China, 1898 Map
A New Balance
- Thread starter Jim Smitty
- Start date
The Boxer update has proven harder to write than I first believed it would as its been worked on the past few days and nothing that has been ready to post. I hope to have something by tomorrow through,
The Boxer War 1899-1902, Part One
The Boxer War 1899-1902
China had been humiliated in the eyes of the world when it lost to the Japanese in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95. Then it was humiliated again when it was forced into signing over small pieces of its vast coastline to various foreign powers who wanted to make vast amounts of money through China with some having ideas to colonize China. By the time the United States had signed the last of the concession treaty China was deeply humiliated as it couldn’t stand up to anyone who tried to slice off a piece of China. Had Austria Hungary or any other minor European Empires tried to force China into signing a concession port it was questionable if they could had resisted and said no.
Besides slowly being carved up by Western Nations and Japan there was the long standing grudge of Christian missionaries who were trying to turn the masses in China to become Christians. Xenophobically was also running at high levels as China was trying to keep up with the rapidly changing world. Even the Qing Government was in turn oil as the liberals wanted to reform China and conservatives who didn’t want to reform China. Even through the conservatives won the debate with Empress Dowager Cixi becoming their leader there was still a debate about how to handle the foreign powers that were slowly carving China up.
Enter the Boxers. They believed that through diet, training, and prayer, they could perform feats that were impossible otherwise. The Boxers were attractive to the many unemployed male youths in China. As their numbers grew so do did the belief that an army from heaven would come to help remove the foreigners from China and make China for Chinese again. Its kin in North America, the Ghost Dance, had already been defeated by the Americans in the wind down of their wars with Native Americans. Yet this fact didn’t stop Chinese males from joining the boxers in large numbers.
The Qing Government under Empress Dowager did nothing to stop the Boxers. Indeed some within the court of Empress Dowager supported the Boxers. Because of this fact, the Qing Government didn’t try to keep the Boxers in check and allow them to do what they wanted. This turned into attacks on Chinese Christians and foreign missionaries throughout the Chinese nations during the winter of 1898/99. This in turn caused the Western Governments to protest to the Qing Government to do something about the Boxers. As the Qing refused to step in the Boxers grew bolder. In the spring of 1899, the Boxers attacked and killed French diplomatic Jean-Claude Besnard. Even through Besnard was only a junior diplomat in the service of the French Foreign Office, he still held diplomatic immunity and was on his way to meet a member of the Qing Government counterpart in an effort to reel in the Boxers. However, what the Boxers did to Besnard was unspeakable. The newspapers at the time refuse to print a now well known photo of the corpse, well better put the remains of the corpse of Besnard as it was too graphic to be publish.
As news of the death of a junior diplomat having died in a brutal manner at the hands of the Boxers a crisis formed between the Qing Government and the Third French Republic. At first it looked like the death of this junior diplomat might finally force the Qing to do something about the Boxers. However, before this crisis could be ended peacefully, the Boxers started to causing trouble in the International Legations within Peking. The story as to what happened on May 29 1899 is not that clear and many different accounts of what happened on this day are present. How it ended with a Japanese, a German, and two American diplomats or soldiers who were assigned to the International Legations dead with more wounded and with many boxers having been killed or wounded.
This would mark the start of the Siege of the International Legations. It also sparked international outrage over this event. This would lead to an international summit being held in London starting on June 9th. At this summit there was members from the foreign offices from many of the great and regional powers[1]. The British had taken the lead in this summit but it was clear that there was international outrage at the events and actions of the Boxers in China.
For the Chinese however, their team at this summit was led by the wrong person. He was pro-Boxers and anti-foreign. When he made is opening statements on the 10th he made it clear he blame everyone but the Chinese for the problems that were happening and what led to this summit. He famous said at the end of his speech, “Take away your missionaries, take away your opium, give up your goals to colonize China then a peace could be reached.”[2] It when without saying that no one responded well to that speech or the closing remarks. The Chinese team was after this speech refused entry into these meetings and the remaining nations when about debating what should be done over China.
As the debate when over what to do what China in London, things in China were spinning out of control. Western concession and Japanese held towns were being attacked by Boxers and in select cases Qing Imperial Troops. The International Legations in Peking was under siege by both Boxers and pro-Boxer units within the Qing Imperial Army. Christian missionaries and Chinese Christians were being attacked at will by Boxers. Even at this, the eleven hour a peaceful end could had been found. Yet instead of a peaceful ending, Empress Dowager came out in support of the Boxers and anti-foreign populism that was sweeping China at the time.
The event that changed everything was the Seymour Expedition. The British wanted to relieve the International Legations to keep them from falling to the Boxers. With a force of just over 2,000 sailors and marines with a small units of multinationals attached to Vice Admiral Seymour’s command he started out to Peking and the International Legations. Boxers and Qing Empire tore up the rail line from Tientsin to Peking which removed the possibly of a rapid transport to Peking. Yet not knowing this Seymour decided to travelled via rail to Peking. Believing this was still a problem between the civilians and not the Chinese government, Seymour decided to leave behind his limited heavy artillery and take only light mountain artillery on his campaign with the belief that this mountain artillery would be enough for his campaign.
On June 14th Seymour Expedition reach a station about half way between Tientsin and Langfang. The train that Seymour was using had to stop because the tracks had been destroyed by local Boxers. The engineers quickly got to work repairing the damage track but the Boxers encircled Seymour’s force as this was happening. In this running battle the Boxers who were only armed with swords and spears used human wave tactics to attack the Western Force. It was a bloody mess. Many officers noted that a single rifle shot wasn’t enough to take down a Boxer from what we know that happened at this battle. Four or more shots were generally reported as needed to stop a Boxer. Only machine guns could stop a Boxer cold.
After the track was repaired the trained moved on and the troops under Seymour left behind a waste land of bodies. The tracks at the changing station at the town of Langfang was also destroyed on the 15th. Like the day before engineers attached to Seymour’s command when about fixing the tracks. Only instead of being encircled by Boxers who were armed with only swords and spears they were encircled by both Boxers and troops of Dong Fuxiang, the Kansu Braves. Even through the Braves wore traditional uniforms they were armed with Mauser rifles and Krupp artillery. Between the Braves and Boxers, Seymour was outnumber by about a factor of 11 to 1.
The Massacre of Langfang started after Dong Fuxiang opened fire with his artillery. Seymour couldn’t performed counter battery tactics as he only had light mountain guns that had no hope of reaching the Krupp artillery being used by the Braves. With this artillery support the Boxers and Braves with seeming no regard for live and death charged the troops of Seymour. The Boxers and Braves almost totally destroyed Seymour’s command. Of the force that Seymour had started off with only 48 souls made it back alive to Tientsin by the 19th. Many down to only a hand full of rounds in their rifles and pistols by the time they made it back to allied lines. As to the losses suffer by the Boxers and the Braves, no hard counter by sources that could be trusted were ever made. However, modern estimated put Boxer and Brave losses at the equal if not great than ill fated Seymour Expedition.
Days later the Massacre of the International Legations happened. Like at the Massacre of Langfang, the Boxers received the support of the Imperial Qing Army. Even through there were in the Imperial Court who tried to hold back Imperial Qing Army heavy support, they failed and they made use of the newly brought Krupp artillery from the year before and used this heavy artillery to help breech the Tarter Wall on June 23rd. When the Tarter Wall was breached the Boxers and Imperial Qing Army stormed into the International Legations. There were no known survivors.
[1] In no order, the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and China were at this summit.
[2] A modified version quote from an OTL Qing Official.
China had been humiliated in the eyes of the world when it lost to the Japanese in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95. Then it was humiliated again when it was forced into signing over small pieces of its vast coastline to various foreign powers who wanted to make vast amounts of money through China with some having ideas to colonize China. By the time the United States had signed the last of the concession treaty China was deeply humiliated as it couldn’t stand up to anyone who tried to slice off a piece of China. Had Austria Hungary or any other minor European Empires tried to force China into signing a concession port it was questionable if they could had resisted and said no.
Besides slowly being carved up by Western Nations and Japan there was the long standing grudge of Christian missionaries who were trying to turn the masses in China to become Christians. Xenophobically was also running at high levels as China was trying to keep up with the rapidly changing world. Even the Qing Government was in turn oil as the liberals wanted to reform China and conservatives who didn’t want to reform China. Even through the conservatives won the debate with Empress Dowager Cixi becoming their leader there was still a debate about how to handle the foreign powers that were slowly carving China up.
Enter the Boxers. They believed that through diet, training, and prayer, they could perform feats that were impossible otherwise. The Boxers were attractive to the many unemployed male youths in China. As their numbers grew so do did the belief that an army from heaven would come to help remove the foreigners from China and make China for Chinese again. Its kin in North America, the Ghost Dance, had already been defeated by the Americans in the wind down of their wars with Native Americans. Yet this fact didn’t stop Chinese males from joining the boxers in large numbers.
The Qing Government under Empress Dowager did nothing to stop the Boxers. Indeed some within the court of Empress Dowager supported the Boxers. Because of this fact, the Qing Government didn’t try to keep the Boxers in check and allow them to do what they wanted. This turned into attacks on Chinese Christians and foreign missionaries throughout the Chinese nations during the winter of 1898/99. This in turn caused the Western Governments to protest to the Qing Government to do something about the Boxers. As the Qing refused to step in the Boxers grew bolder. In the spring of 1899, the Boxers attacked and killed French diplomatic Jean-Claude Besnard. Even through Besnard was only a junior diplomat in the service of the French Foreign Office, he still held diplomatic immunity and was on his way to meet a member of the Qing Government counterpart in an effort to reel in the Boxers. However, what the Boxers did to Besnard was unspeakable. The newspapers at the time refuse to print a now well known photo of the corpse, well better put the remains of the corpse of Besnard as it was too graphic to be publish.
As news of the death of a junior diplomat having died in a brutal manner at the hands of the Boxers a crisis formed between the Qing Government and the Third French Republic. At first it looked like the death of this junior diplomat might finally force the Qing to do something about the Boxers. However, before this crisis could be ended peacefully, the Boxers started to causing trouble in the International Legations within Peking. The story as to what happened on May 29 1899 is not that clear and many different accounts of what happened on this day are present. How it ended with a Japanese, a German, and two American diplomats or soldiers who were assigned to the International Legations dead with more wounded and with many boxers having been killed or wounded.
This would mark the start of the Siege of the International Legations. It also sparked international outrage over this event. This would lead to an international summit being held in London starting on June 9th. At this summit there was members from the foreign offices from many of the great and regional powers[1]. The British had taken the lead in this summit but it was clear that there was international outrage at the events and actions of the Boxers in China.
For the Chinese however, their team at this summit was led by the wrong person. He was pro-Boxers and anti-foreign. When he made is opening statements on the 10th he made it clear he blame everyone but the Chinese for the problems that were happening and what led to this summit. He famous said at the end of his speech, “Take away your missionaries, take away your opium, give up your goals to colonize China then a peace could be reached.”[2] It when without saying that no one responded well to that speech or the closing remarks. The Chinese team was after this speech refused entry into these meetings and the remaining nations when about debating what should be done over China.
As the debate when over what to do what China in London, things in China were spinning out of control. Western concession and Japanese held towns were being attacked by Boxers and in select cases Qing Imperial Troops. The International Legations in Peking was under siege by both Boxers and pro-Boxer units within the Qing Imperial Army. Christian missionaries and Chinese Christians were being attacked at will by Boxers. Even at this, the eleven hour a peaceful end could had been found. Yet instead of a peaceful ending, Empress Dowager came out in support of the Boxers and anti-foreign populism that was sweeping China at the time.
The event that changed everything was the Seymour Expedition. The British wanted to relieve the International Legations to keep them from falling to the Boxers. With a force of just over 2,000 sailors and marines with a small units of multinationals attached to Vice Admiral Seymour’s command he started out to Peking and the International Legations. Boxers and Qing Empire tore up the rail line from Tientsin to Peking which removed the possibly of a rapid transport to Peking. Yet not knowing this Seymour decided to travelled via rail to Peking. Believing this was still a problem between the civilians and not the Chinese government, Seymour decided to leave behind his limited heavy artillery and take only light mountain artillery on his campaign with the belief that this mountain artillery would be enough for his campaign.
On June 14th Seymour Expedition reach a station about half way between Tientsin and Langfang. The train that Seymour was using had to stop because the tracks had been destroyed by local Boxers. The engineers quickly got to work repairing the damage track but the Boxers encircled Seymour’s force as this was happening. In this running battle the Boxers who were only armed with swords and spears used human wave tactics to attack the Western Force. It was a bloody mess. Many officers noted that a single rifle shot wasn’t enough to take down a Boxer from what we know that happened at this battle. Four or more shots were generally reported as needed to stop a Boxer. Only machine guns could stop a Boxer cold.
After the track was repaired the trained moved on and the troops under Seymour left behind a waste land of bodies. The tracks at the changing station at the town of Langfang was also destroyed on the 15th. Like the day before engineers attached to Seymour’s command when about fixing the tracks. Only instead of being encircled by Boxers who were armed with only swords and spears they were encircled by both Boxers and troops of Dong Fuxiang, the Kansu Braves. Even through the Braves wore traditional uniforms they were armed with Mauser rifles and Krupp artillery. Between the Braves and Boxers, Seymour was outnumber by about a factor of 11 to 1.
The Massacre of Langfang started after Dong Fuxiang opened fire with his artillery. Seymour couldn’t performed counter battery tactics as he only had light mountain guns that had no hope of reaching the Krupp artillery being used by the Braves. With this artillery support the Boxers and Braves with seeming no regard for live and death charged the troops of Seymour. The Boxers and Braves almost totally destroyed Seymour’s command. Of the force that Seymour had started off with only 48 souls made it back alive to Tientsin by the 19th. Many down to only a hand full of rounds in their rifles and pistols by the time they made it back to allied lines. As to the losses suffer by the Boxers and the Braves, no hard counter by sources that could be trusted were ever made. However, modern estimated put Boxer and Brave losses at the equal if not great than ill fated Seymour Expedition.
Days later the Massacre of the International Legations happened. Like at the Massacre of Langfang, the Boxers received the support of the Imperial Qing Army. Even through there were in the Imperial Court who tried to hold back Imperial Qing Army heavy support, they failed and they made use of the newly brought Krupp artillery from the year before and used this heavy artillery to help breech the Tarter Wall on June 23rd. When the Tarter Wall was breached the Boxers and Imperial Qing Army stormed into the International Legations. There were no known survivors.
[1] In no order, the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and China were at this summit.
[2] A modified version quote from an OTL Qing Official.
If the Eight Nation alliance makes it to Peking and destroys the Qing government, you could see a warlord era lasting at least half a century.
Oh SHIT!!! Well with this level of destruction and death in Peking, China may end up carved up and not allowed to remain a singular nation. No Charlton Heston and 55 Days in Peking made ITTL.
Killing off all the diplomats, their families, and the legation soldiers and civilians may cause some retaliation against Chinese diplomats. It may also lead to a much longer and costly War before the Empress and the Boxers are quelled.
Killing off all the diplomats, their families, and the legation soldiers and civilians may cause some retaliation against Chinese diplomats. It may also lead to a much longer and costly War before the Empress and the Boxers are quelled.
Goodbye China. The various nations will trash Peking and the government, and the "concessions" will be markedly expanded, some (like the Japanese, Germans, and Russians) will probably go for a territorial grab of substantial size. The territories of most of the powers, except possibly the USA, will go from being concessions/rentals to fully owned colonies. Given the massacre of women and children in the legation, the western attitude about orientals (and the Japanese attitude towards the Chinese), and the cooperation of the government with the Boxers expect the campaign in China to be especially bloody and very very few prisoners will be taken.
The Boxer War 1899-1902, Part Two
In London the news of the Massacre of Langfang was met with shock and disbelief. Making matters worse was the rumors of the Massacre of the International Legations had started to filler through to different European holdings in China. With this information still filleting in the nations in London would issue a joint statement that was known as the London Declaration on July 13th. The London Declaration was unprecedented as eleven nations[1] all with different goals and in some cases open rivalries spoke with one voice.
The London Declaration amounted to an ultimatum to the Qing Empire. It demanded that Qing destroy the Boxers and any captured Boxers were to be handed over to the member nations of the London Declaration. Qing Troops who took part in either the massacres of Langfang and the International Legations were to be drummed out of the service and their generals handed over to them. Family members of both the International Legations and Langfang Massacres were to given 1,000 taels of silver for the death of each family member. Each nation who lost diplomatic personal would be given an indemnity of 25,000 taels of silver. Further the Qing Government would pay to rebuild the International Legations and enlarge it so that a “company” of security troops from each nation could be housed there as well. Finally the Qing Government was to give complete safety of Chinese Christians and all foreign missionaries from further attacks. The Qing were given two weeks to answer the London Declaration.
As the world waited to see what the Qing would do next, the eleven nations that signed on to the London Declaration all started to sharpen their swords for the possibly of war. There were so talks within London how to command this vast multi-national force should the Qing force them into war. This was honestly a tricky question as the Americans objected to a British or German commanding their troops. The Germans objected to either an American or French commander. So on and so for. Finally a compromise was reached. It was agreed that three different commands would be formed and both commanders would work together to defeat the Qing and Boxers. Generalfeldmarschall Alfred von Waldersee would lead Army Group A. This force would be made up of German, Austro-Hungarian, British, Italian, Dutch, and Belgian troops. Army Group B would be led by newly promoted General de division Joseph Gallieni. Army Group B would be made up of French, American, Japanese, and Swedish troops. The Russians formed their Army Group under the command of General Nikolai Linevich.
Back in China as the Westerns and Japanese sharpened their swords the Westerns who were already in China tried to deliver the London Declaration. This task was easier said than done. Xenophobically had reach fever pitch in Northern China. It’s unknown even if Empress Dowager would have received the two efforts to give her the London Declaration’s message could she had agreed to it without facing a massive uprising throughout Northern China. However, she never got the terms of the London Declaration as both massager teams were never heard from again after they started to Peking, and its widely believed that they died at the hands of the Boxers or other anti-foreign troops in China.
Things in China however were far more complicated than most people in the world really understood. Even through the Qing Government of Empress Dowager was the leader of all China many had enough of a political base large enough to deal with foreigners and speak for whole regions of China. However, many within the member nations of the London Declaration understood this fact. This led to work being done in Southern China and the Central Parts of China to keep them out the circle of violence that was going on in Northern China. With this groundwork the allied nations were able to focus on Northern China solely instead of having to fight all of China at once.
Once the two week deadline had passed for the Qing Government to answer the demands of the London Declaration the eleven governments of the Qing Government moved to force these demands on the Qing Government. One by one each nation in the alliance decaled states of war or took other legal steps that allowed them to send their troops into combat. The reason none of alliance members formally declared war on the Qing Empire was because it would have lay waste to the ground work in Southern and Central China that had sideline the Boxers and anti-foreign protest in this part of China. Even through it lacked a formal declaration of war, it was a war.
The Russians were one of the first to strike. They launched an invasion of Manchuria, Tuva, and Mongolia. Over 150,000 troops entered these areas, with vast majority taking part in Manchuria. The Chinese in Manchuria, Tuva, and Mongolia couldn’t possibly defend these territories against such massive numbers. The Imperial Qing Army had only just started the rebuilding of its army after it was destroyed in the Sino-Japanese War and the bulk of this reequipped force was in the Peking-Tientsin Area. The Boxers in this part of China were also fairly thin, most of the opposition to the Russian were Manchu Bannerman.
In this fight the Manchu Bannerman fought to the death as did the small number of Boxers that fought against the Russian invasion of Manchuria. Even in Russian reports from the field reports about the Bannerman and Boxers fighting to the death and large numbers of in the limited battles fought in Manchuria. The Russians also killed large numbers of people who they believed were Boxers who had tried to hide in plain sight. This happen more often than not after their railways were attacked after they had advanced through the area already. The Russians were also looting Manchuria, Tuva, and Mongolia like it was going to be outlawed tomorrow as they advanced south. Of note was no prisoners were taken by the Russians in this campaign.
Further South things were trickier as the different armies had to reach Tientsin. Making matters worse was the fact each army was using ammo that only they could use which created a logistical nightmare in the port itself. It was why this campaign didn’t start till the spring of 1900. There was fighting between the allied forces and the Boxers supported by anti-foreign Qing troops around Tientsin or as the allies moved forward to enlarge their hold on the city. Fighting between allied troops and the Chinese was often bloody at this stage and no quarter was asked for or given. Chinese civilians who were even suspected of being pro-Boxer or anti-foreign within Tientsin were killed after a 15 minute trial that ended in these Chinese hanging only minutes later after these flying trials were held. Sometimes these Chinese were brought before these flying trials for simply looking at allied troops in the wrong way.
Yet on April 30th both von Waldersee and Gallieni fired up their armies and started the campaign to Peking. Even through ten members of the eleven nation alliance were taking part in this campaign the major lifters were the Americans, British, French, and Japanese. The other nations had send only a battalion size units into China. This was mostly so they could set at the peace table and get their piece of China. However all told the allied nations had 90,000 troops in Tientsin by the time this campaign started.
Fighting was brutal as like in winter of Tientsin, no quarter was asked for or given between the Boxers/anti-foreign Qing Troops and the allies. Unlike the ill-fated Seymour Expedition the allies in 1900 brought their heavy artillery with them. Fighting slowed both army groups to a snails pace. They didn’t reach the outskirts of Langfang till May 20th. The Battle of Langfang started the next day. Fighting in Langfang was brutal as Boxers, anti-foreign Qing Troops, and the allies duked it out. It wasn’t till the 26th that the allies had encircled Langfang. Instead of digging the Boxers and anti-foreign Qing troops out in brutal hand to hand city fighting, both von Waldersee and Gallieni decided to simply lay siege to Langfang and level it with their artillery. It wasn’t till July 18th that allied troops entered Langfang. The once medium size city had been reduced to rubble. There were just over 5,000 total people left alive by the 18th of June. Of this number 509 men were executed for the belief they were Boxers.
It wasn’t till August 3rd that the two armies fired up their offensives again and start the final drive to Peking. Like the drive to Langfang, the drive to Peking was brutally fought with the Chinese fighting to the death. With the anti-foreign Qing troops and Boxers had spent too much in their efforts at Langfang and trying to break that siege. Plus they were running out of ammo for their artillery at this point, well European made ammo. Locally made ammo had nasty habits of blowing up in the gun itself instead after it was fired. That said they fought for everything they had as they knew if they surrender would be death.
On the 15th of August did allied troops reach Peking. Like at Langfang the troops of the allies moved to encircle Peking and lay siege to it. On the 16th the 1st Battalion 10th Cavalry under the command of Major John “Blackjack” Pershing captured Empress Dowager and most of her royal court as they were trying to leave the city to escape the fate of Langfang. The Empress Dowager was captured wearing the plain clothes of a famer. Even through the guard of the Empress fought to the death, she surrendered along with her royal court who was travelling with her. She was soon taken back to Tientsin than placed on HMS Barfleur to be held as a prisoner.
Even through Empress Dowager and most of her royal court had been captured it didn’t end the war. The Boxers and anti-foreign Qing troops knew that the allies wouldn’t show them any mercy. By the 18th the noose had been placed around Peking and the allies kicked the stool out from under the city. The siege would last till January 9th 1901. The death toll from the Siege of Peking has never been firmly set, but current estimates put the death toll as low as a quarter million and a high as a half of million. This isn’t counting the executions that followed.
Following the fall of Peking occupation duty started as the diplomatic when to work trying to find a way to end this bloody mess. However, just because Peking had fallen to the allies didn’t mean that the dying stopped. Peking was a broken city by the time allied troops entered it. The civilians badly needed food from the fact the siege had wiped out the food supplies in the city. Plus with the broken infrastructure of the city mean that civilians kept dying at something of an alarming rate. Even more so since the allies hadn’t been ready to deal with this kind of mess.
Hunger and poor infrastructure weren’t the only challenges facing the Chinese in Peking following the fall. Executions for anyone believed to be a Boxer was common place, like in Tientsin those executed sometimes had simply looked at the allied troops in the wrong manner. Rape was also fairly common in the first few days after the siege ended. Women started to kill themselves just to keep from being raped. It was a bloody mess. Looting was also wide spread with even senior officers taking part in it.
Finding an end to the Chinese mess as it was wasn’t an easy task. Everyone had their own goals in China and finding a compromise wasn’t an easy task. It wasn’t till February 9th 1902 that the Boxer Protocols were signed. All of the concession treaties that had been signed in 1898 were moved from leased territories to fully owned territories by the nation that had signed the lease. Further concessions were made in Canton, Shanghai, and Tientsin to all eleven nations. These ranged in size from 30 hectares to 250 hectares[2]. These were totally owned concessions by the alliance members. In some cases, the sizes of the concessions were enlarged.
However, Russia waved their rights to concessions at Canton and Shanghai. Russia waved these rights to annex Tuva and Manchuria. There was too much objection to Russia also taking Mongolia even through no one had the power projection to tell Russia they couldn’t take it. Even through it wasn’t annexed Mongolia would stay under Russian occupation for years to come. Germany expanded its former concession into a full on colony by annexing all of Lianyungang[3]. However to gain this, they have to waive their rights to a concession in Canton. To maintain the peace the British didn’t go for further annexations out China as Hong Kong was in Southern China which had been fairly peaceful when put up against the mess that was Northern China. They really didn’t want their northern holdings but that was more to check the Russians and really had no plans to hold it after the Russians were dealt with. Japan also waved its rights to a concessions in Shanghai and Canton for further territorial growth. This expanded their cities that they controlled on the Shandong Peninsula by a sizable bit[4]. Yet the Japanese felt like they got screwed in terms of territory for waving their rights to concessions in two important trade cities within China. [5]
Territorial gains wasn’t the only thing covered under the Boxer Protocols. The Chinese would have to pay would become known as the Boxer Indemnity. The Boxer Indemnity was set at 800 million taels[6] of fine silver to be paid out over the next 50 years to 11 nation alliance. This indemnity would also see a 3.5% interest rate attached to it. It was divided between the elven member alliance that somewhat reflected the amount of support each nation gave to ending the threat from the Boxers. Further each family member of those who died in the Massacre of the International Legations would be given their own personal indemnity from the Chinese set at 1,500 taels of fine silver to be payable over the next ten years.
Empress Dowager who had come to be the face of the anti-foreign movement in China was forced to abdicate from all leadership positions within China. She was then exiled to Saint Helena, the same island that housed Napoleon following his force exile from France. The Guangzu Emperor was allow to remain in power however that was at the Western Nations and Japan forcing him to sign the Boxer Protocols.
There were a host of other clauses under the Boxer Protocols that were designed to weaken China or make sure that another Boxer War would happen. It did that, but the signing of the Boxer Protocols is generally viewed as the start of the long and often violent warlord period in Chinese history[7]
[1] UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden
[2] Depends on the city and who gets the concession. Most are between 30 and 50 ha.
[3] The prefecture-level city, its just under 7,500 square km in size.
[4] The Japanese expanded their hold of Weihaiwei from just the town and port areas to the prefecture-level city of Weihai which is just under 5,500 square km in size. There hold around Tsingtao expanded as well, but not as much at Weihaiwei. They got the Chengyang District and the rest of the Laoshan District. That’s give or take about 1,000 square km worth of dirt.
[5] Japan felt it got screwed here badly but it still made the deal as they got more land under their direct control by making this deal.
[6] Math isn’t by strong suit so I’m not breaking this down.
[7] I’m not covering China in this phase, as it totally confusing OTL, the butterflies are such that it would be something that would drive me up the wall.
The London Declaration amounted to an ultimatum to the Qing Empire. It demanded that Qing destroy the Boxers and any captured Boxers were to be handed over to the member nations of the London Declaration. Qing Troops who took part in either the massacres of Langfang and the International Legations were to be drummed out of the service and their generals handed over to them. Family members of both the International Legations and Langfang Massacres were to given 1,000 taels of silver for the death of each family member. Each nation who lost diplomatic personal would be given an indemnity of 25,000 taels of silver. Further the Qing Government would pay to rebuild the International Legations and enlarge it so that a “company” of security troops from each nation could be housed there as well. Finally the Qing Government was to give complete safety of Chinese Christians and all foreign missionaries from further attacks. The Qing were given two weeks to answer the London Declaration.
As the world waited to see what the Qing would do next, the eleven nations that signed on to the London Declaration all started to sharpen their swords for the possibly of war. There were so talks within London how to command this vast multi-national force should the Qing force them into war. This was honestly a tricky question as the Americans objected to a British or German commanding their troops. The Germans objected to either an American or French commander. So on and so for. Finally a compromise was reached. It was agreed that three different commands would be formed and both commanders would work together to defeat the Qing and Boxers. Generalfeldmarschall Alfred von Waldersee would lead Army Group A. This force would be made up of German, Austro-Hungarian, British, Italian, Dutch, and Belgian troops. Army Group B would be led by newly promoted General de division Joseph Gallieni. Army Group B would be made up of French, American, Japanese, and Swedish troops. The Russians formed their Army Group under the command of General Nikolai Linevich.
Back in China as the Westerns and Japanese sharpened their swords the Westerns who were already in China tried to deliver the London Declaration. This task was easier said than done. Xenophobically had reach fever pitch in Northern China. It’s unknown even if Empress Dowager would have received the two efforts to give her the London Declaration’s message could she had agreed to it without facing a massive uprising throughout Northern China. However, she never got the terms of the London Declaration as both massager teams were never heard from again after they started to Peking, and its widely believed that they died at the hands of the Boxers or other anti-foreign troops in China.
Things in China however were far more complicated than most people in the world really understood. Even through the Qing Government of Empress Dowager was the leader of all China many had enough of a political base large enough to deal with foreigners and speak for whole regions of China. However, many within the member nations of the London Declaration understood this fact. This led to work being done in Southern China and the Central Parts of China to keep them out the circle of violence that was going on in Northern China. With this groundwork the allied nations were able to focus on Northern China solely instead of having to fight all of China at once.
Once the two week deadline had passed for the Qing Government to answer the demands of the London Declaration the eleven governments of the Qing Government moved to force these demands on the Qing Government. One by one each nation in the alliance decaled states of war or took other legal steps that allowed them to send their troops into combat. The reason none of alliance members formally declared war on the Qing Empire was because it would have lay waste to the ground work in Southern and Central China that had sideline the Boxers and anti-foreign protest in this part of China. Even through it lacked a formal declaration of war, it was a war.
The Russians were one of the first to strike. They launched an invasion of Manchuria, Tuva, and Mongolia. Over 150,000 troops entered these areas, with vast majority taking part in Manchuria. The Chinese in Manchuria, Tuva, and Mongolia couldn’t possibly defend these territories against such massive numbers. The Imperial Qing Army had only just started the rebuilding of its army after it was destroyed in the Sino-Japanese War and the bulk of this reequipped force was in the Peking-Tientsin Area. The Boxers in this part of China were also fairly thin, most of the opposition to the Russian were Manchu Bannerman.
In this fight the Manchu Bannerman fought to the death as did the small number of Boxers that fought against the Russian invasion of Manchuria. Even in Russian reports from the field reports about the Bannerman and Boxers fighting to the death and large numbers of in the limited battles fought in Manchuria. The Russians also killed large numbers of people who they believed were Boxers who had tried to hide in plain sight. This happen more often than not after their railways were attacked after they had advanced through the area already. The Russians were also looting Manchuria, Tuva, and Mongolia like it was going to be outlawed tomorrow as they advanced south. Of note was no prisoners were taken by the Russians in this campaign.
Further South things were trickier as the different armies had to reach Tientsin. Making matters worse was the fact each army was using ammo that only they could use which created a logistical nightmare in the port itself. It was why this campaign didn’t start till the spring of 1900. There was fighting between the allied forces and the Boxers supported by anti-foreign Qing troops around Tientsin or as the allies moved forward to enlarge their hold on the city. Fighting between allied troops and the Chinese was often bloody at this stage and no quarter was asked for or given. Chinese civilians who were even suspected of being pro-Boxer or anti-foreign within Tientsin were killed after a 15 minute trial that ended in these Chinese hanging only minutes later after these flying trials were held. Sometimes these Chinese were brought before these flying trials for simply looking at allied troops in the wrong way.
Yet on April 30th both von Waldersee and Gallieni fired up their armies and started the campaign to Peking. Even through ten members of the eleven nation alliance were taking part in this campaign the major lifters were the Americans, British, French, and Japanese. The other nations had send only a battalion size units into China. This was mostly so they could set at the peace table and get their piece of China. However all told the allied nations had 90,000 troops in Tientsin by the time this campaign started.
Fighting was brutal as like in winter of Tientsin, no quarter was asked for or given between the Boxers/anti-foreign Qing Troops and the allies. Unlike the ill-fated Seymour Expedition the allies in 1900 brought their heavy artillery with them. Fighting slowed both army groups to a snails pace. They didn’t reach the outskirts of Langfang till May 20th. The Battle of Langfang started the next day. Fighting in Langfang was brutal as Boxers, anti-foreign Qing Troops, and the allies duked it out. It wasn’t till the 26th that the allies had encircled Langfang. Instead of digging the Boxers and anti-foreign Qing troops out in brutal hand to hand city fighting, both von Waldersee and Gallieni decided to simply lay siege to Langfang and level it with their artillery. It wasn’t till July 18th that allied troops entered Langfang. The once medium size city had been reduced to rubble. There were just over 5,000 total people left alive by the 18th of June. Of this number 509 men were executed for the belief they were Boxers.
It wasn’t till August 3rd that the two armies fired up their offensives again and start the final drive to Peking. Like the drive to Langfang, the drive to Peking was brutally fought with the Chinese fighting to the death. With the anti-foreign Qing troops and Boxers had spent too much in their efforts at Langfang and trying to break that siege. Plus they were running out of ammo for their artillery at this point, well European made ammo. Locally made ammo had nasty habits of blowing up in the gun itself instead after it was fired. That said they fought for everything they had as they knew if they surrender would be death.
On the 15th of August did allied troops reach Peking. Like at Langfang the troops of the allies moved to encircle Peking and lay siege to it. On the 16th the 1st Battalion 10th Cavalry under the command of Major John “Blackjack” Pershing captured Empress Dowager and most of her royal court as they were trying to leave the city to escape the fate of Langfang. The Empress Dowager was captured wearing the plain clothes of a famer. Even through the guard of the Empress fought to the death, she surrendered along with her royal court who was travelling with her. She was soon taken back to Tientsin than placed on HMS Barfleur to be held as a prisoner.
Even through Empress Dowager and most of her royal court had been captured it didn’t end the war. The Boxers and anti-foreign Qing troops knew that the allies wouldn’t show them any mercy. By the 18th the noose had been placed around Peking and the allies kicked the stool out from under the city. The siege would last till January 9th 1901. The death toll from the Siege of Peking has never been firmly set, but current estimates put the death toll as low as a quarter million and a high as a half of million. This isn’t counting the executions that followed.
Following the fall of Peking occupation duty started as the diplomatic when to work trying to find a way to end this bloody mess. However, just because Peking had fallen to the allies didn’t mean that the dying stopped. Peking was a broken city by the time allied troops entered it. The civilians badly needed food from the fact the siege had wiped out the food supplies in the city. Plus with the broken infrastructure of the city mean that civilians kept dying at something of an alarming rate. Even more so since the allies hadn’t been ready to deal with this kind of mess.
Hunger and poor infrastructure weren’t the only challenges facing the Chinese in Peking following the fall. Executions for anyone believed to be a Boxer was common place, like in Tientsin those executed sometimes had simply looked at the allied troops in the wrong manner. Rape was also fairly common in the first few days after the siege ended. Women started to kill themselves just to keep from being raped. It was a bloody mess. Looting was also wide spread with even senior officers taking part in it.
Finding an end to the Chinese mess as it was wasn’t an easy task. Everyone had their own goals in China and finding a compromise wasn’t an easy task. It wasn’t till February 9th 1902 that the Boxer Protocols were signed. All of the concession treaties that had been signed in 1898 were moved from leased territories to fully owned territories by the nation that had signed the lease. Further concessions were made in Canton, Shanghai, and Tientsin to all eleven nations. These ranged in size from 30 hectares to 250 hectares[2]. These were totally owned concessions by the alliance members. In some cases, the sizes of the concessions were enlarged.
However, Russia waved their rights to concessions at Canton and Shanghai. Russia waved these rights to annex Tuva and Manchuria. There was too much objection to Russia also taking Mongolia even through no one had the power projection to tell Russia they couldn’t take it. Even through it wasn’t annexed Mongolia would stay under Russian occupation for years to come. Germany expanded its former concession into a full on colony by annexing all of Lianyungang[3]. However to gain this, they have to waive their rights to a concession in Canton. To maintain the peace the British didn’t go for further annexations out China as Hong Kong was in Southern China which had been fairly peaceful when put up against the mess that was Northern China. They really didn’t want their northern holdings but that was more to check the Russians and really had no plans to hold it after the Russians were dealt with. Japan also waved its rights to a concessions in Shanghai and Canton for further territorial growth. This expanded their cities that they controlled on the Shandong Peninsula by a sizable bit[4]. Yet the Japanese felt like they got screwed in terms of territory for waving their rights to concessions in two important trade cities within China. [5]
Territorial gains wasn’t the only thing covered under the Boxer Protocols. The Chinese would have to pay would become known as the Boxer Indemnity. The Boxer Indemnity was set at 800 million taels[6] of fine silver to be paid out over the next 50 years to 11 nation alliance. This indemnity would also see a 3.5% interest rate attached to it. It was divided between the elven member alliance that somewhat reflected the amount of support each nation gave to ending the threat from the Boxers. Further each family member of those who died in the Massacre of the International Legations would be given their own personal indemnity from the Chinese set at 1,500 taels of fine silver to be payable over the next ten years.
Empress Dowager who had come to be the face of the anti-foreign movement in China was forced to abdicate from all leadership positions within China. She was then exiled to Saint Helena, the same island that housed Napoleon following his force exile from France. The Guangzu Emperor was allow to remain in power however that was at the Western Nations and Japan forcing him to sign the Boxer Protocols.
There were a host of other clauses under the Boxer Protocols that were designed to weaken China or make sure that another Boxer War would happen. It did that, but the signing of the Boxer Protocols is generally viewed as the start of the long and often violent warlord period in Chinese history[7]
[1] UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden
[2] Depends on the city and who gets the concession. Most are between 30 and 50 ha.
[3] The prefecture-level city, its just under 7,500 square km in size.
[4] The Japanese expanded their hold of Weihaiwei from just the town and port areas to the prefecture-level city of Weihai which is just under 5,500 square km in size. There hold around Tsingtao expanded as well, but not as much at Weihaiwei. They got the Chengyang District and the rest of the Laoshan District. That’s give or take about 1,000 square km worth of dirt.
[5] Japan felt it got screwed here badly but it still made the deal as they got more land under their direct control by making this deal.
[6] Math isn’t by strong suit so I’m not breaking this down.
[7] I’m not covering China in this phase, as it totally confusing OTL, the butterflies are such that it would be something that would drive me up the wall.
The Qing ruler was the Empress Dowager Cixi. Her title was Empress Dowager, which means that she was the mother of the rightful Emperor (the Tongzhi Emperor, in this case), or the dowager empress.
What was the OTL indemnity? IIRC it was about 400 million taels.
What was the OTL indemnity? IIRC it was about 400 million taels.
Considering the troubles are in the north, and the south is friendly and stable, I wouldn't bet against it.
As to China Becoming another Balkans, its not outside the realm of possibly. The Qing fall soon after the Boxer Protocols are signed ITL. But the Chinese learned the hardway, don't fuck with the foreigners as they have better shit and are willing to kill a lot of people if you piss them off.
OTL it was 450 million tael over 39 years at a 4% interest rate. ITL its 800 million tael at 3.5% interest rate over 50 years.
IMHO there is no question China will descend in to breakup and warlordism in short order. The closer you are to one of the foreign territories the more order there will be as the warlords in those areas will be more "controlled" by the foreign interests. Along major rivers which are trade routes the same will occur, foreign gunboats and Marines will enforce some sort of order. Away from these areas order will vary greatly, and depend on foreign interests with occasional punitive efforts to protect missionaries or business interests. Once things calm down, I wonder over the next few years if the Japanese and Russians in particular won't see if they can begin to take some more bites of territory.
It is worth noting that the trans-Siberian RR was not completed OTL until 1904. With a greater Russian interest/presence in North China this may be accelerated but I'm not sure how much this could be moved forward. Even when completed in 1904 much of the line was single track and therefore of limited capacity. This limits Russian logistics severely, as was demonstrated in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.
It is worth noting that the trans-Siberian RR was not completed OTL until 1904. With a greater Russian interest/presence in North China this may be accelerated but I'm not sure how much this could be moved forward. Even when completed in 1904 much of the line was single track and therefore of limited capacity. This limits Russian logistics severely, as was demonstrated in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.
I find it a little hard to believe that the Japanese just let the Russians annex Manchuria at the drop of a hat.
It's also a bit hard to believe that the other world powers would let Russia get right next to Beijing like that.
It's also a bit hard to believe that the other world powers would let Russia get right next to Beijing like that.
All I will say that there will be a Russo-Japanese War ITL in the near future and it will be over something that happens in Manchuria.
Italian Occupation of Libya 1903
Italian Occupation of Libya 1903
As the bulk of the world was focusing on China, the Italians were focusing on something closer to home. Following the signing of their Sanmen Bay Concession in 1898 the Italians decided to start working on carving off a piece or three of the Ottoman Empire. Even through the Ottoman Empire was the sick man of Europe, they had showed marked improvements in the Greek-Turkish War of 1897[1]. However, that had been a totally land base war. The Ottoman Navy however had been left behind and had a largely badly outdated naval force. Other than a pair of modern cruisers the Ottoman Navy had been by passed by advancements in design and technology. Even the few ships they did had were of questionable value and if they could even put to sea for more than a day or two.
For the Italians they also suffered from their own issues. Even through, they were better off than the Ottomans the Italian economy was still not that strong and one reasons they had only commissioned a proper modern steel battleship in 1901. Which was about a decade after even the United States one of the late comers to the naval game had fielded their first modern battleships. Even Japan had modern battleships before the Italians, through those were built in British yards. Even with these issues the Italian Navy was far more modern and ready for war than the Ottoman Navy was in the early 1900s.
With the bulk of the world being focused on China in the Boxer War the Italians gave token support to the anti-Boxer clause and started to focus on the Ottoman holdings in North Africa. These being Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica. This was all that remained of the once vast Ottoman North African Empire with the rest of it being under British or French control by the turn of the century. Italy wanted to add these Ottoman provinces to their growing empire. The Italian want to add these Ottoman provinces were made even worse after a rumor was floated in 1902 that the French would occupy Tripolitania. Italy was not about to allow another French theft to happen of a colony they wanted.
In Constantinople the Ottomans didn’t want another war. The Balkan States were jumpy enough as it was. Then there was always Russia who was always looking for another reason to cut the Ottomans down and get a chance to take control of the straits even after they got their warm water port at Port Arthur. So instead of allowing things to spin out of control and things reach the point of war they decided to cut off the dead provinces that they knew they couldn’t properly defend anyways. They reached out to Rome and looked for a peaceful end to keep this from sparking a war.
This would lead to the Constantinople Agreement between the Italians and Ottomans. Under the agreement, Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica would officially still be owned by the Ottomans. However, the Italians would take over responsibility of these provinces with the local rulers only playing a token respect to Constantinople. The agreement was largely based off of what the British had done in Egypt back in 1881. Once this agreement was reach Italy was more than happy to take it and let it go at that. She had already proven that she was a great power back in 1894-95 when she defeated the Ethiopians. There was no need to put the Italian Economy under further strain with another war.
On August 1st the Italian Battleship Ammiraglio di Saint Bon entered Tripoli harbor with a small squadron. She along with some of the elite units of the Royal Italian Army took part in the exchange of power in Tripoli where the Ottoman flag came down for the last time just after noon that day with the Italian flag going up.
[1] That war still happens and for most part follows a largely OTL course just different status and what not.
As the bulk of the world was focusing on China, the Italians were focusing on something closer to home. Following the signing of their Sanmen Bay Concession in 1898 the Italians decided to start working on carving off a piece or three of the Ottoman Empire. Even through the Ottoman Empire was the sick man of Europe, they had showed marked improvements in the Greek-Turkish War of 1897[1]. However, that had been a totally land base war. The Ottoman Navy however had been left behind and had a largely badly outdated naval force. Other than a pair of modern cruisers the Ottoman Navy had been by passed by advancements in design and technology. Even the few ships they did had were of questionable value and if they could even put to sea for more than a day or two.
For the Italians they also suffered from their own issues. Even through, they were better off than the Ottomans the Italian economy was still not that strong and one reasons they had only commissioned a proper modern steel battleship in 1901. Which was about a decade after even the United States one of the late comers to the naval game had fielded their first modern battleships. Even Japan had modern battleships before the Italians, through those were built in British yards. Even with these issues the Italian Navy was far more modern and ready for war than the Ottoman Navy was in the early 1900s.
With the bulk of the world being focused on China in the Boxer War the Italians gave token support to the anti-Boxer clause and started to focus on the Ottoman holdings in North Africa. These being Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica. This was all that remained of the once vast Ottoman North African Empire with the rest of it being under British or French control by the turn of the century. Italy wanted to add these Ottoman provinces to their growing empire. The Italian want to add these Ottoman provinces were made even worse after a rumor was floated in 1902 that the French would occupy Tripolitania. Italy was not about to allow another French theft to happen of a colony they wanted.
In Constantinople the Ottomans didn’t want another war. The Balkan States were jumpy enough as it was. Then there was always Russia who was always looking for another reason to cut the Ottomans down and get a chance to take control of the straits even after they got their warm water port at Port Arthur. So instead of allowing things to spin out of control and things reach the point of war they decided to cut off the dead provinces that they knew they couldn’t properly defend anyways. They reached out to Rome and looked for a peaceful end to keep this from sparking a war.
This would lead to the Constantinople Agreement between the Italians and Ottomans. Under the agreement, Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica would officially still be owned by the Ottomans. However, the Italians would take over responsibility of these provinces with the local rulers only playing a token respect to Constantinople. The agreement was largely based off of what the British had done in Egypt back in 1881. Once this agreement was reach Italy was more than happy to take it and let it go at that. She had already proven that she was a great power back in 1894-95 when she defeated the Ethiopians. There was no need to put the Italian Economy under further strain with another war.
On August 1st the Italian Battleship Ammiraglio di Saint Bon entered Tripoli harbor with a small squadron. She along with some of the elite units of the Royal Italian Army took part in the exchange of power in Tripoli where the Ottoman flag came down for the last time just after noon that day with the Italian flag going up.
[1] That war still happens and for most part follows a largely OTL course just different status and what not.