China goes all-out in the Boxer Rebellion

The Chinese lost the Boxer Rebellion due to their own indecisiveness as much as the western nations battlefield prowess. Especially noteworthy is the siege of the legation quarter, where the Chinese could have easily overrun the westerners but didn't.

But what if Empress Cixi decided they would go all-out against the westerners, instead of what happened in OTL? How would such a war go? It's at least certain the Legation Quarter wouldn't get out alive.
 
The Chinese lost the Boxer Rebellion due to their own indecisiveness as much as the western nations battlefield prowess. Especially noteworthy is the siege of the legation quarter, where the Chinese could have easily overrun the westerners but didn't.

But what if Empress Cixi decided they would go all-out against the westerners, instead of what happened in OTL? How would such a war go? It's at least certain the Legation Quarter wouldn't get out alive.

In which case more people emulate the Kaiser when he told the troops who were going to China to emulate the Huns. Peking burns, the Chinese Army falls apart and the Warlords arrive a few decades early. In a nutshell: bad things happen. :(
 
Boxers though they where invulnerable too bullets. They would have lost even if they where 200,000 strong.

I always wondered what would have happened if the Boxer rebellion was as succesfull as the isolation of Japan from the West during the 17th and 18th century. I mean no Western intervention in China and the continuation of the Qing dynasty.
 
I wonder if someone would help them discretely, twisting/manipulating the Boxers or such groups for their uses/interests, directly or not. A dark colonialist irony.

Any foreign - or local - power could actually benefit of their victory, or gains - at least as canon meat?

Russians, maybe, to take power in the north as the occidental powers are boggled?
 
I always wondered what would have happened if the Boxer rebellion was as succesfull as the isolation of Japan from the West during the 17th and 18th century. I mean no Western intervention in China and the continuation of the Qing dynasty.

At one point or another the West will kick the door in, Matthew Perry-style. And knowing the Qing court, they will get their asses kicked before waking up.

IOTL by the time the Boxer Rebellion happened Qing is on borrowed time. I don't see it living beyond WWI.

Marc A
 
The Boxer rebellion is going to be crushed, the only question is how many lives (mostly Chinese, but also Japanese, British and Russians) is is going to cost.

The Eight Nation Alliance force that put down the rebellion is a pittance compared to what those nations could have committed if the rebellion had lasted even a few months longer. Russia, Great Britain and Japan could have assembled three or four times the number of men they sent IOTL in short order, and would not have been shy about committing those forces if they thought they were necessary. The rest of the Alliance (except for AH) would followed as best they could.

The Beiyang Army and its excuse for a navy would have been crushed in short order, no matter what they did. The local and provincial armies were not capable of united action at this time, they may or may not have opposed the ENA when they encountered it. The ENA warships would have cruised all of China's navigable rivers, transporting troops, and devastating any cities/forts that resisted.

If enough damage is done to the Quing dynasty, it would not be impossible for the Allies to overthrow it entirely, like the British did to the Moghul Dynasty after the Sepoy Rebellion. With Cixi dead, and its armies defeated, and its capital and major cities in ruin, the Quing Dynasty would simply cease to exist. Of course, that would require the ENA to agree about splitting up the Chinese Empire into spheres, which would be a greater challenge than overthrowing the Empire militarily. However, the Congress of Berlin does suggest that they would have come up with some arrangement that would not have immediately led to war. Japan, at this time would probably gain the least, as Germany, France and Russia were at this time cordial enough to gang up on what they viewed a weak and unwelcome interloper.
 
The Boxer rebellion is going to be crushed, the only question is how many lives (mostly Chinese, but also Japanese, British and Russians) is is going to cost.

The Eight Nation Alliance force that put down the rebellion is a pittance compared to what those nations could have committed if the rebellion had lasted even a few months longer. Russia, Great Britain and Japan could have assembled three or four times the number of men they sent IOTL in short order, and would not have been shy about committing those forces if they thought they were necessary. The rest of the Alliance (except for AH) would followed as best they could.

The Beiyang Army and its excuse for a navy would have been crushed in short order, no matter what they did. The local and provincial armies were not capable of united action at this time, they may or may not have opposed the ENA when they encountered it. The ENA warships would have cruised all of China's navigable rivers, transporting troops, and devastating any cities/forts that resisted.

If enough damage is done to the Quing dynasty, it would not be impossible for the Allies to overthrow it entirely, like the British did to the Moghul Dynasty after the Sepoy Rebellion. With Cixi dead, and its armies defeated, and its capital and major cities in ruin, the Quing Dynasty would simply cease to exist. Of course, that would require the ENA to agree about splitting up the Chinese Empire into spheres, which would be a greater challenge than overthrowing the Empire militarily. However, the Congress of Berlin does suggest that they would have come up with some arrangement that would not have immediately led to war. Japan, at this time would probably gain the least, as Germany, France and Russia were at this time cordial enough to gang up on what they viewed a weak and unwelcome interloper.

I'm guessing that Russia might end propping up a puppet Mongol and Manchu regime if they had their way with their portion of the Chinese territories, as well as Xinjiang. Another result: bye bye, Open Door Policy.
 
Top