Pearl of the Sea: Guishan Island
In the vast sea beyond the mouth of China’s Pearl River, more than forty islands large and small are scattered like stars. Among them is one called Guishan Island. It guards the approach to Guangzhou. A pilot station on the island guides foreign merchant ships into Guangzhou, making it one of China’s important gateways to the outside world.
More than fifty years ago, the island was originally called Lajiwei Island. Only after power changed hands between the Kuomintang and the Communists was it renamed Guishan Island. Behind the renaming of this small island lies a tragic and heroic story of battle.
Unequal Forces at Sea
It was 1950. Relying on its powerful naval superiority, the Kuomintang controlled the natural maritime barrier of the Wanshan Islands in the South China Sea, hoping to “control Wanshan, blockade the seaports, coordinate with the mainland, and prepare for a counterattack.” Its aim was to sever the new China’s southern links with the open sea, Hong Kong, and Macao, and thereby obstruct the mainland’s economic and social development.
At the time, the Kuomintang had its Third Fleet and a marine regiment in the Wanshan Islands, more than three thousand men in all. In addition, there were more than one thousand local troops under Li Chongshi who had already been stationed on the islands. The headquarters of the Third Fleet was on the main island, Lajiwei, under acting commander Lieutenant General Qi Hongzhang.
More than thirty frigates, minesweepers, and landing craft lay in the island’s harbor. The fleet included destroyers such as the Taihe and Yongning, of roughly two thousand and more than one thousand tons respectively, as well as the Zhonghai tank landing ship. The combined tonnage of these ships was three hundred times that of the Communist vessels.
To break the blockade, clear the coastal obstacles, and restore and develop the economy, the Communists adopted the strategy of “attacking island by island” and “using one island to attack another.” Two regiments from the 131st Division of the Fourth Field Army, together with newly organized river-defense units of the Guangdong Military Region and a supporting artillery element, formed a landing force of about ten thousand men.
The Communist side had sixteen naval vessels and eight transports. Only one, the American-made landing ship Guishan, displaced 358 tons and carried two 40-millimeter guns. Another, the Guochu, was larger than the Guishan but had no cannon, was slow, and had poor maneuverability. The rest were a mixture of small gunboats and landing craft with names such as Vanguard, Liberation, Struggle, Labor, and Advance. Some were little wooden fishing boats converted into gunboats, of assorted types and poor performance. The Communist naval commanders had all come from the army. Most were Northeasterners; many had never even seen the sea, could not swim, and had no experience in naval warfare.
Close-Quarters Battle at Sea
At dawn on May 25, 1950, a terrifying naval battle began. Communist ships departed from Tangjia Bay. Wooden boats and small gunboats charged into the Kuomintang fleet and fought at close range, almost bayonet to bayonet. Because the vessels differed greatly in speed and lacked necessary communications equipment, the fire-support ships and transports could not coordinate with one another. Individual craft lost contact and had to fight on their own.
The small gunboat Liberation was fast and was the first to rush into the waters around Lajiwei Island. Suddenly it saw a dark mass all around it—the Kuomintang fleet. Taking advantage of the enemy’s unpreparedness and the cover of darkness, Liberation darted back and forth among the larger ships and opened fire whenever it came close.
Liberation weighed only twenty-eight tons, yet it attacked giants of more than a thousand tons. From the flashing signal lights and the shape of the hull, its crew judged one ship to be the command vessel Taihe and concentrated fire on its bridge. In an instant, fire broke out on Taihe’s deck, and Qi Hongzhang’s right arm was shot away.
With its command center disabled, the Kuomintang fleet fell briefly into confusion. After an hour of chaotic fighting, dawn approached. When the larger ships realized that there were in fact only two Communist vessels, they launched a full counterattack and pounded Liberation.
Liberation was hit in many places. Its hull was riddled with shell holes and taking on water. Commander Lin Wenhu was killed. Of nineteen men aboard, thirteen were killed or wounded. Unable to continue fighting, the badly damaged boat broke out of the encirclement and returned.
While the Kuomintang fleet was heavily engaged with Liberation, Guishan arrived at the mouth of Mawan and used fierce gunfire to block the Kuomintang ships.
The fleet then turned on Guishan. Faced with overwhelming force, Guishan was hit and caught fire. Almost everything on deck was destroyed, and water began entering the engine room. The ship was forced to run itself aground for a landing.
Deputy regimental commander Guo Qinglong led the surviving soldiers ashore successfully. They then fought hand to hand with a Kuomintang marine force several times their size. In the end, overwhelmed by numbers, all died in battle.
Elsewhere in the naval battle, the Communist small gunboats Struggle and Vanguard encountered Kuomintang gunboats No. 25 and No. 26 near Niutou Island. The Communist boats closed in and attacked with rocket launchers, machine guns, and grenades. No. 26, seeing the danger, tried to escape but had no time. Relying on its larger tonnage, it attempted to ram Struggle. Struggle dodged in time, wheeled back, and sank it.
Vanguard moved alongside No. 25 and suddenly opened fire. Soldiers threw grenades, fixed bayonets, and jumped aboard the opposing gunboat. Platoon leader Lan Shanlu and squad leader Sun Wenlu of the 392nd Regiment, both carrying submachine guns, were the first onto the deck. They aimed at the cabin door, and seven opposing soldiers raised their hands in surrender.
Renamed Guishan Island
The Battle of the Wanshan Islands went through three rounds of fighting and lasted seventy-two days, ending on August 4. To honor the officers and soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army who died aboard Guishan, the Guangdong Provincial People’s Government renamed Lajiwei Island as Guishan Island and erected a martyrs’ monument there for later generations to pay their respects.
*(Originally published in World Journal, February 9, 2009.)*