Maritime forces during Warlord era?

[Hama]

I'm wondering about this. I know during China's warlord period after 1911 revolution there were armies that had armoured trains, planes, and even tanks, but in my reading on this subject I see very little mention of any maritime forces. Does anyone have information if any of the warlords had their own naval units during this time?

For example the Yangtze was a major highway through inland China (especially in areas with poor roads) and I was curious did any regional warlords have naval forces on the river to try and control access to it? And what about warlord factions with coastal provinces, did any of them operate naval forces for things like coast guard duty or even combat against other coastal warlords?

[Stephen_Rynerson]

Hama, the only two books I could immediately recall running across that contains any degree of discussion about warlord naval/riverine forces are:

The Northern Expedition: China's National Revolution of 1926-1928, by Donald A. Jordan. (Part of the book is reviewable in "Snippet" view in Google Books. As an example, here's what you get with a search for "gunboats" in it, which should whet your appetite: https://books.google.com/books?id=s2RwA ... q=gunboats )

From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, 1924-1925 by Arthur Waldron. (Much of the book is readable in Google Books. Here's a page you'll probably find of particular interest: https://books.google.com/books?id=MOK2H ... ou&f=false )

Also, skimming through my library, the book The Armies of Warlord China 1911-1928 by Philip Jowett has a handful of photos of warlord/Nationalist gunboats, but no real details.

[Hama]

Thanks Stephen, Google Books is quite handy for that. Those snippets look intriguing, I'll keep an eye out for those books.