Foreword
In August 1958, bursts of gunfire were heard in Kinmen, and the Taiwan issue once again became the focus of global attention.
html On September 7, a formation suddenly appeared in the Taiwan Strait , with a Chiang Kai-shek warship in the middle and American warships on both sides. The formation headed straight for Kinmen.At that time, the United States sent warships and clamored to "protect" Kinmen and other places. On the other hand, it hurriedly contacted China through diplomatic channels, hoping to start ambassadorial level dialogue as soon as possible.
Faced with the United States, which was deeply involved in the Taiwan issue, and the menacing American warships, Ye Fei, then secretary of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee and first political commissar of the Fuzhou Military Region, immediately asked Chairman Mao for instructions.
After listening to the report, Chairman Mao calmly said four words: "Just hit it right."
As the situation in Kinmen further escalated, the United States intended to withdraw in exchange for China not to take action against Taiwan and Penghu. This shows that China's toughness The measures have a clear deterrent effect.
Why did China have the confidence to confront the United States head-on? The story begins in 1954.
1. A decision related to national strength
In April 1954, Chairman Mao personally went to Qinhuangdao to carry out inspection work. Facing the endless sea, Chairman Mao suddenly asked the district chief who accompanied the inspection: "Is this part of the sea under your jurisdiction?" "
The district chief quickly replied: "Yes, this part of the sea and land is under our jurisdiction."
After hearing the answer, Chairman Mao fell into deep thought. He knew that whether the sea areas are under our jurisdiction cannot be determined by talking about it. China Coastal defense must be strengthened and control of territorial waters must be strengthened.
On September 4, 1958, China suddenly and solemnly announced to the world that its territorial waters had been expanded from the original 3 nautical miles to 12 nautical miles.
As soon as the news came out, the world was shocked, especially the United States, which was extremely dissatisfied.
Picture | Statue of Chairman Mao
At that time, the United States relied on its advantages in economic, military and other fields and often sent various warships and fighter planes to the surrounding areas of China to show off its power.
After China issued the above announcement, U.S. warships sailed near the Taiwan Strait under various flags. Then the United States quickly issued a statement saying that it would send the Seventh Fleet to the Taiwan Strait to escort the Kuomintang warships. As a result, the United States waited for another sound. The sound of a cannon directly put the United States in a dilemma.
In fact, since the end of the Liberation War, Chairman Mao has been studying how to solve the Taiwan issue, hoping to return Taiwan to the embrace of the motherland as soon as possible, and has formulated a series of strategies for this purpose.
According to the original plan, the People's Liberation Army should control the air and sea over the Taiwan Strait within one or two years, and establish a base to support operations, and then regain Taiwan through military means in 1950-1951. However, the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea coincided with the plan, causing the plan to have to Stranded.
Although China taught the United States a lesson during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the United States still wants to extend its arms from across the ocean to intervene in the Taiwan Strait issue. It can even be said that there is no country in the world that stretches its hands as far as the United States. .
In April 1955, when Premier Zhou attended the Bandung Conference, he directly opened the skylight and spoke clearly, expressing his willingness to return to the negotiating table with the United States to solve the problem, and hoping to work with the United States to cool down the situation in the Taiwan Strait. In response, the United States responded positively.
However, in December of the same year, the United States and Taiwan openly signed the so-called "Mutual Defense Agreement", and then the United States made harsh words: "If China decides to resolve the Taiwan Strait issue through force, then the United States will provide military support to Taiwan."
and At the same time, the United States continues to negotiate with China and intentionally delays China's reunification plan.
During the negotiations, the United States on the one hand demanded that China promise not to take military action against Taiwan, and on the other hand continued to maintain a military presence in the Taiwan Strait. This shows that the United States does not sincerely want to cool down the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
In 1957, at this time, the United States was taking the opportunity of the Second Middle East War and the Soviet Union to join forces to attack the influence of Britain and France in the Middle East , and tried to further interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs.
Picture | The Second Middle East War
In order to divert the attention of the international public, the United States also created tension in the Taiwan Strait region and successively strengthened its military deployment in the region.
After the United States made enough superficial efforts, the Kuomintang became more confident and continued to harass and destroy the southeastern coastal areas, causing a lot of trouble to the local people.
At the same time, the Kuomintang also strengthened military deployment in the Kinmen and Matsu areas, deploying a total of 110,000 additional troops.
Against such a complex background, Chairman Mao and others had to re-examine their Taiwan Strait policy and adopt tougher measures to deal with the United States.
After discussion, Chairman Mao believed that the issue of territorial sea demarcation should be resolved first.
At that time, the territorial waters of many countries in the world were mainly based on the "Hague Agreement". The agreement clearly stipulated that the scope of national territorial waters should not exceed 3 nautical miles.
Although the Qing government and the Nationalist government had abided by this agreement, the United States and other Western powers did not take it seriously and tried to occupy more of China's territorial waters.
Chairman Mao, who was staring at the map motionlessly at this time, suddenly said:
"Since the founding of New China, foreign warships have come to China's door one after another to show off their force. However, we have no way to confidently come up with legal basis to clarify the territorial waters issue. , not to mention the so-called coastal defense ”
Then Chairman Mao called Premier Zhou and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately find professionals who understand international maritime law to discuss the issue of territorial waters and strive to determine the scope of China’s territorial waters as soon as possible. Then Premier Zhou quickly arranged a meeting with relevant people. Discuss the issue together.
Initially, legal professionals attending the meeting believed that the Hague Agreement is recognized by many countries. Once China fails to delimit its territorial waters in accordance with the Agreement, it is likely to cause dissatisfaction with the United States and other Western countries.
However, Chairman Mao asked after hearing this:
"We don't want war, do the imperialist countries do? Even if war does happen again, we will not be afraid, but since this issue has been discussed today, then We must be mentally prepared for war."
After hearing these words, everyone present remained silent.
Picture | Chairman Mao
Then Chairman Mao said:
"The Hague Agreement is not an imperial edict, and it cannot fully act in accordance with the will of the West. Since we have established a new China, we must break the old rules. In this case, even if we renew There is no problem in delimiting territorial waters that violates international law."
After listening to Chairman Mao's statement, everyone already had an idea in mind. After confirming that no one raised objections, Chairman Mao asked legal experts:
"If the territorial sea is expanded to 12 nautical miles, will it have an impact on ship navigation and fishermen's activities?"
In response, legal experts gave a negative reply, so this The matter was settled.
The reason why Chairman Mao was eager to solve the territorial sea issue at this time was because he wanted to solve the Taiwan issue behind closed doors.
2. An order was given to bombard Kinmen
In fact, as early as July, when the United States decided to intervene in the Lebanese civil war by force, Chairman Mao wanted to take this opportunity to solve the Taiwan issue, but "when to fight and how to fight" These are all very difficult questions.
Regarding the question of when to bombard Kinmen, Chairman Mao said: "We must continue to adhere to the principle of not fighting an uncertain war."
At that time, because the second Middle East War involved the main energy of the United States, Chairman Mao thought that it could take advantage of the opportunity. This opportunity was used to put the Taiwan issue on the table by bombarding Kinmen and smash the United States' conspiracy to interfere in the Taiwan issue.
html In early August, the artillery groups on the Fujian front line had made corresponding preparations for the bombardment of Kinmen, but Beijing had not issued an order for a long time. Some commanders could not help but ask the headquarters when the bombardment would be launched. In thewar room, Ye Fei and others sat opposite each other, raising their wrists to look at their watches from time to time. Even the confidential phone on the table was on standby.
"Ding-a-ling--" The phone ringing suddenly broke the silence of the war room, and Ye Fei hurriedly stepped forward to pick up the phone.
Picture | General Ye Fei
"Comrade Ye Fei? The chairman asked you to take a special plane and rush to Beidaihe to discuss the matter," said General Wang Shangrong of the headquarters .
html On August 20, Ye Fei quickly rushed to Beijing after receiving the order.Chairman Mao then summoned Ye Fei and others to hold a meeting in Beidaihe to discuss how to win this battle.
Ye Fei directly opened a map and reported the specific situation on the front line to Chairman Mao one by one.
After listening to the report, Chairman Mao asked: "If so many guns are used, is it possible to avoid hitting the Americans."
Ye Fei said: "Chairman, almost not." The two sides then focused on material reserves, military Deployment and other issues were discussed and a series of operational plans were finalized.
On the afternoon of the 22nd, after careful consideration, Chairman Mao said directly: "Ye Fei, act according to your plan."
In addition, he also asked Ye Fei not to return to Fujian for the time being, but to stay directly in Beidaihe to direct the bombardment of Kinmen. This is equivalent to Chairman Mao being the "commander" of the bombardment of Kinmen.
html At 17:30 on the 23rd, after receiving the order, the Fujian frontline troops suddenly fired artillery shells in the direction of Kinmen, and the sky above instantly turned into a sea of red fire.The shelling lasted for more than two hours, and the Fujian Military Region fired a total of more than 30,000 artillery shells.
The next day, the navy and army jointly launched a series of attacks on the Kuomintang troops stationed in Kinmen. It basically took only a few days to successfully lock the entire Kinmen.
After the bursts of gunfire were heard in Kinmen, the United States quickly issued a statement condemning mainland China, claiming that mainland China would pay a heavy price for this.
At the same time, the US government is also aware that the US's use of force to invade Lebanon at that time attracted a lot of criticism. The international community and allies have condemned the United States. Almost no ally is willing to follow the United States to continue to face another war in the Taiwan Strait region.
Faced with rising tensions in Kinmen, then US Secretary of State Dulles sought to contact mainland China.
He emphasized that the United States still advocates discussing the Taiwan Strait issue with China through peaceful means.
Picture | Thousands of guns fired
After the United States took the initiative to contact China, Chairman Mao said with a smile:
"I didn't expect that our sudden action would make the United States want to negotiate for peace. In this case, let's negotiate!"
Then it was finalized. The strategy of "fighting and talking" was adopted, but not long after, news came from the Fujian front line that the Kuomintang warship was discovered 12 nautical miles away from Zhenhai Cape.
After hearing the news, Chairman Mao decided to temporarily stop the shelling for three days.
At that time, the international community thought that the warning from the United States was effective. Unexpectedly, the Chinese government directly issued a statement shortly after that it would expand the width of its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles. This was undoubtedly a direct slap in the face of the United States.
However, the Chinese government's attitude is extremely tough. It not only repeatedly disseminated the statement through broadcasts and other forms, but also authorized Xinhua News Agency to publish relevant news overseas.
After seeing the statement, the U.S. government jumped anxiously. Dulles loudly stated directly in front of the media that the United States would never recognize the content of the statement and would send the U.S. Seventh Fleet to escort the Kuomintang warships.
html On September 6, the central government issued a statement once again clarifying its attitude towards the situation in the Taiwan Strait to the United States and other Western countries. However, the next day, the Fujian front line discovered that US warships and Kuomintang warships formed a formation and were sailing from Taiwan to Kinmen.After discovering this phenomenon, Ye Fei quickly reported the specific situation to Chairman Mao, and then Chairman Mao directly replied: "The attack is correct."
Then Ye Fei asked: "Should we attack together with the US warships?" "
Chairman Mao said: "No, only attack the Kuomintang warships, not the American warships."
Chairman Mao also specifically emphasized not to launch a bombardment of the Kuomintang warships immediately, but to wait until the U.S.-Chiang Kai-shek joint formation arrived at the Liaoluo Bay port in Kinmen. Just fight.
He told Ye Fei that he must keep an eye on the formation and report to him the specific location, formation and other details of the formation every hour. Even if the formation had arrived at the Liaoluo Bay port, the troops should not fire directly until Beijing issued an order. Take action again.
Picture | US 7th Fleet
In the final analysis, the Taiwan issue is the Chinese people's own problem. The United States has no qualifications to intervene at all, but the United States just wants to intervene.
Once the United States takes substantive military action to intervene in the Taiwan issue, the problem will become more difficult to solve. If you are not careful, it may evolve into a military conflict between the two major powers China and the United States.
This is detrimental to China, the United States and even the world, so Chairman Mao is extremely cautious.
After listening to Chairman Mao's instructions, Ye Fei quickly informed the Fujian front line of the specific deployment.
html At 12 noon on the 8th, the joint formation formed by the United States and the Kuomintang had arrived at the port of Liaoluo Bay . The ship responsible for transporting supplies began to unload the supplies. Then Ye Fei immediately reported the progress to Chairman Mao.After listening to the report, Chairman Mao directly ordered the firing. Then Ye Fei immediately informed the frontline troops to fire according to the original battle plan. All the muzzles were aimed at the Kuomintang warships and they must avoid hitting the American warships.
With an order from Beijing, all the guns of the Fujian frontline troops were aimed at the Kuomintang warships and ships responsible for transporting supplies, and the entire Liaoluowan port terminal was filled with smoke.
At that time, the US military had been clamoring to send warships to escort, thinking that our army would not dare to fire directly on the formation.
As a result, after seeing the oncoming artillery shells, the U.S. troops on the deck fled in all directions and hurriedly got into the warship.
At this time, the American warships not only did not fire at the Fujian frontline troops, but directly left the Kuomintang warships and transport ships and left. They did not dare to stop until they were 12 nautical miles away from the mainland.
This smooth operation made the Kuomintang warship freeze in place, and some soldiers on board the Kuomintang warship couldn't help but curse.
In the end, the Fujian frontline troops successfully sank three Kuomintang warships, and also caused damage to many Kuomintang warships.
Picture | The People's Liberation Army shelled Kinmen
Chairman Mao said: "After the statement was issued on the 6th, the United States quickly expressed its welcome, which meant that the fight could not be fought. However, after the United States saw that we were not fighting, it hurriedly came to escort us. This Also the explanation is incomplete It will not work to punish Americans."
This shelling showed the United States the determination of the People's Liberation Army to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, causing the United States to fall into a dilemma. However, Chiang Kai-shek was extremely angry and directly ordered fighter planes, warships, etc. to launch a counterattack against the mainland's coast. , the whole Kinmen was in chaos.
Chairman Mao said at that time: "We can temporarily stop the shelling for a week and let the transport ships transport supplies to Kinmen and other places, but US warships cannot escort nearby, otherwise our army will continue to launch shelling."
Although the mainland has repeatedly stated attitude, but the United States and Chiang Kai-shek still want to continue to test the bottom line of the mainland.
Three days later, the United States and Chiang Kai-shek organized another formation to launch a joint voyage. However, this time the mainland did not wait until the formation approached Kinmen and Matsu. When the American warship entered the 12-nautical-mile territorial waters designated by the mainland, our army directly fired artillery shells at the Kuomintang warship. , causing a Kuomintang warship to sink.
This time, just like last time, the US military still chose to abandon the Kuomintang warships at the critical moment and flee.
3. Chairman Mao Assessed the Situation
At that time, the United States did not want to have military conflicts with mainland China in Kinmen and Matsu, and hoped to negotiate with China on the condition of withdrawing its troops.
asked mainland China to promise not to use force against Taiwan and Penghu. However, Chiang Kai-shek was furious after hearing this and directly stated that he could not accept the plan proposed by the United States.
The Kuomintang hopes that the United States can continue to provide military support in order to deal with the mainland. However, it is obvious that the United States has used practical actions to show that the US military does not want to get into a war in Kinmen and Matsu.
After confirming the idea of the United States, Chairman Mao firmly believed that a more flexible method should be used to promote the Kinmen bombardment, sometimes firing and sometimes stopping. There was no pattern to follow at all, which gave Chiang Kai-shek and the US military a headache.
Picture | Dulles
html On September 30, after the situation changed drastically, U.S. Secretary of State Dulles flew directly to Taiwan and forced Chiang Kai-shek to immediately withdraw troops from Kinmen and Matsu. However, Chiang Kai-shek’s attitude was very tough and he stated that he would never listen to the United States. arrangement.
Dulles, who then jumped anxiously, directly exposed the U.S. government's sinister plan to find new agents to create "two Chinas."
In fact, this shelling has triggered conflicts between the United States and Chiang Kai-shek, making Chairman Mao realize that this may be an excellent opportunity to counter the United States.
Chairman Mao knew that although the US military did not want to fight directly with the People's Liberation Army, the US government still wanted to create "two Chinas."
At the same time, Chairman Mao also considered that the Kuomintang did not want to create "two Chinas" with the United States.
After reviewing the situation, Chairman Mao decided to use Kinmen and Matsu as the link for the reunification of the motherland, so he decided not to liberate these two areas for the time being.
However, as the situation has developed so far, we suddenly decided not to liberate Kinmen. How will this continuous bombardment end?
At that time, the whole world was paying attention to this issue, but no one expected that Chairman Mao had a more clever trick.
Chairman Mao proposed that the Ministry of National Defense issue a proclamation to the outside world, and the proclamation was drafted by himself.
On October 6 and 26, " People's Daily " published " Message to Taiwan Compatriots " and "Revisit to Taiwan Compatriots" respectively. These two documents emphasized that both parties agreed that "Taiwan, Penghu, Jin, and Ma is Chinese territory" and "there is only one China in the world, not two Chinas" and other consensuses.
Picture | Message to Taiwan Compatriots
These two well-founded statements once again tell the world that the Taiwan issue must be resolved by compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait themselves, and foreign forces will not be allowed to interfere.
After the two announcements were released, they quickly won the support of public opinion and patriots around the world, and the doubts of the frontline troops were dispelled.
Conclusion
In this way, the historic bombardment of Kinmen came to a "dramatic" ending.
The shelling of Kinmen not only allowed us to see Chairman Mao's powerful military command capabilities, but also shattered the United States' sinister attempt to create "two Chinas."
After many years, the smoke from Kinmen has dissipated, but generations of Chinese people have never ignored the Taiwan issue.
Since the Taiwan issue arose due to national weakness and chaos, it will surely come to an end with the national rejuvenation.
believes that with the united efforts of all Chinese people, we will be able to gather powerful forces one after another and realize the reunification of the motherland at an early date.
