Battle of Dongshan Island

The Battle of Eastern Mountain Island was a battle fought between the s and the communists during the Chinese Civil War for the control of the Eastern Mountain Island at the southern tip of Fujian, China, and resulted in communists taking the island from the s.

Order of battle:
*Defenders: order of battle:
**The 17th Army
*Attackers: communist order of battle:
**The 91st of the 31st Army
**The 94th of the 32nd Army

After Zhangzhou-Xiamen Campaign, more than 5000 troops of the 17th Army retreated to Eastern Mountain Island of Fujian, and the s used the island as a steppingstone to launch raids against the mainland. The 91st of the 31st Army and the 94th of the 32nd Army of the People's Liberation Army launched the assault to take the island on May 11, 1950 with the help of three artillery battalions. After 10 hours of fighting, the fled the island after suffering 2,044 fatalities on land, and the island was firmly in the communist hands.

The communist victory was a result of lessons learned from previous battles with the s for the control of coastal islands, such as the Battle of Kuningtou, the Battle of Denbu Island, and the Battle of Nan'ao Island, which illustrated the necessity of massing absolute numerically and technical superior force in order to achieve success for the attackers. As a result, the attackers outnumbered the defenders nearly three to one, and the victory was secured.

The defenders, on the other hand, also learned from their previous experience in that a steppingstone at the enemy’s doorsteps might serve as a good political and propaganda showpiece, it was really impractical to hold on forever at all cost. Instead, when the situation permitted, it was wise to withdraw in order to save the strength for the future fights. Therefore, although the s lost the island, the defeat cannot be viewed as a total failure because more than half of the troops were saved, being able to successfully escape the enemy onslaught and fight for another day. Furthermore, the abandonment of Eastern Mountain Island meant that other offshore islands could be better protected because the force was not as overstretched as before, and the s could concentrate their force to strengthen their positions for better defense or even counterattack in greater scale, as shown three years later in the Dongshan Island Campaign, when they attacked this very same island previously abandoned by themselves.