Foreign Invaders' Control of China: Hua Yong Camp of British Army in Late Qing Dynasty

In the 24th year of Guangxu reign (1 July, 8981day), on May 13th, Qing * * * and Britain * * * signed the Special Article on Reservation for Ahava. The Qing court agreed to lease 10 miles of Ahava coast and sea surface to Britain for 25 years. At the same time, the British were allowed to build forts and station troops. Ahava became a British naval base in the Far East. At that time, the British authorities who ruled Ahava decided to follow their Indian rule, control China with Chinese, recruit local people to form mercenaries, and take charge of the security and defense of ahava Concession.

In October of the 24th year of Guangxu, the British War Department first recruited some professional non-commissioned officers such as trumpeters and translators from Shanghai and Hongkong, and then began to set up the "China Corps" in Ahava. At the end of the year, it officially became an army, and finally * * * established 12 company and 1200 positions. "China Legion" is fully equipped, including machine gun company, pike company, cavalry team, artillery team, as well as translators, bands and health teams. Colonel Bower, a British officer, is the head of the team, and all officers above the rank of commandant are transferred from the British regular army. The regiment was well equipped with weapons, including Martini Henry rifles and even Maxim machine guns, which were the most advanced in the world at that time. After strict military training, the "China Legion" was stationed all over Ahava, and was called "Hua Yong Camp" by Ahava locals.

In May of the 26th year of Guangxu, Lieutenant General Seymour, commander-in-chief of British navy in China and Eight-Nation Alliance, decided to call Weiyi Wei Hua Yong Camp to support Eight-Nation Alliance. The British army replaced the original mercenary costume of Huayong Camp with the British military uniform, and incorporated Huayong Camp into the combat force series in the name of "the First Army Corps of the British Army". In late May, more than 400 soldiers from Huayongying arrived in Dagu Port, Tianjin. They joined forces with the British Hong Kong Regiment (composed of Hong Kong "Hua Yong Team" and Hong Kong Indian mercenaries) and the Royal Hong Kong Artillery (mainly Indian mercenaries) to become the main force of British troops in Eight-Nation Alliance. In mid-June, Eight-Nation Alliance launched a large-scale attack on Tientsin. On the first day of June, "China Legion" cooperated with Russian troops to capture and destroy Beiyang Arsenal in North China. On June 18, the "China Legion" blew up the wall of Tianjin together with the Japanese death squads, becoming the only British representative who first occupied Tianjin. Since then, the "China Legion" was ordered by the Allies to take over the ship. The soldiers of "China Legion" collected more than 100 large ships and a group of boatmen on the spot, which provided important means of transportation for the allied forces to go north along the canal and made "great contributions" for the allied forces to attack Beijing.

After the "China Legion" entered Beijing, it implemented post-war management according to the areas allocated by Eight-Nation Alliance. They took some actions against the brutal looting of Russian troops in their jurisdiction and restored the market order in this area earlier. The wartime performance of the "China Legion" was praised by the British army. In order to praise their "bravery and good fighting", the British War Department designed a military emblem with the pattern of Tianjin Gate for them: the Chinese character "Tianjin" is on the vault of the gate, and it is spelled "China Legion" in English below. This is an honor that no other British colonial army has. This military emblem is not only used as a cap badge and collar badge, but also embedded in buttons and printed on tea sets, stationery and postcards. 1902, the British army also selected 12 officers and men to attend the coronation ceremony of King Edward VII of England on behalf of Huayong Camp.

Most of the above-mentioned historical materials and pictures in this article come from the reports of the British media at that time, and the memoirs of Captain Barnes, an Englishman who worked in Huayong Camp, but there is no corresponding record in the authoritative historical books in China. 1In August, 905, Britain and Japan signed an alliance treaty again, which greatly relieved Ahava's defense pressure and made Huayong Camp lose its existence value. In May of the thirty-second year of Guangxu, this once popular mercenary unit was dissolved. Although Hua Yong Camp has been recognized and rewarded by the British army, in the eyes of many people in China, they have been branded as "traitors". Since then, most of the soldiers of Yong Camp have been recruited by the British to fight in South Africa and serve as gold mine police. The reason why they are willing to leave their hometown is probably related to their experience and mood. Most of them eventually died in a foreign land, and this history is like a fog.