The two commando commanders who forcibly crossed the Dadu River were indispensable: one became a founding lieutenant general, and the other was very sorry
In May 1935, after crossing the Jinsha River from Kyaukpyeong, Yunnan Province, the Central Red Army March continued north along Huili to Xichang Avenue, preparing to cross the Dadu River into northwest Sichuan.
Chiang Kai-shek judged that the Central Red Army, which had crossed the Jinsha River, might advance toward the Dadu River, penetrate deep into the hinterland of Sichuan, and join the Red Fourth Front. To this end, he drew up a battle plan to blockade the Red Army north of the Jinsha River, south of the Dadu River, and east of the Yalong River, and to "completely annihilate" it, and deployed the Battle of the Dadu River.
The two armies of the Kuomintang and the Communists must hold one and the other to rush the crossing, and a vicious battle is already on the string.
On May 24, Chiefs Liu and Nie arrived at the top of Ma'an Mountain. Anshunchang Ferry is right in front of you. Although it was late at night and it was still drizzling, the two chiefs decided to raid Anshun Field. Subsequently, Yang Dezhi was ordered to immediately organize a powerful river crossing commando.
The Anshunchang Ferry River is more than 100 meters wide, the vicious waves are churning, and on the other side of the river is defended by a battalion of the 5th Brigade of the Sichuan Army, and fortifications have been constructed. Whether the advance team can cross the Dadu River and occupy the ferry port on the other side is related to the lives of tens of thousands of Red Army soldiers!
However, the Red Army is not Shi Dakai!
Now the warriors of the Red 1St Regiment are going to shidakai where the whole army was destroyed, and once again perform a thrilling historical scene of the Central Red Army.
Yang Dezhi, the leader of the Red 1 regiment, came to the Dadu River to observe the water potential, and he considered various river crossing schemes:
The first option is water. But the Dadu River is like a wild horse that has lost its reins, roaring and galloping, 300 meters wide, and countless whirlpools, and people will be swept away by the rapids as soon as they hit the water.
The second option is to build bridges. However, the water was turbulent, the river was blocked by enemy fire, and it was the flood season, and it was not easy to insert a wooden stick, let alone an anqiao pile. If you think about it, you can only rely on the wooden boat that the troops have captured to force the crossing. He reported to his superiors.
Standing on the shore, seeing that the Dadu River was surging and the water was full of rapid whirlpools, Chief Liu and Nie decided to organize an extremely fierce and courageous (assault) team to ride through the rapids in the only small boat, cover with firepower, and ensure that the ship could get close to the dock, so that the warriors could rush up the stone steps and seize the enemy fortifications. At the same time, it is also necessary to strictly seal off the enemy reinforcements from Anqingba. Military urgency, there is no other choice.
"Strike first to be strong, immediately organize commandos and cover support firepower, and start the strong crossing at dawn!" Liu Shuai gave the order decisively.
Regiment commander Yang Dezhi entrusted the task of selecting personnel to cross the river to Sun Jixian, the commander of the 1st Battalion.
Later, the list of 16 people of the river crossing commando team was determined, led by Xiong Shanglin, the commander of the 2nd Company. The river crossing commando consisted of 17 members.
The ferryman for the Red Army was the local twenty-year-old boatman Shuai Shigao, and his three young companions, because the boat was small, Sun Jixian took seventeen people, plus he happened to be eighteen good men, and boarded the ship in two batches. Company Commander Xiong Shanglin was in the first boat, and Camp Commander Sun Ji was in the second boat.
At 9 o'clock, Liu Shuai ordered the start of the forced crossing. Light and heavy machine guns covering the shore opened fire in unison, creating a dense wall of bullets on the river. The Sichuan Army bunker at the port on the opposite bank also opened fire and strafed the ferry. For a moment, the sound of dense gunfire accompanied by the roaring sound of the river resounded over the entire Dadu River.
In the fierce gunfire, Xiong Shanglin boarded the first boat with 8 commandos, untied the cable, and the small boat arrows rushed down the river to the opposite port. The ferry finally rushed through the middle stream and approached the ferry port under the cliff on the opposite bank, and the 9 warriors on board flew off the boat. The Sichuan army panicked, and grenades and rolling thunder and hail smashed into the warriors. Undaunted, the warriors took advantage of the dead end of the stone steps to rush upwards, and when they reached the top of the cliff, a row of grenades flew out, and 9 warriors rushed into the enemy fortifications with the smoke.
The Sichuan army resisted desperately and counterattacked continuously. Xiong Shanglin and others relied on the fortifications left by the enemy to resolutely guard the ferry, and the Red Army on the south bank concentrated all kinds of firepower to support them in battle. The two sides were fiercely fighting, and the 8 warriors of the second ship also landed with two light machine guns.
Xiong Shanglin drew a large knife and shouted: Machine gun cover, follow me! "Took the lead and rushed into the enemy group. The snowy knives flew up and down, and the 17 warriors bravely advanced one by one. Those "double-gun generals" of the Sichuan Army had never seen such desperate fighters, and within a few minutes, they fled everywhere.
The natural danger of the Dadu River was finally broken through by the Red Army.
The 17 warriors tore a gap in the insurmountable Dadu River, which the Kuomintang army boasted, and opened a passage north for the main force of the Red Army. This feat not only shocked the opponents at that time, but also shocked future generations.
Among them, the two commando commanders were indispensable, and Sun Jiji made many meritorious contributions in the Liberation War, successively participating in the Laiwu News, the Battle of Menglianggu, the Battle of Jinan, and the Battle of Huaihai, and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general in 1955.
The other is more regrettable, Xiong Shanglin subsequently participated in the Eastern Expedition and the Western Expedition, in 1942 because of his prejudice against the organization, led some fighters to break away from the ranks, wanted to revolution alone, and was later killed by his own chief of staff, at the age of 29. Maybe this is life, the world is unpredictable. In the early 1960s, Xiong Shanglin's remains were relocated and buried in the Chongli County Martyrs' Cemetery.