In 1949, the British destroyer HMS Amethyst is proceeding along the Yangtse River in China on a peaceful mission to bring supplies to Nanking. However, the Chinese revolution has broken out, and the Reds have occupied one side of the river! Without warning or provocation, they open fire on the Amethyst, catching the crew completely off guard. The Amethyst sustains serious damage and casualties - suffering the death of her captain and the crippling of her Executive Officer, and is forced to beach in the mud just out of range of the Chinese guns. All attempts to tow her off fail. In the meantime, Chairman Mao's army captures Nanking, so the Amethyst's mission is aborted. But worse, there are now still more batteries along both shores of the river, blocking the Amethyst from the open sea. The ship is stuck, swelteringly hot, and the crew are running out of provisions. The grounded warship is visited by negotiators from the Chinese Communists. They're willing to return some prisoners, allow the ship to be provisioned, and then proceed down the river to the sea. The only condition imposed by the humorless Chinese negotiators is that the British sign a statement that the whole affair was their own fault. A new captain, John Kearns (Richard Todd), arrives to find himself in an impossible situation. He's fair, stern, competent - but what to do? Admitting blame for this barbarous act is out of the question, but the situation is desperate. Can a plan be hatched to get his ship & crew back to safety without giving into the demands of the Commies?

This is the true story of the Yangste Incident - an affair that is sadly almost totally forgotten today but was very big news at the time. The courage and leadership displayed by Lt. Cmder John Kearns during this incident earned him respect and praise throughout the West. Richard Todd slips right into the role of Kearns, as Todd was a man whose service in the Parachute Regiment had taught him a lot about the military mind and making decisions that can cost lives - it translates clearly in his performance. His is a career that is not much remembered nowadays - which also is an injustice. The Yangtse Incident itself is sadly largely forgotten. China having become the great business partner to the whole world has caused us, in our haste to ingratiate and enrich ourselves, to forget events as recent as Tiananmen Square let alone an unprovoked attack on a British naval vessel nearly sixty years ago. One of the biggest strengths of this film is very little model work is used. This is a great advantage over most other naval war films because models, no matter how sizable, are almost always identifiable for what they are. This movie uses real ships, and it is an absolute joy to watch the beautiful British destroyers in motion. In fact, the real HMS Amethyst was used at the beginning of the production - but a special effects explosive set too close to her hull blew a hole in the engine room causing her to take on water. John Kearns, who was on hand as a consultant, had to once again take command and save the Amethyst from sinking. Although he was successful in saving the ship, she was scrapped shortly thereafter. Her sister ship, the HMS Magpie, stood in for the Amethyst to finish the film.