Wanhsien incident

The Wanhsien incident of 1926 was a series of maritime conflicts on the river Yangtze, between British merchant shipping and regional Chinese military leaders, culminating in a battle with Royal Navy gunboats.^[1][2]

In 1926, while China was in the midst of a civil war, Sichuan province, surrounded by mountains, was fighting its own civil war in which local militants were backed by various Chinese warlords. In May, Chinese Marshal Wu Peifu, facing an imminent threat from Chiang Kai Shek's Northern Expedition campaign, appointed General Yang Sen as the governor of Sichuan. The latter had used British commercial shipping to transport troops along stretches of the river Yangtze. On August 27 he attempted to board large numbers of his soldiers onto the China Navigation Company steamer Wanhsien, which was anchored at the city of that name, now Wanzhou. The captain of nearby gunboat HMS Cockchafer went aboard and persuaded the Chinese officers involved to disembark with their troops. On 29 August at Yunyang an attempt was made by Chinese troops to board the steamer Wanliu, and in the confusion two sampans were sunk as the ship took avoiding action and proceeded upstream to anchor near Cockchafer. At this time General Yang Sen personally took over Wanhsien with his troops, followed by taking over the newly arrived steamer Wantung also. Yang demanded compensation for soldiers drowned and monetary loss incurred when the two sampans had been sunk.

The British consul from Chungking, and Commander Acheson RN were unable to broker a negotiation with the defiant Yang. The latter emplaced reinforcements and field artillery along both banks of the river.

Considering that the crews of the two merchant vessels were in extreme danger, and with the public killing of a Chinese Royal Navy sailor, it was decided to take forceful naval action to regain the ships. Gunboat HMS Widgeon arrived, then chartered armed steamer Kiawo, to reinforce HMS Cockchafer. On 5 September these three vessels attempted to board the two occupied river steamers. The Chinese fought back ferociously on the ships, and opened fire from the riverside. The British gunners responded, and a substantial local battle developed.^[3] After rescuing the crews, but unable to secure the steamers, the three Royal Navy vessels withdrew. Seven naval and one merchant sailor had been killed, with numerous wounded. Chinese casualty figures were not released.

The Chinese government made a formal protest at the bombardment of a civil port. The matter was discussed in the UK Parliament, with Foreign Secretary Sir Austen Chamberlain declaring that the Royal Navy action was against engaged military targets.^[4]

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