Wanhsien Incident (Wanhsien Attack) - Royal Navy Gunboats in China

THE WANHSIEN INCIDENT

The Wanhsien Incident occurred on September 5, 1926 and involved a military confrontation between British naval forces and Chinese ground troops. At the time of the incident Chang Kai-shek had subdued much of southern China and was advancing northward to the Yangtze river. A northern warlord, Marshal Wu Pei Fu, controlled an area encompassing Wanhsien (modern day Wangxian) a river port some 1,500 miles up the Yangtze from Shanghai. Wu's local commander was General Yang Sen and the confrontation that emerged was primarily a result of Yang's actions.

The trouble began on August 27, 1926 at Wanhsien when the crew of HMS Cockchafer heard shouts for help coming from a British flagged merchant vessel, SS Wanhsien, anchored nearby (SS Wanhsien confusingly shares the same name as the river port where most of the following events occurred). Lieutenant Commander Leon Acheson of HMS Cockchafer took a sampan to investigate and, upon boarding SS Wanhsien, discovered General Yang Sen's divisional commander, Kuo Gu Tung (sometimes Kuo Ku Tung), and 100 Chinese soldiers.

During this period, military forces in China were regularly faced with the prospect of crossing the Yangtze. This was not an easy task and any merchant vessels that happened to be present were generally commandeered as troop transports. Upon boarding SS Wanhsien Acheson learned that Kuo intended to commandeer SS Wanhsien as a troop transport. Acheson immediately protested the invasion on the basis that use of a British flagged vessel could be viewed as British involvement in Chinese internal affairs. After a heated argument Kuo and his forces withdrew from SS Wanhsien, but the stage was set for further conflict.

On August 29, 1926 at Yunyang, some 40 miles below Wanhsien, another British flagged merchant ship, SS Wanliu, was boarded by 16 Chinese soldiers while discharging passengers to shore. To prevent the unauthorized invasion Wanliu's Captain, W. G. Lalor, steamed away from shore leaving sampans full of Chinese soldiers behind. Two sampans containing Chinese troops in pursuit of the Wanliu collided and one of them capsized. Conflicting reports exist as to whether the Chinese troops were plucked from the water by the armada of pursuing sampans, or drowned, but the actual facts of the incident soon became unimportant as exaggerated stories spread onshore that the Wanliu had intentionally rammed the sampan.

Aboard the Wanliu things quickly became unpleasant as the Chinese soldiers on the vessel attempted to take her. Piracy on the Yangtze had become a significant problem in recent years and merchant vessels were regularly equipped with iron gates etc. so that any force attacking a vessel could not assume control of the ship. The Chinese soldiers were therefore foiled in their attempt to commandeer the Wanliu as they were unable to reach the bridge. Captain Lalor made steam upriver to Wanhsien. Upon her arrival, HMS Cockchafer sent a boarding party to the ship and the offending soldiers were expelled. SS Wanliu then steamed away upriver leaving her troubles in Wanhsien behind her.

Meanwhile, the exaggerated reports about what had happened at Yunyang reached Wanhsien. General Yang Sen immediately sent 400 troops as a boarding party and took SS Wanhsien, which happened to be moored at Wanhsien. The British merchant officers were locked up on the ship and, several hours later when the British merchant vessel SS Wantung moored at Wanhsien, she was taken also. Significant numbers of Chinese troops with artillery assembled on the shore and HMS Cockchafer, still present at Wanhsien, realized that the situation was spinning out of control. The intention of General Yang was soon made clear when several members of Cockchafer's Chinese crew, then onshore, were arrested. One of these poor individuals was savagely murdered at the water front in view of the Cockchafer's crew.

SS Wanhsien

SS Wantung and HMS Falcon
(Photograph taken much later than events discussed)

Yang refused to negotiate with Lieutenant Commander Acheson of HMS Cockchafer. The senior officer on the Upper Yangtze, Commander P. F. P. Berryman, was in charge of HMS Widgeon and she made steam for Wanhsien. In the meantime HMS Cockchafer sat at Wanhsien in an uneasy standoff with the overwhelming Chinese troops.

On September 1, 1926 HMS Widgeon arrived at Wanhsien. Negotiations did not go well and Yang refused Berryman's offer to retain the two merchant vessels pending an enquiry into the events of the sampan sinking at Yunyang. Yang's nominal superior, Marshall Wu Pei Fu, sent communications to Yang advising him to end the standoff, but Wu's advice was ignored as Wu was presently being driven from his stronghold at Nanyang by Chang Kai-shek.

HMS Cockchafer at Ichang in 1924.

HMS Cockchafer much later, no canopies (Italy, 1944).

HMS Widgeon beside HMS Suffolk in 1928.

Fruitless negotiations then ensued until finally the Rear Admiral on the Yangtze decided that the matter would have to be settled by force. The British merchant vessel, SS Kiawo, was camouflaged and armored at Ichang. Sixty officers and sailors from HMS Cockchafer (I believe she withdrew from Wanhsien for a short period leaving HMS Widgeon there), HMS Despatch (light cruiser), HMS Scarab and HMS Mantis boarded Kiawo and she sailed from Ichang on September 4, 1926.

SS Kiawo in foreground, HMS Despatch behind

Despite British attempts to keep the rescue force a secret, Yang became aware of what was afoot. At 6:15 pm on September 5, 1926 the Kiawo steamed in sight of Wanhsien. The plan was to board and re-take SS Wanhsien and SS Wantung. HMS Widgeon and HMS Cockchafer, already present in Wanhsien, would provide supporting fire during the action.

Things quickly became unpleasant. On her way in Kiawo was subjected to fire by Chinese troops onshore. She made her way to SS Wanhsien and grappled her for boarding. The invasion force scrambled aboard soon to be met by machine gun fire. Fierce fighting ensued and the boarding party managed to rescue the British merchant seaman held on the ship.

In the meantime, Chinese troops aboard SS Wantung, together with the Chinese forces onshore, opened fire on HMS Cockchafer and HMS Widgeon. These gunboats returned fire and during the chaos that then ensued, the three British merchant officers held on the Wantung escaped onto the back of the ship. Leaping into the water one drowned, one was picked up by Kiawo and a third was rescued by the French gunboat Doudart De Lagree which had moored a mile down stream to watch the action.

Events onboard SS Wanhsien soon became critical when the senior British officer in the attacking force, Commander Darly (of HMS Despatch), was killed. Having rescued the British merchant seamen onboard SS Wanhsien the attacking force retired to SS Kiawo.

After about an hour of fighting, further attempts to retake Wantung and Wanhsien were abandoned and, having freed the British merchant seamen held, the action was discontinued. Cockchafer, Widgeon and Kiawo retired under heavy fire five miles downstream.

British casualties included three officers and four ratings killed, two officers and thirteen ratings wounded. Those who perished in the action were:

HMS DESPATCH

Commander Frederick C. Darley
Able-Bodied Seaman Norman J. Farminer
Lieutenant Alfred R. Higgins

HMS COCKCHAFER

Sub-Lieutenant Christopher F. Ridge

HMS SCARAB

Able-Bodied Seaman Frederick J. Farrow
L/Seaman Herbert Haslam
Able-Bodied Seaman William Marrotte

It is likely that over 200 Chinese soldiers were killed during the action. Estimates of civilian casualties fluctuate wildly and range from the official British report of 100 killed to the Morning Post's report of 5,000.

On September 22, 1926 General Yang Sen returned SS Wanhsien and SS Wantung to the British. What Yang had been attempting to accomplish by the incident is unclear as he is not believed to have been anti-British.

I recently discovered that, "Destroyer Man", by Rear-Admiral A. F. Pugsley (published in 1957) contains a first hand account of the Wanhsien Incident. Pugsley, then a Lieutenant, was posted to China around 1925 to serve onboard HMS Widgeon as she patrolled the Upper Yangtze. Pugsley's description of his time on HMS Widgeon is very brief (about 15 pages), mostly describing what happened during the incident.

(I would like to thank Donald Kindell for his assistance in compiling the information for this page, especially his excellent research which provided an exact list of those Royal Navy personnel who perished. That information is subject to copyright and cannot be reproduced without permission.).

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