The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 15: Second Imperial Chinese Infantry Unit of the Tenacious Army

Imperial Chinese defend a barricade at the Battle of Tientsin which inflicted the heaviest Allied casualties of the War.

The "Tenacious Army" under the command of Captain General Nieh Shih Ch'ing was an infantry force of 30 battalions of infantry with two "brigades" of artillery modelled on German standards and organization. During the Boxer Rebellion it was stationed near the key city of Tientsin with approximately 13,000 men. It was well armed with Mauser rifles, Maxim machine guns and artillery.

Most, but not all, Imperial infantry wore blue uniforms of various shades.

Infantry Unit number 2 for my Imperial Chinese Army Field Force for The Men Who Would be Kings are again figures from the The Taiping Rebellion range of figures from Wargames Foundry. They are from packs CH021 Ever Victorious Army Command and Characters,  CH023 Ever Victorious Army Infantry and CH021 Ever Victorious Army Command and Characters.

Anonymous Chinese woodblock. Bodies thrown into the sky as Dong Fuxiang's Muslim troops attack Western forces at Tianjin.

The larger Chinese banner is from Crusader Miniatures and the smaller one on top is hand made.

Soldiers of the Imperial army wore various styles of turbans and Manchu hats.

This figure is painted as wearing "Mongolian" boots.

 

The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 14: Imperial Chinese Artillery Crew

Chinese artillery crewman (and one extra general) from Wargames Foundry.

I haven't had so much fun researching and putting together an army since the Perry Miniatures Plastic Afghan Tribesman pushed me to do a Pashtun Field Force to fight the British Raj on the Northwest Frontier. Whew. I'm glad I go that off my chest. On with the next unit in my Imperial Chinese Field Force to use with The Men Who Would be Kings (and of course other Colonial Rules).

As part of Phase 1 of my Chinese Imperial Army for the Boxer Rebellion (actually a Wargames Foundry Order) I really liked the artillery crewman from Foundry's Taiping Rebellion line. I purchased CH024 Ever Victorious Army Artillery Crew which can be used for any Chinese army from 1860 to the early 20th Century.

The Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), the last imperial dynasty of China, saw the introduction of new firearms and military technologies as the empire faced increasing challenges from foreign powers. Despite the Qing Dynasty’s reluctance to modernize, significant strides were made in the use of firearms and cannon artillery. By the late Qing period, China had seen the introduction of bolt-action rifles, repeating firearms, and machine guns, largely through foreign influence. However, the Qing military was slow to adopt these technologies on a large scale, which contributed to the empire’s vulnerability during the Opium Wars, the Taiping Rebellion, the First Sino-Japanese War and the Boxer Rebellion.

I added the bucket to this figure. The bucket is with the accessory sprue that comes with the figures pack. I had to do some filing on the hand to make it fit; though not a perfect, it does look great at gaming distance.

During the period I am gaming, the Chinese made attempts to modernize around the turn of the century and bought artillery from several nations. Between 1895 and 1900 the Chinese purchased from British companies 71 fortress guns and 123 field gun. By the time of the Boxer Rebellion, the Chinese had also received 8.7cm Krupp M1886 field guns as well as 12cm and 15cm breech loaders from Krupp. They also purchased field guns from Japan and France. 

He grew up listening to stories of glory from his grandfather and now proudly wears the ancient uniform. General Li Shimin from Wargames Foundry pack CH001 Chinese Command and drafted into the artillery.

In addition, the Chinese had 200 Krupp mountain guns and some of the 7cm L/14 model. Other mountain guns were purchased from Austria-Hungary and France. Supply and training issues with the wide variety of field pieces were common; and, unfortunately, many Chinese armies preferred to use the old muzzle loaders. Even thought there were challenges, some Western observers (and the Japanese) observed that during the Second Peking Relief expedition, the Chinese artillerymen in the Tenacious Army and the Kansu Braves had learned how to use their German bought Krupp artillery accurately (sometimes outperforming European gunners).

So much artillery. Now I need to find a gun.

The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 13: Captain General Nieh Shih-ch'eng of the Tenacious Army

聂士成

Nieh Shih-ch'eng (Wade-Giles version of name; see, I've been researching!) was a Chinese general of the Qing dynasty who served the imperial government during the Boxer Rebellion. Rising from obscure origins from Hefei, Anhui Province, in the early 1850s, Nieh Shih-ch'eng managed to pass the county examinations for bureaucratic positions, but due to the Taiping rebellion he was forced to abandon a bureaucratic career and become a soldier. Oh no! Forced to abandon bureaucratic misery (and graft) and be an honorable man and soldier!

In the late 1850s, Nie was in the service of Yuan Jiasan (the father of Yuan Shikai) against rebel forces in the Nian Rebellion, under whom he was commissioned as a lieutenant and then in the Huai Army in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion, at the end of which he was promoted to general. He went on to serve Sino-French War of 1885, the suppression of minor revolts against the Qing dynasty, First Sino-Japanese War, and the Boxer Rebellion.

Throughout his career, Nieh Shih-ch'eng attempted to reform Chinese military forces to be more effective and along Western lines. Following China's loss in the First Sino-Japanese War, Nieh Shih-ch'eng was able to restructure his army and it renamed as the Wuwei Front Division. Trained by Russian military advisers and equipped with German and Russian weaponry, it was considered the most modern of the Qing armies of the time.

Nieh was not an active participant in the political intrigues of the Qing court, but was considered politically conservative and supported Empress Dowager Cixi against the Hundred Days' Reform. In his suppression of the Boxer Rebellion, Nie was in an ambiguous position. On one hand, as a general in the Qing army, he pursued a vigorous offensive against rebel guerilla forces in early 1900. Condemned by the pro-Boxer faction of the imperial court, Nie achieved impressive success inflicting large numbers of casualties during the year.

On the other hand, he could not accept the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance so he fought against the Alliance forces. Because Nie's forces killed so many Boxers, it was Dong Fuxiang's Kansu Braves who instead allied with the Boxers to oppose the Seymour Expedition, a multinational force of over 2,000 men, in its march to Beijing.

On 9 July 1900, while personally leading a counterattack against Russian forces under the command of General Anatoly Stessel in the Battle of Tientsin, Nie was fatally wounded when an artillery shell exploded nearby.

Japanese soldiers attacking during Battle of Tientsin.

In the Nankai District of Tianjin in present-day China, a "Nie Shicheng Martyrs Monument" is located in the area, to General Nie Shichen who died in battle in the Boxer Rebellion at the Battle of Tientsin.

Nie Shicheng Martyr's Monument.

This was a fun little vignette to make. I had some extra figures from Phase 1 (Wargames Foundry purchase); one of which was a general or senior official of the Qing dynasty. In addition I used my small hobby drill to make a hole in an extra artilleryman carrying ammunition and also had an extra infantryman to represent the general's body guard.

The above is the figure before I decided to make a "higher" command base for my Qing forces. Higher commands are not used in The Men Who Would be Kings but I know many people have house rules to include them in larger games. Senior officials would have various animals in the cloth patches depending on their rank; there was no way I was going to attempt that so I just painted what I thought would look good at gaming distance.

I found this image of Nieh Shih-ch'eng by an unattributed artist after I painted the figure. I'm going to look for a figure like this because it just looks cool.

Here is the artilleryman who is now a standard bearer. Don't look toooooo closely at his hands! Before I mounted the figure on the base I touched up the flag and a few places on his uniform. The flag is from North Star Military Figures on the Crusader Miniatures site under the Boxer Rebellion.

The base is from Litko and I used a hobby knife to line out the cobblestones and various greys and shades on the cobblestones. Add some hobby sand, figures, static grass and lichen and it doesn't look to bad.

I forgot to mention that the gong is from Pulp Figures.

Next: The Artillery.

The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 12: First Imperial Chinese Infantry Unit

Figures from Wargames Foundry.

HUZZAH! I have finished my first Infantry Unit for The Men Who Would be Kings (TMWWBK). As previously mentioned I'm basing my Imperial Chinese Field Force on the Imperial forces that faced the Second Relief Expedition led by General Sir Alfred Gaselee, GCB, GCIE.

Imperial Army lieuntenant with the Qing Dynasty Banner. Banner can be purchased from North Star Military Figures.

The recommend size for Regular and Irregular Infantry units in TMWWBK is 12 figures. I decided that the first unit would look more "traditional" with primarily the classic Manchu hat and uniforms.

Another banner bearer, the commanding officer and a drummer (duh!).

Uniforms are a bit more fancier than what I am used to painting and take more time - but it is well worth the effort.

They are ready to repel enemies internal and external.