Yangtze River Gunboats 1900–49

by Konstam, Angus; Bryan, Tony

• ISBN13: 9781849084086
• ISBN10: 1849084084
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-06-21
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

From the end of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th, most Western powers maintained a naval presence in China. These gunboats protected traders and missionaries, safeguarded national interests, and patrolled Chinese rivers in search of pirates. It was a wild, lawless time in China as ruthless warlords fought numerous small wars to increase their power and influence. This book covers the gunboats of all the major nations that stationed naval forces in China, including America, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Japan, and looks at such famous incidents as the Japanese bombing of the USS Patay and the dramatic escape of the HMS Amethyst from Communist forces in 1947, which marked the end of the gunboat era.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 4
Chronology	p. 6
The Great River	p. 7
Patrolling the Yangtze	p. 11
The Early Years, 1858-99
The Heyday of the Yangtze Gunboats, 1900-20
The Years of Turmoil, 1921-30
The River as a Battleground, 1931-41
The Yangtze Incident, 1949
Gunboat Design and Deployments	p. 24
The Royal Navy
The US Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial German Navy
The French Navy
The Regia Marina
Life on the Gunboats	p. 32
British and American Gunboats	p. 38
British Gunboats - The Yangtze Flotilla
US Gunboats - The Yangtze Patrol
Bibliography	p. 47
Index	p. 48
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