Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 August 1914 — An American’s Experience Among the European Troops. [ARTICLE]

An American’s Experience Among the European Troops.

Perhaps some or your readers would be interested in the views of a former "wanderlust’’ who has roamed over France, Germany and England, seen part of the summer maneuvers of the French on the plains near Clebourg, have watched the drill and field exercise of a division of Germans, tak;en part in the English on Salisbury Plain and fought under the cross of St. George; was one ip the seige of Pekin in the summer of 1900, when the allied forces of the world moved to the relief of the legations, and there saw' thy fighting and behavior of the soldiers of the great powers now engaged in the huge war caldron in Europe. Much has been w-ritten and discussed by military experts regarding the fighting merits of the nations involved. While not claiming to be in any way a military expert or authority on the subject, yet the behavior of the men in the forces of the powers of 1900 stand out in my memory. Of the American forces in the siege, about fifty-five marines and three seamen, under command of Captains Meyers and Hall, held, from the beginning to the relief columns entered, with the help of different attachments sent from the British and Russian forces, one of the most vital keys to the defense of the legations. Perhaps a short description of the city would help the reader to have a mind-picture of the city at the time of the siege. Pekjn is a city divided by high walls, separating it into first, the outer or Chinese city; next inside is called the Tarter, and within this part of Pekin the legations stood; then comes the Imperial, and still yet inside of the Imperial stands the Forbidden city, the home of the emperor, or at that time the Dowager Empress. The wall between the Chinese and Tarter city, near the legations runs in an east and west line, about CO feet in height and 110 feet broad at the top, with runways leading to the top from i< the Tarter side, and one of these, fortunately, was opposite the American legation. At a distance ot about. 100 yards running parallel to the wall ran Legation street.

Starting at the American legation, on the opposite side of the street stood the Russian, and running north perhaps 100 yards, then came the Imperial Chinese canal, which enters Pekin from the south. From this wall between the Tarter and Chinese city, to the Imperial city, was a distance of perhaps not quite a half mile. Up the side of this canal and just north and almost joining the Russian legation stood the British, to the west of which was the famous Wun market and the Imperial carriage park of the ( hinese emperor. To the north stood Hamlin college, one of the oldest seats of learning of the Chinese empire, and about 100 yards from its north wall rose the walls of the Imperial City. Across from the British legation was the palace or "too,” of Prince Chin, and to the east of this palace stood the Austrian, Italian, Japanese and Belgian legations. Then, on the east end of Legation street, stood the French and German, with the latter next to the wall.

At the outset of the siege a line was thrown out including the territory covering all of the legations, but not having anywhere enough men to defend the whole, the line was drawn closer in abandoning the Italian, Austrian, Japanese and Belgian legations. Going back now to the defense oi the wall held by the Americans on the west and the Germans on the east—time after time the Chinese troops attempted to carry these two places held, for there they could pour directly down on the legations shell and shot and defense would have been almost imposible. 1 remember on the fourth or fifth day of the siege, I was one of the squad detailed from the British to the wall held by the Americans. That evening about dusk, the Chinese made a rush on the American barricade. Captain Meyers had planted their Colts gun in the center and deployed the rest across the wall. He gave the order to hold fire until they were perhaps about l r o feet from the barricade. Then we cut loose. The momentum of the mob at the back forced the Chinese forward, but soon they turned, and after about fifteen minutes work the wall was covered with dead and wounded for a distance of about a half mile, until one could hardly see a patch of ground for the bodies. Again, for a couple of illustrations of the deadly power of the rapid-fire guns now used, in Egypt in 1 898, at the battle of Ouderman, under now Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, the British and Egyptian troops formed on the plains in campanies around the machine and field guns, awaiting the attack of the “Dervishers” under the Mad Mullah. This fantlcal horde Pushed the British line, but soon they broke. Three times they turned and tried to carry the line, until finally thousands lay on the ground. In about two hours actual fighting along the two mile front, it was estimated that men went to join “Allah." Again at Tugula river, in South Africa, during the Boer war, the British column was advancing to the relief of Ladysmith, when coming to the fordj and attempting to cross, the Borirs, who were in masked rifle pits, opened a deadly fire. Company after company was mowed down; battery alfter battery was lost. It was in this engagement that Lord Roberts of England, lost his only sori, who attempted to .rescue some field guns, and for which he was given the Victoria cross, which his father today wears along with 'his own, won in India many years before. But, going back to the siege. The Germans holding the east end of the wall, were, one night, when in command of a sergeant, forced from their position. There were fifty German marines under the command of a lietuenant. They were a fine fighting machine, but would say they

seemed to have no individuality; seemed not able to take advantage of any opportunity, but if commanded to do a certain thing would do it or die. The French were a sort of happy-go-lucky bunch, almost, always singing and bantering with one another. A whole lot of them were mighty poor shots, for one day I saw them lire at least a hundred rounds until they got a couple of "Chinks" exposed to plain view not over a couple of hundred yards distant. Among the Russians were a varied assortment. The few Cossacks with them knew n<>t the word fear, were mighty good shots and never seemed to tire, while some of the others shirked every duty they could and when things got sort of warm would huddle up and search for cover. One morning, going from the British to the American legation, our squad passed through the Russian quarters, and on reaching the gate leading to the street and across from the American legation, the Russian squad detailed for duty to the American trench, was just leaving. At that time no barricade had been erected across the street. A squad to go across would send one man at a time, who would wait and then make a dash across. One poor Russian fellow started, and as some dust was kicked up around him by the bullets, he turned and ran back to the shelter of the Russian wall. The Russian captain was there at the time. He pulled his gun and watch at the same time and ordered the fellow to go out and stand for one minute in the middle of the road. He went, but was a dead man before the minute was up. Had ho refused to go, the captain would have shot him down like a dog. r This same captain filled up on the "Volga’’ one day during the latter part of the siege and started down Legation street, shouting that lie would kill all the "Chinks.” Coming to the German barricade he leaped over, but fell dead before he had gone ten feet. At this point the barricades of the Germans and Chinese were only about twenty or thirty feet apart. That evening several "Chinks” tried to secure the body, but they were picked off. Finally they threw a grappling hook over and managed to secure the captain’s body. They then cut off his fingers, toes, ears, etc., and threw them over to the German barricade. The Italian and Austrian troops seemed to be both a very excitablb body of men, the least thing sending them up in the air, and many is the cussing they got for cutting loose with their machine gun and volleyt over something trivial and making the rest think that a general assault was about to take place. The Japanese were only about twenty-five strong going In, and, as I remember, came out with but five, and three of these had been wounded. They were a laughing, joking bunch, and when the ‘‘Chinks’’ started something, they would grin, grab their guns, scurry to a loop-hole and commence to sing out taunts to the “Chinks”, at the same time picking them off. The British—well, as an American born who has shared their lot at one time,’ will try to give them their due. Some regiments are better than others, of course, but as a whole they are stubborn and will not give ground easily, as history has proved time and again. J. A. M.