Yangtze Patrol: The U.S. Navy in China

by Kemp Tolley

In this entertaining history of the Yangtze Patrol, Tolley gives a lively presentation of the Chinese political situation over the past century and describes the bombing of the Panay, the siege of Shanghai, the battle of Wanhsien, and the Nanking incident. He also offers a liberal serving of colorful anecdotes and numerous period photographs.

Genres: History, China, Nautical

676 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1971

About the author

Rear Admiral Kemp Tolley was an officer in the U.S. Navy and is the author of three books and numerous articles on the history of U.S. Navy activities in the Pacific, China, and the Soviet Union.

Reviews

[Austin Barselau · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The story of gunboat diplomacy on the rolling Yangtze is a portrait of growth of colonialism in its simplest and most understandable form, as well as the interaction, conflict, and cupidity of the Western powers as they participated in the death throes of a three-hundred year Manchu dynasty and the emergence of the Republic of China.” -Yangtze Patrol, Foreword

“Yangtze Patrol” is a swashbuckling series of tales from the expeditionary “river rats” of the US’ Asiatic naval fleet from the 1850s to the onset of WWII. Author Kemp Tolley, a gunboat naval officer during the time, vividly describes the lively and often antagonistic intercourse between natives, as well as among other colonizing powers, along major trading ports on the Yangtze. Tolley shows how American traders and sailors braved “bewilderment, resignation, and incipient local conflict” of nineteenth-century China to beat a path along the river to establish a profitable exchange of goods, and later military concessions backed by the might of powerful gunboats. Tolley shows how American and European forces (labeled by the natives as “foreign devils”) were received from the time of the Imperial Qing through the invading Japanese. The Yangtze and its environs, described by Tolley as always a “cockpit of interprovincial warlord strife,” were seldom not grounds for exploitative adventure, frolicking mischief, and competitive ambition for conquest. Tolley’s historical yarns masterfully bring this tableau to life.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book to read after seeing "The Sand Pebbles" and wanting to know more about the The Yangtze River patrol and what happened to it after Pearl Harbor. It definitely filled in the gaps in my knowledge of history and entertained me for hours.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject.

[Michael Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of the Yangtze Patrol

Thorough, well written history of the Yangtze Patrol and the ships and men of the USN, by an officer who served there. Great history of the times and people of China as well. Highly recommended.