The Boxer Rebellion has long been a favorite of mine. I wrote a report on it in the 4th grade that I recycled and improved on in the 6th grade ... and in the 9th grade ... and as a freshman in college (why reinvent the wheel?). I've watched 55 Days In Peking so many times that my wife swears I know the script by heart. Last year, in honor of the centennial, I began work on a Boxer Rebellion game. I painted several hundred figures in the Old Glory Boxer line, built a Chinese town out of form core, cardboard and balsa and wrote a set of rules. What was missing from the mix were the scenarios. Virtually every game I have ever seen at a convention involved the siege of the legations or the storming of the Taku Forts. Fun games, but they only take you so far. So, I began to do a new round of research to add to my (literally) decades-long study of the rebellion. What I've come up with are a bunch of what I call "Scenario Starters" -- not full blown orders of battle with maps, but anecdotes and incidents that would be a good starting point for a game. I've written the "starters" as newspaper reports (in a previous career I was a newspaper man and PR flack), including a headline and the opening paragraph. No attempt has been made to repeat the history of the rebellion (books and articles on these are readily available) and I have not given any orders of battle (numbers for the Boxers simply are not available; I have included some general numbers for the Great Powers, however). The idea here is to give you some ideas from whence you can develop your own games. Civilians Flee Countryside For Peking Paotingfu, May 31 - Driven from their homes by a mobs of Boxers, a group of missionaries, including women and children were escorted by 30 Belgian, French and Italian troops to the Legation defenses. In a desperate battle to save the lives of the civilians, the western soldiers were forced to form square around their charges. Legates Trapped In Peking The Legations, Peking, early June - The foreign community in Peking today began preparations for defense against Boxer mobs. Headquartered at the British legation, legation guards include 82 British, 81 Russians, 56 Americans, 51 Germans, 48 French, 35 AustroHungarians, 29 Italians, 25 Japanese under the command of Captain von Thomann. The forces also have at their disposal one Maxim, one Nordenfelt, one Colt machine gun and a 9 pdr. Seymour Begins Relief Expedition Off the coast of China, June 10 - An expedition to relieve the besieged legations at Peking today was launched by an allied force under the command of British Admiral Seymour. The personnel, mostly from ships stationed offshore include 915 British, 512 German, 312 Russian, 157 French, 111 Americans; 54 Japanese, 42 Italians and 26 Austrians, along with seven field guns and ten machine guns. Seymour Train Halted By Boxer Assaults Langfang, June 10 - Troops from the Seymour relief expedition were forced to disembark from the relief train to engage several hundred locals - suspected to be Boxers - who had torn up track and engaged the train. Seymour Orders Attack on Peking (Hypothetical) Peking, June 16 - Allied forces under the command of British Admiral Seymour attempted to force their way into Peking, meeting serious resistance from the Peking Field Force and General Tung-fu-siang's Kansu soldiers, located in front of the city's South Gate. Germans Conduct Rear Guard Action Langfang, June 17 - Under attack by 4,000 Chinese Imperial Troops, including General Tung Fo-hsiang's Moslem cavalry, German Seebattalions conducted a rear guard action, resulting in 50 casualties, including 6 KIA. Taku Forts Stormed The Taku Forts, June 17 - A multi-national force today stormed the Taku Forts. With fixed bayonets, the forces, led by the Japanese and British raced across the mud flats to take the positions. Allied spokesmen reported 172 casualties in the action. Foreign Community Cut Off From West Tientsen, June 17 - Defensive fortifications supervised by American engineer Herbert Hoover are all that stood in the way of a massacre of European, American and Japanese nationals in the city of Tientsen. Under heavy attack, the westerners fought desperately against increasingly intense attacks. Peitsang Taken; Allied Casualties High Peitsang, June 21 - The village of Peitsang was taken by the Seymour Relief Expedition at great cost. Captain Jellicoe of Her Majesty's Navy was gravely wounded in the fighting, as was Captain Lieutenant Paul Schlieper of the Kriegsmarine. Seymour Takes Mysterious Chinese Arsenal Hsiku, June 22 - British and German Marines from the Seymour Relief Expedition captured the Hsiku arsenal after more than an hour of fierce fighting. The 30-acre fortress - whose existence was unsuspected by Western Powers - fell thanks to a brilliant outflanking maneuver planned by an Allied Council of War. Seymour Expedition Trapped Hsiku, June 23 - Just hours after losing the arsenal to Western powers, Chinese General Nieh launched a series of unrelenting counterattacks to retake the fortress. Unable to go any further, Seymour ordered his troops to prepare for a protracted siege. Germans, Americans Sortie From Legations The Legations, Peking, June 24 - In an effort to ease the ever-tightening stranglehold on the legations, German embassy guards stormed from their positions to take a Boxer redoubt. Later, Marines from the United States Legation charged the Chien Gate to drive off the Boxer fanatics. Jap~anese Defend the Fu The Fu, Peking, June 24 - Japanese soldiers cooly routed an attack of Boxers who threatened to overrun the Fu, where hundreds of Chinese Christians huddled. Germans, Americans Retake The Tartar Wall The Tartar Wall, Peking, June 24 - Under fire from Boxers and Chinese Regulars on the Tartar Wall, U.S. and German Embassy guards led an attack to relieve the pressure. After a brief battle, the Boxers were swept from the wall. Scavenging Dangerous, but Necessary Peking, June and July - At great personal risk, scavenging parties today searched the Mongol Market and surrounding areas for desperately needed supplies. Germans Driven From Tartar Wall Peking, July I - A surprise attack today drove German defenders from their positions along the Tartar Wall. The Germans had been defending the barricades facing east along the wall. Chinese Driven From Positions Peking, July 3 - In an attempt to break the ever-tightening Chinese encirclement, a group of volunteers today surged from their barricades to assault Chinese positions. The group of 15 Russian sailors, 26 British Marines and 14 United States Marines, along with some British civilian volunteers took the Chinese positions after a short fight. US Marines Stalled At Tientsin Tientsin, July 7 - A Marine regiment joined by some 400 Russian infantry attempted to break through to Tientsin, but were stalled when they came under fire from a series of zigzag Chinese entrenchment. House To House Fighting Leads To Victory in Tientsin Tientsin, July 17 - After four days of house-to-house fighting, five thousand Western troops have succeeded in regaining control of the city. Casualties on both sides are reported to be high. Mongol Market Retaken Peking, August 4 - A German assault group, led by ex-German army officer Otto von Straoch succeeded in driving Boxers and Chinese Regulars from their positions in the Mongol Market. Allies Advance To Peking Peitsang, August 5 - A few miles north of the Shiku Arsenal, Russian and Japanese troops, supported by a pair of British naval 12 pounders drove a group of Boxers from their positions at Peitsang. The International Relief Expedition, under the nominal command of General Alfred Gaselee, consists of 10,000 Japanese, 4,000 Russians, 3,000 British, 2,000 United States, 800 French, 200 German, 58 Austro-Hungarian and 53 Italian troops, supported by seventy field pieces and machine guns. Yangtsun Cleared By Relief Expedition Yangtsun, August 6 - Fighting their second battle in as many days, the Allied Expeditionary Force, led by American and British troops, drove Boxers from their entrenchments before the Chinese town of Yangtsun. The action was supported by Royal Artillery and a Russian Battery. Allied Column Assaulted (Hypothetical) On The Road To Peking, Early August - Strung out in a column over several miles of raised road, the International Relief Expedition today came under attack by the Imperial Chinese army and Boxer forces. The results are reported to be disastrous to the Allies. Chinese Assault Legation Walls Peking, August 13 - Boxers and Imperial troops armed with Mannlicher carbines and a 2 inch Krupp spent the day assaulting the Legation walls. The Imperial Chinese troops managed to break into the Mongol Market before being driven out again. Russian Reconnaissance Finds Gate Undefended Peking, August 13 - After a recon mission by Russian cavalry found the Tungpienmen gate only lightly defended, Russian General Vassilievski took the initiative, ordering a general assault on the position several hours ahead of schedule. Japanese Follow Russians To Wall Peking, August 14 - Believing that the Russians deliberately broke the schedule in order to hog the glory, Japanese troops moved quickly to take their own designated position along the wall. British Meet Resistance At The Tartar Wall, Peking, August 14 - British Sikhs met stiff Boxer and Imperial resistance today near the sluice gates at the Tartar Wall. Russians Pinned Down By Fire Relieved by Americans The Tungpienmen Gate, Peking, August 14 - After some initial success, the Russian assault on Peking was stalled by heavy fire from the walls above, resulting in the wounding of General Vassilievski . To relieve the Russians, Americans, led by Bugler Calvin Titus scaled the Gate's wall, clearing the area of Chinese. Marines Clear Tartar City The Tartar City, Peking, August 14 - After several house of fierce house-to-house fighting, US Marines managed to gain entrance to the sluice gate to the Tartar City. Sikhs First Into Legations The Legations, Peking, August 14 - Sikh infantry, pushing their way through the sluice gates today were the first of the International Relief Force to enter the legation defenses. Marines Enter Forbidden City The Imperial City, Peking, August 15 - After pushing their way through a series of courtyards toward the Forbidden City, US Marines were today were ordered to fall back by General Chaffee. No explanation for the recall was given. Heroic Defenders Relieved Peitang Cathedral, Peking, August 16 - Japanese today relieved the Peitang Cathedral and grounds, where 30 French and 12 Italian Marines had held off constant Boxer assaults since the 22nd of June. The cathedral defense was led by Bishop Favier and French Sub-Lieutenant Paul Henry, who was killed in the fighting. More than 3000 Chinese Christians, Missionaries and their families were saved in the heroic stand. An earlier attempt by French forces - on the 15th - to relieve the Cathedral had been repulsed. For Further Reading: The Spirit Soldiers, by Richard O'Connor The Boxer Rebellion, by Diana Preston Back to MWAN #111 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2001 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com