that the Chinese had fled from the advancing Bengal Lancers and that there were now no enemy forces in the town. We rejoined the main force, at bivouac on the river bank and on receiving the scout’s report, General Chaffee decided that there was time enough to proceed to Changchiawan, a walled town some 6 miles to the south of Tung Chow. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As we were preparing to leave, a general hubbub from the direction of headquarters brought to our notice that a radio operator from the Signal Corps had managed to open a channel to the British Consulate in Che-Foo and that, through this link, we were now able to communicate with Washington. This news was a source of great excitement to the whole of the press contingent, with stories and reports to file; but insisting that time was of the essence, General Chaffee ordered that messages to our editors would have to follow later; and we were to make haste for our departure. As we were leaving he dictated a despatch, about as short and to the point as it could possibly be … <i>&quot;Tenth: Arrived Ho-hsi-wu yesterday. Chaffee&quot;</i> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As we approached Changchiawan, some light opposition was offered by Chinese troops, but this was quickly brushed away by the Japanese army, which took possession of the town and manned the gates as the remainder of our forces streamed through. The entire force, except, for some of the French, who inexplicably were still in the area of Yangtsun, were at Changchiawan by 8 p.m on the evening of 11th August. That night the Japanese advanced a brigade to near Tong Chow; and at 3 a.m on the morning of the 12th the south gate of the city wall was blown in by the Japanese troops, when it was found that the place had been deserted by the Chinese forces, which opened the route for the rest of the force. Although heavy downpours had again turned the road to mud, the day being cloudy and cool enabled the troops to march without much distress and all the armies had arrived at Tong Chow by noon of the 12th <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General Gasalee called a conference at Tung Chow to determine whether a direct assault on Peking could be made on the following day, 13th August. All the commanders were in agreement and the necessary re-grouping and logistical preparations for this assault were immediately put into action. During the afternoon, the Russian commander sent a note stating that he thought it best to remain at Tong Chow and rest the army for a day. This idea did not meet the views of other generals and a second conference was called at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. The Russian commander stated that he could not move the next day, and that he must rest his troops. Since the Russians comprised the second largest army in the alliance - some 13,000 troops - it was considered essential that they were part of the assault force, and it was finally agreed that the next day, the 13th, should be devoted to reconnaissance; the Japanese should reconnoitre on the two roads to the right of the river; the Russians, if at all, on the main paved road; the Americans to concentrate on the road just south of the river; and the British on a parallel road about a mile to the left. This would also allow an additional day for the French to come to strength, since some large part of their force was still scattered behind us. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The final advance on Peking would now be delayed until 14th August; and the plan agreed was that all the armies would be concentrated on the advance line held by the Japanese and that each of the four main national armies would assault a different gate. The Russians were assigned the most northerly gate, the Dongzhi; the Japanese had the next gate south, the Chaoyang; the Americans, the Dongbien; and the British the most southern, the Guangqui. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On the morning of the 13th General Chaffee ordered the reconnaissance of the road that we were to occupy with troops from the 6th Cavalry, Captain Reilly’s battery and the 14th Infantry up to the point specified at yesterday’s conference, which was about 7 miles from Tong-Chow. Finding no opposition, he directed the remainder of our force to march out and to close in to where we were camped as the advance guard; the rest of our force arrived at midnight. The British completed their reconnaissance with a cavalry division and moved up to their advance position on our left, while the Japanese reconnoitred both their front and that which had been designated to the Russians. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For reasons unfathomable to anybody the Russians departed their camp at Tong Chow at about the time that we had completed our assigned reconnaissance and were closing to our advance position. They followed the road which they should have reconnoitred and passed through the positions where our forces, the British and the Japanese were now in readiness for the next day’s attack. Some hours later battle sounds were heard in the vicinity of Peking, with heavy artillery and considerable small arms firing continuing throughout the night. We supposed the firing to be the last efforts of the Chinese troops to destroy the legations, which - although in no degree necessary - gave our imminent assault on the city an even greater urgency. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As night fell a Japanese staff officer came into our camp and enquired whether we knew anything of the whereabouts of the Russian troops, to which I could only reply that I supposed them at Tung Chow or on our right flank in their advance position for our combined assault the next day. To this he replied that they had left Tung Chow some hours earlier and, since he had come through from our right, he was certain that the Russians were not there; which begged a question of just what they were up to. Had they backed away from the battle in front of us? - or, in spite of our agreed attack plan, had they made ground on us to be the first army to enter the gates of Peking? <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tomorrow would tell ... </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1COXMOVidAwEJft9eHJMTvp3p0Zs3IaEeE4wyE0wvxbPBE3ZLwqtCJ5otZc4g4VwK3q1vGD19QuBrzELGg0-KqQjtr4OJBR1nCvo096Uxl626JFLhyphenhyphenFbIM6SIBQ4pdV3FBQUcL6LW5fUz/s1600/tientsin-press15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1COXMOVidAwEJft9eHJMTvp3p0Zs3IaEeE4wyE0wvxbPBE3ZLwqtCJ5otZc4g4VwK3q1vGD19QuBrzELGg0-KqQjtr4OJBR1nCvo096Uxl626JFLhyphenhyphenFbIM6SIBQ4pdV3FBQUcL6LW5fUz/s320/tientsin-press15.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Original Image by Capt C F O'Keefe, 36th Infantry, USV.<br/>(courtesy of Digital Collections. NYPL)</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qy8ctWYBCYaEOhlXTRNk_Kp0gUN4yuLXilOMCQaAZf1Poik5bdT6fmYHoN-32JVTCQGt3EinNxVVQp25cQWIODJ4RztPksECV4_pGfISNJbok6b1hRR7bnR71FLellBDNDKBISdHClyN/s1600/tientsinmap2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qy8ctWYBCYaEOhlXTRNk_Kp0gUN4yuLXilOMCQaAZf1Poik5bdT6fmYHoN-32JVTCQGt3EinNxVVQp25cQWIODJ4RztPksECV4_pGfISNJbok6b1hRR7bnR71FLellBDNDKBISdHClyN/s320/tientsinmap2.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Route of Relief Force from Tientsin to Peking</span> <br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-13370015065801471202013-08-06T17:08:00.000+01:002013-08-23T06:15:05.029+01:00<div align="justify"> After crossing the river we marched in the direction of the railroad, near which we halted until our planned departure time. During our halt the Russian troops crossed the pontoon bridge, followed by the British and French, and then took the river road, which was generally parallel to the railroad and a mile from it. We moved ahead at 6 o'clock, marching near the railroad embankment, which was around 20 feet high and 40 feet wide, revetted on both sides with stones and rock ballast. The railroad track had been entirely removed; the ties burned or carried away and the rails left strewn along the road. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Arriving within about a mile and a half of Yangtsun, we came across an enemy patrol of about 300 men occupying the section immediately in front of the bridge and the bend in the road, the railroad and the river road converging at this point. General Chaffee placed the 14th Infantry to attack along the west side of the railroad, where they connected with the British line. I crossed to the east side of the railroad embankment with a squad of Marines and a field battery under Captain Reilly, who were deployed to support the march of the 14th Infantry and the British troops. General Gaselee had sent a squadron of British cavalry to operate on our right flank. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As the 14th began their advance, the enemy opened fire on our right flank with artillery, and the commanding officer of the British cavalry reported that in the village directly on our right there were eight companies of Chinese infantry with three field guns. It was clearly unsafe to leave our right flank exposed to a force so strong, so General Chaffee directed a move against it. Our barrage very soon silenced the enemy guns and set the village ablaze; but this diversion had left the 14th with no cover and they were suffering terribly, even before the village had been completely cleared out. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There was no choice for General Chaffee but to abandon the movement on the village and re-direct his attack towards the enemy forces holding up the advance. Artillery, as well as infantry fire was being delivered from various villages to our right and in front, so our troops were sent into position to assist the 14th, intending to fire over the railroad embankment. Reilly's guns were unlimbered and about to open fire when we saw men of the 14th mount the embankment directly in front of our line of fire. Chafee ordered Captain Reilly to hold his fire, but within a minute of this order, the battery was fired upon by Chinese infantry and dismounted cavalry secreted in the cornfields within short range. Captain Reilly shifted his focus to the fields and opened fire upon them delivering a withering fusillade of shrapnel, which soon dispersed this force. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The 9th Infantry, which had come up on the right of battery, mistook the Chinese flag for the French and withheld their fire, losing an opportunity to inflict serious damage on the Chinese troops. I should remark in explanation of this that both the Russian and the French commanders were distributing messages throughout the lines, &quot;to be careful not to fire on their troops which were advancing on Yangtsun&quot;, indicating that they were likely to pass close to our front line. As a matter of fact, neither the Russian or French troops were anywhere in front of us or to left, but these messages had been communicated to officers and staff, and in consequence of this all the troops were being particularly cautious. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The 14th Infantry assault continued against the Chinese position, with support on the left by the British troops, who were by now somewhat mixed with the 14th as a result of the contracted ground. The 14th should have held their attacking position on the west side of the railroad, but they had veered east to assist the British commander who had insisted on their support on his right flank. In this attack the 14th Infantry suffered considerable losses with 7 men killed and 57 wounded and it is with some sadness that I have to report that probably 25 or 30 of these casualties were the result of fire from the British and Russian batteries. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The advance of the 14th Infantry ended at the railroad embankment, while the 9th Infantry, the Marines, and Reilly's battery continued to advance northward through the villages to the east of Yangtsun until we reached the north end of the city, where opposition had practically dispersed and, here, the operations of the day ceased. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the advance of the 9th Infantry, Lieutenant Lang and 5 men of his regiment were wounded. One man in the Marines was wounded; as were two men and two horses of Reilly's battery. The day was intensely hot and the troops had suffered horribly for the want of water and from the heat. Quite a number were unable to keep up with the advance and only arrived in camp after nightfall, while two so afflicted died on the field. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the conference at Tientsin it had agreed that the first step of the advance on Peking should terminate at Yangtsun; and that a further conference should be held there to determine what was to be done next. The troops remained in camp at Yangtsun during 7th August; the dead were buried and the wounded sent by boats back to Tientsin. During the morning of the 7th a conference was held at the headquarters of the Russian commander, and it was decided that the forward movement should be resumed the next day to Ho-hsi-wu, where our scouts had reported that the Chinese had constructed an intricate complex of dams and ditches in their efforts to drain the river and flood the surrounding ground; an attempt that had fortunately been abandoned in their flight. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From Ho-hsi-wu, we would then continue to Tung Chow, where a final conference should be held to agree plans for the attack on Peking. All the armies would concentrate at Ho-hsi-wu during the day and night of 8th August, and the march be resumed at 4 o'clock on the following day. </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2q_56Tj4QFhOwIFaC8BwE4t7xGRM06Mdu3ks_f9W2nUq1ErcYOkU-9nEGwwdaKbu9MQsVcrHADwlVmtVOuSVCDXBb5NGb7WnVqt-weQsecKa-RAis7aRz19Z6kCHq-GC1BxJwR5ftip88/s1600/tientsin-press8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2q_56Tj4QFhOwIFaC8BwE4t7xGRM06Mdu3ks_f9W2nUq1ErcYOkU-9nEGwwdaKbu9MQsVcrHADwlVmtVOuSVCDXBb5NGb7WnVqt-weQsecKa-RAis7aRz19Z6kCHq-GC1BxJwR5ftip88/s320/tientsin-press8.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Original Image by Capt C F O'Keefe, 36th Infantry, USV.<br /> (courtesy of Digital Collections. NYPL)</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNYOWlkBPavWdY17Numvln25jWvZOwXKnSLC3yuYIfKeAuAcl4qVPAFUJww8PWGF39KJ7d8DkZSH-IhJltVXsEJ2EOogfAv_4SSk7xN9o6an8Rv29w_RYdpcRBOg0U-d87rCJLX0Ts_K2n/s1600/tientsin-press13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNYOWlkBPavWdY17Numvln25jWvZOwXKnSLC3yuYIfKeAuAcl4qVPAFUJww8PWGF39KJ7d8DkZSH-IhJltVXsEJ2EOogfAv_4SSk7xN9o6an8Rv29w_RYdpcRBOg0U-d87rCJLX0Ts_K2n/s320/tientsin-press13.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Scout at Chinese dam complex on Pei-ho River</span> <br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-10155540454159898192013-08-05T10:36:00.000+01:002013-08-23T05:49:52.636+01:00<div align="justify"> The expedition force for Peking numbered some 18,600 men, including 2,500 Americans of the 9th and 14th Infantry regiments, to which force I was assigned. The 6th Cavalry, whose horses had not yet arrived, remained in Tientsin, together with a 100 strong company of Marines, left to assist the civil government of the city. With everything ready for a departure on the 4th August, it was decided that the opening attack would be made on the 5th. As the Japanese, British, and American forces already occupied the right bank of the river, and the Russians the left, the attack would be made without changing the situation of the troops, apart from the British sending four heavy guns to aid the Russian column. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The troops moved out from the city of Tientsin during the afternoon and night of 4th August and bivouacked in the vicinity of Siku arsenal. From here a road branches westward and leads around to the right of the Chinese entrenched position. The plan of attack was for the Japanese to march on this road at 1 a.m. on the morning of the 5th, followed by the British and the Americans to encircle the Chinese. This accomplished, the three forces were to face to the right and march in the direction of Peitsang, driving whatever Chinese forces might be encountered from their entrenchments. It was also known that the Chinese had a strong outpost about a mile from Peitsang, on the right bank of the river, and located directly upon the road from Tientsin to Peking. The Japanese were to send a battery and a battalion to attack at this point at 3.30 a.m. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The attack was carried out to perfection by the Japanese troops, but it soon became obvious that the ground was too limited for all the forces of the Japanese, British, and Americans to enter into combat. As soon as the Japanese had assaulted and carried the Chinese arsenal they set themselves on both sides of the Chinese position and swept them clean to the river, rendering unnecessary the plan for the British and American forces, following in the rear of the march, to establish a position where they could provide assistance. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At about 5 a.m a message was received from the Japanese that they had cleared the arsenal and asking that the British and Americans move directly northward from wherever they might be. The British received this message first, faced immediately to their right, and moved in the direction indicated. In order to provide tactical support, it was necessary for the Americans to pass around the British and try to make contact with the Japanese. This attempt was made, but before we could get into position the Japanese had cleared the field to the river at Peitsang, and the Chinese were in full retreat. The Americans continued to march north around the British, and we came upon the river about a mile to the north and west of Peitsang, the British forces directly upon the right, and the Japanese now having possession of the full river front. From this point attempts were made to find a route northward along the river, but the bank had been cut and all the country to the left, except a narrow road bordering on the river, was flooded. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The battle was over by 9.00 a.m. and with the action of the day having now ceased, we bivouacked in a deserted village just north of Peitsang. About 50 Chinese bodies were found on the battlefield and almost all the Alliance casualties were Japanese, amounting to 60 dead and 240 wounded, with a handful of British and Russian casualties caused by Chinese artillery fire. The American forces suffered no battle casualties during the day but nearly half the men fell behind, overcome by the sun and the blistering heat. There was no shade and the cavalry kicked up clouds of thick dust which beat back in our faces. Our throats were parched and we were cautioned not to drink the river water. I knew well the torment of dysentery that this would bring, but no orders could keep most of the men from anything that was liquid. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At 10 p.m I was summoned to headquarters, where General Yamagutchi was meeting with General Chaffee to discuss their plans for the next day, which were for the Japanese to march up the right bank of the river, and to construct three bridges for the Americans, British and Russians to cross. A pontoon bridge had already been constructed at Peitsang by the Japanese, and the British, Americans, and Russians were to march from this point up the left bank of the river to Yangtsun. As the bridge-building was to be controlled by the Japanese, and since it was essential to ensure co-operation on both sides of the river at Yangtsun, it was agreed that we were to march from Peitsang at 6 o'clock in the morning. <br /> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjKfLJEzVLHRT8S3K31eSDyuZcx0W6RNYpol5gnsGdY1mynGdWxyVrPEY4OKOf427h8Os0NwLS9SK3Cx2KTr6BnPXRzAGcFy17rXqQeRl3GBG_njd-wvlaOS1hO4sZ4isUvQ5E0iYGZPo/s1600/tientsin-press7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjKfLJEzVLHRT8S3K31eSDyuZcx0W6RNYpol5gnsGdY1mynGdWxyVrPEY4OKOf427h8Os0NwLS9SK3Cx2KTr6BnPXRzAGcFy17rXqQeRl3GBG_njd-wvlaOS1hO4sZ4isUvQ5E0iYGZPo/s320/tientsin-press7.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Original Image by Capt C F O'Keefe, 36th Infantry, USV.<br/>(courtesy of Digital Collections. NYPL)</span> <br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-25474772388865004802013-08-02T14:07:00.000+01:002013-08-22T15:00:25.744+01:00<div align="justify"> I thought that General Chaffee’s brief nod of recognition as he left the conference was all that I should expect from a man so busy. We had met in Cuba, but only briefly following his defeat of the Spanish garrison at the battle of El Caney. I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, to be called by his aide-de-camp and told that I was assigned to travel with the 14th Infantry, under Regimental Commander, Aaron S. Daggett, on our impending expedition to Peking. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Preparation and planning were the orders of the day and there was little time to make sure that kit was packed, rations arranged, stores requisitioned and munitions loaded before our departure. In the midst of all this frenetic activity, though, I received news of two out-of-context events that managed to bring some light relief to the urgency of the day and the chaos and misery that was Tientsin at the beginning of August. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; First, the publication of my latest book, To South Africa with Buller, which I had completed only three months previously, had been received with a detailed and favourable review by the literary editor of the Washington Times. It appeared that this review had been widely circulated and reproduced in a number of other journals; a fact that was endorsed by the numerous comments and congratulations that I received from my friends - old and new - and fellow correspondents. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Second - again from the Washington Times - was a report that I was missing in action in Peking along with George Morrison, the China correspondent of the Times. Although, we had never met, I was aware of Morrison’s status and reputation as one of the most experienced journalists in the field. We had also heard about a week ago from a Chinese messenger that Morrison had been gravely wounded along with Captain Strouts, the senior Marine officer at the British legation. It appears that several shots were fired at them as they were moving through a particularly dangerous area, two hitting Morrison in the thigh and one striking Strouts in the groin. Strouts only lived a few hours but Morrison was said to be up and about within a matter of days. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What was particularly unusual about this report was that not only was it patently incorrect, but that it appeared to have been penned by somebody who possessed very little factual knowledge, but an extremely active imagination. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Accuracy aside, however, I found it quite comforting to read that because of my &quot;hitherto remarkable escapes under fire&quot;, my friends believed that, along with the senior British Minister in Peking, Sir Claude MacDonald, I would eventually be &quot;found among the survivors&quot;. </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="15"> <tr> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguypNQCyNm36k697lwWM_JHTENKzhuLUPoAn9HfQAUN_QQQdibyBYp8V7iSrqh_7ca-eALLEnVxfT-yBMuXkq16xplm0bQoJiwjk2lO1f6cVVZUb_erdhTEBsui13I8GYyAGzdS2xE1rZG/s1600/tientsin-press6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguypNQCyNm36k697lwWM_JHTENKzhuLUPoAn9HfQAUN_QQQdibyBYp8V7iSrqh_7ca-eALLEnVxfT-yBMuXkq16xplm0bQoJiwjk2lO1f6cVVZUb_erdhTEBsui13I8GYyAGzdS2xE1rZG/s400/tientsin-press6.jpg" /></a><br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">A Literary Review<br /> The Washington Times</span></div> </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7GeIkDM0bALv9lQ-ozfqLAmwfbqFF-reKpbRYgJZ7vbZc9cDTGnWPEY_TXmkMY5eyb2DcU9ywca_e_sXkR7CN0dJhv_oJAv3fJW3h0IbqTlODegxGraGh72Xp7HLbGqX0QUrJjBerPGc/s1600/tientsin-press5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7GeIkDM0bALv9lQ-ozfqLAmwfbqFF-reKpbRYgJZ7vbZc9cDTGnWPEY_TXmkMY5eyb2DcU9ywca_e_sXkR7CN0dJhv_oJAv3fJW3h0IbqTlODegxGraGh72Xp7HLbGqX0QUrJjBerPGc/s400/tientsin-press5.jpg" /></a><br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">An Unverified Report<br /> The Washington Times</span></div> </td> </tr> </table> <br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-73391780224019302992013-07-31T09:19:00.000+01:002013-08-22T14:48:44.951+01:00<div align="justify"> General Chaffee reached Taku at dawn on 29th July and immediately pushed on to Tientsin, arriving just before noon on the 30th. Within hours, he had called on the various generals commanding the troops of the eight nations to assess the alliance’s overall readiness and capability; and arranged a full conference of generals for 31st July. The press outnumbered the generals by a ratio of some ten-to-one at this conference, which was introduced as having the single purpose of deciding whether the alliance was ready to make a movement for the relief of Peking. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It was disclosed in the conference that the Japanese, whose forces occupied the right bank of the river in and about Tientsin, where the British and American forces were also located, had been able to determine that the Chinese were in considerable force in the vicinity of Pei-tsang, about seven miles distance up the river from Tientsin, and that they were strengthening their position by earthworks extending from the right bank of the river westward something like thee miles, and from the left bank to the railroad embankment. The Chinese forces were variously estimated from between 10,000 to 12,000 men in the vicinity of Pei-tsang, with large bodies to the rearward as far as Yangtsun, where it was reported that their main line of defence would be encountered. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I believe that, irrespective of this intelligence, Chaffee’s mind was already set. Nevertheless, the first question that he submitted for decision was "whether a movement could be made at once". This was answered with dissent, based on doubt that the force we could put in movement was not sufficiently strong to meet the opposition that might be expected. To this, Chaffee replied that, in addition to the Italian and Austria-Hungarian naval contingents that could remain in defence of Taku and Tientsin, the alliance forces available numbered around 18,800 and that the US contingent of some 2,100 men of the 9th and 14th Infantry regiments, together with a division from the 6th Cavalry and a Marine battalion would be leaving for Peking on Sunday 4th August. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This statement, brazen and defiant in the face of General Gasalee's previous stance, triggered an approving cheer from the press benches; but this was nothing compared with the raucous roar that followed Chaffee's subsequent announcement that he would be accompanied by a further 3,000 British troops under the command of Admiral Seymour, who had already attempted an earlier relief expedition. <br /> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /><div align="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="15"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUU4w7uxJioGo5MfGgCymHfkdawlXFgL9t0ccP_ZYRRY55iUGI2YEHW8fgT8no394zeebZVAT0iE_WRr3FON5dJKakrU7RINVNK6QwTpfImdHbmqVg-5dEidyJJROU41WKue-cZN-0yLL/s1600/tientsin_seymour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUU4w7uxJioGo5MfGgCymHfkdawlXFgL9t0ccP_ZYRRY55iUGI2YEHW8fgT8no394zeebZVAT0iE_WRr3FON5dJKakrU7RINVNK6QwTpfImdHbmqVg-5dEidyJJROU41WKue-cZN-0yLL/s320/tientsin_seymour.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Admiral Seymour<br />Tientsin Conference July 1900</span> </td> <td align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaSkEhkjK8I0rFCnTioFJGmZ6VJlFWGgjQYmPXdTHbOg3qjisrik24qIC4bOsRCMHEdOjBLZLRXAW3TfNGI5g4sNIhyKVoHMatP5czWQwe7l4KJ7JoDv39zvcYMz_pQAH0BSC2YraxbMQ/s1600/tientsin_chaffee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaSkEhkjK8I0rFCnTioFJGmZ6VJlFWGgjQYmPXdTHbOg3qjisrik24qIC4bOsRCMHEdOjBLZLRXAW3TfNGI5g4sNIhyKVoHMatP5czWQwe7l4KJ7JoDv39zvcYMz_pQAH0BSC2YraxbMQ/s320/tientsin_chaffee.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">General Chaffee<br />Tientsin Conference July 1900</span> </td> </tr> </table> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div></div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-50105423574414437502013-07-29T08:50:00.000+01:002013-08-22T14:43:07.440+01:00<div align="justify"> In the immediate aftermath of the disturbing news that the advance to Peking was to be delayed, every correspondent in Tientsin spent every hour feverishly trying to gather, and make order of, whatever information could be gleaned from those that had been based in the city; and those that had experienced or witnessed the events of previous weeks. All communication with Peking was down, so nothing could be verified and, inevitably, the worst was feared. For each report purporting that the legations were safe, another presented shocking details of slaughter and massacre; and still Gasalee refused to move. <br /> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="15"> <tr> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYWjOI8jDfsK2jtvAS-6SvYt59QnUEfDwRwNiybPIDd4shYhqmqZ4lLJyotnY6ofBq0_8liTNkG2gavriHFKvX_4eHrUSzXKrKxAhD1X6z_SSl27C79LyYvchCwhHpZksEtD5BUp-fYPc/s1600/tientsin-press1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYWjOI8jDfsK2jtvAS-6SvYt59QnUEfDwRwNiybPIDd4shYhqmqZ4lLJyotnY6ofBq0_8liTNkG2gavriHFKvX_4eHrUSzXKrKxAhD1X6z_SSl27C79LyYvchCwhHpZksEtD5BUp-fYPc/s320/tientsin-press1.jpg" /></a></div> </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACXsLJeMUckrX-WmESd1UnWEXco0Yuv-mZsbUATohIK9cQhJac2pIje4S-uvnsSTq7wd-FBhaNmGJvK3zE1WFITvnmvH8MQUfEsERtor-wSXQU9ct-HasGWk-n2GWKcQil7xVJtFMfHNp/s1600/tientsin-press2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACXsLJeMUckrX-WmESd1UnWEXco0Yuv-mZsbUATohIK9cQhJac2pIje4S-uvnsSTq7wd-FBhaNmGJvK3zE1WFITvnmvH8MQUfEsERtor-wSXQU9ct-HasGWk-n2GWKcQil7xVJtFMfHNp/s320/tientsin-press2.jpg" /></a></div> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZKzml_M3WpyCW5GVbi1X8KcJQhuYWqbIPuoUL7F6UrEEVF0qAqSjP6swpMkMD6o9Eek3GA4DYQZz9LfKnlzHLK6vn6DIs0wFiXtEsnZJlr5Ru2cocbk0XZmmma03pNXfmEjIMjhAwgQJ/s1600/tientsin-press4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZKzml_M3WpyCW5GVbi1X8KcJQhuYWqbIPuoUL7F6UrEEVF0qAqSjP6swpMkMD6o9Eek3GA4DYQZz9LfKnlzHLK6vn6DIs0wFiXtEsnZJlr5Ru2cocbk0XZmmma03pNXfmEjIMjhAwgQJ/s320/tientsin-press4.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLed13rOA04OTWmvjTk6DgKDIOWMPaZ1DYTu3o5l0jFiJQJAuVAoFCpJQNmJUhJyoO3TB3lHrPmdM4nTuvF2atCZWFEDOazGM66uXq7UmFk3s0qIROCL9JW-gnypy4_f0CR1_CURF5yr0z/s1600/tientsin-press3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLed13rOA04OTWmvjTk6DgKDIOWMPaZ1DYTu3o5l0jFiJQJAuVAoFCpJQNmJUhJyoO3TB3lHrPmdM4nTuvF2atCZWFEDOazGM66uXq7UmFk3s0qIROCL9JW-gnypy4_f0CR1_CURF5yr0z/s320/tientsin-press3.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> But this morning, I received the most welcome news that General Adna Chaffee, with whom I had seen action in Cuba, was on his way from the Philippines and would be in Tientsin by the end of the month. His orders were to assume command of the US forces and to take all necessary action to reach Peking as soon as possible. I knew him as a decisive and courageous leader, considered by Washington to be one of their most capable officers, and I was confident that he would be the man to break us out of Gasalee’s slough of inaction. <br /> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div></div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-86571003315526016892013-07-27T10:28:00.000+01:002013-08-22T14:28:32.788+01:00<div align="justify"> It was with more than a little relief that we were called to a press briefing on the morning of the 27th July. The young officer, Captain Jennings, who had briefed us previously aboard the USS Solace was freshly dressed, quite dapper and apparently unperturbed by what was happening in the streets and houses surrounding our base. His manner and delivery was, again, efficient and his briefing was detailed ... <blockquote><i>Gentlemen, you are aware that the relief expedition led by General Seymour, was forced to return to Tientsin in late June, but alongside this, despite many rumours and press reports to the contrary, we can report that the citizens and guards in the foreign legations at Peking are safe and that, since the 17th July, there appears to have been a lull in the hostilities there. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Concerning the situation here in Tientsin, which was under siege from early June, the allied forces initially underestimated the capability of the Chinese forces, thinking that they could easily be brushed aside. This turned out to be a grave error in the face of fierce Chinese resistance. However, on 13th July, after further reinforcements had arrived, the eight-nation allied force to assault the walled city of Tientsin consisted of about 6,900 soldiers: 2,500 Russians, 2,000 Japanese, 900 Americans, 800 British, 600 French, and 100 Germans and Austrians. The challenge was substantial. The walls of Tientsin are 20 feet high and 16 feet thick, the Chinese had about 12,000 soldiers within the city or in nearby forts. The plan of the allies was to storm the city on two sides: British, American, Japanese and French troops would attack the South Gate; Russian and German troops would attack the East Gate. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Initially the attack went poorly for the Allies in large part due to some breakdown in overall command, a number of communication failures and un-coordinated troop deployments. The main effort against the South Gate became pinned down in an exposed position under Chinese fire from within the city. The allied troops were forced to lie face down in mud, wherein the dark-blue American uniforms provided targets for the Chinese troops, and severe losses were suffered by the allies. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Eventually the allied attacks were successful and at 3.00 am on the morning of the 14th, the Japanese force broke through the South gate, followed shortly by the Russians at the east gate and, in the face of these allied victories, the Chinese defenders made good their escape. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For the alliance, this was a difficult battle with heavy casualties. Two hundred and fifty soldiers of the allied armies were killed and about 500 wounded. The Japanese lost 320 killed and wounded; the Russians and Germans 44 killed and some 100 wounded; the Americans 25 killed, and 98 wounded; the British, 17 killed and 87 wounded; and the French 13 killed and 50 wounded. Chinese casualties, military and civilian, are unknown, but probably heavy. </i></blockquote> Captain Jennings then said that he would answer questions - but I doubt that he expected the furore that this simple statement unleashed. The two issues to which the assembled media demanded responses were: the looting, the atrocities and the killings to which most had already been horrified witnesses; and an explanation of why the relief expedition had not yet left for Peking. He responded ... <blockquote><i> Once inside the city there were some additional communication breakdowns and some instances of looting by the allied forces. As the Chinese soldiers had already withdrawn it was the local Chinese who suffered the most and some civilians were killed in the skirmishes. We have no reports of American troops being involved but there have been some instances of allied troops assaulting civilians, including the rape of some women. The German and Russian commands are currently conducting inquiries into reports that their troops have behaved with particular savagery, bayoneting their victims after they had abused them. It is also reported that the allies have covered up a number of atrocities by labelling all Chinese dead as Boxers, which lends legitimacy to the killings. In addition, we are aware that the Japanese have executed some suspected Boxers by beheading them but, conversely, they are acclaimed by the local citizens to be the best behaved of all the foreign soldiers. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So far as the relief expedition is concerned, out latest information is that, because of the fighting prowess and the strength of resistance already demonstrated by the Chinese, it is estimated that at least 50,000 to 70,000 troops will be necessary to mount a successful campaign. More troops from all of the eight nations in the alliance are currently en route for Tientsin and the expedition will be mounted as soon as these forces are in place. Major-General Gasalee, who will be leading the expedition has indicated that he expects this to be within the next three to four weeks. Thank you Gentlemen, that is all ... </i></blockquote> To say that the silence was deafening as Captain Jennings left the briefing room, would be an understatement of the highest order, and it took several minutes for us to assimilate what we had just been told. Had we heard correctly that the 900 souls in Peking, who had already been under siege for more than a month were to be left - isolated and alone - for at least another four weeks? Could it be true that, with more than 35,000 troops already garrisoned in Tientsin, and more arriving daily, our gallant Generals had decided that this force needed to be at least double in strength before they would be able to challenge an enemy that was already defeated and in flight? <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How can it be that those considered to be amongst our best soldiers, promoted to the highest military offices, appear habitually incapable of making clear, correct and courageous decisions ...? </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5BnUf2XMg6q1IZqwJFgJIGxKrdOa1hZA_WdH53QL6ZP5RVm-RbDl9DFIQdJO4fPz7wn7oqZa9jp6cdJnd9Pe0jnzonKg8u_B7chnl-M3rQDQXdM6dk6tE_2YMAo4UdP5uRXj-UXyTIAh/s1600/tientsin7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5BnUf2XMg6q1IZqwJFgJIGxKrdOa1hZA_WdH53QL6ZP5RVm-RbDl9DFIQdJO4fPz7wn7oqZa9jp6cdJnd9Pe0jnzonKg8u_B7chnl-M3rQDQXdM6dk6tE_2YMAo4UdP5uRXj-UXyTIAh/s320/tientsin7.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Officers and Soldiers of the Eight-Nation Alliance</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjV2qyo7NgbJO7HwVrWQKr8jnWbvF6qT5VAuYNejJ_9CZZmSEijz9o1ScGhGhUJA6tc9VO-OZqqxUv8BFWL0_fG95R_9F8ZH1T8paLMlQrCj38wO0dFGuXk5VIxtOEOezcekJQ9gws5ij2/s1600/tientsin8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjV2qyo7NgbJO7HwVrWQKr8jnWbvF6qT5VAuYNejJ_9CZZmSEijz9o1ScGhGhUJA6tc9VO-OZqqxUv8BFWL0_fG95R_9F8ZH1T8paLMlQrCj38wO0dFGuXk5VIxtOEOezcekJQ9gws5ij2/s320/tientsin8.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Major-General Albert Gasalee<br />Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire<br />Commander, Eight-Nation Alliance Forces, Tientsin 1900</span> <br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-53495348042146517242013-07-25T14:23:00.000+01:002013-08-22T14:07:54.898+01:00<div align="justify"> I had barely settled in to my billet when a thundering rattle of my door introduced Bennet Burleigh. It was only a matter of hours since we had disembarked from the USS Solace together but now, almost incoherent with his urgency, I could not recall ever seeing such a dramatic change in any man in so short a time. He insisted that I accompany him immediately to meet the correspondent of the Shanghai Mercury who, Burleigh shouted, &quot;.. knows what has happened&quot; <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We sprinted across the harbour square to the north wall of the old city, now the base for a swarthy, heavily armed squad of Russian troops. Burleigh's contact was there, squatting against the wall, surrounded by an ugly, threatening crowd driven by what I could only describe as a mix of blood-lust, hatred and terror in their wild-eyed raging. His camera was focussed on three bloodied bodies that lay at his feet; and it seemed that his journalistic integrity had rendered him completely oblivious to the life-threatening mob around him. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Burleigh snatched up his camera while I dragged him to his feet; and we made off down the crumbling steps. Some spirit must have been watching over us because, instead of giving chase as we feared, the mob stayed atop the wall. We raced around the base of the wall, desperately searching for some cover or hiding-place; only to hurtle almost headlong into the backs of another crowd, so close that we instantly saw the executioner's blade at the start of its downswing and the collapse of the headless body as it crumpled to the blood-strewn earth. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I have witnessed killings in other wars, just as cruel and just as barbarous - but I have never before experienced such revulsion or such terror as on this evil day, in this evil place ... </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibA0mvqG4NrjYfBhbBvZzePOZ81n5TV9hx_sEuUafcnMJ0LniSr3IjfPLM5ppFmqkjK5HLPr0pnnonStw5EcSk-O8UHmwQ_q5dpJGjiif7Od39qTJoH75GCVl521zV_cnG1xzWQxpbz8hP/s1600/tientsin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibA0mvqG4NrjYfBhbBvZzePOZ81n5TV9hx_sEuUafcnMJ0LniSr3IjfPLM5ppFmqkjK5HLPr0pnnonStw5EcSk-O8UHmwQ_q5dpJGjiif7Od39qTJoH75GCVl521zV_cnG1xzWQxpbz8hP/s320/tientsin1.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">The Correspondent at Work</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfVaMAx49hPy6BEeybFQAW3FIK6RwNd8hebN97-RnAEIzHw8iZnWW5j8YfrRjwQY4Psj0b1xOxM63muR0huik7h4GLlCyZx8B7MwxGQfQShzd5vl5qCDj5V5Bb-62QlcsbKPsbclG4erK/s1600/tientsin5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfVaMAx49hPy6BEeybFQAW3FIK6RwNd8hebN97-RnAEIzHw8iZnWW5j8YfrRjwQY4Psj0b1xOxM63muR0huik7h4GLlCyZx8B7MwxGQfQShzd5vl5qCDj5V5Bb-62QlcsbKPsbclG4erK/s320/tientsin5.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">A Boxer Execution Taking Place</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0OusT9RsnPVnchi0-BryLt3q4RmBDWh7bjth8pYgTEGS5c225cAczD_KPtoJvPhQV0YC9vBGGvONmqbaDY5mmHorEL5k2Poy8TTKkh5j5fMzRWKT1AXMD6kXpdmsNYVChOxChdJiuiH6/s1600/tientsin6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0OusT9RsnPVnchi0-BryLt3q4RmBDWh7bjth8pYgTEGS5c225cAczD_KPtoJvPhQV0YC9vBGGvONmqbaDY5mmHorEL5k2Poy8TTKkh5j5fMzRWKT1AXMD6kXpdmsNYVChOxChdJiuiH6/s320/tientsin6.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Execution Aftermath</span> <br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-41254642776136175922013-07-25T10:35:00.000+01:002013-08-22T14:00:21.784+01:00<div align="justify"> Past the burning forts at Taku, the USS Solace slid from the Yellow sea into the Bohai basin and found her berth amongst the dozens of gunboats and warships clogging the harbour. With little but rumours of murder and slaughter to inform us, it was with a terrible sense of foreboding that we disembarked. <br /> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For a description to capture that moment, I could only have likened it to walking into the depths of Hades itself. The overpowering stench was more revolting than any I had suffered, even in the fetid swamps of Kumassi; and was matched in intensity only by the visual horrors before us. There was hardly a building standing and a pall of thick smoke hung everywhere, giving an acrid, ugly taste to the very air that we breathed. Thousands of people milled aimlessly from ruin to ruin; or squatted, expressionless, like dumb animals unaware that they were about to be slaughtered. <br /> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Everywhere was chaos. Putrid corpses lay rotting in the streets, while women and children ran in terror from the carnage around them or stood huddled, almost comatose, in abject groups. Side-by-side, soldiers and civilians together were bent on a rampage of open looting, interrupted only by sporadic gunfire as before my eyes, people were shot for carrying some minor cudgel or knife in a pointless attempt to protect themselves. <br /> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The madness of this devilish vista was compounded by the vision of a solitary family still grasping for a finger-hold on normality as they sat together eating the scraps of a meal in the ruin of their destroyed home. <br /> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As we moved to quarters in the military compound, I knew that tomorrow I must locate somebody, somewhere in this place who could un-clutter and re-paint the horrendous pictures now filling my mind with the sharpness and clarity that comes from fact rather than the nightmares of imagination ... </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjjWK7aUaNePQGEhV4h0bD5Yoywb33jZ1aUEiQLBnJzUa1HEbTtj2kC8gjxen6e0df3y82YdnfMa3HxDo2m8azrw_83rMM89JhbFADSOOdr32Iv2DN0ROZjvBM3dkttkSDitcuBWutICq/s1600/tientsin3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjjWK7aUaNePQGEhV4h0bD5Yoywb33jZ1aUEiQLBnJzUa1HEbTtj2kC8gjxen6e0df3y82YdnfMa3HxDo2m8azrw_83rMM89JhbFADSOOdr32Iv2DN0ROZjvBM3dkttkSDitcuBWutICq/s320/tientsin3.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">The Ruins of Tientsin City</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4TyfyeUHFn8THLXi5SS91s-gEV3D25Fr0Y3wOmE-NZQtmH3Gp4-_Gsc3W6WlivQSFzevstiXTl4GwiuyY-cGNevooMkzA2Yj3IZczCi24QbKOtb-k7OnEx1NJpR9L8aOlv0f07QaXts1U/s1600/tientsin4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4TyfyeUHFn8THLXi5SS91s-gEV3D25Fr0Y3wOmE-NZQtmH3Gp4-_Gsc3W6WlivQSFzevstiXTl4GwiuyY-cGNevooMkzA2Yj3IZczCi24QbKOtb-k7OnEx1NJpR9L8aOlv0f07QaXts1U/s320/tientsin4.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">The Women and Children of Tientsin</span> <br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGiQkpedOkC1yp4AfYehnAX7M-Eh22dC_3Rdxe1XB45-pc6EfyB9-hZdPzsk-wM-fsudQQARyNO3-TKnvtwk83yk-wvcB2Y4Z9sqtMxuuWUbIDy-mPPVitIjWkBeD1xFoMS6A-Njnyg-h/s1600/tientsin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGiQkpedOkC1yp4AfYehnAX7M-Eh22dC_3Rdxe1XB45-pc6EfyB9-hZdPzsk-wM-fsudQQARyNO3-TKnvtwk83yk-wvcB2Y4Z9sqtMxuuWUbIDy-mPPVitIjWkBeD1xFoMS6A-Njnyg-h/s320/tientsin2.jpg" /></a></div> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Seeking Normality Amongst the Madness</span> <br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-34353194007773283672013-07-22T07:09:00.000+01:002013-08-23T07:47:26.781+01:00<div align="justify"> We are now just days away from Tientsin; a force of many thousands massing to relieve those poor souls trapped in the foreign legations at Peking. But they are now telling us that all are already dead .. tortured, murdered, slaughtered by these Chinese barbarians. So who is left for us to rescue? Has our mission failed by days? Are we here to relieve? Or are we now here to revenge? <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We can not be certain of course, until we arrive and can see for ourselves the truth of what has taken place at Peking. For now, we have only the press headlines to inform us; and we can only pray that they are an exaggeration of reality ... </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXUAqY5xWhMweN8CHSzXX-HzGcDQxOBhXmyfmQfykbBfOMqewuh2rScvY990Q0KhlslfrAWq_kHcb8_FESSbK11K1u2uAYHiK4kVvLiPJVWBC4wOSEFBuVBLlgSSx94vY4SpDB1VcU4Ls/s1600/chinacrisis6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXUAqY5xWhMweN8CHSzXX-HzGcDQxOBhXmyfmQfykbBfOMqewuh2rScvY990Q0KhlslfrAWq_kHcb8_FESSbK11K1u2uAYHiK4kVvLiPJVWBC4wOSEFBuVBLlgSSx94vY4SpDB1VcU4Ls/s320/chinacrisis6.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX2L3DerBN3v_hNRALMeCgevP5q9pG_-81lqulhWclXUee1TJtN6rtzXasGQvurfoqfo4iaDsevLP3ZzVKmZIxKP0ZeiQQlq_dgeuROXTO3lbiYpdoXbVhsCB_jMl-j2V10CpAzaXNTEN/s1600/chinacrisis4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX2L3DerBN3v_hNRALMeCgevP5q9pG_-81lqulhWclXUee1TJtN6rtzXasGQvurfoqfo4iaDsevLP3ZzVKmZIxKP0ZeiQQlq_dgeuROXTO3lbiYpdoXbVhsCB_jMl-j2V10CpAzaXNTEN/s320/chinacrisis4.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="15"> <tr> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3AjRR4-Jipu9iaep-DzEjdfM0OWIbwL3AbGAMKRIXA_gbYvW18rCN-DXa0rCO7IzgerOZRYuzjC5e6s48A3NGbVdg7pfArm-INm33ixvECNZOzEvWzArEyLLBoNo_xPV4DHpvlZUWbLr/s1600/chinacrisis3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0.4em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3AjRR4-Jipu9iaep-DzEjdfM0OWIbwL3AbGAMKRIXA_gbYvW18rCN-DXa0rCO7IzgerOZRYuzjC5e6s48A3NGbVdg7pfArm-INm33ixvECNZOzEvWzArEyLLBoNo_xPV4DHpvlZUWbLr/s320/chinacrisis3.jpg" /></a></div> </td> <td> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggKZ9jgEsPEbpN9AkCnrDWE3cpjfhQHVDNoHyjl1K1eQ7umw72-DgAzr79ViA2ik0L2zFMOKsiEVfj7ad57KXIxfEW666oNmh9190RjcQawgcjzFkWrCTaItqhz1RUWCb66_Bq94dTNeo2/s1600/chinacrisis5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0.4em; margin-right: 0;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggKZ9jgEsPEbpN9AkCnrDWE3cpjfhQHVDNoHyjl1K1eQ7umw72-DgAzr79ViA2ik0L2zFMOKsiEVfj7ad57KXIxfEW666oNmh9190RjcQawgcjzFkWrCTaItqhz1RUWCb66_Bq94dTNeo2/s320/chinacrisis5.jpg" /></a></div> </td> </tr> </table> <br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904426814106494697.post-19855922432887562192013-07-16T05:55:00.000+01:002013-07-19T05:56:00.760+01:00<div align="justify"> Three days in to our voyage and even amongst the most hardened and experienced press-hounds, the dangerous combination of boredom, frustration and speculation had begun to spawn a swell of rumours. So it was with some relief that on the morning of 16th July, we were called to a second briefing by the most efficient and professional communications officer, Captain Jennings ... <blockquote><i>Gentlemen, we have now completed our analysis of all the information that we have received about the situation at the foreign legations and, at this time, we area able to advise you that: <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A census at the legations, taken on 2 July has identified 473 civilians: 245 men, 149 women, and 79 children, of which British and American nationals are the most numerous. There are also 409 military guards; British, American, French, German, Japanese, and Russian, defending the legations. About 150 of the civilians are actively assisting the guards in their operations. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Austrian and Italian legations have been abandoned and the majority of the civilians have taken refuge in the British Embassy, the largest and most defensible of the legations. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The British Minister Claude MacDonald is acting as the commander of the defence, with Herbert G. Squiers, an American diplomat as his chief of staff. Defence lines have been established in an area known as the Fu, a large palace and park, where approximately 2,000 Chinese Christians have been taking refuge <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On July 3, the foreigners launched an assault against the Chinese with 26 British, 15 Russian, and 15 Americans under the command of American Captain John T. Myers. A number of Chinese troops were killed in this assault. <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That is all the confirmed information that we have for you at this time. We can also advise you that further information, in the form of recently published newspaper reports, has not been verified and we request that you take this into consideration when filing your reports.</i></blockquote> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An urgent sea of hands was immediately raised, signifying the numerous questions that we all had. These were left unanswered, though, with the polite but precise missive from the young officer that there was no further information, but we would be advised as soon as there was ... </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 11px;"></div> <br /> <div align="center"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JLIq8pdTTb9MsCLEBoI_n_e-qrYo0Hu9VSCY3N4Dmz7pwMqtygMv2yTF9EKL_-1h7GqVklqxkx-qHc67eJ4eXC5tXdzknYr0poUsIakzRbdBKUulYTOj5QFg2GE0Oor21NjZgpjvBhVB/s1600/chinacrisis3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JLIq8pdTTb9MsCLEBoI_n_e-qrYo0Hu9VSCY3N4Dmz7pwMqtygMv2yTF9EKL_-1h7GqVklqxkx-qHc67eJ4eXC5tXdzknYr0poUsIakzRbdBKUulYTOj5QFg2GE0Oor21NjZgpjvBhVB/s320/chinacrisis3.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <span style="font-size:11px; font-style:italic;">Report of the Massacre at Peking</span> <br /><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm"><img src="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/images/amazon468.gif"></a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 7px;"></div> <div align="right"> find out more ... &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeCMusgrave" target="_top"> @ GeorgeCMusgrave</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com" target="_top">or on my main Website</a><br /> <a href="http://www.georgeclarkemusgrave.com/bookstore.htm" target="_top">or browse my Bookstore</a> </div> <div style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(77, 44, 33); height: 11px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px;"></div> Explore your family history at <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-7123827-10493545" target="_top">Genes Reunited.co.uk</a><img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-7123827-10493545" width="1" height="1" border="0"/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0