Tales of Wind: 13,000 Chinese blown to defeat

On my recent visit to the Taiwanese island of Quemoy I discovered a small but amazing island full of history, underground bunkers, land mines and hope. Fewer than 75,000 people live on this bow-tie shaped island less than 3 miles off the coast of mainland China. And only as recently as 1997 has the island been opened to Westerners. In 2002, cross-channel relations with China were established in a monumental move to restore peace after so many years of violent conflict.

Impressive records date back thousands of years revealing the fascinating Chinese heritage of Quemoy and surrounding territories. But what most marks the windy island's landscape and draws tourists by the thousands to tread near mined beaches are all the sobering scars of wars that were waged from 1949 through the 1960's.

For despite the most overwhelming of odds the island history records the tales of ingenuity and of wind which thwarted every invasion attempt and survived the heaviest bombardments Communist China ever hurled their way. Perhaps the most famous battle was a bombardment in 1958 in which more than 470,000 rocket shells were blanketed across the entire island in a span of months wreaking horrific damage and leaving few structures unscathed. Today the shells are tooled into knives promoting a very successful commercial enterprise by transforming "swords into plowshares." While the fantastic underground bunkers that sheltered and supplied so many people through months of bombardment are on display for additional tourism and solemn remembrance.

Yet the conflict which piqued this wind enthusiast's interest the most was their battle of 1949. When in a surprise amphibious assault from mainland China more than 200 sailboats carrying 13,000 Chinese set out in darkness to breach the island's defenses and overwhelm the severely undermanned posts of the KMT defenders. The strategy was calculated and brilliant. Slip silently and quickly with the aid of strong winds and darkness onto the thin central isthmus which would strategically divide Quemoy in half. From there the supply lines would be cut and the more vulnerable half could be exploited by the reserved Chinese forces standing by for invasion.

But as legend has it, the Chinese could not hold their course in the strong winds that night and even on a short 3 mile journey they were blown from their strategic objective. Some credit the Wind-Lion god which protects the island in the form of more than 70 stone totems erected across the island from dynasties long past. Others surmise that the soldiers lack of sailing skill was their total undoing. So instead of cutting the island in half, the 13,000 invaders came ashore on a long stretch of beach at low tide in front of strong north shore defenses. 58 long hours later fewer than 900 invaders remained alive and the largest invasion attempt in Quemoy's long history of warfare was utterly thwarted against overwhelming odds.

A tale of wind to stretch the mind. With prevailing winds favoring interest and time, perhaps more tales of wind to follow - TJ

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