The Boxer Rebellion
By Diana Preston
Constable & Robinson, paperback, 459 pages
ISBN 1-84119-490-5
Once again I found myself reading a book on a subject I knew the basics but had no idea about the depth of the history behind the headline.
This book is a condenced, brief history of the Boxer Rebellion with the author relying on anacdotes and quotes from letters, period interviews and books from people who were actually there as the meat of her text. The flowery descriptions and period colour really bring the text to life and take you back to the summer of 1900. The internal thoughts of the civilians, military and diplomatic personnel allow the reader to view the conflict from a number of angles - the soldier having a different viewpoint to the diplomat or the civilian; this makes the book as a whole an interesting read.
There are some good maps and quite a few period photographs.
The first thing that struck me was how little I understood the scale of the events and how much my little knowledge was influenced by the exploits of David Niven and Charlton Heston in the 1963 epic 55 Days at Peking - quite embarassing really 😁
As I`ve said I knew just the basics - the Boxers an initially small sect truly believed that the influx of Christians into China was upsetting the local gods. They managed to spread their propaganda among the rural settlements and towns gaining support as they blamed the foreigners for floods, droughts or whatever natural disaster befell that area. This eventually escalated into persecution and murder of Christian converts and priests, nuns and missionaries who converted them! The book goes a long way to explaining this in a clear, open style.
In Peking the various Western powers (and Japan) had legations just outside the Royal Palace, the various ministers knew about the Boxer troubles, but for the most part seemed untroubled and believed the Chinese Government would sort it all out for themselves - boy were they wrong!
Eventually they asked for a military guard to be despatched to protect the legations, this annoyed the Chinese further having foreign soldiers in Peking! This caused the Chinese Government led by the Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi to quietly back the Boxers in their anti-Christian attacks by ordering the Imperial Army not to interfere. Things escalated, the legations became besieged, churches and other Christian sites within Peking were attacked and burned, only Peitang the North Cathedral held out! A relief column of around 2,000 men under Admiral Seymour was sent from the coast, but found itself too weak and isolated to break through and was driven back!
The Chinese Government saw this as further aggression so ordered the Imperial Army to defend the motherland from the foreign invaders, expanding the conflict further. Again I was struck by how little I actually understood about the conflict as a whole.
Eventually a larger relief force was assembled and this combined international force marched overland and saved the day!
Obviously if you have read more than the basics on this conflict, this book may add little to your knowledge, but if like me all you know is the basics, this may well be the book you need to open your eyes to the wider wargames potential of the period!
Postscript
Some years back when I was editor of the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers (SOTCW) Will Macnally and Pete Jones ran a participation game based on the siege of the legations at the Gauntlet show in Broughton, North Wales.
Whilst I cannot find any photos of the game, I still own the Japanese contingent I painted up for it.
Imperial Guard (red bands on their hats) infantry (red shoulder boards) all by Combat Miniatures
Imperial Guard officer - converted Combat Miniatures standard bearer and naval officer from Elheim
Close up of the naval officer
Regular infantry officer (yellow band on hat) and Coronel Shiba (wearing the uniform of a cavalry officer - green shoulder boards and band on his hat) both by Combat Miniatures
Regular line infantry (yellow band on hats, red shoulder boards) by Combat Miniatures
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