Here's how 56 Marines took on the Chinese army during the Boxer Rebellion

[Rocky C]

The U.S. Marine Corps landed in China exactly 116 years ago today.

On May 31, 1900, an expeditionary force of 56 Marines and sailors arrived in Beijing to protect the U.S. diplomatic mission in the face of mounting militia attacks in what would be known as the Boxer Rebellion.

Over a brutal 55-day siege, the Marines would fend off repeated assaults through dense urban terrain by militias and Chinese government forces determined to wipe them out.

"The Americans who have been besieged in Peking desire to express their hearty appreciation of the courage, fidelity and patriotism of the American Marines, to whom we so largely owe our salvation," a group of American missionaries wrote in the aftermath of the battle, according to the National Archives. "By their bravery in holding an almost untenable position in the face of overwhelming numbers, and in cooperating in driving the Chinese from a position of great strength, they made all foreigners in Peking their debtors, and have gained for themselves an honorable name among the heroes of their country."

Over the previous year, local militias — known as "Boxers" — had launched a wave of violence in northern China against foreigners and Chinese Christians.

When their attention turned to foreigners in the diplomatic quarter in Beijing, called "Peking" at the time, the Americans there telegraphed a distress call for military support.

Two Marine detachments aboard the nearby Navy battleship Oregon and cruiser Newark immediately heeded the call and, along with approximately 350 foreign troops, disembarked and quickly established a defensive perimeter to prepare for an onslaught of the armed militants.

Two weeks later, British Vice Adm. Sir Edward Seymour hastily assembled a second multinational force, including 112 more Marines and sailors, and attempted to move on Beijing.

They were repulsed, but the imperial Chinese government saw their march as an unprovoked act of war and promptly sided with the Boxer militia, joining them to assault the Beijing defenders.

U.S. and German Marines occupied the most crucial piece of real estate for the fight: the massive, 45-foot high Tartar Wall on the southern end of the diplomatic quarter, which offered a clear line of sight over the battle. The Chinese pounded them with a constant barrage of artillery and small arms fire, and built a network of barricades inching closer and closer to assault the wall.

On July 2, the Germans were forced off and the Chinese advanced to within a few feet of the wall. It was then that the Marines attacked.

At 2 a.m. in a blinding downpour, Capt. John Twiggs Myers led the Marines and a handful of British and Russian troops to charge the Chinese positions. Bewildered, the Chinese forces broke and fled to barricades hundreds of yards away, never attempting to attack the wall again.

Meanwhile, a coalition of the willing scrambled to launch a proper relief of the city, with troops from Germany, Austria-Hungary, Japan, Russia, the British Empire, France and Italy joining the Americans to form the China Relief Expedition.

On Aug. 4, the 18,000-strong force stepped off from Tianjin to begin the 80-mile march on Beijing. It took them 10 days to reach the besieged defenders. The Boxers and Imperial Chinese forces were defeated, and a peace accord was signed in September 1901, with hefty reparations put on the Chinese.

A total of 1,151 enlisted Marines and 49 officers participated in the Boxer Rebellion, according to the National Archives. Of these, 33 Marines received the Medal of Honor, including Pvt. Harry Fisher, the first Marine posthumously awarded the nation’s highest military honor.

Three officers would also become commandants of the Marine Corps: Gens. William Biddle, Wendell Neville and Ben Fuller.

Similar Threads:

• Marines evaluate amphibious capabilities aboard Boxer
• Marines evaluate amphibious capabilities aboard Boxer
• Who was that famous pro boxer who tried to join the Marines but washed out of boot?
• Marines Employ Iraqi Mercenary Force to Crush Rebellion
• The Boxer Rebellion: Coalition Expeditionary Operations in China

[Tennessee Top]

There is a movie about this called "55 Days In Peking".

[Rocky C]

Yes with a great cast !

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056800/

[McT ontheRock71]

Although not a Commandant, ​please don't forget, Smedley Darlington Butler was there also.