Around two thousand members of the allied forces led by Vice Admiral Edward Hobart Seymour of the British marines headed for Beijing at the beginning of June by repairing and marching along the Beijing-Tianjin Railway (Beijing to Tianjin) but this proved to be slow, and progress was hindered by the Boxers as well as 甘軍 of the official Qing dynasty army led by Dong Fuxiang at Langfang, and they were forced to retreat to Tianjin.
六月初旬にはイギリス海軍中将シーモア（EdwardHobartSeymour）率いる連合軍約2000名が北京を目指したが、義和団によって破壊された京津鉄道（北京－天津間）を修繕しながら進軍したため、その歩みは遅く、また廊坊という地では義和団及び清朝正規兵董福祥の甘軍によって阻まれ、天津への退却を余儀なくされた。