The Battle of Dalushan (Greater Deer Mountain) Islands (大鹿山等岛战斗) was a battle fought between the

nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and the

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

for several islands and islets just off the coast of

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

, China during aftermath of the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

in the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

era; it resulted in a communist victory. On May 29, 1953, a battalion of the 179th

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the 60th

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

and two

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

of the 17th Public Security Division launched their assault on Da Lu Shan Dao (大鹿山岛, "Greater Deer Mountain Island"), Xiao Lu Shan Dao, (小鹿山岛, "Lesser Deer Mountain Island"), Ji Guan Shan Dao (鸡冠山岛, "Rooster’s Crown Mountain Island"), and Yang Yu (羊屿, "Goat Islet") off coast of Zhejiang. At 6:00 PM, People's Liberation Army artillery bombarded Ji Guan Shan Dao and Yang Yu from Zhaitoujiao (寨头角) and Kanmen (坎门) on the mainland. At 7:00 PM, the first assault wave successfully landed on the two islets. Afterward, naval gunboats approached Da Lu Shan Dao and Xiao Lu Shan Dao and bombarded the nationalist positions on the islands. At 9:00 PM, the battle ended with 53 nationalists killed and 186 captured, including the commander of the 42nd Column of the Anti-Communist Assault Army, He Zhuoquan (何卓权). The nationalists also lost two junks, and eight radio sets along with code books. The communist victory ensured further isolation of the nationalist strongholds along the coast of

, such as

Dachen Archipelago The Dachen Islands, Tachen Islands or Tachens () are a group of islands off the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang, China, in the East China Sea. They are administered by the Jiaojiang District of Taizhou. Before the First Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1955, ...

and

Yijiangshan Islands The Yijiangshan Islands () are two small islands eight miles from the Dachen Islands, located off the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang in the East China Sea. During the First Taiwan Strait crisis the islands were captured in January 1955 by the People's ...

, and another nationalist threat to the communists' coastal sea lines of communication was eliminated. As for the nationalists, these islands and islets were simply too small to station the large number of troops required for any effective defense. They were also too far away from the nearest nationalist strongholds along the coast, so it was impossible to reinforce the local garrison in time.

References

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Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

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, 1987, (pbk.) *Jie, Lifu, ''Records of the Liberation War: The Decisive Battle of Two Kinds of Fates'', 1st Edition,

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

People's Publishing House in Shijiazhuang, 1990, (set) *Literary and Historical Research Committee of the

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, ''Liberation War'', 1st Edition,

People's Publishing House in Hefei, 1987, *Li, Zuomin, ''Heroic Division and Iron Horse: Records of the Liberation War'', 1st Edition,

Chinese Communist The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

Party History Publishing House in

, 2004, *Wang, Xingsheng, and Zhang, Jingshan, ''Chinese Liberation War'', 1st Edition, People's Liberation Army Literature and Art Publishing House in

, 2001, (set) *Huang, Youlan, ''History of the Chinese People's Liberation War'', 1st Edition, Archives Publishing House in

, 1992, *Liu Wusheng, ''From

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...

: A Collection of Military Records and Research Publications of Important Campaigns in the Liberation War'', 1st Edition, Central Literary Publishing House in

, 1993, *Tang, Yilu and Bi, Jianzhong, ''History of Chinese People's Liberation Army in Chinese Liberation War'', 1st Edition, Military Scientific Publishing House in

, 1993 – 1997, (Volum 1), 7800219615 (Volum 2), 7800219631 (Volum 3), 7801370937 (Volum 4), and 7801370953 (Volum 5) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalushan Islands, Battle of Conflicts in 1953 Battles of the Chinese Civil War 1953 in China Military history of Zhejiang

See also

References