Mao's army goes to sea : the island campaigns and the founding of China's navy

New details about the founding of China's Navy reveals critical historical context and insight into future strategy From 1949 to 1950, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made crucial decisions to establish a navy and secure China's periphery. The civil war had been fought with a peasant army, yet in order to capture key offshore islands from the Nationalist rival, Mao Zedong needed to develop maritime capabilities. Mao's Army Goes to Sea is a ground-breaking history of the founding of the Chinese navy and Communist China's earliest island-seizing campaigns. In this definitive account of a little-known yet critical moment in China's naval history, Toshi Yoshihara shows that Chinese leaders refashioned the stratagems and tactics honed over decades of revolutionary struggle on land for nautical purposes. Despite significant challenges, the PLA ultimately scored important victories over its Nationalist foes as it captured offshore islands to secure its position. Drawing extensively from newly available Chinese-language sources, this book reveals how the navy-building process, sea battles, and contested offshore landings had a lasting influence on the PLA. Even today, the institution's identity, strategy, doctrine, and structure are conditioned by these early experiences and myths. Mao's Army Goes to Sea will help US policymakers and scholars place China's recent maritime achievements in proper historical context ― and provide insight into how its navy may act in the future. The first detailed book in the West about the founding of China's navy and the significance of that founding era today From 1949 to 1950, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made crucial decisions to establish a navy and secure China's periphery. The civil war had been fought with a peasant army, yet to capture key offshore islands from the Nationalist rival, Mao Zedong needed to develop maritime capabilities. Mao's Army Goes to Sea is a groundbreaking history of the founding of the Chinese navy and Communist China's earliest island-seizing campaigns. By providing the definitive account of this little-known yet critical moment in China's naval history, author Toshi Yoshihara shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the People's Republic of China paid close attention to naval affairs during its earliest years. Chinese leaders possessed a clear vision and independent agency, refashioning the stratagems and tactics honed over decades of revolutionary struggle on land for nautical purposes. Despite serious material shortcomings, a lack of formal naval training, and some early military disasters, the PLA ultimately scored important victories over its Nationalist foes as it captured offshore islands to secure its position. Drawing extensively from newly available Chinese-language sources, this book reveals how the navy-building process, sea battles, and contested offshore landings had a lasting influence on the PLA. Even today, the institution's identity, strategy, doctrine, and structure are conditioned by these early experiences and myths. Mao's Army Goes to Sea will help US policymakers and scholars place China's recent maritime achievements in proper historical context and provide insight into how its navy may act in the future. "This is a history of the creation of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Mao Zedong's attempt to end the civil war with the conquest of key offshore islands. The civil war had been fought with a peasant army, yet to complete the consolidation of power and pursue its rivalry with Nationalist China, Mao had to develop maritime capabilities. Drawing extensively from newly available Chinese-language sources, this study shows that the navy-building process, the sea battles, and the contested landings on offshore islands had a lasting influence. Even today, the PLAN's identity, strategy, doctrine, and force structure are conditioned by these early experiences and myths. By providing the definitive account of this little-known, yet critical, moment in China's naval history, this book overturns the conventional wisdom that the People's Republic of China was inattentive to naval affairs during the early years"-- Provided by publisher This is the story of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) first encounters with the seas. Drawing extensively from Chinese-language sources, Mao’s Army Goes to Sea recounts the Chinese navy’s founding and the earliest naval engagements and amphibious operations by Mao Zedong’s forces to secure China’s maritime periphery. The ensuing chapters detail how Mao’s trusted lieutenants struggled to establish a new naval service and to fight at sea even as the wider Chinese Civil War on the mainland drew to its bitter end. The study further shows that the navy-building process, the pitched battles at sea, and the contested landings on offshore islands had a lasting influence on the Chinese military’s institutions, outlook, strategy, doctrine, and force structure. Cover Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Maps Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 2 An Overlooked History 3 The East China Navy 4 The People’s Navy 5 The Xiamen, Jinmen, and Zhoushan Campaigns 6 The Hainan and Wanshan Campaigns 7 An Assessment of the PLA’s Seaward Turn 8 Discerning Institutional Continuities 9 Conclusion Selected Bibliography Index About the Author Toshi Yoshihara shows, in Mao’s Army Goes to Sea, how the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) made crucial decisions to establish a navy and secure China’s periphery. This narrative will help US policymakers and scholars place China’s recent maritime achievements in proper historical context and provide insight into how its navy may act in the future.