In October 1934, the 13th Division of the Fifth Red Army, where Grandpa belonged, assembled in the Red Army Square in Ruijin Yeping, and after listening to the commander-in-chief's order to go north to resist the Japanese, it began to set off the next afternoon. Only later did he learn that all this team was a rear guard, that the central column in front had set out a few days ago, and that their rear guard was tasked with blocking the pursuing troops of the Kuomintang army at any time and covering the safe advance of the central military column.
Today Ruijin Yeping Red Army Square
The red fifth army of this unit is the original Ningdu uprising of the Kuomintang 26th Route Army, after the 1931 uprising through many reorganizations, expansion of the red, the regimental commander is Dong Zhentang, when the long march began, because the enemy did not know where the red army was going, so the vanguard of the troops fought relatively few battles, but the rear of the pursuit is very strong, therefore, during the Long March, the Red Fifth Army won its own reputation with tenacious resistance and tragic sacrifices, and was called "iron stream defender", that is, when people wrote the story of the Long March later. There is a saying circulating that the Red First Army fights the vanguard and attacks everything; behind the palace of the Fifth Red Army, there is no solid defense.
Grandpa said that when the action began to move forward, everyone actually knew that this time was different from the previous battle in the vicinity, because the things ordered above were relatively complete for everyone, of course, they did not know that they had to go so far, and everyone guessed that they might have to go to Hunan, that is, one or two thousand miles, at most the emergency march could be reached in ten days and half a month.
In the process of strategic transfer, the most troublesome things are three, the first is to sleep, the second is to avoid rainy days, and the third is to drink water.
First of all, sleep, the trouble is to find a stable place to sleep at night, but there is no barracks at all, you can only go where to count there, called on-site solution, according to local conditions. When the people have houses, they borrow a night, sometimes camp in the wilderness, when entering areas with villages, the troops usually divide the houses, no matter how tired they still require the commanders and fighters to ensure that the tanks are fully cleaned, and then ask the local people to borrow a little straw and go underground.
There is also drinking water, because it has been marching, there is no logistical support at all, it is to bring dry food and find water sources, so the problem of drinking water is an important issue.
Then there is the rainy weather, the impact on the Red Army's march is also very large, you must wear a good rain gear to cover the wind and rain, otherwise you are wet, if you have not been out of the sun for several days during the day, and there is no change of dry clothes on the body, it is very easy to get sick.
Therefore, Grandpa said that during the Long March, the coat, the kettle, and the bucket are three treasures, and if you are missing one, you will not be able to survive the difficulties at all.
First, the coat
Grandpa watched the movie at that time and told me that it was not real at all, that the Red Army at that time was like the light armor in the movie, everyone only carried a gun, that is, it was almost the same as fighting in a place not far from the camp, and during the Long March, every Red Army soldier was full of things. In particular, it is indispensable that most people have to wear this coat, and there are not many quilts that really have quilts.
Because this coat plays a great role in the long march, once it rains, it can be used as rain gear, and at night it is covered on the body as a quilt, and the coat is made of brown flakes. At that time, the weaving of the old home coat was a technical work, not well knitted, the rain would penetrate the brown silk to wet the clothes, the woven coat, is the brown sheet arranged, and then fixed layer by layer with thin brown silk rope, inside and outside are very flat and strong, as smooth as the wings of the bird. The shape of the upper part resembles the shawl that is now popular in the city, and the whole resembles a flying kite. The coat is also woven well and brushed with a layer of tung oil antiseptic on the outside, and the coat is draped on the body to prevent rain, cold, and breathable, and can be laid on the ground as a cushion to rest when the rain stops.
This coat is a rainproof tool made of grass or brown, draped on the body, and in the hometown, the coat is still the main rainproof tool. Especially the planting season, but also the rainy season in the south, the spring rain is endless, men wear coats, head wearing buckets to plough the field, transport seedlings; women wear cloaks and bend down to pull the seedlings, this kind of farming method with primitive charm, became a unique scenery at that time, Tang Dynasty poet Liu Zongyuan's "Jiang Xue" "Thousands of mountains and birds fly away, and thousands of paths disappear." Lonely boat, fishing alone in the snow of the cold river" is to write this coat. This Red Army's Long March played a huge role as a rain gear and as a trouser coat.
2. Buckets
The combination of the bucket and the coat, the shade of the sun and rain during the march, the wind and warmth of the coat, the pillow when sleeping, and the quilt as the quilt helped the Red Army to successfully conquer the snowy mountains and meadows.
When the Red Army was on the Long March, this bucket was an important military material, and we know from the song when we watched the movie "The Red Women's Army" that the loud song of "The Water of the Wanquan River is clear and clear, and I weave a bucket to send the Red Army" and the deep feelings between the Red Army and the masses of the people jumped on the paper. In the revolutionary base areas at that time, in order to support the Red Army, the masses not only joined the army to participate in the war, but also took advantage of the local abundance of moso bamboo and good weaving to weave a large number of buckets for the soldiers, and pasted a red five-star on the bucket to express the people's enthusiastic support for the Red Army and made contributions to the fire of the revolution. Since then, the bucket has gradually become the "military hat" of the Red Army. Durable and easy to march, it is a must-carry equipment for every Red Army.
Third, the kettle
The Red Army's long march, long march, drinking water is a big problem, in the southern region where there are rivers a little better, just get water in the river to drink, once a long time in the mountains or other places, some of the river twists and turns, the water flow is slow, silted into a large swamp, the water is very turbid, especially the vanguard of the large troops have passed, the water source is very dirty, the water in some places may still be poisonous, if you drink these waters, the light ones are sick, the heavy ones are fatally dangerous; if the wounds are stained with poisonous water, they will be red, swollen and ulcerated. Therefore, he carried a kettle with him, and when it rained, he took the kettle to connect the rainwater to accumulate, and the pot of rainwater could be used for a few days.
If there is no kettle, at least there must be a tin bowl, and when you go to a place, you can hold water to drink, otherwise you can only hold a handful in your hand or go directly to the river to drink water.
Therefore, when I was young, as soon as my grandfather had time, he would tell me that the coat, the bucket and the kettle were the three treasures of his Long March, and none of them could be less, and one less could not be passed at all.
Indeed, at that time, as an ordinary soldier of the Red Army, it was indeed very difficult for him to rush the road, to fight wars, and to deal with natural disasters. The three treasures mentioned by Grandpa were the shortage of materials during the Long March of the Red Army, the tight supply of loaded materials, and the difficulty of being loaded, and in the face of the harsh environment, the enemy's encirclement and interception played a very important role in preserving the effective forces of the Red Army. Whenever I listen to this, and now that decades have passed, I will be awe-struck when I think of it, and tears will swirl in my eyes. I thought with emotion: It is really not easy for us to be martyrs of the older generation.