The Land of the Boxers; or, China under the AlliesCasserly, Gordon
History
The Land of the Boxers; or, China under the Allies
Casserly, Gordon
China -- Description and travel
The German organisation—perfect, perhaps, for Europe, where each
country is a network of roads and railways—was not so successful
in China. For the first time the leading military nation was
brought face to face with the difficulties involved in the despatch
of an expedition across the sea and far from the home base. And its
mistakes were not few. Their contingent found themselves at first
devoid of transport and dependent on the kindness of the other armies
for means to move from the railway. One projected expedition had to
be long delayed because the German troops could not advance for this
reason, until the English at length furnished them with the necessary
transport. The enormous waggons they brought with them were useless
in a country where barrows are generally the only form of wheeled
transport possible on the very narrow roads. Their knowledge of
horse‐mastership was not impressive, their animals always looking badly
kept and ill‐fed.
The first German troops despatched to China were curiously clothed.
Their uniform consisted of ill‐fitting tunics and trousers made of what
looked like coarse, bright yellow sacking, with black leather belts
and straw hats shaped like those worn by our Colonials, the broad brim
caught up on one side and fastened by a metal rosette of the German
colours. Later on all were clothed in regular khaki, and wore helmets
somewhat similar to the British pattern, but with wider brims. The
square portion covering the back of the neck was fastened by hinges, so
that the helmet was not tilted over the wearer’s eyes when he lay down
to fire, which is the great disadvantage of our style of headgear. Some
of the officers wore silver sashes and belts which looked out of place
on khaki, the embodiment of severe simplicity in campaigning dress.
The physique of the German soldiers was very good, but they were
members of a comparatively small contingent picked from an enormous
army. To those used to the smart and upright bearing of the British
private their careless and slouching gait seemed slovenly. But on
parade they moved like automatons. A curious phase in the relations
of the Allies was the intimacy which prevailed between the men of the
French and German troops. In the French Concession numbers of them were
to be constantly seen fraternising together, strolling arm‐in‐arm in
the streets, or drinking in the _cafés_. This was chiefly owing to the
fact that many in either army could speak the language of the other.
But this intimacy did not extend to the commissioned ranks.
The vast increase in their mercantile marine of late years enabled the
Germans to transport their troops in their own vessels. The Russians,
on the other hand, were frequently forced to employ British ships,
although the bulk of their forces in North China did not come from
Europe by sea, but was furnished by the Siberian Army.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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