Second Taiwan Strait Crisis

The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) governments in which the PRC shelled the islands of Matsu and Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to seize them from the Republic of China.

Overview

The crisis started with the 823 Artillery Bombardment (translated from Traditional Chinese: 八二三炮戰; Simplified Chinese: 八二三炮战; pinyin: Bāèrsān Pàozhàn) at 5:30 on August 23, 1958, when People's Liberation Army forces began an intense artillery bombardment against Quemoy. ROC forces in Quemoy dug in and returned fire. In the heavy exchange of fire, roughly 2,500 ROC troops and 200 PRC troops were killed.

This was a continuation of the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, which had started immediately after the Korean War. Chiang Kai-shek had begun to build on the two islands of Matsu and Quemoy. In 1954, PRC began firing artillery at both the islands of Quemoy and Matsu focusing most of the attack on Quemoy.

The United States Eisenhower Administration responded to ROC's request for aid according to its obligations in the 1954 U.S.-ROC defense treaty by reinforcing US naval units and ordering US naval vessels to help the Kuomintang Nationalist government protect Quemoy's supply lines. Under a secret effort known as Operation Black Magic, the US Navy modified some ROC air force F-86 Sabres with its newly introduced AIM-9......
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