Sessional_Paper_1899 — Page 574

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RETALLICK started at 2 a.n., arriving there at mid-day on the 16th. The route over the Kowloon Pass was bad mareling and thence to Sha Tin also bad, but it was known to Colonel RETALLICK and his officers so that no serions difficulty was to be anticipated.

5. Captain SIMMONDS, R.A., with his company of the Hongkong-Singapore Battalion R.A., arrived about the same time, his guns having been sent round by sea under escort.

6. His Excellency the Governor on the night of the 15th ultimo determined to antedate by a day the hoisting of the British Flag and the taking over the Kowloon Territory in order that he might be in a position to at once assume the power of administering the Hinterland and promptly quell disturbances under the authority of the Queen's Government. The ceremony was performed at 3 p.m. on the 16th April, 1899, under Your Excellency's Military Command.

Before leaving Hongkong on this mission Your Excellency most kindly intimated to me your desire to entrust me with the Command of the Kowloon Field Force whenever you might decide upon leaving Táipó on return to Hong- kong, and at 3 p.m. on the 17th ultimo you handed over to me this command. I have already orally expressed to Your Excellency my gratitude for this mark of confidence in me and beg to reiterate my thanks.

7. I now have the honour to report in detail on the operations that took place after my assumption of Command.

On the 17th ultimo at 4 p.. very heavy hostile Artillery fire was heard from the direction of Chung Uk Ts'ün. Captain BERGER, with 250 men of the Hongkong Regiment, had already gone to Shelter Trench Hill (the Chinese had constructed here a very creditable two hour shelter trench made on orthodox principles evidently under Military supervision) to dislodge the enemy who had taken up a position with guns on the crest of Wa Mi Hill and who had been firing at our camp, at 2,500 yards range, for some time. He swung to the left, entered the village of Fong Ma Po, closely followed by Lieut. BARRETT with a reserve comprising soldiers of the Hongkong Regiment.

BERGER soon became hotly engaged; his force with the Reserve was amply sufficient to meet all eventualities, and I left him full control of the infantry. He carried out the work in a most praiseworthy, soldierly manner.

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I now ascertained that the enemy was retiring slowly in a S.W. direction through the Lam Ts'un Valley keeping up a bot Artillery and Rifle fire. I sent word to Captain SIMMONDS to co-operate with BERGER with his guns. SIMMONDS unfortunately took a wrong turn moving East towards Fan Ling instead of to the S.W. He afterwards explained that he had got his guns to Fong Ma Pó; that his coolies were weary; that night was coming on, and that finding that he could not keep pace with the infantry over the broken ground and believing that bis presence in the Fan Ling Valley would lend effectual aid to the Camp and cover BERGER'S retirement, if necessary, he took up the best available position and bivouacked for the night. He had a company of the Hongkong-Singapore Batta- lion R.A. and a strong escort from the Hongkong Regiment, so his safety was assured.

In a tactical sense it was unfortunate that SIMMONDS had not kept touch with BERGER. His guns would have been very effective in dislodging the enemy from some very strong positions they took up on crests of hills in the Lani Ts'un Valley. As events, however, turned ont, the guns were not required, for the Hongkong Regi- ment Soldiers drove back the enemy from hill to bill and working admirably, like true Indian Frontier fighting men, they took full advantage of cover while continuing hotly the pursuit of the foe.

Had this advance not been conducted with great care the loss to our troops must have been heavy.

The Chinese tired almost incessantly for 14 hours, pouring in round shot 3 inches in diameter from inuzzle loaders and dropping musketry fire all about our inen. Fortunately the configuration of the country favoured cover and our casualties were few. I regret to say that Major BROWN, R.A.M.C., was slightly wounded in the right upper arm by a spent bullet. He returned to camp at Táipó at 11 p.m. making light of his wound, which rendered his return to Hongkong necessary, and which I now hear has been very painful.