The forced crossing of the Dadu River was the most important battle in the history of the Red Army's Long March, when Chiang Kai-shek wanted to rely on the natural barrier of the Dadu River to annihilate the main force of the Red Army and let them defeat the Dadu River. Because before the Red Army, Shi Dakai, the general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, once wanted to cross the Dadu River, but he was defeated and committed suicide by jumping into the river. It is enough to see that it is not an easy task to cross the Dadu River.
Located in Yuexi County, Sichuan Province (now part of Asbestos County, Sichuan Province), the Dadu River is 909 kilometers long, 300 meters wide and has a basin area of 82,700 square kilometers. Dadu River is a high mountain canyon type river, the terrain is steep, the water is turbulent, since ancient times there is a "Dadu natural danger" said. It was extremely difficult for large troops to pass through, and the means of crossing the river were limited at that time. If you think about it, you can see how difficult it is to cross this river.
However, the Red Army in 1935 successfully defeated this natural danger and broke Chiang Kai-shek's strategy of annihilating our army at the Dadu River. To be able to successfully cross this river, the 18 warriors were indispensable, and the assault team of the Dadu River was divided into two groups, the first batch of 8 people led by captain Xiong Shanglin crossed the river first, and the second batch was led by Sun Jixian to cross the river again.
Eighteen warriors braved the heavy gunfire and artillery fire of the Sichuan army and advanced in the rapids. Controlling the crossing port on the other side of the Dadu River, the follow-up troops crossed the river in time for reinforcements, defeated 1 battalion of the Sichuan Army in one fell swoop, and consolidated the crossing point. Subsequently, the 1st Division and cadre regiment of the Red 1st Army thus crossed the Dadu River, which chiang kai-shek regarded as insurmountable, and was thus conquered by the soldiers of the Red Army.
The Red Army was able to successfully cross the Dadu River, and the two commando captains who rushed to the front line were indispensable, so you know? Xiong Shanglin and Sun Jixian, the two commando captains, were awarded any ranks after the founding of the People's Republic of China?
The first red army commando leader was "Xiong Shanglin", a native of Gao'an, Jiangxi, who joined the revolution at the age of 17 and experienced five anti-encirclement and suppression wars in the Soviet Union, and then followed the main force of the Red Army on the road of the Long March. During this arduous long march, Xiong Shanglin successively participated in famous battles such as the two crossings of the Wu River, the four crossings of chishui, and the qiao crossing of the Jinsha River.
In May 1935, when the Red Army reached the Dadu River, the Red First Army, the commander of the regiment Lin Zong, handed over the important combat task of forcibly crossing the Dadu River to Yang Dezhi, the leader of the Red First Regiment with the strongest combat effectiveness, and Yang Dezhi decided to advance towards the Dadu River in two groups.
The first commando team led seven people, with Xiong Shanglin as the commando leader, plus the captain of a total of eight warriors, braved the enemy's artillery fire to advance, and successfully touched the other side of the Dadu River, and then most of the little followed up with reinforcements, and finally successfully occupied the ferry and successfully crossed the Dadu River.
As the leader of the commando team, Xiong Shanglin is naturally indispensable and a hero on the way of the Red Army. Later, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he also participated in the Battle of Pingxingguan, but later his heroic deeds on the battlefield were few. Including in the Liberation War, none of the five major field armies had heard of his name, let alone among the founding generals. Why?
Mainly in 1942, he led some of his fighters out of the ranks to revolutionize alone, and was later killed by his chief of staff in Xigou, Chongli County. It is a pity that such a heroic figure ended his life in such a form.
The second red army commando commander who forcibly crossed the Dadu River was "Sun Jixian", and probably everyone is more familiar with this one.
Because he not only participated in the battles of the Red Army's land reform period, but also a heroic figure on the way of the Red Army, including the period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Period of the War of Liberation, all of which had the credit of Sun Jixian.
For example, during the Liberation War, he served as the commander of the Fourth Division of the Shandong Field Army, participated in the Battle of Laiwu, and annihilated Li Xianzhou's corps at Laiwu with his brother troops. After the Shandong Field Army and the East China Field Army were united, Sun Jixian served as the deputy commander of the Eighth Column. He participated in the Battle of Menglianggu and the subsequent Battle of Huaihai, encircling and annihilating Huang Baitao's corps and Du Yuming's clique, and made great contributions to the victory of the Liberation War.
In January 1949, Sun served as the commander of the 22nd Army of the Third Field Army, and in April of the same year, he led the navy and army to liberate the Zhoushan Islands on the southeast coast in one fell swoop, and also made great contributions to the founding of New China. Thus, in 1955, he was awarded the rank of founding lieutenant general.
The above two were the leaders of the Red Army's forced crossing of the Dadu River commando, but the two ended up being diametrically opposite, one was killed, and the other became the founding general. This is life, fickle and unpredictable.