The Tsingtao incident and SS Vincent de Paul

The disputed seizure set off a delayed British warning chain and a rapid run north by HMS Birmingham and HMS Folkestone. Japan had captured the former German concession at Tsingtao during the First World War, with British heavy guns contributing despite doubts that outside help was needed. Britain still did not recognize Japan's claim to the surrounding Chinese waters. The merchantman lacked a radio, so another ship reported the detention through consular and naval channels while the British warships raced north from the Dutch East Indies. A boarding party led by the young Edward Ashmore secured the ship and repelled customs officers and Japanese soldiers with words rather than gunfire. At roughly fifty to one hundred metres, Birmingham's six-inch guns faced three Japanese heavy cruisers, bringing the diplomatic confrontation close to a mutually destructive battle.