Thirteen chains split the road to the Republic

The monument to the Red Army's flying capture of Luding Bridge is located in Hexisha Town, Luding City, Luding County, Sichuan Province, and is very rare for Deng Xiaoping to write the inscription, Nie Rongzhen to write the inscription, and two revolutionaries of the older generation to write at the same time. The monument consists of three parts: a theme monument, a bronze statue on the pedestal, a platform for the base and a basement. The monument is 30.35 meters high, made of reinforced concrete, and the steps in front of the monument are 2.15 meters high. The main monument uses a geometric variation of the chain to symbolize the armed struggle of the revolution, and the pedestal platform highlights the tired and tenacious fighting posture of the Red Army soldiers after a rapid march day and night. Looking at the main monument from a distance, such as a machine gun fired in the air, symbolizes "the regime in the barrel of the gun"; if you look at the stele up close, the stele is concave and convex, and the ring is tightly linked to the iron chain. The monument is divided into eight floors, each of which is decorated with large murals with the theme of Tibetan-Han unity and the Long March of the Red Army. Above the front of the stele is the inscription of Deng Xiaoping - "Monument to the Red Army Flying to Seize Luding Bridge", and the side is engraved with a monument written by Nie Rongzhen, which reads as follows:

On May 29, 1935, the First Front of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army won a major victory in capturing the Luding Bridge during the Long March.

The Red Army's flight to seize the Luding Bridge was decided by Comrade Mao Zedong in Anshun field in light of the situation at that time. Its deployment was as follows: The First Division of the Red First Army, led by Liu Bocheng and Nie Rongzhen, and the cadre regiment led by Chen Geng and Song Renqiang, forcibly crossed the Dadu River from AnshunChang and rushed north along the east bank to Luding Bridge; the Central Military Commission directly commanded the Second Division of the Red First Army, the Corps Headquarters of the First Army, and the Red Fifth Army to rush north along the west bank to Luding Bridge; the two units supported each other, sandwiched between the river, and seized the Luding Bridge.

The vanguard of the capture of Luding Bridge was the Fourth Regiment of the Second Division (Regiment Commander Huang Kaixiang, Political Commissar Yang Chengwu, and Party General Branch Secretary Luo Huasheng) north along the west bank of the Dadu River. After receiving the task, they immediately rushed forward, and as they walked, they destroyed the enemy they encountered along the way, and the next day and night they forcibly marched 240 miles, arrived at the Luding Bridge on time, and organized a commando team of twenty-two people, braving the enemy's fire blockade on the east bank, crawling and shooting forward on the iron cable bridge while laying the door panel, and seizing the Luding Bridge in a thrilling and thrilling way.

The First Division and the cadre regiment continued to crush and eliminate the enemy troops along the east bank of the river, which played a strategic role in the four regiments' capture of the Luding Bridge.

The successful crossing of the Dadu River and the successful capture of the Luding Bridge shattered Chiang Kai-shek's delusion of counter-revolution in vainly trying to turn the Red Army into a second Shi Dakai, and was one of the major victories of strategic significance in the Red Army's Long March, which once again embodied the fearless spirit of our heroic Red Army in being infinitely loyal to the people's revolutionary cause.

The exploits of the Red Army are immortal!

Long live the spirit of the Red Army!

Nie Rongzhen

The inscription of more than 500 words records the heroic deeds of the Central Red Army in flying and capturing the Luding Bridge, emphasizes the important significance of the victory of the Central Red Army in seizing the Luding Bridge, and reproduces the combat process of the Red Army soldiers who braved the rain of guns and bullets to seize the Luding Bridge after galloping for 240 miles day and night, and demonstrated the great long march spirit of bravely moving forward and indestructible.

Marched two hundred and forty miles day and night

On May 26, 1935, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and others arrived at Anshun Field. After listening to Liu Bocheng's report, they unanimously agreed that it would take a month at the earliest to cross tens of thousands of Red Army troops across the Dadu River with only a few small boats. However, there were pursuing troops in hot pursuit, and the situation was very grim, and it was obvious that it was impossible for the whole army to cross the river from Anshun Field. Therefore, it was immediately decided: the soldiers divided into two roads, with one part crossing the river north from Anshun Field, most of them attacking along the left bank, and attacking left and right to seize the Luding Bridge. For the Red Army, the capture of the Luding Bridge was a matter of life and death, and it could only succeed, not fail. To this end, Mao Zedong issued a death order: the left column must reach Luding Bridge within three days, and the right column must reach Luding Bridge within two and a half days.

In the early morning of May 28, the Red 4th Regiment, which was struggling on the mountain road, received a new order from its superiors: it must seize the Luding Bridge on the 29th. There are only more than 20 hours left, and the task of walking the remaining 240 miles of mountain roads and immediately launching a battle after arriving is a very difficult task. "After walking 204, rush to the Luding Bridge" immediately became the loudest slogan and the firmest belief of the commanders and fighters of the whole regiment. Pain, fatigue, and hunger were all thrown aside, and the Soldiers of the Red Army had only two words in their hearts: Go fast! In the darkness of the night, they braved the rain and stepped on the mud to continue their progress. After a day and night of galloping, the Red 4th Regiment arrived at Luding Bridge on time, and then rested while waiting for the arrival of heavy weapons.

An inch of iron cable and a drop of blood

Luding Bridge is about 102 meters long, about 3 meters wide, several inches high from the water surface, and consists of 13 iron chains, of which 9 are used as bridge decks and 4 are used as bridge rails. At that time, the Sichuan army had dismantled about 80 meters of bridge slabs, and used machine guns and mortars to form a fire network on the east bridgehead heights, tightly sealing the bridge deck of the Luding Bridge. At noon, the Red 4th Regiment held a meeting of all the regimental cadres in the Shaba Catholic Church, carried out pre-war mobilization, and organized a 22-day bridge-grabbing warrior commando team led by Liao Dazhu, commander of the 2nd Company, and Wang Haiyun, an instructor. At the same time, the Right Route Army attacked along the east side of the Dadu River, effectively cooperating with the actions of the Red 4th Regiment.

The Red 4th Regiment also organized two battalions to be placed on either side of the bridgehead to suppress fire on the opposite shore and cover the commandos. After everything was ready, at 4 p.m. on May 29, the commando team launched an attack on the Luding Bridge, with the regimental commander Huang Kaixiang and the political commissar Yang Chengwu personally standing at the head of the bridge to direct the battle. The trumpeter blew the charge trumpet, and the two battalions opened fire fiercely to suppress the counterattack of the Sichuan army. At the same time, 22 warriors with short guns, sabers on their backs, and grenades rushed to the opposite shore with chains, braving the enemy's dense gun shells. Behind them were 3 companies, each carrying a plank of wood in addition to their weapons, and laying bridges as they advanced. As soon as the commandos rushed to the opposite shore, the enemy set fire, and the bridge was immediately surrounded by fire.

At this moment, the warriors heard the cry: "Comrades! For the sake of the party's cause, for the sake of the final victory, rush! After hearing the slogan, they were even more desperate, and they passed through the raging fire like arrows and engaged in fierce battles with the enemy in the city. After two hours of fierce fighting, the enemy was mostly wiped out, and the rest fled in a daze. After the war, in recognition of the merits established by the Red 4 regiments, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission awarded the assault warriors with prizes: a set of Lenin suits, a pen, a diary, an enamel bowl, and a pair of chopsticks. At that time, this was already the highest reward for a Soldier of the Red Army.

The monument on the banks of the Dadu River lives on forever

The 22 granite pillars on both sides of the monument to the Red Army flying to seize the Luding Bridge represent 22 warriors who seized the bridge. At that time, it was stipulated that all cadres, including company commanders, instructors, party branch secretaries, and platoon leaders, should first be singled out; those who had been heroes in battle, such as those who had made meritorious contributions in the battle of forcibly crossing the Wujiang River, should also be singled out; and those who were brave in peacetime combat. The selected persons must be members of the Communist Party, the Communist Youth League, and at least active members of the Party and the League. The task of the commando team was taken by Liao Dazhu, the commander of the 2nd Company, so he was the leader of the commando team.

In the battle to seize the bridge, Liao Dazhu, the first company commander to rush to the bridgehead, stained the plateau with blood in the subsequent battle to liberate the northwest, and Li Furen and other 4 soldiers died heroically.

On the Luding Bridge after the fierce battle, Liu Bocheng once stomped three feet on the bridge board with his feet, and said with great emotion: "Luding Bridge, Luding Bridge, how much energy we have spent for you, how much effort we have spent, now we are victorious, we are victorious!" Mao Zedong used the phrase "Dadu Bridge Crossing the Iron Cable Cold" in the "Seven Laws and Long March" to describe the difficulty of the Red Army flying to seize the Luding Bridge. The capture of Luding Bridge became an important milestone in the Long March of the Central Red Army, and wrote an immortal chapter in the history of the Chinese revolution, with the magnificent praise of "thirteen iron chains splitting the road to the republic".