First things first: THIS IS NOT A THREAD ABOUT THE 1937 NANJING MASSACRE! The PoD deals with the aftermath of Chinese Communist forces taking Nanjing in 1927. See Wikipedia's article here --->http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing_Incident
When it became clear in late March, 1927, that the Communist forces were going to be able to take the city, Nationalist troops began a disorderly retreat from the city. A number of troops (according to the Wiki article, about 10,000) were not able to leave the city, and began looting the foreign-owned homes and businesses in the city. Both the British and Japanese consuls were killed during the rioting. Japan, Italy, France also each saw one naval officer murdered. During the riots, foreign men, women, and children were set upon by crowds of Chinese rioters and beaten. When the Communist troops arrived, some of their uniformed soldiers executed the American Vice President of Nanjing University. After the Communist army had mostly secured control of the city, units began attacking the Standard Oil buildings where many foreign civilian families had taken refuge. Naval ships from the US, UK, Japan, France, Italy, and Holland helped evacuate their nationals from the city. At least some of these ships were fired upon from the shore during this process.
The presence of these ships, and the quick evacuations, kept causalities relatively light among the foreign community. The PoD I want to explore, then, is what happens if the ships aren't there as quickly as they were in history? What if bad weather delays the arrival of many of the larger ships? What if word does not get out about the timing of the Communist force's march on the city? If the foreign merchant community cannot be evacuated in time, it is likely that it will suffer much greater losses. How would world opinion react to the death of a few hundred American, European, and Japanese civilians in anti-foreign riots? Most importantly, how will the powers react if it seems as though China is locked in a civil war where neither side intends to honor China's treaties, and both sides will target foreign nationals in their midst?
When it became clear in late March, 1927, that the Communist forces were going to be able to take the city, Nationalist troops began a disorderly retreat from the city. A number of troops (according to the Wiki article, about 10,000) were not able to leave the city, and began looting the foreign-owned homes and businesses in the city. Both the British and Japanese consuls were killed during the rioting. Japan, Italy, France also each saw one naval officer murdered. During the riots, foreign men, women, and children were set upon by crowds of Chinese rioters and beaten. When the Communist troops arrived, some of their uniformed soldiers executed the American Vice President of Nanjing University. After the Communist army had mostly secured control of the city, units began attacking the Standard Oil buildings where many foreign civilian families had taken refuge. Naval ships from the US, UK, Japan, France, Italy, and Holland helped evacuate their nationals from the city. At least some of these ships were fired upon from the shore during this process.
The presence of these ships, and the quick evacuations, kept causalities relatively light among the foreign community. The PoD I want to explore, then, is what happens if the ships aren't there as quickly as they were in history? What if bad weather delays the arrival of many of the larger ships? What if word does not get out about the timing of the Communist force's march on the city? If the foreign merchant community cannot be evacuated in time, it is likely that it will suffer much greater losses. How would world opinion react to the death of a few hundred American, European, and Japanese civilians in anti-foreign riots? Most importantly, how will the powers react if it seems as though China is locked in a civil war where neither side intends to honor China's treaties, and both sides will target foreign nationals in their midst?