Battle of Yijiangshan Islands
Part of the Chinese Civil War
Date January 18–20, 1955 Location Yijiangshan Islands, China Result People's Liberation Army victory
Combatants
Republic of China Army	People's Liberation Army
Commanders
Wang Shen-Ming (王生明)	Zhang Aiping
Strength
1000+ men	5,000 men+ 137 warship 184 planes
Casualties
567 killed 519 taken as prisoners	393 killed 1024 wounded

The Battle of Yijiangshan Islands (一江山島戰役) was a conflict between forces of the Republic of China Army and the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China, over one of the last strongholds of nationalist (ROC) forces near mainland China on the Yijiangshan Islands. The conflict occured from January 18, 1955 to January 20, 1955 during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, and resulted in a PLA victory and the complete destruction of the ROC garrison. 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... January is the first month of the year and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China. ... The Republic of China Army (中華民國陸軍; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó LùjÅ«n) is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of China (Taiwan). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Zhang Aiping (Wades-Giles: Chang Ai-ping) (January 9, 1908 - July 5, 2003) was a Chinese communist military leader. ... The Republic of China Army (中華民國陸軍; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó LùjÅ«n) is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of China (Taiwan). ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; 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... The highlighted area in the map is what is commonly known as mainland China. Mainland China (Simplified Chinese: 中国大陆; Traditional Chinese: 中國大陸; pinyin: Zhōnggúo Dàlù; literally The Chinese Massive Landmass or Continental China) is an informal (disputed — see talk page) geographical term which is usually synonymous with the area... January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Taiwan Strait The First Taiwan Strait Crisis (also called the 1954-1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis) was a short armed conflict that took place between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) governments. ...

Geography

The Yijiangshan Islands are consisted of two islands, the Northern Yijang (北一江) Island and the Southern Yijiang (南一江) Island, and the region is approximately 1.7 square kilometers. Due to its strategic location nearing the coast of Zhejiang, it had become a forward base for the nationalist defense of Chinese coastal islands that centered at Dachen Island, as well as the nationalist guerilla base to launch attacks on mainland China. A kilometer (Commonwealth spelling: kilometre), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1,000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... Zhejiang (also spelled Chehkiang or Chekiang) is an eastern coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; 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... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; 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... Guerrilla (also called a partisan) is a term borrowed from Spanish (from guerra meaning war) used to describe small combat groups. ... The highlighted area in the map is what is commonly known as mainland China. Mainland China (Simplified Chinese: 中国大陆; Traditional Chinese: 中國大陸; pinyin: Zhōnggúo Dàlù; literally The Chinese Massive Landmass or Continental China) is an informal (disputed — see talk page) geographical term which is usually synonymous with the area...

Order of battle

nationalist defense force was consisted of the following units totaled more than 1000: Yijiangshan Regional Headquarter An order of battle (often abbreviated as ORBAT, OOB, or OB) is an organizational tool used by military intelligence to list and analyze enemy military units. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; 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...

• The 2nd Assault Group
• The 4th Assault Group
• The 4th Assault Squadron
• One artillery squadron

In addition, the nationalist defenders could call up the air and naval support when needed. The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; 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...

Communist attackers totaled more than 5,000, with the landing force totaled one regiment and one battalion from the following units:

• The 178th regiment of the 60th Division of the 20th Army
• The 180th regiment of the 60th Division of the 20th Army
• 137 naval vessels, (including more than 70 landing vessels, and more than 40 escort vessels). *184 aircrafts from a total of 22 groups, 7 artillery battalions, and 2 anti-aircraft artillery regiments were assigned to support the landing force.

In addition, over 30,000 civilians and three dozen civilian ships were mobilized for logistic support.

The battle

When the fight begun on January 18, 1955, the nationalist air force and navy did not participate due to the overwhelming communist firepower. The battle started at 8:00AM with communist bombers from three groups and ground attack aircraft from 2 groups bombing and strafing the islands. At the same time, bombers from another group and ground attack aircraft from the second group bombed and strafing [{Dachen]] Islands as a diversion. At 9:00 AM, 50 long range artilleries shelled Yijiangshan Islands. January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; 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... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Around noon, 70+ naval vessels carrying the landing force sailed from Gaodao (高岛)、Queerao (雀儿岙)、Toumenshandao (头门山岛) in three formations in two waves, with more than 40 escort vessels. 2 hours later, the 10specially converted naval vessel with rocket launchers bombarded Yijiangshan island in conjunction with bombers from 3 groups and 1 squadron, ground attack aircraft from 2 groups, before landing on 20 landing spots. However, the defenders took advantage of their fortifications and severely disrupted the attackers’ formation after their successful landing. As a result, most of the communist casualties suffered during the battle were at this initial stage. This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ...

The attackers immediately called for fire support after they met with fierce enemy fire, and the communist aircraft responded by attacking the enemy position with great accuracy by flying at the extremely low altitude, in fact, most of the aircraft in the air support mission flew below the trajectory of artilleries, and the psychological effect on the defenders was far more greater than the actual precision strikes, resulting in the total collapse of the morale. As the demoralized defenders retreated into their underground tunnels, the attackers adjusted their tactics by fighting in small groups, and by using recoilless guns and flame throwers to gradually neutralize the enemy’s positions, including the underground tunnel complex of the nationalist 4th Assault Group, the largest on the island. This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; 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...

By 5:30 PM, the battle on the islands subsided with the communist decimation of the nationalist defenders complete, killing 567 and capturing 519 alive. The communist force was then ordered to assume to defensive posture for the next day to prepare for the possible nationalist counter attack that never materialized. Also on the January 19, the communist force begun their assult on Dachen islands, but these actions were mainly to prevent possible counter attacks. Finally, on January 20, 1955, the islands were formally declared to be firmly in the communist hands by the victor. This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; 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... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ...

Outcome

The scale of the battle was a small, and the most important gain of the Chinese communists was obtaining the joint fighting experience by the army, air force and navy. For the nationalists, the battle was the prelude to the eventual abandonment of Dachen island. This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; 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...

External links

• PLA side story of the battle
• ROCA side story of the battle

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