Six months after he had conquered the South China mainland, Red General Lin Piao was ready for the overwater jump to Hainan. Unlike Nationalist China's other island, Formosa, which lies 100 deep-water miles from the Red-held coast, Hainan has only a narrow channel (15 miles) separating it from the continental shore. Behind a thin shield of gunboats and planes, Nationalist General Hsueh Yueh had tried to pull together Hainan's army of 160,000, mostly remnants of the south China retreat.
Early last week, under cover of night, a fleet of Red junks crossed the channel southwest of Hoihow. A few thousand...
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