introduction
87 years ago, on May 29, 1935, in Luding County, Sichuan Province, there was a campaign related to the survival of the Central Red Army - the capture of Luding Bridge. This battle was a frightening battle on the long march of the Red Army, and it was also an immortal chapter in the history of the Chinese revolution.
Many revolutionary pioneers were impressed by this battle. Chairman Mao once wrote "Dadu Bridge Crossing The Iron Cable Is Cold," a word for "cold," which is not only a portrayal of the severe war, but also a lament for the sacrifices made by the Red Army. In his later years, Yang Chengwu, the founding general of the People's Republic of China, recalled that among the thousands of battles he fought, the most tragic and tragic was the capture of the Luding Bridge.
The battle to capture the Luding Bridge was not easy to come by, and behind the victory was inseparable from the heroic battles of thousands of heroes. The seizure of the Luding Bridge has left a brilliant mark in the history of the party. However, it is a pity that in such difficult years, these 22 unsung heroes braved great dangers and challenges to take the lead in rushing to the Luding Bridge and using their bodies to open the way for the Red Army.
On May 25, 1935, the Red Army forcibly crossed the Dadu River in AnshunChang, Sichuan Province, but due to the small number of ferries, the large troops of the Red Army could not quickly reach the east bank of the Dadu River in a short period of time. At the same time, the enemy army was getting closer and closer, so the Central Revolutionary Military Commission decided to quickly seize the Luding Bridge upstream and let the main force pass. However, in front of the Red Army, there were only 13 remaining iron cables on the Luding Bridge, and looking down at the iron cables, the reddish-brown Dadu River was turbulent and endless, which was daunting.
Because in order to prevent the Red Army from crossing the river from the Luding Bridge, the Kuomintang army quickly removed all the bridge plates on the bridge before the Red Army arrived. At the same time, the Kuomintang also built fortifications on the opposite side of the bridge, set up machine guns on the high ground, and faced with the Kuomintang's pressing step by step, it was imminent to cross the Luding Bridge.
At this time, after the Red Fourth Regiment arrived at the Luding Bridge, it urgently held a bridge-grabbing meeting, discussing the selection of 22 fighters from the Red Fourth Regiment's three battalions and two companies to form a bridge-grabbing commando team. After the enthusiastic registration of the soldiers and the strict selection of Secretary Luo Huasheng, 22 warriors were finally selected to accept this arduous task.
On the afternoon of May 29, 1935, 22 soldiers with submachine guns, sabers on their backs, and more than a dozen grenades wrapped around their waists flew toward the twinkling chain bridge without hesitation. The enemy reacted quickly and launched a fierce attack on the warriors, but the warriors still moved forward quickly, not afraid of the enemy's attack. Behind the bridge-grabbing commando was the bridge-laying commando team led by Wang Youcai, the commander of the third company, who, in addition to carrying weapons, each of them carried a wooden plank donated by the people themselves and charged while laying the bridge.
By the middle, the commandos were becoming more and more skilled, and their speed was getting faster. However, by the time the iron locks were finally made, the vile enemy chose to pour kerosene and light the planks stacked at the head of the bridge. In the face of this sudden fire, the warriors' first reaction was panic.
But at this time, Yang Chengwu on the other side shouted: "Rush over, don't be afraid of fire!" The warriors instantly burned their fighting spirit, bravely crossing the sea of fire and taking weapons to destroy the enemy on the other side. The follow-up troops immediately crossed the river to capture Luding City and annihilated a regiment of the defending enemy. Then, the main force of the Central Red Army crossed the dangerous Dadu River from the Luding Bridge. The victory in the Battle of Dadu River opened a path for the Central Red Army to move north, completely shattering Chiang Kai-shek's dream of annihilating the Central Red Army south of the Dadu River.
The 22 commandos who flew to capture the Luding Bridge bravely went forward to seize the bridge and opened the way for the Central Red Army to go north, which is an indelible contribution. But unfortunately, so far, the 22 Warriors are not fully known. After the founding of New China in 1949, only the names of Liao Dazhu, the commander of the second company, who was the commander of the second company, and Wang Haiyun, the instructor of the second company, were recorded for the soldiers of this commando team, and the names of the remaining 20 fighters were still unknown.
In 1966, Wang Yongmo came to the Propaganda Department of the Luding County PARTY Committee with a sense of reverence for the warriors who flew to seize the Luding Bridge. He was bent on figuring out the identities of the 22 Warriors. At the same time, his decision was strongly supported by the Luding County Party Committee and an investigation team was formed.
In his painstaking search, finally in 1975, Wang Yongmo found an archive of liu zihua martyrs in the Jiangxi Revolutionary Martyrs' Memorial Hall, which clearly recorded that Comrade Liu Zihua was a heroic figure who participated in the battle to seize the Luding Bridge. After investigation, this information comes from the Langfang Military Subdistrict in Hebei Province. Fortunately, during his time in Hebei, he found a copy of Liu Zihua's military notes left by Liu Zihua's children, which further affirmed his judgment.
This time, the identity of a warrior was confirmed, which gave Wang Yongmo hope. With follow-up efforts, he confirmed the names of 12 of the 22 Warriors that year. At the same time, the names of the remaining 10 warriors are still searching hard.
epilogue
Although more than eighty years have passed since the smoke of the luding bridge was seized, what is indelible is the great spirit of the Long March and the great revolutionary hero. We take the example of revolutionary heroes to strengthen our convictions and take the Long March road that belongs to our new era.