All of these forces were menaced by thousands of "Boxers", members of an indigenous peasant movement that aimed to end foreign influence in China.

On June 15, Chinese forces deployed electric mines in the Hai River before the battle to prevent the Eight-Nation Alliance from sending ships to attack.

[2] However, Kempff agreed that an aging American gunboat, the USS Monocacy, could be stationed near the forts as a place of refuge for civilians in the vicinity.

Only ten ships, including the non-combatant Monocacy, could cross over the banks at the river’s mouth to enter the Hai River—two hundred yards wide—from where the four forts could be occupied or assaulted.

[3] The Chinese did not wait for the expiration of the deadline but opened fire from the forts with every single gun at the Allied ships simultaneously at about 00:45 on June 17.

The Monocacy, despite its distance from the battle and the assurances of its officers to the 37 women and children aboard that they were “in a position of absolute safety” took a Chinese shell in its bow which hurt nobody.

Chinese gunnery from the forts aimed at the ships was accurate, also hitting HMS Whiting, SMS Iltis, and Lion and driving Giliak aground.

These warships could have easily overpowered the Allied ships,[citation needed] but inexplicably they remained docked even after the Chinese opened fire.

[12] The artillery duel continued inconclusively until nearly dawn, when the Allies stripped their ships of crew and mounted a ground assault on the Northwest Fort.

In a bit of luck for the allies, the gunpowder magazine exploded just as the ground assault began, and in the confusion afterwards the Japanese had the honor of storming the fort.

The first reports of the battle arriving in Beijing from Governor Lu Yu in Tianjin emphasized the positive—and failed to mention to the Empress Dowager Cixi that the allies had captured the forts.