Mao's Army Goes to Sea: The Island Campaigns and the Founding of China's Navy

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) established a navy from 1949 to 1950 to secure China's periphery and capture key offshore islands from the Nationalist rival. Mao Zedong's Army Goes to Sea is a ground-breaking history of the founding of the Chinese navy and Communist China's earliest island-seizing campaigns. It reveals how Chinese leaders refashioned stratagems and tactics honed over decades of revolutionary struggle on land for nautical purposes, and how the navy-building process, sea battles, and contested offshore landings had a lasting influence on the PLA.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 173 pages
Publication date: 03 January 2023
Publisher: Georgetown University Press

From 1949 to 1950, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) undertook critical decisions to establish a navy and secure China's periphery. Despite the civil war being fought with a peasant army, Mao Zedong, the leader of the Communist Party of China, recognized the need to develop maritime capabilities to capture key offshore islands from the Nationalist rival. This led to the development of a navy, which is explored in depth in Toshi Yoshihara's book, "Mao's Army Goes to Sea."

This definitive account of a little-known yet critical moment in China's naval history reveals how Chinese leaders adapted the stratagems and tactics honed over decades of revolutionary struggle on land for nautical purposes. Despite facing significant challenges, the PLA achieved important victories over its Nationalist foes by capturing offshore islands to secure its position.

Drawing extensively from newly available Chinese-language sources, this book provides valuable insights into the navy-building process, sea battles, and contested offshore landings. It sheds light on how these early experiences and myths have shaped the PLA's identity, strategy, doctrine, and structure even today.

For US policymakers and scholars, "Mao's Army Goes to Sea" serves as a crucial tool to understand China's recent maritime achievements in historical context. It also offers valuable insights into how China's navy may act in the future, considering the evolving geopolitical landscape and the challenges it faces.

In conclusion, "Mao's Army Goes to Sea" is a groundbreaking work that sheds light on a critical period in China's naval history. It provides valuable insights into the PLA's founding, its early campaigns, and the lasting influence these experiences have had on the organization. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding China's military and its strategic ambitions.

Weight: 262g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781647122829