CASUALTY RECORD // May 1, 1950
Battle of Hainan Island
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
2 sides catalogued · combined 37,000 estimated
Republic of China (Taiwan)
33,000
Medium-confidence figure
People's Republic of China
4,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Hainan Island marked the effective end of the Chinese Civil War on the Chinese mainland periphery, completing the People's Republic of China's consolidation of major Chinese territory. The PRC's successful amphibious assault, despite facing a numerically larger ROC garrison, eliminated the last significant Nationalist foothold on a large Chinese island before Taiwan itself. ROC forces, concentrated near Haikou in the north, were unable to hold their coastal positions after the landings and suffered approximately 33,000 casualties against a PRC force that sustained around 4,000. The fall of Hainan removed a potential staging ground for any Nationalist counteroffensive and demonstrated that the PRC could project amphibious power against defended island positions — a capability with direct implications for the remaining cross-strait confrontation with Taiwan.
‹ Full battle dossier