In 1965, Peng Dehuai came to Sichuan after serving as the deputy commander-in-chief of the third-line construction in the southwest region.
At that time, the southwest region was not the main industrial base construction site of the mainland, and the local economic base could hardly support the construction of the industrial base.
However, in order to cope with the unfavorable international situation, the central authorities ordered that all difficulties should be eliminated and the construction of the southwest region should also be carried out.
Mr. Peng went to Sichuan this time to build the Panzhihua Iron and Steel Industrial Base.
He devoted himself to his work, found and solved problems day and night, and was relieved until the Panzhihua construction project was fully launched.
Sichuan is a good place, not only with beautiful mountains and rivers, but also with the loyal souls of countless soldiers.
Whenever he was depressed, he would go to the ruins of the Long March and the places where the Red Army fought.
He inspected the work in Shimian County, Ya'an City, and heard the local secretary mention the name of a boatman, which moved his heart.
Shuai Shigao, a boatman who risked his life to help the Red Army force the Dadu River, is now living here.
Mr. Peng hurriedly asked about Shuai Shigao's current situation and couldn't wait to see him.
Mr. Peng
After the two met, they talked happily and talked about the past, and their thoughts couldn't help but drift to the day when they forcibly crossed the Dadu River.
The roar of artillery fire on the battlefield was still in his ears, and the emotions in Mr. Peng's heart could not be calmed down for a long time, and he decided to walk along the Dadu River.
Who would have thought that there would be an unexpected gain in this circle.
After Mr. Peng came back, he sighed: "Many people think that if the Sichuan Army blew up the iron chains on the Luding Bridge, the Red Army would not be able to pass."
Now I think that even if the Luding Bridge was bombed back then, the Red Army would definitely have a way to cross the river!"
Where does this begin?
旧识相逢
It turned out that after learning that Shuai Shigao was recuperating in the hospital during this time, Mr. Peng came to the hospital after handling his work resolutely.
He recognized Shuai Shigao from a long distance, and held the other party's hand tightly with both hands.
"Shuai Shigao, we haven't seen each other for thirty years, are you all right?"
"Okay, I'm all right, chief, the five boatmen who took everyone across the river at the beginning are now left with an old bone. ”
was able to tell Mr. Peng what was in his heart in person, and Shuai Shigao burst into tears.
Before Mr. Peng left, he left all the money on his body to Shuai Shigao and told him to take good care of his body.
When talking about the past, although Mr. Peng is very calm on the surface, his heart has already been as agitated as a galloping horse.
In an instant, he seemed to have returned to the time point thirty years ago when the wind and waves were high, the iron ropes crossed the river, and the trumpets of the charge were endless.
It turns out that walking along the Dadu River can really calm people down.
Mr. Peng walked along the direction of Anshun Field, Luding Bridge, and Kangding one by one, and every place he went, he would savor the land under his feet.
He thought of the simple smiles of the five boatmen.
In 1935, after the Red Army crossed the Jinsha River, the rapid march continued northward, and the Dadu River became an unavoidable straight point.
The Dadu River is turbulent, the river is wide, the two banks are high and mountainous, and there is only one bridge that communicates the two banks.
Apparently, Chiang Kai-shek also realized that this was an excellent opportunity to block the attack.
He urgently ordered the three forces to be stationed along the Dadu River, strengthen the defense of the north of the Dadu River, and take advantage of the local natural dangers, which is bound to annihilate the Red Army in one fell swoop.
Of course, our army will not sit idly by and rush to the Dadu River against time.
At that time, it was Liu Wenhui's division of the Sichuan army that was responsible for the defense, and as soon as our army arrived at Anshun Field, it engaged in a head-to-head confrontation with the enemy.
Taking advantage of this engagement, the advance regiment sent by our army also basically figured out the strength of the enemy defenders.
The enemy shouted on the opposite side: The Red Army is the second Shi Dakai!
You must know that Shi Dakai, the winged king in history, was defeated here, died after defeat, and the rest of the Taiping army were all executed.
The soldiers were very angry when they heard the clamor of the enemy, but Chairman Mao didn't care too much.
"Now that Chiang Kai-shek's stage has been set up, let's play a beautiful show!"
On the same day, our army captured Anshun Field and decided to use this place as a breakthrough.
At this time, the Red Fourth Front Army was fighting a bloody battle with the enemy in northern Sichuan, and the Red Third Army Corps and the Central Core Column would soon rush to the Dadu River, and if the Dadu River could not be taken, the Red Army would be in a very critical predicament.
Time was very urgent, and in the face of the rough river, our army found an experienced old boatman, and this person was Shuai Shigao.
After figuring out the intentions of our army, he agreed, even though our army emphasized to him that his life might be in danger, Shuai Shigao just smiled and said, "I said I would help." ”
To ensure the safety of the ferry, he also called in four other veteran boatmen to stabilize the boat.
Seeing that there were people so enthusiastic to help our army, the soldiers were full of fighting spirit and confidence.
The battle soon began, our troops opened fire first, attracting the attention of the enemy with the sound of gunfire, and 17 Red Army warriors, led by boatmen, approached the opposite shore by boat.
The cannon roared, the waves roared, the river was cold, but the hearts of the warriors were hot.
Finally, our army overcame all difficulties and successfully landed on the opposite bank.
The next day, the follow-up troops of the Red Army rushed to Anshun Field and began to cross the river without stopping.
The problem arises.
Luding Bridge was determined to fight
At that time, it was early summer, the ice and snow melted, the water level of the Dadu River was high, and the crossing speed was even more dangerous, and the speed of crossing the river was also forced to decrease.
With only a few existing ships, it will take at least half a month to send the fighters over.
But now time is of the essence, and besides, the enemy will quickly react and counterattack, leaving not much time for our army.
Chairman Mao decisively ordered: "Go north and seize the Luding Bridge." ”
At the beginning, our army did not choose to forcibly take the Luding Bridge, mainly to avoid its edge.
The strategic significance of the Luding Bridge is very important, and the enemy will definitely do something on the bridge in order to intercept our army.
Now that the situation is urgent, the significance of seizing the Luding Bridge is self-evident.
The Second Division and the Fourth Regiment of the 1st Red Army Corps were the first to rush to the Luding Bridge, and the Central Military Commission ordered the regiment commander Huang Kaixiang and political commissar Yang Chengwu to seize the Luding Bridge within one day to open up the way for the whole army to advance.
It's going to be a very difficult battle.
At that time, the Sichuan army Liu Wenhui was stationed at the Luding Bridge, and in order to prevent the Red Army from crossing the bridge, they deployed a defensive line on the opposite bank one step in advance, and the time was urgent, and they could only have time to dismantle most of the wooden planks on the Luding Bridge.
Now in front of everyone can not be called a bridge at all, only 13 iron chains flutter in the wind, emitting a heavy and mournful wail.
The water under the bridge is several feet high, and the current is so strong that it is difficult for people who fall from here to survive even if the water is good.
The enemy army took advantage of the danger and frantically provoked: "You have the ability to fly over!"
Huang Kaixiang immediately convened a meeting of the soldiers to discuss the plan to seize the bridge.
A company commander proposed that an assault team could be formed to open the way in front, and the fighters in the back followed closely to lay the planks.
Liao Dazhu, the commander of the 2nd Company, shook his head and said: "This is too big a target, and the casualties are also large, so it is better to wait for the assault team to take the opposite bank before laying the planks." ”
"Yes!" Huang Kaixiang slapped the table and said.
Yang Chengwu on the left and Huang Kaixiang on the right
After selecting the commandos, Huang Kaixiang appointed Liao Dazhu as the leader of the commando team, and worked with Yang Chengwu to determine a specific action plan.
Taking into account all considerations, the commandos will carry all kinds of short weapons to climb the iron chain and advance, and our troops will give the strongest fire cover in the rear, and once they find that there is an advance trend, the fourth company will immediately follow and lay the planks.
"This battle will be won, do you have confidence?"
"Yes!"
Immediately afterwards, 22 commandos, including Liao Dazhu, rushed to the battlefield.
The enemy has been paying close attention to the movements of our troops, and as soon as the commandos touch the bridgehead, the enemy's bullets rain in an instant, and our troops also respond with more fierce artillery fire.
When the brave meets on a narrow road, the battle reaches the white-hot stage, and the competition is which side can spare their lives more.
Liao Dazhu was not afraid of the enemy's dense bullets and always rushed to the front of the commando.
Led by the captain, the team members are well-trained, and some soldiers are unfortunately shot and fallen, and then they will be replaced by the team members behind.
Just when the assault team was getting closer and closer to the opposite bank, the enemy was in a hurry.
Liu Wenhui did not directly cut off the Luding Bridge at the beginning, on the one hand, the Luding Bridge is a very important traffic artery, and it will play a great role for him in the future.
On the other hand, he thought that as long as the planks were removed and he was guarding the opposite bank, the Red Army would have a way to stop it, even if it was flying.
However, he underestimated the revolutionary fighting conviction and the dedication of fearless sacrifice of our army.
Liu Wenhui immediately ordered to set fire to the bridge and stop them!
A fire burned at the bridgehead, and the cold chains suddenly became hot, burning the commando's skin.
In the face of this sudden situation, some team members were a little unstable in their hands and feet, and Liao Dazhu immediately shouted:
"The enemy is ahead, everyone rush with me and kill them all!"
Immediately afterwards, Liao Dazhu jumped up and rushed into the sea of fire.
Inspired by the captain's words and deeds, the fighters rushed to the bridgehead and fought to the death with the enemy.
The tide of battle reversed too quickly, the enemy was very afraid of the Red Army rushing over, and they threw away their armor one after another, and in less than two hours, our army successfully took the Luding Bridge.
Mr. Peng revealed
After many years, when Mr. Peng set foot on this land again, the Dadu River was calm, but his heart was hot and surging.
When he arrived at Luding Bridge, Mr. Peng stood on the bridge for a long time.
Then he went north along the Dadu River again, and came to Kangding, the upper reaches of the river.
As soon as he approached the Dadu River, Mr. Peng clearly felt the difference between the upstream and downstream rivers.
The river under the Luding Bridge is turbulent and turbid, but Kangding is so calm and clear here.
Mr. Peng couldn't help but think that if our army had conquered Kangding, would the casualties of crossing the river from here be a little smaller than the capture of Luding Bridge?
In this way, even if the Luding Bridge is blown up, it will not threaten our army.
History, however, is a thing of the past.
At that time, the situation was urgent, and the Red Army needed to surprise the encirclement of Lao Chiang and gather the forces of the three sides to join the Red Fourth Front Army as soon as possible.
On the other hand, in the rear of the main force, there was also the Central Army led by Xue Yue who had been pursuing.
In this case, passing through the Dadu River as soon as possible and tearing through the enemy's encirclement became the only hope for the whole army.
In fact, even at such a critical moment, Chairman Mao made all preparations.
After ordering the capture of the Luding Bridge, Chairman Mao arranged for the Red Third Army to cross the river at Anshunchang to detour north and take Luding County first.
If the capture of the Luding Bridge is unsuccessful, our army can also occupy the enemy's military camp on the opposite bank, and then take control of the Luding Bridge.
Regardless of whether the capture of the Luding Bridge was successful or not, the Red Third Army Corps could also cooperate on the other side of the river, reduce the casualties of the commandos, and ensure the smooth crossing of the river by our army.
From this point of view, the capture of the Luding Bridge is very necessary and important, not only as a double guarantee, but also related to the safety of the lives of the Red Army soldiers.
Just as Chairman Mao said after the battle of flying to capture the Luding Bridge: "The Red Army has such invincible soldiers, why can't we succeed!"
epilogue
History is also inevitable.
When the soldiers formed a commando team to charge, they were not afraid of life and death, willing to dedicate, and they had only one belief in their hearts, that is, to capture the Luding Bridge and open the way for the main force.
This simple and noble emotion was also the source of the Red Army's unstoppable strength.
I have always firmly believed that even if the Luding Bridge is bombed and the Red Army is forced into a desperate situation, they will definitely be able to survive the road, fight a piece of heaven and earth, and lead the Chinese people to go on for a long time.
-END-
【文|祁䄂】
[Editor|Chang Gung]