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Encyclopedia > Battle of Kuningtou
Battle of Kuningtou
Part of the Chinese Civil War

ROC held islands (red) off the coast of Mainland China (light grey), relative to Taiwan (dark grey). Quemoy is the large red highlighted island group.
Date October 25 - 27, 1949
Location Greater Quemoy Island, Fujian
Result Nationalist victory, halt of Communist advance
Combatants
Republic of China, National Revolutionary Army People's Republic of China, People's Liberation Army
Commanders
Tang Enbo Ye Fei
Strength
Roughly 40,000 garrisoned troops from the ROC 18th Army, air support from ROC Air Force, maritime support from ROC Navy. 19,000 infantry from PLA 25th division and regiments 244, 246, 251, 253 from the PLA 28th Army (Only 9,086 actually landed); 200 landing vessels (mostly confiscated fishing boats), mainland artillery support.
Casualties
1,267 killed, 1,982 wounded.[1] 3,873 killed, 5,175 captured.[1]
Chinese Civil War
Major engagements in bold
Liaoshen Campaign (Changchun - Jinzhou) - Huaihai Campaign - Pingjin Campaign - Quemoy
edit

The Battle of Kuningtou (古寧頭之役) was a battle fought over Quemoy (Kinmen) in the Taiwan Strait during the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The failure of the Communists to take the island left it in the hands of the Kuomintang and crushed their chances of taking Taiwan to defeat the Nationalists completely in the war. Combatants Chinese Nationalists Chinese Communists Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese... Image File history File links ROC_Quemoy. ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Quemoy, Kinmen, or Chinmen (金門, pinyin: Jīnmén, POJ: Kim-mn̂g) (pop. ... (Chinese: 福建; Pinyin: Fújiàn; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. ... Today the country officially known as the Republic of China (R.O.C) is commonly known by the international community as Taiwan and occasionally as Chinese Taipei. It should not be confused with the other country officially known as the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), which is commonly known... The National Revolutionary Army (NRA) (Chinese: 國民革命軍; pinyin: guo2 min2 ge2 ming4 jun1) was the national army of the Republic of China. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Tang Enbai (汤恩伯, pinyin: Tāng ÉnbÇŽi or Tāng Énbó, 1898-1965, born in Wuyi, Zhejiang‍[1]) was a nationalist general in Kuomintang-governed China. ... The Republic of China Air Force (中華民國空軍; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó KōngjÅ«n) is the aviation branch of the armed forces of the Republic of China on Taiwan, and is often viewed as one of the most professional and capable branches of the Republic of Chinas armed forces. ... The Republic of China Navy (中華民國海軍; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó HÇŽijÅ«n) is the maritime branch of the armed forces of the Republic of China (Taiwan). ... Combatants Chinese Nationalists Chinese Communists Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese... The Liaoshen Campaign was an important series of battles in the Chinese Civil War fought in the north-eastern province of Liaoning. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Northeast and North China Field Army Commanders Zheng Dongguo Xiao Jingguang Strength ~100,000 100,000 Casualties unknown; ~330,000 civilian deaths minimal The Siege of Changchun (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ChángchÅ«n Wéikùnzhàn) was a besiege... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Northeast Field Army Commanders Fan Hanjie Lin Biao Strength ~200,000 250,000 Casualties 20,000 deaths, 80,000 captured unknown Battle of Jinzhou (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Jînzhou ZhÄ«zhàn) was a battle between the Peoples Liberation... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Northeast and North China Field Army Commanders Fu Zuoyi Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan Strength ~500,000 1,000,000 Casualties ~520,000 (including non-combat losses) 40,000 Pingjin Campaign (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: PíngjÄ«n Zhànyì), known as... Quemoy, Kinmen, or Chinmen (金門, pinyin: Jīnmén, POJ: Kim-mn̂g) (pop. ... Taiwan Strait Area The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait is a 180km-wide Strait between mainland China and the island of Taiwan. ... Combatants Chinese Nationalists Chinese Communists Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (official name, though almost universally known in English as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhōngguó GòngchÇŽndÇŽng) is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Tongyong Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang), commonly known as the Kuomintang (KMT), is a centre-right political party in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and is currently the largest political party in terms of sitting Legislative...

Contents

Prelude

Following establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the government of the Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek began withdrawing its forces from mainland China to Taiwan. However, ROC garrisons remained stationed on the islands of Quemoy and Matsu, located off the coast in Fujian Province. Commanders of the PRC People's Liberation Army believed that Quemoy and Matsu had to be taken before a final assault on Taiwan. The PLA planned to attack Quemoy by launching a first attack with 9,000 troops to establish a beachhead, before landing a second force of roughly 10,000 on Greater Quemoy Island, expecting to take the entire island in three days from an ROC garrison not expected to be larger then two divisions. Expecting that a PLA attack was imminent, ROC commanders ordered the immediate construction of various fortifications. By October, ROC troops had laid 7455 landmines, and constructed roughly 200 earthen bunkers on the shores of Quemoy, as well as several anti-ship obstacles. The ROC garrison on Quemoy was also reinforced with more troops and supplies.[1] October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Today the country officially known as the Republic of China (R.O.C) is commonly known by the international community as Taiwan and occasionally as Chinese Taipei. It should not be confused with the other country officially known as the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), which is commonly known... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... The highlighted area in the map is what is commonly known as mainland China. Mainland China (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; literally The Chinese Massive Landmass or Continental China) is a geopolitical term which is usually synonymous with the area currently administered by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC... Quemoy, Kinmen, or Chinmen (金門, pinyin: Jīnmén, POJ: Kim-mn̂g) (pop. ... The Matsu Islands (馬祖列島 or less frequently, 馬祖群島 Pinyin: MÇŽzÇ”) are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County (連江 Pinyin: Liánjiāng), Fukien Province of the Republic of China (ROC, now based on Taiwan). ... (Chinese: 福建; Pinyin: Fújiàn; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... U.S. Army soldier removes fuse from a Russian-made mine to clear a minefield outside of Fallujah, Iraq. ... A bunker is a defensive warfare fortification to protect oneself. ...


Battle

Compiled from accounts in [2], [1] and [3]


October 25, 1949

At around 2AM on October 25, 1949, People's Liberation Army troops from regiments 244, 251, and 253 landed on the north side of Greater Quemoy Island at Kuningtou (古寧頭), Huwei (湖尾), and Lungkou (壟口). Regiment 244 was the first ashore landing near Lungkou where Nationalist defenders raked them with machine-gun fire, artillery, and mortars. They suffered heavy casualties. Regiments 251 and 253 fared better, landing at near Kuningtou and Huwei respectively where they broke through ROC defenses and continued to head inland. Arriving at high tide, many of the PLA landing vessels became caught on submerged anti-ship obstacles and immobilized. When the tide went out, the PLA landing vessels became beached and were unable to return to the mainland to transport the second wave of reinforcements. The beached PLA vessels were destroyed shortly afterwards by gunfire from two ROC Navy vessels patrolling off the northwest coast of Kuningtou, as well as by ROC troops who burned the mostly wooden boats using flame-throwers, grenades, gasoline and oil. This does not cite its references or sources. ...


The advancing PLA forces were met by the ROC 18th Army and ROC U.S.-made M5A1 tanks. PLA Regiment 244 held high ground at Shuangru Hill (雙乳山), but were beaten back by ROC armor by early morning. PLA Regiment 253 holding Kuanyin Hill (觀音山) and the Huwei Highlands (湖尾高地) were also forced to fall back by noon after an overwhelming ROC counter attack of infantry, tanks, some soldiers with flame-throwers to burn the PLA ships. They were supported by mortars and artillery.The PLA troops were attacked from three sides. PLA Regiment 251 managed to break out of an ROC encirclement and entered the village of Kuningtou, and dug in at Linchuo (林厝). Shortly afterwards, Regiment 251 was attacked by the ROC 14th and 118th divisions, with the ROC 118th division suffering heavy casualties. By the end of the day, the PLA had lost its beachheads at Huwei and Lungkou. The Stuart was an American light tank of World War II named after the Civil War general Jeb Stuart. ...


October 26, 1949

In the early morning hours of October 26, around 1000 troops in 4 companies from PLA Regiment 246 and the 85th division landed on Quemoy to reinforce PLA forces already on the island landing again at Huwei and Kuningtou. At dawn, Regiment 246 managed to break through ROC forces surrounding the village of Kuningtou, making a rendezvous with the surviving PLA troops holed up in the town. At 6:30AM, the ROC 118th division launched a counterattack along the northern coast on PLA forces in Kuningtou at Linchuo. The resulting battle was extremely bloody and soon turned into urban warfare in the streets and alleyways of Kuningtou. With air support from the ROC Air Force, ROC forces eventually prevailed, taking Linchuo by noon and Nanshan (南山) at 3PM. Surviving PLA forces began falling back to the coast. A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ...


October 27, 1949

By the early morning of October 27, the surviving PLA forces had exhausted their supplies. 1300 PLA troops retreated to the beaches north of Kuningtou. After a final ROC assault, the remaining PLA troops surrendered to ROC forces at 10AM on October 27. All of the PLA troops who had landed on Quemoy were effectively lost.


Aftermath

Following the failure at Kuningtou, PLA General Yeh Fei submitted an official apology to Mao Zedong asking to be punished for his failure. General Yeh attributed the failure of the operation to three factors: An insufficient number of landing vessels, failure to properly secure the beachheads, and the lack of an overall commanding officer to oversee the three regiments involved in the first wave. As Yeh was one of Mao's favorite generals, Mao never took any action against him. Mao redirects here. ...


For ROC forces accustomed to defeat after defeat against the PLA while fighting on the mainland, the victory at Kuningtou provided a much needed morale boost. The failure of the PRC to take Quemoy effectively halted its advance towards Taiwan. With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 and the signing of the US-ROC Mutual Defense Treaty, the PRC's plans for the "liberation" of Taiwan were effectively put on hold. Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea  Australia  Belgium Canada  Colombia Ethiopia  France Greece  Netherlands  New Zealand  Philippines South Africa  Thailand  Turkey  United Kingdom United States Medical staff:  Denmark  India  Italy  Norway  Sweden Communist states: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea People’s Republic of China  Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee...


Due to its defeat, the Battle of Kuningtou was not widely publicized in the PRC until recently with the publication of articles within the PLA examining reasons for its failure.[4] The battle is seen as being highly significant in Taiwan as it laid the foundation for the current status quo between mainland China and Taiwan.


Trivia

ROC M5A1 tank with placard reading "The Bear of Kinmen".
ROC M5A1 tank with placard reading "The Bear of Kinmen".
  • The M5A1 tanks employed by the ROC forces on Kinmen proved to be effective in countering the human wave attacks employed by the initial PLA landing forces which were comprised mostly of light infantry. ROC tank crews who had depleted their ammunition often used their tanks as steamrollers to crush PLA infantry. Afterwards, ROC troops gave the M5A1 the nickname "Bear of Kinmen" (金門之熊). [5]

Image File history File linksMetadata KimmenBear. ... Image File history File linksMetadata KimmenBear. ... The Stuart was an American light tank of World War II named after the Civil War general Jeb Stuart. ... This article is about the military tactic. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Traction engine. ...

See also

As one of the front line islands between the Republic of China and the Peoples Republic of China, ROC-occupied Quemoy has seen many battles and tensions between the two throughout the Cold War. ...

References

  1. ^ a b c d 老衲 (2002). 古寧頭之役的回顧. 四海一家軍事網. Retrieved on 2004-06-01. Chinese language only. See 戰果
  2. ^ 劉鳳舞. “41”, 民國春秋 (Spring and Autumn in the Republic) (HTML) (in Chinese). Retrieved on 2006-03-05.
  3. ^ 金門戰役. Chinese Wikipedia. Retrieved on 2006-03-05.
  4. ^ Jinman and Dengbu. Amphibious Warfare Capabilities of the People's Liberation Army: An Assessment on Recent Modernizations. China Defense (2004). Retrieved on 2006-03-12.
  5. ^ 遺落戰史：《金門之熊的故事》. 鐵之狂傲遊戲網 (2004). Retrieved on 2006-03-06. Copy of article originally from 華夏經緯網.

2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Battle of Kuningtou - China-related Topics BA-BD - China-Related Topics (489 words)
The Battle of Kuningtou (古寧頭之役) was a battle fought over Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait during the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
Due to its defeat, the Battle of Kuningtou was not widely publicized in the PRC until recently with the publication of articles within the PLA examining reasons for its failure.
The battle is seen as being highly significant in Taiwan as it laid the foundation for the current status quo between mainland China and Taiwan.
Kinmen's Kuningtou area attractions commemorate important battle (383 words)
A major battle took place in Kuningtou, where the Kuningtou War Museum, the Martyr's Shrine and the General Lee Kuang-chien Temple stand today.
The two sides engaged in man-to-man combat throughout the alleys of Kuningtou, and the walls of every village house in the area were covered with bullet marks.
The Kuningtou War Museum displays the various weapons used by the ROC forces and Chinese Communist weaponry that was captured.
  More results at FactBites »

 

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