Author: Shen Du
On August 23, 1958, the shocking Battle of Kinmen began. Our army launched an overwhelming artillery bombardment of various important targets in Kinmen. At the same time, our army's navy and air force also blockaded Kinmen at sea and in the air, and repeatedly inflicted heavy damage on Chiang Kai-shek's navy and air force.
The outbreak of artillery battles made it difficult for Kinmen to obtain support supplies. After Jiang Jun's plane dropped several boxes in the air, Jiang Jun's soldiers went to pick up boxes containing food, and the boxes containing weapons and ammunition were ignored. Whether it was combat effectiveness or morale, the Golden Gate defenders were extremely low.
By September, our troops stationed in Xiamen were talking about the liberation of Kinmen, up and down. Han Xianchu, commander of the Fuzhou Military Region, said that if it is blockaded for another month, Kinmen will be the next Changchun. But to the surprise of the officers and men of the unit, an order came from Beidaihe: "On September 4, 5, and 6, there was a three-day ceasefire, and the enemy was not allowed to return fire." ”
It was normal in the hearts of the warriors who had fought this order not to understand. However, soldiers regard obedience to orders as their duty, and when their superiors say they will not fight, the troops will resolutely not fire a single shot.
Our artillery opened fire on Kinmen
In fact, the shelling of Kinmen was not entirely a military battle. Launching the Kinmen Artillery Battle was, on the one hand, to teach Chiang Kai-shek's army to support the Middle East, and at the same time to show the attitude of New China's struggle with the Western powers. When our first card is finished, we have to see how the other side comes out and touch the bottom of the other party. Therefore, at the same time as the sudden ceasefire on September 4, the radio read out the announcement of Beijing, which basically announced the scope of our territorial waters, and specifically clearly declared that the baseline of our territorial waters was 12 nautical miles.
This is a blockbuster piece of news. Because according to the Hague Agreement, the baseline of the territorial sea is 3 nautical miles, which is the range of the coastal guns of Western countries in the 18th century. But many countries do not recognize it, such as the Soviet Union, which stipulates that it is 12 nautical miles, the widest is Chile, 150 nautical miles, and a super large fishing ground is included.
This 12 nautical miles is not paddled casually. According to the recollection of Lei Yingfu, a famous senior counselor in our army, Chairman Mao asked him to come and discuss the matter together with Qiao Guanhua, Liu Zerong, and others at that time. Liu Zerong is a senior expert in international law, and after the October Revolution in Russia, he visited Russia on behalf of the Chinese side and shook hands with Lenin.
Chairman Mao consulted with Liu Zerong: Must this Hague agreement be observed?
Out of caution, Liu Zerong said, we still have to abide by it.
The leader was a little surprised, and then said: The Hague Agreement is not a holy will, we still have to expand it. If we don't want to fight, does imperialism want to fight? We must fight, we are not afraid, we have already competed!
In this way, Chairman Mao made a decision: The baseline of the territorial sea of New China is 12 nautical miles.
Rayingff asked, do you want to publish the map accordingly?
Chairman Mao said that if we don't publish it, then we will bind ourselves, and if we don't release maps, we will have more room.
Liu Zerong
When our cards are finished, it depends on how the Americans play their cards. At this time, US President Dwight Eisenhower had no countermeasures, supporting Chiang Kai-shek's army, fearing a large-scale conflict with New China, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea had proved how stupid it was to fight the people's army, and the United States was not allowed to fight with China. If you don't support it, Natai Island will become an outcast of the United States, and New China may land on the island at any time and complete the final battle.
On September 4, Eisenhower summoned Secretary of State Dulles and a group of other staff members to discuss countermeasures, and Dulles said at every turn, "We must destroy China with atomic bombs." While the meeting was in progress, Eisenhower received a report that New China had issued a statement on the 12-nautical-mile territorial line.
Eisenhower then made up his mind to have Dulles issue a statement as tough as possible, indicating that the United States would protect Chiang, but could not say what the United States would do. At the same time, the Seventh Fleet was used to transport materials to Kinmen and Matsu to ensure the supply of materials to the two places.
After Dulles issued a statement, Premier Zhou also issued a statement as a response. The two sides began to play a game, testing each other's bottom line. The Soviet Union to the north was not absent, and Khrushchev issued a statement saying bluntly: If the American fleet dares to attack the coast of New China, the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons will make the American fleet come and go.
Eisenhower
Kinmen was not only supported by the U.S. fleet, but also aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles. But the morale of our army is high, and it has no fear of American aircraft carriers and missiles. On September 6, the Xiamen front received orders to continue the ceasefire on the 7th. The United States announced that it would not recognize the 12-nautical-mile territorial line drawn by our side, and at the same time, the US warships accompanied Chiang Kai-shek warships and transported supplies to Kinmen, which showed the attitude of the United States in supporting Chiang Kai-shek's army.
Jiang Shi xi: If you don't beat me, you will be bankrupt by blocking the Golden Gate! If you hit me, we have the protection of the Americans, and if you hit the Americans, you will achieve the goal of pulling the United States into the water.
USS Midway of the Seventh Fleet
However, they forgot that our army has always dared to fight and dare to win! In the War of Liberation, how many times did Chiang Kai-shek's army think that our army did not dare to fight, but our army dared to fight and won the war!
On September 7, from Beidaihe to Xiamen, we began to study countermeasures. The core is to "only fight The Chiang Kai-shek ship and not the US ship." This is not an easy task. Because the US ship Chiang Kai-shek is too close, the artillery may hit the US ship if it is slightly offside. And if the US warship takes the initiative to cover the Chiang Kai-shek ship and even fires artillery at our army, our army will be very passive. The order received by the front line was: The US ships return fire and do not fight the US ships.
USS Baltimore-class heavy cruiser Helena
At noon on September 8, at 12:43, the front-line artillery received the order to open fire, and after firing for almost 10 minutes, hit the Jiang Army's "Meile" transport ship, and the gasoline-laden "Meile" quickly exploded and sank.
The artillery of Chiang Kai-shek's army in Kinmen began to fire at our army, and the artillery of our army returned fire with all its might. Soon, Jiang Jun's "Meizhen" was also hit, and Li Yuxi angrily ordered the Meizhen to forcibly dock, and as a result, more shells hit the Meizhen, and Li Yuxi immediately ordered the Meizhen to lean towards the US heavy cruiser Helena: You Americans are not in the water, then I will pull you down hard.
Ye Fei stared at the Helena with a telescope, worried that the US army would support Chiang Kai-shek's army, and their 9 203 mm naval guns were much more powerful than Chiang Kai-shek's cannons. What neither our army nor Chiang Kai-shek's army expected was that the Helena and several other US ships actually turned around and ran, and Ye Fei could hear Jiang Jun scolding the street in plain language on the radio: "Seventh Fleet fucking bastard!" ”
Our artillery fired at the Chiang kai-shek ships at sea
The war report was sent to Beidaihe, which was already expected by Chairman Mao. To only fight Chiang Kai-shek and not to fight US warships is not to be afraid of the Americans, and to clean up Chiang Kai-shek's army under the eyes of the Americans is to tell the Americans: This is a family affair of the Chinese, and the Americans should not interfere! The Americans dispatched warships, just to make a show, and did not dare to fight with real knives and guns. For the Americans, they will not really give up on Chiang Kai-shek, but they will never shed blood for them.
Internationally, other countries have seen the courage and boldness of new China and won wide praise. Chiang also understood that the Americans did not really protect him.
In this limited artillery battle, the wrestling and psychological characteristics of all parties still have a strong mirror significance to this day!
[Deeply cultivate the history of war, carry forward positive energy, soldiers say that all parties are welcome to submit articles, private messages will be restored]