This is the second of a two-part series looking at the origin story of the PLA Navy. This episode looks at the crucial Kinmen and Hainan Islands campaigns. This is an interview with Dr Toshi Yoshihara, an expert in the history of China's Navy.

How was each campaign planned and executed? What were the results for the Chinese Navy? What did the PLA Navy learn from these campaigns? How have these early littoral manoeuvre campaigns shaped the PLA today?

We discuss the roles of Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, Xiao Jinguang, in these early important battles for China.

Check out the show notes for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast.