The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-08-28
His Eye Shot Out
In Retreat OF
Allies.
GRAPHIC STORY OF
AGERMAN OFFICER
Interview With Lieutenant Won
Krohn Of the Imperial
German Navy.

Lieutenant Won Krohn of the Imperial
German navy is in Honolulu en- route
from China to his home in Germany.
With an eye shot out by the Chinese
troops, the Lieutenant bears the marks
of and tells vivid story Of the trouble
some times in the Flowery Kingdom.
The officer was a member of the first
relief force which started from. Tien-
Tsrn for Peking under Admiral Sey-
mour. The story of the repulse Of that
little column which bravely stood the
test of modern machine guns and rifles
In the hands of Chinese foreign drilled
troops, is too well known for repetition.
except in the Lieutenants own words,
wherein he describes the fatal march
and the terrible trials which Admiral
Seymours force defended itse,f against
and the heavy odds of fanatical Boxers
and Imperial troops.
He is an otncer of the German cruiser
Gelou which stood off Taku and bonn
bs rded the forts there. With a force Of
400 MAJ il.aa and officers the lieutenant
debarked from the war vessel below
Taku on the 10th of June to join Ad-
miral Seymours force. They went by
railway from Taku to Tien-Tsin. On the
afternoon of the 10th the column start
ed. The nearest railway station from
TienTsin was found demolished, and
after that the troops had to march.
They marched until the Chinese had an
opportunity to creep in behind them
and cut off their communications with
Tien-Tsin. The railroad was demol-
ish in front of and behind them. Their
communications were as completely cut
off as If an oceans breadth spanned
= the distance between the relief column
and their base of supplies. For three
: days no word could be gotten through
the opposing lines to Tien-Tsin. Pro-
= visions began to get short. Admira
! Seymour then made up his minu tC
: as he moved back.
The railroad was destroyed both il
|, front and behind u.s." said Lieutenan
!. Won Krohn last night. We were In ;
i desperate plight. On the 18th we start
I ed back on that memorable retreat
content to save our own lives, let alon
2 those in beleaguered Peking. We ha,
d been eight days out and our forces ha,
{ seen much fighting. 1t was a terribl
o march. Just as we began to move bac
It we were attacked, the day after tn
= Taku forts were taken. Chinese I'm
, lperial troops coming from Peking wer
: the ones who poured in a CALLING fir
d upon US. We could not use the rail
[, road and so we went to the river i
:, order to transport our wounded o
!. Junk boats. The wounded were car
5. ried along with us and placed in tn
n junks together with what ammunitio
!. we had in reserve.
le What made 1t so difficult for us
get back to Tien-Tsin was that we ha
y very little ammunition and were nc
q prepared for a siege campaign. On tn
~ other hand we had to attack the vi
v. lagos We came across. These WEI
er filled with Boxers, who bitterly oppose
al our retreat. They were armed wit
l. modern rifles. smokeless powder, an
Ct in some cases. machine guns. The
n fired at us from the tops of trees ar
the roofs of houses. On the 22d "
IL started early in the night because "
ie knew we had to fight the Chinese fore,
n along the river. At o'clock in I'll
IN morning we came upon Chinese trool
]. at Chez Ku at a distance of about se'
or en- miles from Tien-Tsin. Until the
q we did not realize that the hostil
about US were Imperial troops. "
ali soon learned that a regular, model
,e. drilled army was attempting to chez
ny us In re-establishing our base of cor
ey munications. We went along the rive
on On the opposite side of the river, n
as eighty yards away was a Chinese fol
We saw the Chinese soldiers standil
o. by the guns as IL ready for actio
so but they did not attempt to fire up
n US AS nothing happened when +,
He first came upon them, we thought tn
ne were ordered not to fight u.s. One
ty our officers stepped forward and hail
IIe them and asked them if any of the
re officers could converse in a forei
wo tongue.
n For answer they suddenly turn
upon US terrible fire from guns a
ric rifles. II swerved our troops for
To- instant. The fire was so close and
calling shat IL was wonderful to
IN how our men stood it. We sought sh
fill ter from the balching guns at first. a
for then commenced to silence the gu
by picking off the gunners by rife fl