"The golden sands and waters beat the clouds and cliffs warmly, and the Dadu Bridge crosses the iron cables and is cold" - Chairman Mao's "Seven Laws, Long March"
In the history of the Communist Party, the Long March must have been an indelible glorious period, which constantly witnessed the courageous march of our Red Army soldiers without fear of hardships and dangers, and it embodied the indestructible heroism of our revolutionary fighters. It was its victory that was made possible
Our Party's general policy of going north.
Speaking of the Long March, we have to mention the most thrilling battle that took place on its way-
Fly over the Luding Bridge
This battle, which is enough to be recorded in history, was achieved by relying on the hard work of the Soldiers of the Red Army, who seized the Luding Bridge with their blood and lives in the hands of the Kuomintang, and bought time for the passage of the entire large army.
Perhaps now it is difficult for us to imagine what kind of spirit they used to capture the Lugou Bridge, and how they used their courage to compose this song of victory that can be sung and wept. But at the end of the day, they are our heroes of all of China.
But looking back at this history now, there is a very strange move. In the fight between our army and the Nationalist army for the Luding Bridge, the enemy army as the defender directly removed the wooden planks of the bridge deck to hinder the Red Army's attack in order to prevent the Red Army from attacking from the opposite bank. Then why not blow up the bridge directly, so as not to cut off the Red Army's rear road more directly?
In fact, at that time, both generals had their own helplessness. In particular, when Yang Chengwu, a veteran general of our army, recalled this past many years later, he tearfully explained the situation at that time.
Blow up the bridge defense, heart is not willing
First of all, we need to know where the geographical location of Luding Bridge is? Luding Bridge is an iron cable bridge located in Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, all of which is composed of iron chains and weighs more than 40 tons.
The 103-meter long bridge is completely surrounded by 13 iron chains, fixed in the abutments on both sides of the river, and interlocked by 12,164 iron rings. At that time, the iron chains on the bridge deck were only facilitated by erecting wooden planks to facilitate flat passage.
Moreover, it has been valued since ancient times as a major transportation route across the Dadu River.
It is the only way to enter Tibet from Sichuan and the link between Sino-Tibetan cultural exchanges.
For hundreds of years, the people of Tibetan areas have been able to get in touch with the Hanzhong region by coming and going on this bridge. The significance is profound.
Moreover, the bridge also has far-reaching historical value. According to historical records, luding bridge was built in 1705 AD during the Kangxi period, and it was Kangxi who ordered the construction of this bridge on the Dadu River in order to realize the reunification of the motherland and solve the obstruction on the roads in the Han and Tibetan regions. After its completion, the three-character imperial monument of the Kangxi Imperial Pen "Luding Bridge" still stands at the head of the West Bridge. In other words, Luding Bridge is a historical building still in use.
At that time, the Kuomintang army stationed at Luding Bridge was the strength of the Sichuan army general Liu Wenhui and his 2 regiments. This Liu Wenhui is not a rude and reckless man, he was also a scholar since he was a child, and later he served as the chairman of Xikang Province for ten years. As a Sichuan native, he naturally understands the significance of Luding Bridge, and must not act recklessly to destroy it.
It is rumored that when Liu Wenhui was waiting for a tight line at Luding Bridge, he received a phone call from Chiang Kai-shek indicating that he could blow up the Luding Bridge if necessary to block the Attack of the Red Army
。 But Liu Wenhui thought about it and was still unwilling to do so.
After all, this is a complete severance of Sino-Tibetan ties, so how should the Nationalist army enter the Tibetan garrison in the future, and how should the material transportation be carried out? And if it is rebuilt in the future, it will still be funded by its own government, which will consume a lot of manpower and material resources, and this process may not be able to reproduce it perfectly.
Liu Wenhui, who hesitated repeatedly, gave up the idea of blowing up the bridge and adopted the most conservative battle plan for the defense of the bridge deck. First, he still wanted to keep the iron bridge, and second, he did not believe that the Red Army's attack could have such a great power and he had to blow up the bridge.
However, this time Liu Wenhui made a mistake, but it was also the best opportunity for him to create for our army.
Our army attacked strongly and fought bloodily
At that time, the vanguard force ordered to attack Luding Bridge was the fourth regiment of the Red Second Division led by the veteran general Yang Chengwu. For the appointment of this task by the superior, Yang Wucheng was determined to be unyielding. His troops traveled 240 miles day and night, and the next morning they appeared in the west bank of the Luding Bridge to engage the enemy in a duel.
At that time, the bridge deck of the Luding Bridge and the wooden planks passing through were all being withdrawn by the enemy army, and only bare chains were left on most of the bridge deck. The bridge was shaky, and it was easy to fall once stepped on the air, not to mention that there were heavy machine guns and artillery fire nets on the other side of the bridge.
From the bridge is a rain of bullets, and from under the bridge is the rapid flow of the Dadu River. In such a situation, our army appears to be weak and it is difficult to find a breakthrough.
At that time, the Red Fourth Regiment held a combat meeting in the church of Shaba on the west bank, and finally decided that this battle was bound to be unstoppable. Since you want to do it, you have to do it so hard. Fortunately, the enemy still had the bridge and the wooden planks had not yet been completely dismantled, so it was necessary to strike iron while it was hot and capture the Luding Bridge before they were fully prepared.
Yang Chengwu carefully selected 22 warriors under his command as the leading advance team.
Led by Captain Liao Dazhu, 22 warriors crawled along the chains and laid wooden planks on the other to facilitate the passage of the rear troops
。
When the enemy troops on the other side saw that the Red Army was actually going to break through, they did not want to show weakness and immediately raised their machine guns and fired fiercely. Undaunted, this group of warriors braved the onslaught of bullets and bullets to die.
At this time, the bridge was shaking badly, and the advancing warriors were at any risk of being shot down and falling into the river, but they clutched the chains in their hands, tried their best to avoid the attack of bullets, and gritted their teeth to complete the task entrusted to them by the organization.
After the completion of the wooden planks on the bridge deck, the reinforcements of the brigade swarmed across the bridge. No matter how fierce the artillery fire on the other side of the shore is, our army still does not fall, one batch falls, and the next group of soldiers go to the bridge and throw themselves into the battle. In the face of the menacing momentum of our army, the Sichuan army was stunned and immediately panicked. At that time, the entire Luding Bridge was under fire, and the two sides were fighting each other.
However, Liu Wenhui's Sichuan Army has never been an elite unit, with loopholes in internal management and a large number of mixed military salaries. How can we be the opponents of the soldiers of the Red Army who are like gods? Soon after the start of the war, the Sichuan army gradually lost the battle and finally scattered and fled. Our army used the fastest speed to quickly occupy the Luding Bridge and gain the ultimate control.
Unsung heroes, worth remembering
It is worth mentioning that the 22 men of the vanguard who laid the floor in this battle did not have time to be recorded at the time, although they all completed the mission unharmed. However, after the Battle of Luding Bridge, they continued their long march north with their respective troops.
Many people either died or lost contact during the Long March, and some died in subsequent battles. Founded new China
I actively inquired about the whereabouts of these people, but after several searches, I only found 8 people.
They are Liao Dazhu, Wang Haiyun, Li Youlin, Liu Jinshan, Liu Zihua, Zhao Changfa, Yang Tianming, and Yun Guichuan
。 As for the remaining 14 warriors, their whereabouts are still unknown, and I am afraid that no one will know their names anymore.
In 1985, after the 50th anniversary of the capture of the Luding Bridge, General Yang Chengwu, who had entered the rare years, revisited the place again and saw this iron cable bridge that still spanned the river, and the scenes of the war seemed to reappear in the past.
He couldn't control his feelings any longer and couldn't help but cry. This battle was not only a victory for Yang Chengwu, but also a victory for the Communist Party and a victory for New China. It was he who recounted everything that happened here to future generations, so that we could know the story of the war that took place on the Luding Bridge.
It is the greatest pity for the comrades who died in battle, and the unsung heroes who did not leave their names. History will not forget your merits, and the Luding Bridge will carry your heroic deeds.
brief summary:
The war years are always full of stories of conquest and danger. Our Red Army fired a beautiful shot in this battle, slapped the Kuomintang reactionaries hard, and let the enemy see that the power of our army should not be underestimated.
More importantly, we have young soldiers who are all brave and fierce, they have the most tenacious will, the greatest determination and the most united fighting spirit, of course, they can overcome every difficulty on the long march.
Whether it is a natural disaster or a man-made difficulty, our army can risk its life to solve it and turn the "impossible" into a "possibility." This is also destined to ensure that our army will win the final victory in the future war and will be able to drive out the Kuomintang reactionaries. Establish the unity and prosperity of a new China.