How Three Tanks Saved Taiwan From Communist Invasion
Battle of Guningtou
On October 1st, 1949, Mao Zedong announced the formation of the People’s Republic of China. It was a massive blow to the Republic of China, the nationalists that were still fighting the civil war. The announcement signaled that the communists had secured the majority of the mainland. The nationalists were being forced out of the country.
In order to try and keep the fight alive Chiang Kai-shek ordered that the remaining nationalist forces withdraw to the island of Taiwan to regroup. In their retreat the nationalist armies took with them China’s air force and the vast majority of the Chinese navy which they used to fortify the islands in the straights between the mainland and Taiwan.
Background
Chairman Mao watched this retreat with great interest. He had no intention of letting his rival retain a military and a government on Taiwan. The island would be invaded and the last vestiges of the civil war would be crushed. The problem was, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was left without the vital military equipment needed to launch a large amphibious assault.
To start, Mao ordered an invasion of the nearby Quemoy Islands that were just off the coast of China. The islands had been fortified and were currently being…
