Chapter 395 Chapter 40 The Battle of Hainan Island: A Successful Island Attack

After the Guangxi Campaign, most of the Kuomintang troops in South China withdrew to Hainan Island in an attempt to occupy it for a long time. In December 1949, the Kuomintang established the Hainan Defense General Command in Haikou, with Xue Yue as the commander-in-chief and Li Yangjing, Han Hanying, Li Yutang, Li Tiejun, and Ou Zhen as the deputy commanders-in-chief, and unified command of the land, sea and air forces on the island. , ready to fight the PLA. The strength of the Kuomintang army on Hainan Island is about 110,000 people in 5 armies, 18 divisions of the army and the 42nd Brigade, 5th Squadron of the 4th Corps of the Armored Brigade; The 4th Regiment has 25 warships and gunboats; the 1st, 3rd, 10th, and 20th Battalions of the Air Force, the flight group directly under the Hainan Air Force Command and the 3rd Battalion of the 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment have fighter jets, bombers and transport planes 45 (Volume 6 of "National Revolutionary Army Campaign History - Fighting the Rebellion", p. 444, insert 10, 11, and 12 in Chapter 4 of Part IV).

After Xue Yue became the commander-in-chief of Hainan's defense, according to the "Ministry of National Defense"'s "Hainan Defense Headquarters, it should be strengthened as soon as possible, and the invasion should be actively suppressed with existing forces" ("National Revolutionary Army Campaign Fifth - Fighting the Chaos", Volume 6, page 448), decided to plan the battle as follows: clear out the internal bandits, tighten the coastal defenses, and refuse to stop the foreign bandits. and the air force to consolidate the coastal defense; on the one hand, use a powerful part of the army to wipe out the local communist party on the island as soon as possible, completely eliminate the internal threat, stabilize the internal, and then use all our strength to wipe out the attacking foreign bandits." ("National Revolutionary Army Campaign History No. 1." Volume 6, page 448) According to this, most of the warships and aircraft of the Israeli navy and air force were placed in the Qiongbei area to block the Qiongzhou Strait and prevent the People's Liberation Army from crossing the sea to attack.At the same time, the units under it were organized into the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Route Army, responsible for the dual tasks of "clearing and suppressing" and defending Hainan Island: the 1st Route Army was composed of the 32nd Army (administrating 4 divisions) and The Qiongbei Fortress (owing to the Xiuying Fort) was formed, under the command of Li Yutang, who was responsible for the garrison mission from Mulan Port to Wushi Port in Qiongdong; The temporary 13th Division, the Xiuying Fort of the Qiongbei Fortress, the 1st Gendarmerie Regiment, and the Haikou Garrison Headquarters are all under the command of Li Tiejun, who are responsible for the garrison mission from Mulan Port to Linshi Port in Qiongbei; the 3rd Route Army is composed of The 4th Army (with 3 divisions under its jurisdiction) and the 64th Army (with 3 divisions under its jurisdiction) are composed of the 64th Army (with 3 divisions under its jurisdiction), under the command of Rong Youlue, who are responsible for the garrison mission from Linshi Port in Qiongxi to Lingtou Bay; the 4th Route Army consists of the 63rd Army ( Jurisdiction over 3 divisions), the 3rd Gendarmerie Regiment and Qiongnan Fortress, under the command of Chen Ji, responsible for the garrison mission from Wushi Port to Lingtou Bay.

Among these troops, there are about 5 divisions capable of maneuvering. The defense focus is on the garrison area of ​​the 62nd Army on the front of the strait, and the defense area is Baohugang, Jimaowan, Qixingling, Puqian, Haikou, Tianwei Port, and Dongshui. , Huachang, Xinying, Touzui, Guangcun and other places are the key points.This kind of force configuration is not only convenient for bombing and shelling the port on the other side with sea and air force, destroying the departure of ships on the other side, but also convenient for strengthening coastal defense buildings and maritime patrols. It is the best combination of current military strength.

This is after more than two months of preparations, the Kuomintang army, relying on the superiority of the sea and air force, organized a three-dimensional defense system around the island on Hainan Island, including the Qiongzhou Strait.Xue Yue named it the "Boling Line of Defense" after his personal name, and boasted that this line of defense was impenetrable. In late January 1950, the Kuomintang army stationed on the island began to attack the Qiongya column.