On September 20th, which was the 6th day of the intercalary month, naval commanders from various countries met in Dagukou to discuss matters. After the meeting, Admiral Seymour ordered his British gunboat "Bacchante" to go to Shanhaiguan and occupy the fort there. American envoy Boxer Huxier and Lieutenant Puru boarded the gunboat. Dagukou was not far from Shanhaiguan, and by noon that day, they had arrived in front of Shanhaiguan. Huxier and Puru believed that persuasion was better than force, so they went ashore with the gunboat's officer to meet with the officers of the Shanhaiguan fort. They said that the British forces wanted to take control of the fort, and if they were willing to give it up, there would be no need for a battle. The Shanhaiguan officers agreed and said that the British soldiers could come over at any time. Huxier added, "The British soldiers will be here soon; however, you need to withdraw the Chinese troops first; otherwise, there could be complications." The officers at Shanhaiguan also agreed. So Huxier and his party returned to the ship and sent Navy Officer Blakes and eighteen sailors ashore into Shanhaiguan. By that time, the Chinese troops at the fort had already departed with their belongings. In the afternoon, Russian troops arrived hastily by train, hoping to seize the train station, only to find that it had already been taken over by the British navy. They demanded the station be returned to them by Huxier and his party, but were unsuccessful, so they had to set up camp outside. The gunboat "Bacchante" recognized that their forces at the fort were insufficient and feared potential complications, so they quickly returned to report the situation and request reinforcements. Admiral Seymour then sent more troops to reinforce immediately, and he himself also went over to assess the situation aboard the command ship "Centurion."
Wow, all the armies from various countries have arrived! At that moment, everyone had a discussion and decided to allow the international coalition forces to take control of the train station and the first artillery position, displaying the flags of their respective countries. The second artillery position would be jointly guarded by the armies of Germany, Italy, and San Francisco; the third artillery position would be assigned to the French; the fourth one would be assigned to Britain and Japan, with each sending troops to guard. As for the city gates, the east gate would be guarded by the Russians; the west gate by Japan and Italy; the north gate by Britain and France; and the south gate by Germany. Additionally, the electrical equipment at the first and second artillery positions would be under the guard of the Japanese.
Let’s break it down: the armies that arrived at that time included 3,500 Russians, 1,000 British, 800 Germans, 400 Americans, 300 Italians, two divisions of the Japanese army, and 100 naval personnel.
The reason why the armies from different countries were determined to seize Shanhaiguan was mainly because there is a small island in front of Shanhaiguan, in Zhili Bay, which remains ice-free even in the harshest winters. It is a crucial wintering spot for warships from around the world! Moreover, outside the pass is Jinzhou, with a railway connecting to various places, and it is a vital route from Tianjin to Beijing; 12 li from Niuzhuang, 110 li from Lüshun, 350 li from Datong River, 430 li from Incheon, 650 li from Busan, 736 li from Maguan, and 581 li from Nagasaki. It is undoubtedly a vital strategic location that military strategists would fiercely compete for! Therefore, after the Russians occupied it, they promptly began repairing the railway from Shanhaiguan to Tanggu, and leveraged the nearby coal mines to hire a significant number of Chinese workers for mining, intending to maintain a long-term presence. Although other nations understood that the Russians likely had grander ambitions, they had no choice but to accept it!
