Communist strategies Landing Operation on Hainan Island

people s liberation army preparing cross qiongzhou strait in 1950

the communist high command, central military committee of communist party of china, directed fourth field army careful in planning takeover of island, best completed in spring , summer of 1950. xv corps of fourth field army – headed commander-in-chief deng hua (邓华) , political commissar lai chuanzhu (赖传珠) – had strength of more 100,000 troops, , deployed leizhou peninsula , adjacent coastal regions. 40th , 43rd armies of xv corps tasked vanguard of campaign take island in december, 1949. communists mobilized total of 2,130 junks , on 4,000 civilian sailors cause, , 15,000 man communist qiongya column (琼崖纵队) on island ordered fight campaign against nationalist island garrison in order tie them down, result in insufficient resistance on beachheads when actual landing took place.

on february 1, 1950, ye jianying (叶剑英), commander-in-chief , political commissar of guangdong military region, held conference @ guangzhou officers of xv corps of iv field army. decided @ conference small-scale landings conducted first probe weakness of island s defense, , strengthen qiongya column on island in coordination landing forces.