User:Madalibi/Chinese forces during the Boxer Rebellion

Ideas: stay closer to the way the Qing government understood the structure of its own troops at the time. Besides the Boxers, the main troops were those of the "Guards Army", which was divided into five groups. Dong Fuxiang's Gansu Braves were its Rear Division, Ronglu commanded the Central Division (former Peking Field Force?), and Nie Shicheng led the Front Division. Make it clearer what the Hushenying was. As far as I know, these troops were not divided by ethnicity, so don't emphasize that division too much.

Chinese forces
Will need an intro paragraph that will explain the mix of leaders (sometimes rivals) and different kinds of troops.

Boxers
The Boxers had no way to get foreign weapons for themselves, when they attacked both the Qing Imperial Army under General Nie, and the foreign Allied Powers, Boxers used sabotage tactics like razing railroads and telegraph lines in order to deny the Alliance forces any means of transport and communication. The Chinese Muslim martial artists Wang Zi-Ping and Wang Zhengyi joined the Boxers to fight against the Eight Nation Alliance during the rebellion. Wang Zhengyi died in combat from bullet wounds.

Although women were not allowed to join the Boxer units, they formed their own groups, the Red Lanterns. The male Boxers blamed the presence of women for the failure of some of their sieges in Beijing. Local lore reported them as being able to walk on water, fly, set fire to Christians' homes and stop their guns, powers which the male Boxers themselves did not claim. But the only good accounts of their actual activities come from the Battle of Tientsin, when they nursed wounded Boxers and did work such as sewing and cleaning. Belongs in section on the Boxers.

Equipment and tactics
Following the defeat of Beiyang army during the humiliating First Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese government invested heavily in modernizing the imperial army, which was equipped with modern Mauser repeater rifles and Krupp Artillery. Mining, engineering, flooding, and simultaneous multiple attacks were employed by Chinese troops. The Chinese also employed pincer movements, ambushes, and sniper tactics with some success against the foreigners. Two brand new German destroyers were deployed along the Dagu Forts recently completed by German engineers. Yet, neither the European-style modern weapons nor the new forts could compensate for the lack of training of the soldiers and the backwardness of the Chinese military tactics of the officers. It was the inability to integrate the new Western style weapons and lack of training effectively that prevented the capture of the besieged European consulate in Beijing, and the repulsion of the foreign invading armies.

Imperial Chinese forces deployed a weapon called "electric mines" on 15 June, at the river Beihe (Peiho) before the Battle of Dagu Forts (1900), to prevent the Eight-Nation Alliance from sending ships to attack.

Leaders
Zaiyi was not just an ordinary prince, he was a member of the imperial Aisin Gioro clan, a blood relative of the imperial family (foreigners called him a "Blood Royal"), therefore, his son was his line for the throne. He became the effective leader of the Boxers, and he was extremely anti foreign like his friend Dong Fuxiang (1839–1908), and wanted to expel them from China. The Manchu general Ronglu, on the other hand, was not a blood relative of the imperial Aisin Gioro clan, only being related by marriage to the imperial family, and he tried to sabotage Zaiyi and Dong Fuxiang. Prince Qing was considered pro-foreign and led his bannermen accordingly to attack Prince Duan's forces.

Gan Army (Rear division)



 * Formed in the northwestern province of Gansu by Dong Fuxiang, who was not a Muslim, during the suppression of a Muslim uprising there.
 * Called to Beijing to protect the capital in 1898 and integrated into the Guards Army as its "Rear Division". [NOT in preparation for war with the foreigners.]
 * Officially called the Rear Division of the Guards Army, it was known as the Gansu Army, and mostly as the "Kansu Braves".
 * Already caused trouble with foreigners in late 1898, when the US Marines were called to protect the legations.
 * Feared by inhabitants of Beijing and foreigners alike. Sometime before the Boxer crisis, the Empress Dowager had them stationed at the Hunting Park outside Beijing.(Elliott, p. 45, note 34.)
 * 10,000 strong, "ten thousand Mohammedan cutthroats feared by even the Chinese" (Biggs, p. 85)
 * Used traditional uniforms, but also the most modern weapons
 * Openly hostile toward foreigners. (Elliott, p. 9)
 * Some of Dong's soldiers killed Sugiyama Akira, secretary of the Japanese legation, who had ventured out to Yongdingmen (Beijing's main southern gate) to greet Seymour's relief expedition, which had left Tianjin by train the previous day.
 * Participated in the Battle of Langfang on June 18 along with Boxers and some of Nie Shicheng's men. After that, besieged the legations.(Elliott, p. 498) They were located on the western and northern sides of the legations and blocked all supplies coming from there
 * Attacked the legations most relentlessly. Attacked the western end of the Legation Street but were repelled by Russian sailors and American Marines. Seeing that direct charges did not succeed, they adopted a sniper strategy. (Biggs, p. 92)
 * Called rabble by the foreigners (citation from book on the US marines?)
 * Foreigners called for Dong's skin at the end of the Boxer War, but he was "exiled" back to his Gansu stronghold. The Rear Division fought a lot around Tianjin.
 * Many of its generals surnamed Ma became the core of the Ma clique in the Republican period.

A unit of 10,000 Hui Muslims from Gansu province under the command of the Han Chinese General Dong Fuxiang had been stationed with the rest of the imperial army at Beijing since 1898. They were known as the "Kansu (Gansu) Braves". Dong was extremely anti-foreign, and gave full support to Cixi and the Boxers. General Dong committed his Muslim troops to join the Boxers to attack the Eight-Nation Alliance. They were put into the rear division, and attacked the legations relentlessly. Foreigners referred to them as the "10,000 Islamic rabble". Casualties suffered by the Alliance at the hands of the Muslim troops were high enough that the United States Marine Corps, which was tasked with guarding U.S. embassies, as it is today, was involved. A Japanese chancellor Sugiyama Akira (杉山 彬) was killed by the Muslim warriors, who also assaulted and beat up several other foreigners.

Dong refused to use foreign uniforms and musical instruments for his band, instead, his Muslim troops wore Chinese military uniform and played Chinese instruments. However, he armed his troops with modern foreign weapons like Krupp Artillery and Mauser rifles. The Muslim troops had threatened the foreign Legations after the Hundred Days Reform ended in September 1898. The Islamic troops were organized into eight battalions of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, two brigades of artillery, and one company of engineers. In contrast to the Manchu and other Chinese soldiers who used arrows and bows, the Kansu cavalry had the newest carbine rifles. The Muslims were mostly cavalry, wearing black turbans, waving scarlet and black banners, with Mauser rifles.

The Boxers were ordered by the imperial court to take commands from Dong Fuxiang and the Muslim Gansu troops. General Dong and Manchu Prince Duan were linked through Prince Duan's father, Prince Dun, who reached an agreement with Dong in 1869.

Battle of Langfang. Dong Fuxiang's 5,000 troops, including Muslim General Ma Fuxiang, posted in southern Beijing at Hunting Park, attacked and defeated the Eight Nation Alliance led by the British Admiral Seymour at the Battle of Langfang on 18 June. The Chinese won a major victory, and forced Seymour to retreat back to Tianjin by 26 June, and Seymour's Alliance army suffered heavy casualties. As the allied European army retreated from Langfang, they were constantly fired upon by cavalry, and artillery bombarded their positions. It was reported that the Chinese artillery was superior to the European artillery, since the Europeans did not bother to bring along much for the campaign, thinking they could easily sweep through Chinese resistance. The Europeans could not locate the Chinese artillery, which was raining shells upon their positions.

In Beijing. General Ronglu, who was supervising Dong Fuxiang's attack on the Legations, forced Dong to pull back from completing the siege and destroying the legations, thereby saving the foreigners and making diplomatic concessions.

Where?] Six thousand of the Muslim troops under Dong Fuxiang and 20,000 Boxers repulsed a relief column, driving them to Huang Cun. The Muslims made camp outside the temples of Heaven and Agriculture.



After relief of the siege. The Muslim Kansu Braves escorted the imperial family to Xi'an when they decided to flee. One of the officers, Ma Fuxiang, was rewarded by the Emperor, being appointed governor of Altay for his service. His brother, Ma Fulu and four of his cousins died in combat during the attack on the legations. Ma Fuxing also served under Ma Fulu to guard the Qing Imperial court during the fighting. Originally buried at a Hui cemetery in Beijing, in 1995 Ma Fulu's remains were moved by his descendants to Yangzhushan in Linxia County. The imperial government refused to punish General Dong when the foreigners demanded his execution. Upon General Dong's death in 1908, all honors which had been stripped from him were restored and he was given a full military burial. Belongs elsewhere.

After relief of the siege. The Muslim General Ma Anliang personally joined the Kansu Braves as they escorted the Imperial Court to safety. Ma Anliang had a long military career in the Chinese Imperial Army, having previously led Chinese Imperial Army Muslim troops to fight the Turkic Muslim Andijani Uzbek fighters of Yaqub Beg, who was backed by the Ottoman Turks and the British.

Belongs elsewhere. The future Muslim General Ma Biao, who led Muslim cavalry to fight against the Japanese in the Second Sino-Japanese War, fought in the Boxer Rebellion as a private in the Battle of Peking against the foreigners.

General Dong Fuxiang took part in a number of battles, including Cai Cun (Ts'ai Ts'un) 24 July, Hexiwu (Ho Hsi Wu) 25 July, Anping (An P'ing)26 July, and Matou (Ma T'ou) 27 July.

Belongs elsewhere?. The German Kaiser Wilhelm II was so alarmed by the Chinese Muslim troops that he requested the Caliph Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire to find a way to stop the Muslim troops from fighting. The Caliph agreed to the Kaiser's request and sent Enver Pasha (not the future Young Turk leader) to China in 1901, but the rebellion was over by that time. Enver Pasha's official mission was to help the eight nation alliance "pacify" the Muslims of China, from whom they feared would join the Boxers in offering fierce resistance. Some westerners pointed out that the Ottomans had very little knowledge and connection to the Chinese Muslims, who did not recognize the Ottoman Sultan as Caliph.

Belongs elsewhere. Another General, Ma Yukun, who commanded a separate unit, was believed to be the son of the Muslim General Ma Rulong by the Europeans. Ma Yugun fought with some success against Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War and in the Boxer Rebellion at the Battle of Yangcun and Battle of Tientsin. Ma Yugun was under General Song Qing's command as deputy commander.

Tenacious Army
The Han Chinese Imperial army forces were led by Generals Nie Shicheng, Ma Yukun, and Song Qing. Some of the Chinese Imperial army forces fought the Boxers and the Alliance forces at the same time. General Nie's army was one of these. The Boxers and General Nie's army both beat the Alliance army under Seymour.

Manchu Bannermen
Three modernized divisions consisting of Manchu Banner armies protected the Beijing Metropolitan region. Two of them were under the command of the pro foreign Ronglu and Prince Qing, while the Hushenying was commanded by the anti foreign Prince Duan. Prince Qing declined to join the attack on the legations and even ordered his own Manchu Bannermen to attack the Boxers and the Muslim Kansu braves, while Prince Duan's Hushenying Manchu banners joined the Kansu Braves and Boxers in attacking the foreigners and against Prince Qing's banners. It was a Hushenying Manchu captain who assassinated the German diplomat Ketteler. They were totally smashed at the end of the war and left only the Muslim Kansu Braves to guard the Imperial court. Among the Manchu dead was the father of the writer Lao She. Prince Duan commanded his own Manchu Bannermen division, Hushenying, "Marksmen for the Tiger Hunt," also known as the "Tiger Spirit Division" (虎神营). It had 10,000 troops in it. It was one of the three modernized Manchu Banner Divisions. The Russians invaded Manchuria during the fighting. The defending Manchu bannermen were annihilated as they fought to the death, their garrisons falling one at a time against a five pronged Russian invasion. The Russians looted their villages and property and then burnt them to ashes.