Battle of Guningtou - Aftermath

Aftermath

Following the failure at Guningtou, PLA General Ye Fei submitted an official apology to Mao Zedong asking to be punished for his failure. General Ye attributed the failure of the operation to three factors: An insufficient number of landing vessels, failure to properly secure the beachheads, and the lack of an overall commanding officer to oversee the three regiments involved in the first wave. As Ye was one of Mao's favorite generals, Mao never took any action against him.

For ROC forces accustomed to defeat after defeat against the PLA while fighting on the mainland, the victory at Guningtou provided a much needed morale boost. The failure of the PRC to take Quemoy effectively halted its advance towards Taiwan. With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 and the signing of the US-ROC Mutual Defense Treaty, the PRC's plans for the assault on Taiwan were put on hold.

Due to its defeat, the Battle of Guningtou was not widely publicized in the PRC until recently with the publication of articles within the PLA examining reasons for its failure due to lack of amphibious landing experience, not enough landing crafts, no armor or anti-armor ability, and expecting to win the battle after one day of fighting and therefore not bringing enough ammo, supplies and water with the first wave. The battle is seen as being highly significant in Taiwan as it laid the foundation for the current status quo between mainland China and Taiwan.