Impossible Victories

by Bryan Perrett

  3. Brydon had entered the East India Company’s service in 1835. Having narrowly escaped one massacre, been besieged twice, seen battle and sudden death at close quarters and been wounded on several occasions, by 1859 he probably felt that enough was enough and left India for the peace and quiet of his native Scotland, where he died fourteen years later.

  4. One of the ‘lost’ Irish regiments disbanded in 1922.

  5. Wheeler was one of the Company’s elderly generals who refused to believe that the sepoys would mutiny. This view was reinforced by his Indian wife, who was on good terms with the Nana Sahib and who had been assured by him that there was nothing to fear. Having managed to hold out in an untenable entrenchment for three weeks, Wheeler agreed to surrender in return for the Nana Sahib’s promise of safe passage down the Ganges to Allahabad. The men and many of the women were massacred as they were embarking on boats for the journey. Four survivors managed to get clear and reach safety after many hardships.

  6. Ironically, Bibighur means ‘the lady’s house’, the building having been the home of the native mistress of a British officer. Depictions of the interior appearing in the British press showed the walls scrawled with inscriptions such as ‘Countrymen Avenge Us’ which, if they existed, can only have referred to the earlier massacre beside the river.

  7. Many of the rebels themselves probably considered the Nana Sahib to be something of a liability. He sought refuge in Nepal whence unconfirmed reports suggested he had died in October 1859.

  8. Maude’s Battery received an honour title for its performance at Lucknow, as did 6/13 Battery RA and 4/1, 2/3 and 1/5 Batteries BA.

  9. Duffy received the Victoria Cross, as did Maude and Olpherts for their respective parts in the battle. Maude’s was a representative award chosen by ballot within his battery.

  10. Six members of the 93rd were awarded the Victoria Cross for their part in these operations. They were: Captain Stewart for leading an attack on two enemy guns at the Mess House; and Staff Sergeant Paton, Lance Corporal Dunley, Private MacKay, Colour Sergeant Monro and Private Peter Grant for actions already described. Three more, including Lieutenant-Colonel Ewart, were recommended for the award but did not receive it.

  11. Windham, in fact, had already sallied forth on 26 November and given Tantia Topi’s advance guard a bloody nose. Next day, however, Tantia Topi arrived unexpectedly with his main body and drove him back to the entrenchment. On capturing the British camp the rebels plundered the kits of the units forming Campbell’s relief column; in an unbelievably mean-spirited response, the government insisted that the troops should pay for the replacements out of their own pockets.

  ‘That Astonishing Infantry’: The Albuera Counter-Attack

  Gilbert Holliday’s painting of the Colour Party of the 29th Regiment at Albuera. The surviving Colour Sergeant tries to support the mortally wounded Ensign Edward Furnace, carrying the King’s Colour. On the ground, Ensign Richard Vance rips the Regimental Colour from its staff and pushes it inside his coat to prevent capture. The Worcestershire Regiment Museum Trust.

  Captain Ralph Fawcett, though mortally wounded, continued to command his company of the 57th Regiment, known as ‘The Die-Hards’ after Albuera.

  Lady Butler’s famous painting of Albuera, ‘Steady the Drums and Fifes’. PWRR & Queen’s Regimental Museum, Dover Castle.

  Scarlet and Grey: The Battles of Chippewa and Lundy’s Lane

  Scott’s Brigade going into action at Chippewa. At first their grey coats gave the British commander, Major General Phineas Riall, the impression that they were militiamen, but, observing their precise drill and steadiness under fire, he quickly changed his opinion. Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library.

  Colonel Joseph Miller’s 21st Infantry closing in on the British artillery position at Lundy’s Lane. ASKB.

  Colonel Miller’s infantrymen overrunning the British guns at Lundy’s Lane. Although most of the uniform details are hopelessly incorrect, the topography is accurate and the illustration gives a good impression of the confusion in which this phase of the battle was fought. Later, as a result of their severe losses, the Americans relinquished their gains. ASKB.

  Mission Impossible: The Reliefs of Lucknow

  Battery position at the Residency, Lucknow. As the picture suggests, even hospital patients were expected to take their turn manning the defences. ASKB.

  The 93rd Highlanders fight their way into the breach at the Secundrabagh. Courtesy, Regimental Headquarters, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

  The close-quarter fighting inside the Secundrabagh was savage in the extreme. A watercolour by Orlando Norrie. Courtesy, Regimental Headquarters, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

  An overall view of the gunboats’ attack on the Taku Forts, 25 June 1859. The landward defences of the forts are not shown, but the ilustration does emphasise the great expanse of mud confronting the landing party attacking the fort on the left. National Maritime Museum, Negative No 58/1364.

  The Taking of the Taku Forts

  The landing party wallows across the low-water mud towards the South Fort at Taku, evening 25 June 1859. National Maritime Museum, Negative No A7542.

  Ensign John Chaplin and Private Thomas Lane succeed in planting the Queen’s Colour of the 67th Regiment on the central tower of the Small North Fort. Both men were awarded the Victoria Cross for their part in the action. Courtesy The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum.

  The exterior of the Small North Fort with British and French flags flying from the central tower. The extensive belt of sharpened bamboo stakes surrounding the fortifications is clearly visible. The bodies in the foreground are those of the garrison who tried to escape over the walls. Courtesy The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum.

  The interior of the Small North Fort after its capture, showing scaling ladders still in position, guns of various type and vintage and, on the extreme right, what appears to be a ‘jingal’ an enormous musket fired from a wall mounting, much favoured by the Chinese. Courtesy The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum.

  Dargai

  Colonel H. H. Mathias, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion The Gordon Highlanders at Dargai. The Gordon Highlanders Museum, Negative No GH2615.

  The pipers of 1st Gordon Highlanders, taken shortly before Dargai. Piper Findlater is on the extreme left of the rear rank. The Gordon Highlanders Museum, Negative No PB415/16.

  Lieutenant Colonel Mathias leads the 1st Gordon Highlanders’ attack on Dargai. The piper in the foreground is Piper George Findlater who was shot through both ankles but continued to play. He is in approximately the correct position but is incorrectly shown wearing a lance corporal’s stripe. ASKB.

  The final stages of the Gordons’ attack at Dargai. For the sake of effect the artist has also shown Piper Findiater, together with Lance Corporal (Piper) Milne, who was shot through the chest. Others depicted include men of the 1st/2nd Gurkha Rifles, 2nd Derbys and 3rd Sikhs. ASKB.

  Lieutenant Colonel (later President) Theodore Roosevelt with officers and men of the Rough Riders (1st US Volunteer Cavalry) photographed on a hill overlooking Santiago, Cuba. US Army, Courtesy of the Patton Museum, Fort Knox, Ky.

  The Storming of San Juan Ridge, Cuba

  The start of the assault on San Juan Ridge, supported by the fire of Lieutenant John Parker’s Gatling machine gun detachment, seen here on the left. ASKB.

  The Americans secure the crest of San Juan Ridge. The blockhouse in the background, though still offering resistance, was abandoned shortly after. ASKB.

  Mounted Action: The Charges at Beersheba and Huj, Palestine

  ‘The Charge of the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba’, by George Lambert. The supporting wave is about to pass over the Turkish trenches, which have been captured in hand-to-hand fighting by the leading wave. (In poor condition.) Australian War Memorial.

  Turkish machine gun teams with rangefinder in position near Beersheba. Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London.


  Capturing the Beersheba wells intact was critical to the success of Allenby’s entire plan. Such was the speed with which the 4th Light Horse Brigade stormed into the town that the Turks were able to destroy only two and damage two more, one of which is being examined by British engineers. Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London.

  Australians watering their mounts at Beersheba station. Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London.

  ‘The Charge of the Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry at Huj’, by Lady Butler. Courtesy The Queen’s Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry Charitable Trust.

  US 2nd Rangers’ Command and Aid Post in a shell crater on the Pointe du Hoe. US Army Military History Institute.

  Leading the Way: US Rangers at the Pointe du Hoe and Omaha Beach

  The first supplies to reach the isolated 2nd Rangers on the Pointe du Hoe are carried across the rocky beach. Note the size of the craters caused by the naval bombardment. USAMHI.

  Colonel Rudder (arrowed) and the survivors of 2nd Rangers prepare to leave the Pointe du Hoe on D+2. USAMHI

  Crown of Thorns: The Struggle for Hill 112

  Churchill infantry tanks and an M10 tank destroyer breaking harbour for the attack on Hill 112. Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London.

  17-pdr anti-tank gun and burned-out tractor unit hit by mortar fire in ‘Death Valley’, with the slopes of Hill 112 beyond. Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London.

  The summit of Hill 112 before it had been ravaged by the worst of the fighting. Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London.

  Dak To: Ngok Kom Leat and Hill 875

  Men of the 503rd Parachute Infantry patrolling in the jungles of the Central Highlands, South Vietnam. USAMHI.

  Members of IV/503rd Parachute Infantry pinned down among the piles of shattered timber covering the slopes of Hill 875. USAMHI.

  IV/503rd light machine gun team photographed shortly before the final assault on Hill 875. USAMHI.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The Taking of the Taku Forts,

  1859 and 1860

  For many years the Honourable East India Company made huge profits from its lucrative opium trade with China, bribing local officials to permit entry of the drug to which increasing numbers of Chinese had become addicted. The overall effect of the opium scourge on Chinese life can be compared to that of cocaine and other substances on Western nations today and, understandably, even the normally lethargic Imperial government was moved to take action, issuing an edict banning the trade and ordering the confiscation of existing stocks. What followed was the inevitable consequence of each side regarding the other as barbarians whose ways were totally incomprehensible.

  Today, a frequently expressed and cynical view of the Foreign Office is that it exists for the convenience of foreigners. In mid-Victorian Britain, however, it stood unequivocally for the protection of British interests around the world, on the basis that the Civis Britannicus should have the same respect once universally accorded to the Civis Romanus. Thus, when those British traders who refused to comply with the Imperial edict were imprisoned in their own warehouses, notably in Canton, there was not the slightest hesitation in resorting to arms to rectify the situation. The fact that the loathsome commodity of opium was the proximate cause of the dispute, or that the subsequent conflict became known as the First Opium War, was unfortunate, but that was by the by; what was at stake was nothing less than the national honour.

  The ensuing conflict was a one-sided affair. At sea the Chinese war junks, however numerous, were no match for the Royal Navy’s frigates, and on land the Imperial government’s troops, badly led and armed with ancient muskets, spears and tridents, were repeatedly routed, although their courage was respected. In August 1842, after the ports of Shanghai, Ningpo, Foochow, Canton and Amoy had been captured, the Chinese signed the Treaty of Nanking, granting trading rights at these as well as ceding Hong Kong, which became a British colony. Furthermore, British residents in China were accorded privileges which effectively placed them above the law.

  Naturally, there was considerable resentment among the Chinese, who largely disregarded the Treaty’s provisions. The Imperial government, more concerned with widespread internal unrest, lacked both the means and the will to enforce them. Harassment of British merchants and mercantile interests continued, culminating in the boarding of the British schooner Arrow, registered in Hong Kong, and the arrest of several crew members, in October 1856. Demands for the release of the men were rejected on the grounds that they were pirates. The Royal Navy promptly bombarded Canton. When the local mandarin responded by burning every British business, Rear Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies and China Station, requested reinforcements in the form of a flotilla of gunboats and 5,000 troops from India, intending to occupy the city.

  Because of the Indian Mutiny, it was not until late the following year that the necessary resources became available. On 28 December 1857 Canton was again bombarded and by the New Year was firmly under British control. In the meantime the British government’s plenipotentiary, Lord Elgin, had been instructed to demand compensation for the lives lost and property damaged, strict observance of the Treaty of Nanking, and diplomatic representation at the Imperial Court. In the last he had the support of the French, who were ostensibly angered by the murder of one of their missionaries – though in reality more concerned that their own interests in China should not be overridden by the British – and were prepared to contribute modest forces, should the need arise. The United States and Russian governments, by now well aware of the benefits that would accrue from increased trade with China, also gave their approval.

  There were two major problems. The first was that the Imperial authorities denied access to the Forbidden City, deep in the heart of Peking, to all but a tiny handful of senior officials and mandarins, of whom only a very few were ever ushered into the divine presence of the Emperor himself. Therefore, went their reasoning, if the Chinese could not look upon the Son of Heaven themselves, it was unthinkable that barbarians from the world’s outer edges should be permitted to do so. Secondly, it was clear from Chinese intransigence that Elgin, with Seymour’s help, would only get what he wanted in Peking itself. That would involve an overland march of some 80 miles from Tientsin, lying at the junction of the Grand Canal with the Pei-ho river, 34 miles upstream from Taku, where the latter flowed between muddy banks into the Gulf of Chi-li.

  Aware of the expedition’s purpose, the Chinese had begun constructing mud-built shore batteries on both sides of the estuary. The work, however, had not progressed far when, in May 1858, Seymour’s ships began entering the river, so that when the Chinese guns opened fire they were quickly silenced by his gunboats. The expedition reached Tientsin without further incident and there the representatives of the Imperial government, anxious that no further face should be lost, readily concluded a treaty that accepted every one of Elgin’s demands, including the establishment of legations at Peking, recognition of the legitimacy of the opium traffic and the opening of further ports to foreign trade. Accordingly, Seymour withdrew and it seemed that the Second Opium War was over.

  Unfortunately the Chinese had no more intention of being bound by the Treaty of Tientsin than they had by the Treaty of Nanking. The Cantonese quickly began harassing British merchants again and the Pei-ho and Yang-tse river were closed to British shipping. By the spring of 1859 it had become apparent not only that the Imperial government would not permit foreign diplomats to reside in Peking, but also that the coast defence batteries covering the mouth of the Pei-ho at Taku had been developed into formidable fortresses. Obviously, the Imperial government had to be taught another sharp lesson.

  It was equally unfortunate that the officer who would have to administer this was Rear Admiral Sir James Hope, who had relieved Seymour as commander-in-chief in April 1859. Hope was certainly not lacking in courage, but his powers of judgement had been questioned during the Crimean War and could not be rel
ied upon. In fairness to him, however, once the decision had been made to force the entrance to the Pei-ho again, his options were very limited. The approach to the river mouth was restricted by mud flats to a navigable channel approximately 200 yards wide. In itself this would not have been an obstacle to progress had not the depth of water over the bar at high tide been limited to eleven feet, dropping to two feet at low tide. Thus, although larger warships were available, the task of subduing the Chinese defences would have to be left to the gunboats.

  In June he sailed north with eleven of them, HMS Plover, Banterer, Forester, Haughty, Janus, Kestrel, Lee, Opossum, Starling, Nimrod and Cormorant These wooden-hulled, shallow draught vessels had been built in large numbers during the Crimean War for service in the confined waters of the Baltic and Black Seas. They had a three-masted gaff rig but in action were driven by a single screw drawing power from a 40 or 60hp steam engine. Their varied armament included 68-, 32- and 24-pounder guns and 24-pounder howitzers; most of Hope’s flotilla carried four guns apiece, the exceptions being Nimrod and Cormorant , which carried six. Each had a crew of between 35 and 45 officers and men.