Combat· Boxer Rebellion
March to Tong-Ku and East Arsenal Repulse
Soon after landing on the China coast, Major Littleton Waller's Marine battalion, freshly arrived from the Philippines, set out to push inland toward the besieged city of Tientsin.
They marched first to Tong-Ku, where they found the railway torn up, and joined with a Russian force to continue the advance. As the combined column neared the city, the enemy opened heavy and accurate fire from a walled arsenal and from hidden trenches at their front and flank. The Marines' rapid-fire gun jammed under the strain, and with the enemy working around their rear, the outnumbered force had to pull back. The Marines formed the rear guard during the long fighting retreat, holding off the enemy and bringing their wounded out as they fell back to regroup. It was the battalion's first hard combat of the campaign.
Podcast episodes on Boxer Rebellion
Record no. 532