Royal Marines, labor unrest, and contested reporting at Nanking

A platoon from HMS Durban landed at Nanking during labor trouble to protect lives and property at an international export company. Chinese police injured members of the crowd, but local reports blamed the Royal Marines and alleged that they had killed people. The marines had ammunition available but had not loaded their rifles, instead using the weapons to hold the crowd back. That detail allowed Anderson to reject the accusation in this incident without claiming that British forces were blameless everywhere. The episode demonstrates how sailors and marines could become involved in coercive policing far from a conventional naval battle. It also shows why command reports, press accounts, and political context must be compared rather than accepted separately.