Marshal Peng Dehuai was one of the important leaders of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. In the spring of 1965, he became deputy commander-in-chief of the construction of the Third Front in the southwest, and Peng Dehuai took advantage of this opportunity to revisit many places where the Red Army had marched, including the Dadu River. When visiting the Dadu River, Peng Dehuai accidentally discovered an astonishing fact - the Red Army did not necessarily have to seize the Luding Bridge to cross the Dadu River during the Long March in 1935. This discovery surprised Peng Dehuai, because for decades earlier, it had been believed that crossing the Dadu River was the most dangerous battle of the Long March, and that the capture of the Luding Bridge was the only option the Red Army had to take. So, what did Peng Dehuai find? Did the Red Army have any other options back then? These doubts will be solved one by one in the following articles.
1. The difficult situation of the Red Army in forcibly crossing the Dadu River
In May 1935, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army's offensive along the Sichuan-Shaanxi border was thwarted and had to continue northward to find a way out of the encirclement. They came to the Dadu River, and in front of them was the rolling torrent of the Qiqi Swallowing Mountain River, the river was turbulent, and the sound of the water was surging, which added great difficulty to crossing the river.
The Dadu River originates in the hinterland of the Minshan Mountains in western Sichuan, flows through Shimian, Luding, Yuexi and other counties in the southeast, and finally flows into the Jialing River. When flowing through this area of western Sichuan, the river twists and turns, the riverbed is narrow, the two banks are mostly hanging rock cliffs, and the terrain is extremely steep. For a large team of tens of thousands of people, it is difficult to cross the river in such an environment.
The Red Army was in deep crisis. The main force of the enemy's Second Route Army has already rolled over from east to west, and it is possible to outflank the Red Army at any time. The enemy also took control of important towns along the Dadu River, and if the crossing failed, the Red Army was in danger of being besieged and annihilated. In addition, it was extremely difficult for the Red Army to transport supplies at that time, and if it stayed near the Dadu River for a long time, not only would it be very likely that it would be attacked by the enemy, but even military supplies would be difficult to guarantee, and the future of the Red Army would be in an extremely dangerous situation.
Under these circumstances, Peng Dehuai and other leaders of the Red Army realized that only by immediately crossing the Dadu River and breaking out of the siege could they avoid being besieged by the enemy. But how to cross the river? This became a serious problem for the Red Army.
2. The reason why the Red Army had to seize the Luding Bridge
Although crossing the Dadu River is the most urgent task of the Red Army at present, it is facing many difficulties in how to implement it. After careful investigation, the Red Army found that there were only a small number of small boats available on both sides of the river, which was completely unable to meet the needs of an army of tens of thousands of people to cross the river in a short time.
Just when the Red Army had a headache, someone discovered the Luding Bridge, which was located in Luding County, Sichuan. The bridge is supported by thirteen heavy iron chains, and it took several years for skilled craftsmen from several counties to build during the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty. Due to the solid main structure, Luding Bridge has always been an important ferry crossing across the Dadu River and connecting the two banks.
The discovery of the Luding Bridge gave hope for the Red Army to cross the river, because of its geographical location and the high quality of the work, which, once the control was seized, would open up a safe passage for the main forces of the Red Army. After careful consideration, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other top leaders of the Red Army decided to take the Luding Bridge as the key goal of forcibly crossing the Dadu River.
However, the capture of the Luding Bridge was not an easy task. As early as when the Red Army approached the Dadu River, the Nationalist Government Army was informed of the Red Army's whereabouts. The 24th Army stationed in western Sichuan was responsible for guarding the Luding Bridge, and the army commander Liu Wenhui deployed heavy troops on the front line of the Luding Bridge in order to stop the Red Army.
The main force of the 24th Army was the 4th Brigade, which was personally commanded by the brigade commander Yuan Guorui. In order to cut off the retreat of the Red Army, he stationed the 38th Regiment in the key passes on the east and west sides of the Luding Bridge, and at the same time let the 10th and 11th regiments be deployed on the line of Feiyueling, Haizi Mountain, and Lengmoraine respectively, forming a blockade trend. If the Red Army wanted to break through, it would have to pay a huge price.
When the Red Army learned that the enemy had entrenched themselves on the Luding Bridge, the situation became even more severe. If the river crossing fails, the Red Army is in danger of being encircled in a small area in western Sichuan, and will then be caught in the middle of a fire and water attack. Therefore, the capture of the Luding Bridge is not only to cross the river, but also to survive.
In this way, the capture of the Luding Bridge became a very difficult but forced choice for the Red Army. In fact, Mao Zedong also had a clear understanding of this, and he understood that "if Anshunchang really can't cross the river, he can only walk fifty miles north and lay the Luding Bridge." In order to succeed in seizing the bridge, Mao Zedong ordered the Red Army artillery to concentrate at Anshun Field and wait for the opportunity, ready to attack the Luding Bridge at any time.
In the face of many obstacles, the whole army of the Red Army attached great importance to the importance of this battle. Peng Dehuai, the former political commissar of the Red Army, also said later: "Flying to capture the Luding Bridge is a real battle of life and death." "In the event of a defeat, the Red Army will be in a desperate situation, so it must be done with all its might.
3. Peng Dehuai found other feasible plans for the Red Army to cross the river
Although the capture of the Luding Bridge was the Red Army's main plan to cross the Dadu River at that time, in retrospect, Peng Dehuai seems to have discovered another possible route to cross the river.
In 1965, 30 years after the Red Army's Long March. In the spring of that year, Peng Dehuai was ordered to go to Sichuan to supervise the construction of the third line in the southwest. In his spare time, he took time out to revisit some key locations of the Red Army's Long March, including the Dadu River Valley.
It was during the visit that Peng Dehuai stumbled upon some surprising clues. In a remote village, he heard that a group of fishermen had been stationed along the Dadu River since ancient times, making a living from fishing. When the Red Army arrived, they witnessed the difficult march of the Red Army.
At first, Peng Dehuai didn't pay much attention to this. It wasn't until he walked to the Dadu River and saw with his own eyes the rapidity of the river that he suddenly had a question in his heart: Did the Red Army really have to seize the Luding Bridge back then?
So Peng Dehuai began to ask the villagers for details. Gradually, an unexpected clue surfaced: it turned out that not far from the Luding Bridge, there was a relatively shallow area of the river, which the locals called the "secret ferry".
According to the villagers' accounts, although the water is turbulent, the riverbed is shallow, and the terrain on both sides of the river is relatively gentle, as long as the manpower is sufficient, it is completely possible to erect a pontoon bridge to cross the river. This "secret crossing" has always been a quiet retreat used by the locals, and few outsiders know about it.
Hearing these words, Peng Dehuai suddenly perked up. As a veteran soldier who has been on the battlefield for a long time, he immediately realized that if the Red Army knew about the existence of this "secret crossing", maybe he would not have to risk being heavily guarded by the enemy army and go to the bloody battle to capture the Luding Bridge.
In order to confirm this speculation, Peng Dehuai specially sent people to conduct an on-the-spot survey of the river. After repeated investigations, it was confirmed that the geography and the flow of water there would have made it possible for a well-equipped army to quickly cross the river without having to build bridges.
What is even more shocking is that an old fisherman in his nineties actually witnessed the scene of the Red Army walking near the "secret crossing". It was only due to the large number of Red Army troops at that time, in order to avoid the enemy's discovery, they finally abandoned it and captured the Luding Bridge instead.
4. Analysis of the feasibility of another route of crossing the river by the Red Army
The "secret crossing" discovered by Peng Dehuai undoubtedly opened up a new possible path for the Red Army to cross the Dadu River that year. However, whether this route is really feasible needs to be further analyzed and evaluated.
First of all, from the perspective of geographical environment, this "secret ferry" area does have certain advantages. According to the description of the locals, the riverbed is shallow, the current is fast but there is no drop, and the terrain on both sides is gentle, which is conducive to the erection of pontoon bridges. Although the Red Army was relatively poorly equipped at that time, it was a feasible option to rely on a large number of manpower.
At the same time, we must also examine the overall strength of the Red Army in those years. In the spring of 1935, after a major setback on the Sichuan-Shaanxi border, the Red Army suffered a major setback in its ranks, but its overall combat effectiveness was not decisively damaged. According to historical records, the Red Army still had more than 20,000 main combat personnel at that time, and the reserves of weapons and ammunition were also at a relatively sufficient level. Therefore, if the Red Army concentrates all its forces, it is quite capable of crossing the river quickly at this "secret crossing".
Of course, we cannot ignore the situation of military confrontation between the enemy and us at that time. In fact, although Chiang Kai-shek's army controlled the Luding Bridge line, it did not completely trap the Red Army in the Dadu River Valley. According to historical data, the main force of the Red Army still had a certain space for maneuver at that time, and as long as the site was appropriately selected, it would not necessarily be seriously obstructed by the enemy.
From this point of view, if the Red Army had indeed chosen to cross the river at this "secret crossing" at that time, it would probably not have encountered much resistance, and could even have avoided the tragic Battle of Luding Bridge.
It should be noted that the reason why the Red Army finally abandoned this route was of course due to factors such as the comparison of the strength of the enemy and us, but the main reason was probably the importance of the geographical location of the Luding Bridge. As the most critical ferry fortress in western Sichuan, the control of Luding Bridge is directly related to whether the Red Army can successfully break through. Therefore, Mao Zedong and other top leaders made the decision to go straight to the Luding Bridge under the circumstances of the time, which was also out of prudent consideration.
However, looking back on history always makes people reverie about "what ifs". If the Red Army really chose to cross the river at the "secret crossing" instead of fighting the Luding Bridge, what pattern would the Long March have taken in the future? Although these assumptions cannot be proven, they are enough to show that there is always the possibility of a turning point in history.
Therefore, when Peng Dehuai re-set foot on this land 30 years later, it was natural that he would have some new thoughts about the decisions made by the Red Army that year. The existence of the "secret crossing" not only makes people re-examine the necessity of the Red Army to seize the Luding Bridge, but also once again confirms that history has never been destined, and there are always new possibilities worth exploring.
5. Peng Dehuai's other experiences during his visit to the Dadu River
Visiting the Dadu River and discovering the existence of this "secret ferry" undoubtedly shocked Peng Dehuai. Did the Red Army really have to seize the Luding Bridge back then? Now it seems that there may be other possibilities.
But in addition to this major discovery, Peng Dehuai had more other experiences during this trip. As a veteran of the Long March, revisiting his hometown must have triggered endless memories of that arduous journey.
When passing by Anshun Field, Peng Dehuai saw the ruins of the Red Army's reorganized positions in those years, and suddenly the scene of tens of thousands of soldiers gathered here and swore to go on an expedition. As the former political commissar of the Red Army, he personally participated in the reorganization of the contingent and witnessed the Red Army's determination to march into western Sichuan with great ambition. Now that I have revisited my hometown, scenes from the past have reappeared in my mind.
What made Peng Dehuai even more emotional was to re-walk the plank road dug by the Red Army. In that year, in order to capture the Luding Bridge, the Red Army had specially opened up an extremely difficult mountain road between the cliffs, so that artillery and heavy equipment could reach the Luding Bridge. Today, the remains of the plank road have been covered with moss, but the Red Army soldiers who carved bricks and tiles and repeated hardships are still shocking.
During several days of visits, Peng Dehuai came to the bank of the Dadu River many times, stopping to gaze at the surging stream. I saw the river rolling forward, the sun shining on the water, and the green hills on both sides of the bank were surrounded by lush greenery. All this evoked his distant memories of the Red Army's difficult crossing of the Dadu River.
In order to cross this river, how many young lives of the Red Army were forever frozen here. Peng Dehuai felt infinite sorrow for the soldiers who died. He clearly remembered that the battle to capture the Luding Bridge was extremely fierce, with heavy casualties on both sides. Although the Red Army was able to cross the river in the end, the cost was really heavy. Now that I have returned to the old place, the figures of those fallen soldiers seem to reappear in front of me.
In addition, Peng Dehuai also made a special on-the-spot inspection of the specific route of the Red Army's crossing of the river that year. He walked along the road where the army was marching at that time, stopping from time to time to observe his surroundings and trying to trace the route of the Red Army. In this way, he traveled all the way and finally arrived at Gulukou Village, where the Red Army crossed the river and settled. There, an elderly man told him about how his ancestors had witnessed the Red Army crossing the river. This kind of oral account of the eyewitness undoubtedly makes Peng Dehuai feel more nostalgic for the historical situation.
In general, this trip to visit the Dadu River on official business allowed Peng Dehuai to discover new clues and relive the arduous struggle of the Red Army in those years. For this veteran Red Army who had personally participated in the Long March, this kind of physical and mental shock will surely make him have a deeper understanding and understanding of those eventful years.