On this day, 67 years ago, on August 23, 1958 (July 9, 1958 in the lunar calendar), the China People's Liberation Army bombarded Kinmen. Before shelling Kinmen, an artillery unit expressed its determination to the Taiwan Strait crisis, referred to as the "Taiwan Strait crisis". It refers to the military actions taken by the troops on both sides of the Taiwan Strait against each other after the Kuomintang regime defeated Taiwan in 1949, which may trigger a full-scale war. It has been experienced six times. Kinmen Artillery Battle (August 23-October 5, 1958) On August 23, 1958, the People's Liberation Army of China launched a howitzer assault on the Kuomintang troops stationed in Kinmen. Within 44 days, it fired nearly 500,000 shells at Kinmen. Ji Xingwen, Zhao Jiaxiang, Zhang Jie, deputy commanders of the Kinmen Defense Department, were shot and killed. In early August 1958, the Taiwan authorities also declared that the Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu region had entered an emergency readiness state. On August 7 and August 14, the air forces of both sides of the Taiwan Strait engaged in fierce air battles over the Taiwan Strait. After August 25, the national army attempted to maintain Kinmen's sea supplies and used night to transport them. The People's Liberation Army, on the other hand, used ships and shore-bombardments in an attempt to maintain the blockade. On September 2, 1958, after the Kuomintang Navy Tuojiang completed its transportation and replenishment operations, it was surrounded and violently attacked by the People's Liberation Army torpedo boats in the open sea near Lioluo Bay in Kinmen, and almost sank. On September 8, the People's Liberation Army continued to fire more than 53300 artillery shells at the Kinmen Islands, focusing on the Xintou Wharf of Kinmen. On the way, the artillery fire from the 150th Company of the People's Liberation Army Coastal Artillery hit the medium landing ship USS Melo (LSM242) that was unloading, killing and injuring 11 officers and soldiers, and the landing ship was hit and detonated and burned. The Kinmen Garrison Artillery began to fight back at 1:30 p.m., firing a total of more than 10100 rounds. By 6:30, the People's Liberation Army was suppressed and stopped shooting. On September 24, the Kuomintang Air Force used the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile to shoot down a PLA Air Force J-5 fighter jet, setting the first precedent in the world for air-to-air missiles to shoot down fighter jets. On October 5, 1958, Peng Dehuai, Minister of Defense of the People's Republic of China, announced that "based on a humanitarian standpoint, the shelling of Kinmen will be stopped for seven days." On October 13 of the same year, a ceasefire was declared for another two weeks. By the afternoon of October 20, the People's Liberation Army claimed that the ceasefire was invalid because US warships participated in escorting the Taiwan Transport and Resupply Corps. It resumed artillery bombardment at 4 p.m. that day. By dusk, more than 11,500 rounds had been fired. The National Army artillery also concentrated the firepower of seven battalions at 5 p.m. to counterattack. After October 25, the People's Liberation Army gave up its strong assault, and the artillery of both sides continued to engage in artillery operations at this time. Subsequently, the People's Liberation Army announced that it would adopt the policy of "single and double stops (artillery bombardment on a single day, no artillery bombardment on two days)" to continue the shelling. From January 8 to 15 of the following year, there was no war for five consecutive days. On the 15th, the People's Liberation Army suddenly fired sporadic disruptive shots. From then on, on a single day, there were only small-scale shooting or propaganda bombs fired. The national army often used a single day to launch sporadic shooting or propaganda bombs on the mainland. Large-scale artillery battles never happened again. In 1960, the mainland launched smaller-scale June 17 and June 19 artillery battles, and then fired artillery one after another in the "single and double" method until 1979, when the People's Republic of China and the United States established diplomatic relations. The Kinmen Artillery War did not seek to kill or occupy, but a war with political significance higher than military significance.