Eight - Nation Alliance , United States , , Austria - Hungary , The Eight - Nation Alliance , also known as the Eight Power Expedition , was an alliance of Austria - Hungary , France , Germany , Italy , Japan , Russia , the United Kingdom , and the United States , whose military forces intervened in China during the Boxer Uprising and relieved the siege of diplomatic legations in Peking ( Beijing ) in the summer of 1900 . Background and Main Events . The Boxers , a peasant movement , had attacked and killed foreign missionaries , nationals , and Chinese Christians across northern China from c . 1899 to 1900 . The Qing government and Imperial Army supported the Boxers and under the Manchu general Ronglu , besieged foreign diplomats and civilians taking refuge in the Legation Quarter in Peking . After failing in its initial attempt to relieve the Legation Quarter , in August 1900 the Allied force marched to Peking from Tianjin , defeated the Qing Imperial Army Wuwei Troop in several engagements , and brought an end to the Boxer Rebellion and the siege . The members of the Alliance then occupied Peking and proceeded to loot and pillage the capital . The forces consisted of approximately 45 , 000 international troops . At the end of the campaign , the Qing Imperial government signed the Boxer Protocol of 1901 . Siege of the International Legations and the North Cathedral . The diplomatic compound in Peking was under siege by the Wuwei Rear Troop of the Chinese army and some Boxers ( " Yihetuan " ) , for 55 days , from June 20 to August 14 . A total of 473 foreign civilians , 409 soldiers from eight countries , and about 3 , 000 Chinese Christians took refuge in the Legation Quarter . Under the command of the British minister to China , Claude Maxwell MacDonald , the legation staff and security personnel defended the compound with small arms and one old muzzle - loaded cannon discovered and unearthed by Chinese Christians who turned it over to the allies ; it was nicknamed the " International Gun " because the barrel was British , the carriage Italian , the shells Russian , and the crew American . Also under siege in Peking was the North Cathedral , the Beitang of the Catholic Church . The Beitang was defended by 43 French and Italian soldiers , 33 foreign Catholic priests and nuns , and about 3 , 200 Chinese Catholics . The defenders suffered heavy casualties from lack of food and Chinese mines that exploded in tunnels dug beneath the compound . Member nations . Austria - Hungary . The Austro - Hungarian Navy sent two training ships , the cruisers SMS " Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " , ' , " SMS Aspern " , and ' , and a company of marines to the North China coast in April 1900 , based at the Russia concession of Port Arthur . In June , the Austro - Hungarians helped hold the Tianjin railway against Boxer forces and also fired upon several armed junks on the Hai River near Tong - Tcheou in Peking . They also took part in the seizure of the Taku Forts commanding the approaches to Tianjin , and the boarding and capture of four Chinese destroyer s by Capt . Roger Keyes of . The Austro - Hungarians suffered minimal casualties during the rebellion . After the Boxer uprising , a cruiser was maintained permanently on the Chinese coastline and a detachment of marines was deployed at the embassy in Peking ( Beijing ) . Lieutenant Georg Ludwig von Trapp , made famous in the 1959 musical " The Sound of Music " , was decorated for bravery aboard " SMS Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia " during the rebellion . British Empire . British forces , the third - largest contingent in the international alliance , were largely from India , and consisted of the following units : Naval Brigade , 12th Battery Royal Field Artillery , Hong Kong & Singapore Artillery , 2nd Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers , 1st Bengal Lancers , 7th Rajput Infantry , 24th Punjab Infantry , 1st Sikh Infantry , Hong Kong Regiment , 1st Chinese Regiment , Royal Engineers , and other support personnel . Australia . Several of the Australian colonies sent contingents of naval and army personnel to support the British contingent , i . e . South Australia sent its entire navy : the gunboat HMAS " Protector " . While not officially part of the eight - nation alliance , Australia supplied matériel and troops to the eight - nation alliance . India . Britain provided 10 , 000 troops , of which a large part were Indian troops , made out of units of Baluchis , Sikhs , Gurkhas , Rajputs , and Punjabis . Germany . Two German missionaries were murdered in China in 1897 . In response , Germany seized Kiaochow with the port of Tsingtao for use as a naval base and trading port . Tsingtao was governed and garrisoned by the Imperial German Navy . The garrison consisted of Naval Artillery batteries and the 3rd Sea battalion of Marine Infantry . When the Boxer Rebellion broke out , III . Seebatallione sent a small group of soldiers to Peking and Tientsin to protect German interests , while the majority stayed behind to prevent attacks against Tsingtao . The siege of the foreign legations in Peking soon convinced Germany and the other European Powers that more forces were needed to be sent to China . The first troops to arrive from Germany were the I . and II . Seebatallione , soon followed by the East Asian Expeditionary Corps . France . Indochinese French Forces were dispatched from French Indochina . Italy . Italian forces were initially made up from sailors from warships . However , a larger contingent was later dispatched from Italy , including 83 officers , 1 , 882 troops , and 178 horses . Japan . Japan provided the largest contingent of troops ; 20 , 840 , as well as 18 warships . Of the total number , 20 , 300 were Imperial Japanese Army troops of the 5th Infantry Division under Lt . General Yamaguchi Motoomi ; the remainder were 540 naval " rikusentai " from the Imperial Japanese Navy . Russia . Russia supplied the second largest force after Japan , with 12 , 400 troops , consisting mainly of garrisons from Port Arthur and Vladivostok . United States . In the United States , the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion was known as the " China Relief Expedition " . The United States was able to play a major role in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion largely due to the presence of American forces deployed in the Philippines since the US annexation of the Philippines in 1898 . Of the foreign troops under siege , there were 56 American sailors and marines from the USS " Oregon " and USS " Newark " . The main American formations deployed were the 9th Infantry and 14th Infantry regiments , elements of the 6th Cavalry regiment , the 5th Artillery regiment , and a marine battalion , all under the command of Adna Chaffee . Aftermath . As previously mentioned , troops of the eight aforementioned nations invaded and occupied Beijing on August 14 , 1900 . Empress Dowager Cixi , the Emperor , and high government officials fled the Imperial Palace for Xi ' an and sent Li Hongzhang for peace talks with the Alliance . In a research article , Kenneth Clark states : " Following the taking of Peking , troops from the international force looted the capital city and even ransacked the Forbidden City , with many Chinese treasures finding their way back to Europe . " Atrocities . An unknown number of people believed to be Boxers were beheaded both during and after the uprising . This became the subject of an early short film . Despite photographs depicting such actions , there is a widespread denial today of such activity committed upon the Chinese people by western forces . A U . S . Marine wrote that he saw German and Russian troops bayonet women after raping them . An anti - Catholic libel or Black Legend alleges that , in Beijing , Bishop Pierre - Marie - Alphonse Favier - Duperron allegedly posted a bulletin to the effect that in the first 8 days after August 18 , Catholic Christians might steal life necessities , and declared that robbery of within 50 taels of silver needed neither reporting nor compensation . Atrocities were also carried out by the Boxers themselves . A large number of Christians were killed before the rebellion . A group of Orthodox Christians killed are still commemorated today as the Holy Martyrs of China . References . Books . Ĵ