Chinese dynastic history that an imperial concubine divorced an emperor. Russian concession (1900–1920) A treaty granting a concession to the Russian Empire in Tianjin was signed 31 December 1900. Even before the official treaty was signed, the general in charge of the Russian forces in the city since the Boxer Rebellion had already laid claim to the future concession by right of conquest and Russian troops had already begun placing boundary markers. The concession, on the left bank of the Peiho River, was larger than any of the other foreign concessions, which according to the agreement was due to "Russian trade at Tientsin being on the increase". In reality, Russian economic involvement in Tientsin was insignificant and became even more so after the Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. For this reason, the concession remained largely underdeveloped. The concession was divided into two non-contiguous districts (east and west). In 1920, the Chinese Beiyang government retook the land and concession from Russia during its widescale civil war, and in 1924 the Soviet Union renounced its claim on the concession. American concession (1869–1902) The United States never requested or received a concession in Tianjin, but a de facto concession was administered from 1869 to 1880, principally under the aegis of the British mission. In 1902, the informal American territory became part of the British concession. The United States maintained a permanent garrison at Tianjin, which was provided from January 1912 to 1938 by the 15th Infantry, US Army and then by the US Marine Corps until December 8, 1941, the day that the United States entered the Second World War and all territories of the United States and the British Empire in Asia and the Pacific faced the threat of attack by the Empire of Japan. Lloyd Horne recalled of his time there in the 1930s, "I was detailed with the 15th Infantry to rescue missionaries that were being trapped there. It was like they were prisoners — they couldn't even come out of their billets without getting fired on or having rocks thrown at them." Annex Lists of consuls-general Austro-Hungarian consuls-general Carl Bernauer (1901–1908) Erwin Ritter von Zach (1908) Miloslav Kobr (1908–1912) Hugo Schumpeter (1913–1917) Belgian consuls-general Henri Ketels (1902–1906) Albert Disière (1906–1914) Auguste Dauge (1914–1919) Ernest Franck (1919–1923) Alphonse van Cutsem (1923–1929) Tony Snyers (1929–1931) British consuls-general James Mongan (1860–1877) William Hyde Lay (1870, acting) Sir Chaloner Grenville Alabaster (1877–1885)