The campaign ran into unexpected difficulties and did not achieve its objectives. The Soviets did not give explicit support to the operation, and the United States provided air and sea cover to Kuomintang supply ships up to within three miles of the Chinese coast. Kuomintang fighter jets shot down 37 PRC fighters but only lost only 3 themselves, and Nationalist artillery and naval bombardments destroyed 25 PRC ships. Peng had quietly opposed the operation from the beginning and gradually began to end hostilities after the PLA had encountered serious difficulties by announcing a series of intermittent ceasefires and eventually halting the campaign in late October. Su Yu was blamed for the disaster and replaced with another ally of Peng, General Huang Kecheng. Peng's position was not directly affected, but his personal prestige suffered, and the practical effects of his efforts to modernize China's armed forces were called into question within the PLA. Su was accused of directing the aborted attack on Matzu and withdrawing troops from North Korea without authorization, and of secretly taking orders from the Soviets. The conflict between Su and Peng lingered throughout Peng's life, and Su was not rehabilitated until after his death.