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Amethyst incident
Part of theChinese Civil War and theYangtze River Crossing campaign
HMSAmethyst, photographed during theSecond World War
Date 20 April – 30 July 1949 (1949-04-20 –1949-07-30) Location Jiangyin, China 32°18′20″N119°43′11″E / 32.3056°N 119.7196°E /32.3056; 119.7196 Result British armed forces withdrawn from Yangtze River and mainland China
Belligerents
United Kingdom Supported by:  Republic of China[1][2][3]  Kuomintang Republic of China Armed Forces	Chinese Communists People's Liberation Army
Strength
HMS Amethyst HMS Consort HMS London HMS Black Swan HMS Concord[4]	Small arms,field guns,artillery battery
Casualties and losses
1 frigate severely damaged 1 heavy cruiser, 1 destroyer and 1 frigate damaged Amethyst: 22 killed, 31 wounded, 1 cat wounded[5][6] Consort: 10 killed, 23 wounded[7][8] London: 15 killed, 13 wounded HMS Black Swan: 7 wounded[6]	252[9][10]

TheAmethyst incident, also known as theYangtze incident, was a historic event that occurred on theYangtze River for three months in the summer of 1949, during the late phase of theChinese Civil War. The incident involved theCommunistPeople's Liberation Army (PLA), who were in the middle ofa river-crossing offensive to overthrow theNationalist Government, and fourBritishRoyal Navy shipsHMS Amethyst,HMS Black Swan,HMS Consort andHMS London. The British warships, whose claimedright of passage, perTreaty of Tientsin, along the Yangtze had been unchallenged previously since the lateQing dynasty, came under bombardment by PLA artillery and were forced to withdraw permanently from Chinese territorial waters.

The incident was celebrated in the British press as a dramatic escape while it has been widely celebrated in the communistPeople's Republic of China as a milestone incident that marked the end ofWesterngunboat diplomacy in China and as one of the last nails in the coffin for theCentury of Humiliation.^[11]

On 20 April 1949, during theChinese Civil War between the nationalistKuomintang-ledRepublic of China and theChinese Communist Party, theRoyal NavysloopHMS Amethyst, commanded byLieutenant Commander Bernard Skinner,^[12] was cruising on the river Yangtze fromShanghai toNanjing,^{[Note 1]} to replaceHMS Consort, which had been posted asguard ship for the British Embassy there. According to the Royal Navy, at about 08:31, after a burst ofsmall arms fire, aPeople's Liberation Army (PLA)field gunbattery on the north bank of the river fired a salvo of ten shells to warn^{[citation needed]}Amethyst to stay away from the war zone.^{[citation needed]} The salvo fell well short of the ship, and was assumed by the ship's officers to be part of a regular bombardment of Nationalist forces on the south bank. Therefore,Amethyst ignored the warning and continued to cruise towards Nanjing.^{[citation needed]} Speed was increased, and largeUnion flags were unfurled on either side of the ship, after which there was no more firing from this battery.^{[citation needed]}

At 09:30, asAmethyst approached Jiangyin (then romanized asKiangyin) further up the river, it received sustained fire from a second PLA battery, as the PLA may have considered that the ship had violated the "stay away warning" from the war zone; additionally, the PLA may have thoughtAmethyst might attack and therefore began firing without having been fired upon.^{[citation needed]}

The first shell passed over the ship. Then the bridge, wheelhouse and low power room were hit in quick succession, Lieutenant Commander Skinner was wounded mortally, and all the bridge personnel were disabled. Thecoxswain on the wheel,Leading Seaman Leslie Frank, was seriously injured and, as a result, the ship slewed to port and grounded on the river's bank. Before the ship grounded, the order to open fire had been given, but when the director layer pulled the firing trigger, nothing happened because the firing circuits were disabled when the low power room was hit.

Lieutenant Geoffrey L. Weston, the ship'sfirst lieutenant, assumed command of the vessel, although he was also wounded himself.^[13] PLA shells exploded in the sick bay, the port engine room, and finally the generator, just after the injured Weston's last transmission: "Under heavy fire. Am aground in approx. position 31.10' North 119.20' East. Large number of casualties".^{[Note 2]}

The order was given to fire in local control with each turret firing independently, butAmethyst had grounded in such a way that neither of the two forward gun turrets could bring their guns to bear on the PLA batteries, leaving the single stern turret to return fire. This turret was soon hit and disabled. None of the close-range weapons could be brought to bear on the PLA batteries. The shore batteries continued to bombardAmethyst causing more damage and casualties aboard.

Some time between 10:00 and 10:30, Weston ordered the immediate evacuation to shore of anyone who could be spared. A boat was manned to take people the short distance to shore and some men swam ashore. The Communist batteries switched their fire to the men being evacuated and further evacuation was stopped. Fifty-nine ratings and four Chinese mess boys made it to the Kuomintang-controlled southern bank, but two men were assumed drowned while swimming ashore. Those who survived were joined by the seriously wounded fromAmethyst who had been landed bysampan, with the assistance of the Chinese Nationalists the next day. Both parties were taken to a missionary hospital in Jiangyin, where they were met by a party from the British Embassy in Nanjing, and put on a train for Shanghai. Remaining aboard were about 60 unwounded men. The shelling had stopped, but no one could move on deck without drawing the attention of PLA snipers.

By the time the shelling stopped at about 11:00, twenty-two men had been killed and thirty-one wounded.Amethyst had received more than fifty hits and holes below the waterline were plugged with hammocks and bedding.Rear AdmiralAlexander Madden, the second in command of theEast Indies Fleet, ordered the destroyerHMS Consort (Commander Robertson) to go from Nanjing, toAmethyst's assistance, and the frigateHMS Black Swan (Captain Jay) to go from Shanghai to Jiangyin, 40 mi (64 km) down river fromAmethyst.Consort was sighted, flying sevenWhite Ensigns and three Union flags, steaming down from Nanjing, at 29 kn (54 km/h; 33 mph).

Consort reachedAmethyst at about three o'clock in the afternoon and was immediately bombarded. The shelling was too heavy to approachAmethyst andConsort therefore passed the other ship at cruising speed down river.Consort then turned two miles (3.2 km) and again closed onAmethyst to take the ship in tow, butConsort was again bombarded so intensely that it was obliged to abandon the attempt, although it answered the shore batteries with its full armament (including4.5-inch (114 mm) guns) and soon signalled that it had silenced most of the opposition. Half an hour laterConsort made a second attempt to takeAmethyst in tow, having turned downstream again. This attempt also failed andConsort sustained further damage and casualties during which the ship's steering was affected.Consort therefore had to continue downstream out of the firing area with ten men killed and twenty-three wounded.

Amethyst was re-floated just after midnight on 21 April, after the ship was lightened, and it moved up river. The Assistant British Naval Attaché, Lieutenant CommanderJohn Kerans, joined the ship on 22 April, after he had dealt with all the wounded and unwounded men who had been sent ashore. He assumed command of the ship that day.

During the next few daysAmethyst moved several times, but each time it moved the batteries bombarded the ship which was finally forced to anchor off Fu Te Wei.

On 21 April, a signal was received: "HM shipsLondon andBlack Swan are moving up river to escort theAmethyst down stream. Be ready to move." The cruiserHMS London, alongsideBlack Swan, were bombarded intensely as they attempted to helpAmethyst, and retreated with 3 killed and 14 wounded.

On 30 April 1949, the Chinese Communists demanded that Britain, the United States, and France quickly withdraw their armed forces from any part of China. During the negotiations the Communists insisted that the British ship fired first. (Eventually, in 1988, the PLA commanderYe Fei, admitted that it was his troops that fired first,^[14] thinking it was an American naval intervention.^[15])Amethyst remained guarded by the PLA for ten weeks, with vital supplies being withheld from the ship. Negotiations were ineffectual because Kerans would not accept the demand of Kang Yushao, the Chinese Communist representative, that he admit the British state had wrongly invaded Chinese national waters (the CPC insisted that it was illegal forAmethyst to cruise in theYangtze River).

On 30 July 1949,Amethyst's chain was slipped and the ship headed downriver in the dark, beginning a dash to escape from the Yangtze River by following in the wake of the civilian shipKiang Ling Liberation, a fully-lit passenger vessel carrying Chinese refugees, allegedly in the hope that the observers ashore would be confused and not see the frigate in the dark, and to follow the path through the shoals taken byKiang Ling Liberation. The movement of both ships was spotted, and both were challenged. TheKiang Ling Liberation answered correctly, whereasAmethyst, upon being challenged, opened fire. When the shore batteries replied, a Communist gunboat in the river began to fire back at the shore. In the confusion theKiang Ling Liberation blacked out its lights while theAmethyst sped past. The fire of the batteries was then directed at theKiang Ling Liberation, which was sunk by the gunfire, with many civilian casualties.

At 05:00 hours on 31 July,Amethyst approached the PLA forts atBaoshan andWusong, which had their searchlights sweeping the river. At 05:25 a planned meeting with the destroyerHMS Concord occurred, at which timeAmethyst sent the signal "Have rejoined the fleet south of Wusong. No damage. No casualties. God save the King".^[16][17]

Concord had been ordered to prepare to provide gun support toAmethyst if it was bombarded by the shore batteries at Wusong. To achieve this it had moved up the Yangtze during the night, at action stations. Fortunately for the British,Amethyst was not detected by the shore batteries and the two ships then proceeded downriver until at 07:15 they ended action stations and after passing through the river's outlet arrived at the Saddle Islands at 12:00 hrs to anchor and transfer much needed oil and stores.

After a brief stay at anchor,Concord transferred members of her own crew toAmethyst to augment the ship's company, and the two ships proceeded to Hong Kong. Next day the cruiserHMS Jamaica (flying the flag of the Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet) and destroyerHMS Cossack replacedConcord as escort and proceeded withAmethyst to Hong Kong.Concord was sent to Japan, after its complement was sworn to secrecy.Amethyst subsequently received a message of congratulations from KingGeorge VI:

Please convey to the commanding officer and ship's company of HMSAMETHYST my hearty congratulations on their daring exploit to rejoin the Fleet. The courage, skill and determination shown by all on board have my highest commendation.Splice the mainbrace.^[17]

Soon after, on 5 August 1949, Lt Cdr Kerans was awarded theDistinguished Service Order for his actions in bringingAmethyst to safety.^[18]

FutureGovernor of Hong Kong,Edward Youde, was part of the staff of the British Embassy at Nanjing. He negotiated unsuccessfully for the release ofAmethyst. Youde was later made aMember of the Order of the British Empire for his actions.^{[citation needed]}

Amethyst had aship's cat, namedSimon, who was wounded seriously during the event. After receiving medical care, he recovered and continued to perform his duties catching rats, protecting the dwindling food supply during the 101-day siege and helped boost morale for the surviving sailors. Simon died soon after returning to the UK, having been awarded theDickin Medal (sometimes referred to as "the animals' Victoria Cross"). He remains the only cat to receive this honor.^[19][20]

ChairmanMao Zedong considered the incident a great victory for the Chinese nation.Peng Dehuai later remarked: "The era whereImperialists take over a piece of Asia by simply stacking a few guns, is over and never to return!" Even many of the Nationalist troops on the south bank cheered the Communists as they bombarded the British warships. During the subsequentriver crossing, many Nationalist defenders either surrendered, deserted or defected with negligible resistance.^{[citation needed]}

The American radio seriesSuspense included an episode entitled "Log of the Marne" (22 October 1951), based largely on the events of the Yangtze incident.^[21]

Richard Todd played Kerans for the 1957 movieYangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst (in the USA released most often asBattle Hell, but also asEscape of the Amethyst andTheir Greatest Glory). For the movie,Amethyst was brought out of storage to play itself. As its engines were no longer operational,Magpie, a similar-looking ship, was used for pictures of theAmethyst moving .^[22]

Ted Duran played Kerans in a scene portraying the Amethyst incident in the 2019 movieMao Zedong 1949.^[23]

• Conflicts in 1949
• 1949 in China
• Combat incidents
• International maritime incidents
• Maritime incidents in 1949
• China–United Kingdom military relations
• Riverine warfare
• Shipwrecks of the Yangtze
• Jiangyin
• Military operations of the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949)
• 20th-century history of the Royal Navy

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