A small island in the Taiwan Strait has been caught in the middle of an unending wrangling between Taiwan and China. Taiwan’s frontline territory—the Kinmen Island—finds itself in a unique position where it represents Taiwanese sovereignty but sits near the Chinese mainland.
Kinmen is a small archipelago belonging to the Republic of China (RoC) or Taiwan. It is located less than 10 kilometers off the coast of China’s Xiamen in Fujian Province and about 200 kilometers from Taiwan, making it Taiwan’s farthest territory. However, the Kinmen Islands are frequently visited by Chinese forces, disregarding Taiwanese sovereignty.
The Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) has upped its activity in Kinmen since February 2024, when two Chinese fishermen perished while being chased by the Taiwan Coast Guard.
As the world wrapped the year 2024, Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) forces conducted patrols in waters near Taiwan’s Kinmen Island. While the CCG called these patrols “routine,” they are seen as part of a sinister Chinese plan aimed at wearing down Taiwan’s defenses using what is popularly known as China’s ‘gray zone tactics.’
Last year, the US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) published a study examining the possibility of a Chinese ‘coercion campaign’ short of war. The study stated that this campaign could involve increasing CCG activity in Kinmen to erode Taiwan’s sovereignty over the island. The report also noted that China might eventually choose to quarantine the Kinmen Islands to deny passage to Taiwanese ships and cause disruptions.
In May 2024, China’s military drills targeted the front-line Taiwanese islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin. The military drills were held in opposition to the inauguration of the new Taiwanese President, Lai Ching-te, who is despised by Beijing for his fierce pro-democracy stance.
China considers Taiwan a renegade Chinese province and has vowed to “reunite” it with the mainland. This essentially means that a Chinese military offensive in the Taiwan Strait is a very real scenario, and a potential Third Taiwan Strait Crisis could be brewing.
When Taiwanese Forces Defeated PLA In Kinmen
About 76 years ago, Chinese communist forces established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949, after a long-drawn struggle against the Nationalist Kuomintang Party (KMT), which ruled the mainland China, then called the Republic of China (RoC).
After the Communists overran all of mainland China, the RoC soldiers, officials, and other KMT loyalists began to evacuate to Taiwan, an island across the Taiwan Strait that served as their last bastion.
Even though the KMT and its RoC military were routed from the Chinese mainland, the Chinese communists wanted to completely eradicate the Republic of China to eliminate the possibility of another civil war. Moreover, the Chinese wanted to wrest back Taiwan and integrate it into the mainland.
Soon after the KMT retreated, the Communists hatched a plan to launch a massive attack on Taiwan. The PLA leaders believed that a decisive strike on Taiwan would not be feasible unless the PLA troops took control of the frontline islands, Kinmen and Matsu.
Kinmen emerged as the main target for the PLA. The Kinmen Islands were made up of 13 islets and two small islands. A dumbbell-shaped mass, Greater Kinmen was the larger of the two islands: its eastern half was mountainous, and its western half was largely flat and featured miles of beaches suitable for amphibious landings.
With 9,000 soldiers, the PLA planned to build a beachhead by attacking Kinmen first. Following this attack, the plan called for a second force of roughly 10,000 soldiers to arrive on Greater Kinmen Island and take the entire island within three days from a ROC garrison that was expected to consist of only two divisions.
PLA commanders assumed that the RoC troops on the island were the demoralized remains of conscripted battalions that had survived losses in central China during the Civil War. They could not have been more misguided.
On the other hand, the Nationalist forces were expecting to be attacked on the frontline islands of Kinmen and Matsu, and thus, they started building fortifications right away. ROC soldiers had set up 7,455 land mines, about 200 earthen bunkers, and several obstacles on the beach that could prevent amphibious landings.
Furthermore, the ROC garrison on Kinmen was reinforced with equipment (1st Battalion, 3rd Tank Regiment, which comprised 22 M5A1 Stuart light tanks arranged into two tank companies), battle-hardened personnel, and supplies from the 12th Army. It was manned by veterans of the Burma War with adequate combat experience.
The PRC was ready for the Battle of Guningtou, also known as the ‘Battle of Kinmen,’ but little did they know that so was the RoC.
It started early on October 25 when the PLA’s armada, made up of hundreds of wooden fishing boats, set sail for Kinmen.
On the north side of Greater Kinmen Island, PLA soldiers from regiments 244, 251, and 253 landed at Guningtou, Huwei, and Longkou.
The Nationalist defenders attacked Regiment 244, the first unit to land at Lungkou, with machine-gun fire, artillery, and mortars. It suffered significant losses. Regiments 251 and 253 fared better, landing close to Huwei and Guningtou, respectively, where they breached ROC positions.
When PLA landing craft came at high tide, many of them were struck by submerged anti-amphibious landing beach obstacles and halted. The PLA landing vessels were beached when the tide went out, making it impossible for them to return to the mainland in time to deliver the second reinforcement wave. While the artillery fire from the mainland initially aided these Communist forces, it had to stop after the infantry disembarked.
Meanwhile, the ROC Air Force (RoCAF) P-51s made strafing passes, two RoC Navy ships patrolling off the northwest coast of Guningtou fired at the beached PLA warships, and RoC soldiers burned the Chinese wooden boats using gasoline, oil, flamethrowers, and grenades, quickly destroying them. Additionally, the incoming PLA soldiers were halted by the US-made M5A1 tanks.
PLA Regiment 244 had lost the high ground they had held at Shuangru Hill to RoC armor by the early morning hours on the day of the attack.
A few hours later, the Taiwanese military launched a huge counterattack with infantry, tanks, and soldiers brandishing flamethrowers supported by mortars and artillery. The attack forced PLA Regiment 253 to retreat as well. The PLA lost its beachheads at Huwei and Lungkou by the end of the day.
By October 25, the Nationalist forces had closed off Guningtou and destroyed the makeshift Communist transport fleet stranded on the beaches. The PLA’s invading army had lost more than half of its personnel and was also running low on ammunition and supplies. However, the Communists were determined to wait for reinforcements to arrive.
On October 26, some 1,000 soldiers in four companies from PLA Regiment 246 and the 85th division arrived in Kinmen to bolster PLA forces already on the island. They landed at Huwei and Guningtou. Regiment 246 breached the ROC defenses around Guningtou hamlet at dawn.
However, when the RoC tanks resumed providing infantry support on October 26, the RoC forces spearheaded a series of infantry attacks into the defensive perimeter of Guningtou, which was occupied by the Communists at the time.
The task was not easy. The PLA soldiers were adept at hiding in their positions, letting the tanks pass by before firing. The resulting battle was extremely violent and swiftly turned into an urban combat in the alleys and streets of Guningtou.
The RoC troops, nonetheless, won this localized battle after receiving air support from RoC Air Force P-47s and B-24s. Soon after, the remaining PLA soldiers began to withdraw toward the shore.
The last of the People’s Liberation Army’s troops were out of food and ammunition by the wee hours of October 27.
On the morning of the 27th, the Nationalist forces made their final attempt to expel the remaining Communist forces at Guningtou with simultaneous thrusts from the east and south. Guningtou had been retaken by the Nationalists by the afternoon.
This war ended in a humiliating defeat for Communist China. This, however, did not stop China from harboring dreams of capturing Kinmen and obliterating the Republic of China.
The early 1950s saw the PRC try to invade several Taiwanese islands, including the Kinmen, on several occasions, albeit unsuccessfully. The PLA forces had the numerical advantage, but their combat calculations were misplaced.
For instance, in July 1950, the Chinese PLA forces hatched another plan to invade Taiwan. This time, however, they were more careful not to repeat the mistakes from the Battle of Guningtou. They planned another amphibious landing, this time at Dadan, which was part of Kinmen County at the time. However, before the landing, artillery shells were fired by the PLA troops stationed near Xiamen University in Fujian.
On July 26, 1950, a People’s Liberation Army force of 700 soldiers landed on the island and launched an attack. The 298 RoC personnel stationed on the island once again repelled this attack.
The years that followed saw several battles near Kinmen.
First Taiwan Strait Crisis
The first Taiwan Strait crisis took place in 1954–1955 when the PLA started shelling frontline Taiwanese islands: Kinmen first, followed by Matsu and Dachen islands.
This time, however, the United States came to RoC’s support. The US and the RoC signed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. Both sides committed to strengthening their combined ability to resist armed attack and Communist subversive activities.
In January 1955, Yijiangshan Island was seized by the PLA forces. However, this led to the deepening of US support for the self-ruled Taiwanese island. Days after the capture of Yijiangshan, both chambers of the US Congress passed the Formosa Resolution, allowing President Dwight D. Eisenhower to defend the RoC and its assets against a Chinese invasion.
The situation was de-escalated in April 1955 when the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai stated the PRC’s intention to negotiate with the US at the Bandung Conference.
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
The Chinese PLA forces launched another attack on frontline Taiwan islands in 1958—triggering the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis.
The attack was launched in response to Taiwan constructing military outposts at Kinmen and Matsu. The operation aimed to seize Taiwan from the KMT while simultaneously determining how willing the United States was to defend the island.
On August 24 and 25, 1958, Chinese PLA and RoC forces engaged in combat close to Dongding Island, which was the southernmost point of Kinmen County and occupied by RoC troops. The artillery fire by the PLA essentially blocked the Taiwanese forces from providing any air or naval relief to the island.
So, the US came to Taiwan’s aid, as promised. On September 11, 1958, the US Navy vessels escorted Taiwanese convoys to the island, lifting the previous artillery blockade.
China chose not to target the US vessels due to the potential risk of escalation that could spark a direct conflict between the two sides. However, that did not stop the fighting between Chinese and Taiwanese forces.
An air combat between the PLA Air Force and the Taiwanese Air Force, supplemented by the United States, was also fought.
Several PLAAF MiG fighters were destroyed by the Nationalist Chinese pilots using Sidewinder missiles. With the situation only getting grimmer and the Chinese forces refusing to retreat, the US briefly contemplated using nuclear weapons against China. However, better sense prevailed, and the plan was abandoned.
When the United States resupplied the Taiwanese garrisons on these frontline islands, a thaw was achieved. Later, the KMT and the Communists decided to bombard each other on alternate days.
This trend persisted until 1979 when the United States established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and recognized Beijing as the only legal government of China.
Nonetheless, the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis was the last major conflict between the two sides. For Taiwan, the conflict symbolizes the power and tenacity of the Taiwanese military, a story that has been used to encourage the people of Taiwan to oppose China’s belligerent behavior. Kinmen remained under military administration until 1994.
Despite repeated attempts, the powerful and numerically superior Chinese forces could not take the Kinmen Islands from Taiwan.
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