I am Tang Di, a history enthusiast. Welcome everyone [Follow] me to talk about the past and the present together, and to discuss the general trend of the world. The diplomatic and military authorities of the Eight-Nation Alliance finally decided to save the Seymour Expeditionary

I am Tang Di, a history enthusiast. Welcome everyone [Follow] me to talk about the past and the present together, and to discuss the general trend of the world. A gentleman is just learning and making friends for the rest of his life!

Eight-Nation Alliance Diplomatic and military authorities finally decided to save the Seymour Expeditionary Force at all costs.

day by day, and Expeditionary Force has disappeared. The consular regiment was completely at a loss, so he handed over the rescue plan to the military authorities.

Therefore, Sino-foreign relations began to enter the militarization stage from then on.

1. Relieve anger - attack Dagukou

However, the struggle between military authorities of various countries has not stopped. On June 14, 1900, when Dawula, the French Navy Lieutenant of , arrived at Dagu , he found that the location of ships of various countries was very interesting.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 On the left is " Three Kingdoms Alliance ", which is the fleet of Germany, Austria and Italy. The British, American and Japanese fleets were anchored in a circle.

Despite the conflicts, commanders of various countries had to cooperate because all countries in the Seymour coalition had detachments. From June 15 to 16, the naval commander held a joint meeting on the Russian flagship "Rosia". The naval generals realized that the military situation of the coalition forces was not good, and the Eight-National Forces had been divided into three divided groups.

One group is the Seymour coalition, and its whereabouts are unknown between Beijing and Tianjin Rules; the other group also has more than 2,000 people, defending the concession in Zizhu Forest on the outskirts of Tianjin, which is still 5 miles away from the city, so this unit is also isolated and harassed by Yihe Boxers. If the Chinese regular army attacks the Concession in full swing, it will be difficult for the purple bamboo forest to resist.

Therefore, the third group, namely, the officers and soldiers on the warship outside Dagukou, are in the best situation, and they have no direct contact with the situation on the ground, and are disdainful of the Chinese, and their morale is still very high.

More importantly, the failure of the Seymour coalition was a great humiliation for the naval officers and soldiers, prompting them to seek revenge. The naval officers and soldiers were on the ship for too long and were eager to get ashore.

In this case, the naval generals of the great powers made an "extraordinary" decision: to take down the Dagu Fort at all costs.

From a diplomatic and political perspective, the attack on the Dagu Fort will automatically put the navy of the great powers in a position of fighting against China.

In fact, Lieutenant Colonel Brown, a military officer of the British Embassy in China, has received a clear suggestion from London that he should not log in to Dagu, but choose Beidaihe, so that he will be far away from Beijing, and will not be too politically sensitive, and pose a sufficient threat to the Qing regime. Many missionaries in China also believe that attacking the Dagu Fort can only help the Chinese unite and fight against the foreign countries.

From a purely military perspective, capturing the Dagu Fort was a necessary measure at that time.

2. At the joint meeting on June 15, 1900, all parties quarreled and no consensus was reached.

Admiral Bandman of Germany was the first to propose the absolute necessity of controlling the railway line between Tianjin and Dagu. Without this condition, both the Seymour coalition and the Tianjin Concession would be difficult to save.

However, the Dagu Fort is an absolutely necessary condition for controlling the railway. Admiral Hillbrand of Russia said he did not deny the importance of capturing Dagu.

But he also believes that this cannot be explained on International Law :

"If we do not formally declare war on China, such actions will be difficult to implement."

Admiral Gulejoer of France supported Russia's view and said that the source of troops to capture Dagu was not enough. He suggested that the foreign soldiers guarding the concession in Zizhu Forest be withdrawn from the war.

Therefore, both France and Russia believe that the open war will bring greater danger to the Seymour coalition and the Beijing ministerial regiment. Bandman of German retorted again that the Seymour coalition and the ministerial regiment are not the same and should be dealt with separately.

He then warned that he had ordered the German "Iltis" gunboat to prepare for it and join the war immediately once the coalition-controlled Tanggu station near Dagu was attacked by Chinese troops, and the French Admiral was not opposed to doing so. Finally, the joint meeting did not reach a consensus on the capture of Dagu.

The next day, the joint meeting was held again. At this time, there was news that the Chinese government was dispatching troops from Shanhaiguan to reinforce Dagu. Banderman once again called for immediate action, and other naval generals also began to be interested in his suggestions.

Everyone put the issue of international law aside and discussed purely military issues.

British Navy Major General Bruce still expressed doubts about the force, but French and Russian commanders unexpectedly changed their positions and supported Banderman's proposal.

France's Gulejol even proposed to take action tomorrow night because the weather report judged that the tide would rise on June 17, which would facilitate action.

Japanese commander agreed and said:

"If we don't take action, the Chinese will start first."

Major General Bruce of the UK was still suspicious, saying that he heard a statement from a consul in Tianjin, "Surprising Dagu is equivalent to sentenceing foreigners in China to death."

But he no longer objected to the action, because Britain's experience in China showed that it was necessary to use force. In this way, commanders of all countries began to become consistent.

Only the U.S. Admiral Kampuf mentioned again the political consequences of this action on China, saying that doing so was the beginning of the demise of the Manchu dynasty. But other generals are no longer interested in this issue because the decision is purely considered from a military perspective.

3. There is no excuse

The generals knew that it was unreasonable in international law, so everyone began to pay attention to the attitude of the Tianjin Consular Corps.

Bruce of the UK believes that the consular regiment would understand the decision, and the German commander said that the German consul shall prevail. He also suggested that in order to prove that this is a collective responsibility decision, the attack order should be signed one by one in the order of qualifications.

The last problem is how to ensure the surprise attack effect of Dagu, but also cover up the nature of the sneak attack, and can be self-justified in the future.

France's Gulejoer raised a key question:

"Should we notify China in advance?"

The result of the negotiation was to submit an ultimatum to the commander of the Chinese defenders of Dagu Fort.

Admiral Banderman further suggested that the ultimatum needs to clearly ask China to explain their preparations for foreign hostilities and that the official reply should be sent by midnight on June 17. If China does not hand over the fort and gives a satisfactory explanation for its actions, the coalition will launch an attack at 2 o'clock in the night.

Military point of view, seizing the Dagu Fort is not an easy task. The Dagu Fort is a modern defense system formed by the combination of four fortresses. Its main function is to control invading enemy ships to enter Baihekou from the sea. Decades ago, this turret had considerable defensive capabilities.

In The Second Opium War , the Chinese defenders blocked the British ships for a long time.

Later, the British and French coalition forces landed in 1860 to seize the fort, thus opening the road to Beijing.

4. Dagukou is really vulnerable?

After the Second Opium War, China hired German technicians to spend huge sums of money to rebuild the Dagu Fort. By the end of the 19th century, it had been widely regarded as an unbreakable fortress. There are more than 3,000 defenders in the fort. The weapons and equipment of the turret are also constantly being updated, and most of them are using relatively modern technologies, including many fast guns made by Krupp . Beneath the fast gun, there is also a military dock, with four brand new torpedo ships bought from Germany not long ago. On the front of the fort is a large open area, covered with pointed stakes and no cover, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

In terms of coalition forces, since March 1900, a total of 30 warships have been parked in the Dagu area, but only 9 can participate in the operation, because the water level in Baihekou is too low and the area is too narrow, and large ships cannot get close to it. The estuary is less than 200 meters wide and the water depth is between 2 and 17 feet. It depends on the fluctuation of the tide.

The coalition forces participated as follows:

The British Royal "Fehm" and "Huiting" destroyers, with a speed of 30 nautical miles per hour;

The British Royal "Ergelin", a three-masted ship, slow speed and old equipment;

The German "Iltiz" is of the same type as the British "Ergelin", but the former is slightly faster;

The Russian "Giriak" gunboat is smaller in size, but relatively advanced;

Russia's "Bobble", an old steel plate gunboat, very bulky and inflexible;

Germany's "Kritz" gunboat, better than the "Bobble";

France's "Lion" old gunboat, two cannons, several old machine guns ;

Japan's "Atgo" old iron armored ship, one cannon and some machine guns;

United States' "Monaukssi", this plate steamship, just arrived in Dagu two days ago.

Among the nine warships, the US ship "Monoksi" cannot participate in the war because the US government's policy is not to form alliances with other countries in China. Japan's "Aiyan" carries a large amount of ammunition, so it is too dangerous to participate in the war. So the coalition forces only participated in the war with 5 gunboats and 2 destroyers . There were more than 900 sailors participating in the war, composed of troops from six countries except the United States and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

officers and soldiers are very motivated. On the one hand, they do not know much about the situation in China, and on the other hand, they are very contemptuous of the Chinese people's combat capabilities.

5. Finding a reasonable excuse

The tactic formulated by the coalition is to first shell the Dagu Fort, and then let the attacking troops land quickly when the Chinese side is unable to parry. At this time, the coalition forces had everything ready, the combat plan was set, the ships were concentrated, and the candidates for the attacking troops were determined. The only thing left was to find an excuse to attack the Dagu Fort, but this was very difficult.

The Chinese army was on the defensive and did not conflict with foreign soldiers in Tianjin. At this time, the Seymour coalition forces were attacked by the Dong Fuxiang army in Langfang . So, the coalition forces racked their brains and finally launched an attack on the grounds that China tried to close Baihekou.

However, if the Chinese defenders were always in a defensive position, the Dagu Fortress would not pose a direct threat to the coalition, because the Tanggu Station was already in the hands of the coalition and the transportation line was unobstructed.

If the Chinese army closes Baihekou, the coalition's transportation line will have the possibility of being cut off at any time.

Therefore, the coalition forces used the rumors that China had deployed mines in Baihekou as a formal reason for protesting to China.

The consular regiment stationed in Tianjin fully supports the military's approach, because the diplomats were at a loss at this time and could only let military logic replace diplomatic logic.

The eight countries’ decision to start the war cannot be considered unanimously passed. Admiral Kampuf of the United States refused to sign the coalition’s ultimatum to China in view of the government’s policies.

The generals of France and Russia also privately believed that this move was equivalent to declaring war. Kampuv's attitude towards France and Russia was very puzzled.

On the afternoon of June 16, before the war started, Kambv sent a power to the Admiralty Department, requesting clear instructions on whether the US Navy will participate in the attack that night. But Secretary of the Navy John Long, who was a politician and was the governor of Massachusetts, was busy fighting for his party's position as vice presidential candidate. Therefore, Kampf's telegram was not delivered to John Long until 8 days later. Kanbufu had no choice but to watch the battle.

After the Seymour Expeditionary Force set off, the highest rank of the generals of the Dagu Allied Forces was Russian Admiral Hill Brant, and all orders were issued in his name.

Hill Debrand issued an order on June 15:

First, Chinese troops are trying to occupy Tanggu Station and cut off the railway transportation line: Second, China is trying to block Baihekou with torpedo ships.

It is worth noting that this order does not mention the fact that China is laying water mines. The torpedo ship has been parked at Dagu Fortress and has no new actions. It can be seen that the coalition forces had not found a reason to start the war until June 15.

6, the truth about "Dusland Ultimatum"

Until the morning of June 16, 1900, the coalition forces had not found a reasonable reason for the war, so the consular regiment and the coalition authorities could only use a dirty diplomatic strategy to achieve their goals.

They decided to submit a formal ultimatum to China in the name of Du Shilan, the head of the consular regiment, requiring the Chinese defenders to withdraw before 2 a.m. on the 17th. If they are not allowed, the great powers will use force.

Strangely, this "Dushilan ultimatum" was not immediately sent to the Governor Yulu of Zhili.

According to Chinese historical materials, the ultimatum did not arrive at Governor's Office until 5 a.m. on the 17th. At this time, the fierce battle between China and foreign countries in Dagu had begun for several hours.

Are the consular regiment and coalition authorities intentionally delaying?

Historical materials are not clearly recorded, and few historians have paid attention to it.

First-class secretary of the French Embassy Baron Dangdua was in Tianjin at the time. In his memoirs, he tried to explain why the ultimatum issued on the 16th was delivered on the 17th.

He said Du Shilan handed the ultimatum to a Chinese servant and asked him to send it to the Governor's Office. But it was already 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, and the battle end of the Dagu Fort was opened. Due to the danger on the road, the servant asked to pay 6 francs . Dangdua still couldn't explain why the sender had not delivered it within 5 hours.

It is obvious that the consular regiment and the coalition authorities did not intend to notify China too early and did not give Yulu enough time to coordinate and prepare for war. The battle to capture Dagu was a surprise attack, so from the perspective of diplomatic practice, the ultimatum did not exist at all, nor did it have any basis for international law.

7, another "ultimatum"

, but the coalition forces were lucky because there was another real ultimatum, which was the one sent directly to the commander of Dagu Fort Luo Rongguang by the navy general.

According to Chinese and foreign historical materials, even this ultimatum was delivered only 5 hours before the coalition forces were ready to use force. Luo Rongguang's report shows that at around 9 p.m. on June 16, a Russian naval officer accompanied by two English translators suddenly came to the fort.

They first claimed that the Chinese army laid mines at the Baihekou, and then accused the Chinese government of doing nothing in the fight. Finally, he submitted an ultimatum to Luo Rongguang signed by Admiral Hill Brant.

The ultimatum said that the Chinese government had colluded with Boxer to arrange heavy troops along the railway and blocked Baihe with torpedo ships. It asked the Chinese defenders to evacuate before 2 a.m.

Luo Rongguang wanted to argue with him, saying that time was so urgent that he needed to contact his superiors, so there was no answer before 2 a.m. The Russian officer ignored it and left.

Luo Rongguang's statement was also confirmed in the historical materials of the coalition forces that there is a log about the Battle of Dagu in the German Imperial Military Archives. This log is written in French, so it means that this is a standard combat record distributed among the coalition forces. The document records that the ultimatum was planned on the morning of June 16, but it was not until after 9 pm that Russian Navy Captain Bachmetiev sent it to Luo Rongguang.

Luo Rongguang said that he must receive instructions from his superiors to act, and he will be irresponsible for attacking the coalition forces.

It should be pointed out in particular that when Luo Rongguang received the ultimatum, the coalition fleet had already started to anchor and reached the designated position.

The entire military operation started at 3:2 pm on June 16. The attack on Dagu Fort was by no means announced to China in advance.The Chinese government had no idea in advance, and the Dagu defenders had only a very short time to consider the ultimatum, and the Chinese defenders commander could not act without instructions from superiors. So this is a sudden attack, which was designed by the coalition forces.

The coalition's operation time was very calm, and the Chinese defenders did not even have enough time to respond hastily.

Unfortunately, before the deadline for the "ultimatum" was reached at 2 a.m., the Dagu Fort suddenly fired a shot at 1 a.m., and the war officially began.

Western historical materials all prove that the first gun came from the fort, and some Chinese parties' reports, including Luo Rongguang's report, all said that foreign ships fired the gun first. It should be said that the possibility of a first shot exists.

In fact, in the atmosphere at that time, it was not important to who fired the artillery first. War was inevitable. The coalition forces originally launched an attack in the form of a sudden attack. But morally speaking, Dagu Fort fired a first shot instead provided the coalition with the best excuse to justify itself. No matter what, it is a lucky thing for the coalition forces to fire before the ultimatum expires, because this can be interpreted as the result of China's provocation, thus concealing the true intentions of the coalition forces.

8, Dagu offensive and defensive battle

Western historical materials are mostly biased in the records of Dagu offensive and defensive battle. It is generally believed that China is vulnerable and the quality of officers and soldiers is too low. In fact, despite the hasty response from the Chinese defenders, Dagu's defense is still remarkable. Luo Rongguang could not contact his superiors in time. He knew that reinforcements could not arrive, but he could still rely on his existing forces and persist in resisting the coalition forces for 6 hours.

In the battle, except for the US ships, the landing troops of each ship can go ashore in time. An important reason for their successful landing was that under the leadership of Major Keith, two British destroyers first seized the four torpedo ships anchored at the dock under the fort, and no British casualties were found.

Later I found out that the officers and soldiers of the Chinese torpedo ship were just ready, and torpedo had entered the launch position. If one step later, the consequences of the coalition forces would be unimaginable. There are accidental factors in the success of the coalition's offensive.

At the moment of fierce fire exchange between the two sides, the coalition's fleet was once suppressed by China's strong firepower, but the coalition's shells actually hit the ammunition depot of the turret , causing a huge explosion. Soon the coalition forces hit another ammunition depot. The Chinese defenders suffered heavy casualties in the explosion, and their morale began to shake. By dawn, China's resistance had been weakened, and after the coalition forces captured the first fort, the defense had begun to collapse.

But Luo Rongguang still sticks to his post to command and ordered the remaining troops to withdraw from the fort at 8 a.m. on the 17th. At this point, the Dagu fortress was completely destroyed.

In the battle, China's firepower is both fierce and accurate. The defenders' artillery fire sank the Russian ships "Giriak", severely hitting the German ships "Kritz" and "Irtis", and hitting the French ships "Lion" and the British ships "Ergelin". Although the US ship did not participate in the war, it was also lightly damaged by a shell. The captain did not dare to fight back rashly, for fear of being punished by General Kampufu after the war. 172 people were killed in the coalition, including German Captain Hermann , and Captain Lance of the "Iltis" was seriously injured.

A period before the war began, China was in a favorable situation. Luo Rongguang said in his report that at around 4 o'clock in the morning of the 17th, he checked the situation and felt that victory was in sight. But at 5 o'clock, after the ammunition depot was hit, China began to fall into a slump. The resistance of Chinese officers and soldiers was still very brave, with heavy casualties, reaching about a thousand people, and many people died in the ammunition depot explosion.

Although the coalition forces are unwilling to admit it, the Dagu battle is the official beginning of the Sino-foreign war, and the fact that the war is undeclared cannot be denied.

7, the three-day declaration of war time difference

For the Qing court, the occupation of Dagu Fort was the beginning of the war, but China did not declare war on the great powers immediately. The Dagu Fort fell on the morning of the 17th, but China declared war on the 20th.

Why is there a time difference between this?

The most popular theory comes from diplomats in China at that time. They believe that Empress Dowager Cixi intends to prevent the ministerial delegation from knowing the fact that Dagu was trapped, and on the other hand, her preparations for the war were not yet fully ready.

In fact, there is no mysterious or ulterior motive in it. The reason why the Qing court failed to make up its mind to start a war was that the situation in Dagu was unknown.

Modern communication between Tianjin and Beijing has been interrupted, and Yulu is unwilling to report the truth about Dagu to the court in time. After the war, many government reports of the great powers said that the Dagu Fort fired a shot first was directly ordered by Empress Dowager Cixi.

In a formal report in 1901, the US Department of War stated that China's first fire was said to have received an emergency order from the Queen Mother. China believes that the ultimatum is a declaration of war, and believes that the great powers have decided to divide China. If the first place is the order of the Queen Mother, it proves that after cutting off the communication channels of the mission, China has retained a telegram communication channel. The statement

is completely unfounded. In fact, since June 10, China has adopted the method of sending messages from fast horses. Ironically, the interruption of modern communication methods also brought great obstacles to the decision-making and judgment of the Qing court.

In the three days from the 17th to the 20th, Empress Dowager Cixi also began to make various mistakes in her decision-making.

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