CASUALTY RECORD // February 23, 1950
Battle of Nan'ao Island
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
1 sides catalogued · combined 1,348 estimated
Republic of China (Taiwan)
1,348
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Nan'ao Island marked the elimination of the last Nationalist holdout in the Swatow area following the communist seizure of Guangdong. The island's garrison of 1,375 men was effectively destroyed in a single engagement: 27 were killed and 1,348 were captured, including two senior Nationalist officers, the deputy commander-in-chief of the 1st Cantonese Column and the deputy commander of the 58th division. The capture of 1,304 firearms added materially to PLA resources. The fall of Nan'ao completed the communist consolidation of the Guangdong coast, closing off an enclave that had persisted after the province's fall and removing a potential Nationalist foothold in the region.
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