At 02:00 on June 21, this small combined force set out for Tientsin, a large enemy held city along the route to Peking, arrayed against a Chinese contingent of some 1,500 to 2,000 men. Outnumbered from the start, the column came under heavy enemy fire and was forced to retreat, with the Russians in the lead. In a desperate rearguard action, Waller and his marines—leaving their dead behind and dragging their wounded with them—fought off the numerically superior (but less aggressive) Chinese forces and reached safety.