The Chinese army numbered an estimated 15,000 in Tientsin plus Boxers armed with swords, spears, and antique guns, although the number of Boxer combatants was diminishing rapidly as the movement was fading back into the countryside from where it came.
Nie Shicheng and Ma Yukun commanded the forces against the Alliance, raining precise and intense ordnance against the Tientsin concessions [REF].