A combination of national disasters and colonial exploitation led to a crisis in China at the end of the 19th century. Sensing that the time was ripe for change, the Chinese nationalist Yihetuan launched the “Boxer Rebellion”, against foreigners in general and Christian missionaries in particular. It acquired its name due to the well-toned, boxer-like, physique of the insurgents, developed through their devotion to traditional martial arts.

An alliance of the United States, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Russia assembled a military force and dispatched it to crush the uprising. The German contingent was an East Asian Expeditionary Corps assembled for this purpose. During a farewell ceremony for the troops, Emperor William II gave a speech in which he compared the desired effect of the German soldiers to that of the Huns and called on his soldiers to show no mercy. The “Hun speech” severely damaged Germany’s international reputation and the comparison to the Huns featured heavily in anti-German propaganda in the following decades.