The Battle of Shanhaiguan was a battle where Boxers and Imperial army troops engaged in combat against British forces.

Chinese Forces

Chinese forces original stationed at Shanhaiguan was the left division, its commanding officer was General Song Qing. It consisted of two battalions, one under General Ma Yukun, however, both withdrew to Tianjin

Tianjin

' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...

 in June and July before the battle, which they did not participate in. In June Ma Yukun then received orders from Empress Dowager Cixi to enter Beiing, to crush the Boxer rebels along the way.

Battle

Part of the Great Wall, the "old dragon head", was destroyed during the battle by the British during a sea attack. In response, Chinese Boxer forces responded with a counterstrike and destroyed the railroad nearby.

In September, Shanhaiguan was occupied by Britain, which wanted to prevent Russia from entering the area.