In 1949, when the Chinese Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan, it made the islands of Kinmen and Matsu the front line in the struggle to ward off the Communists and regain the mainland. It was for this reason that the Kinmen area, separated from Xiamen by a short stretch of water, found itself pounded by artillery.
民國三十八年國民政府撤退來台，以金門、馬祖為反共復國的最前哨，也因此，與廈門僅一水之隔的金門地區曾飽受炮火蹂躪。