Counter Assault
On April 20, 1950, Xue Yue ordered the nationalist 32nd and 62nd Army to attack the PLA beachhead at Meiting (美亭) with six divisions. This counterattack left other areas weakly defended, which were promptly attacked by the second wave of the PLA's landing forces. Once the communist forces became strong enough, they attacked the bulk of the counterattacking nationalist forces and eventually annihilated them in the regions of Yellow Bamboo (Huangzhu, 黄竹) and Meiting. The 127th and 128th Divisions of the 43rd Army were ordered to hold Chengmai, along with seven regiments of the 40th Army.
Other communist landing forces were led by the 3rd Division of the Qiongya Column in an effort to surround the nationalist 32nd and 62nd Armies, along with the Temporarily Organized 13th Division and the Training Division, who were attacking the 128th Division of the communist 43rd Army. A fierce battle ensued, resulting in the complete destruction of the nationalist 32nd Army and leaving all other nationalist units badly mauled.
Realizing the situation was hopeless, Xue Yue withdrew his remaining troops southward and retreated to Taiwan. The commander-in-chief and his staff were airlifted to Taiwan in a cargo airplane escorted by two fighters.
Read more about this topic: Landing Operation On Hainan Island
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