Kangxi 44, in order to open up the passage from the capital, Chengdu to Lhasa, the Qing court ordered a bridge to be built in this huge canyon, which is Luding Bridge , an aerial suspension bridge supported by iron cables.
13 iron cables with a bowl thickness connected to the two sides, 9 of which are bridge decks and 4 are handrails. The iron cables are fixed on the iron piles on both sides of the banks. The Luding Bridge bridge is 101.67 meters long, and there are pavilion-style bridges at both ends of the bridge.
On May 29, 1935, the iron chains were suspended on the valleys on both sides of the Dadu River. At this moment, the wooden boards laid on the iron chain of the bridge deck had been removed. The bridge tower on the bridge head of the north bank had been tightly surrounded by sandbags, forming a solid bridgehead fortress. The machine gun extending from the shooting hole of the fortress was facing the iron chain.
The defense of the Sichuan Army Li Quanshan on the north bank is the 38th Regiment of the Sichuan Army. The third battalion of the vanguard of this regiment is the Sichuan Army that is advancing in unison with a torch across the river from Red Army .
The vanguard of the Third Battalion arrived at Luding Bridge two hours earlier than the Fourth Regiment of the Red First Army. Company Commander Rao Jie ordered the soldiers to immediately remove the bridge board . However, because the soldiers were too tired and many people became addicted to opium, the bridge board was demolished extremely slowly. After Zhou Gui, the battalion commander of the Third Battalion, arrived, he sent more soldiers to demolish the bridge boards and began to build blocking fortifications.
At dawn, regiment commander Li Quanshan led Li Zhao camp to the North Bank Bridgehead, and the Fourth Red Army Regiment of the South Bank also arrived. Both sides started shooting without hesitation. It is almost impossible to rush to the other side of the river with just a few iron ropes between the abyss.
In the afternoon, the combat plan for the Fourth Red Army Regiment to seize the bridge was formulated: fire cover for the second and third battalions, pay special attention to using firepower to block the reinforced enemies on both sides, and the first battalion divided into three echelons to attack the front.
The 22-man commando led by Liao Dazhu, the company commander of the 2nd Company of the 1st Battalion, must climb to the north shore forcibly; behind them, the third company is the task of laying bridges behind; behind the third company is the first company, the task of launching a charge on the paved bridges.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the battle to capture Luding Bridge by the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started. There was no way out. It was only to forcibly rush through 13 cold iron chains along the rain of bullets.
22 young Red Army warriors rushed towards the iron chain!
The Sichuan Army began to shoot wildly, and the Red Army's cover firepower also began to suppress violently. The shells roared, and the two sides of the river formed a sea of fire. The Sichuan Army's bullets hit the iron chain, and Mars exploded.
The Red Army warriors held a gun in one hand and grabbed a rope, approaching the north shore little by little without fear.
The officers and soldiers led by Wang Youcai, the company commander of the Third Company, followed closely behind. They all held the wooden boards. As long as the commandos in front went further, they would lay an inch on the iron chain.
The Sichuan Army looked at the Red Army getting closer and closer on the iron chain. They widened their eyes in horror. They didn't know who else could hang in the abyss in the world besides the Red Army and launch an attack along the shaking iron chains.
22 Red Army commandos were shot and fell into the abyss. The warriors were approaching the bridgehead on the north bank of Luding Bridge under the blockade of the Sichuan Army's light and heavy machine guns and artillery fire.
This is not so much a battle as a battle of will and courage.
Looking at the Red Army warriors rushing towards the bare iron chain, the Sichuan Army was stunned and frightened. They had never seen such a scene of sacrificing themselves in their lives.
Just as the Red Army warriors approached the north shore, a fire suddenly ignited at the bridgehead of the north shore. The Sichuan Army piled up the demolished bridge boards on the bridgehead, poured kerosene on it and ignited it. The fire sealed the bridgehead.
Company Commander Liao Dazhu, who was climbing in front, shouted, Comrades, follow me! Then he stood up and rushed into the sea of fire first, and the second one to rush into the sea of fire was a small Miao warrior. Then, the commandos rushed into the fire one by one.
The Red Army Warriors whose hair, eyebrows and clothes were burned by burning the flames and rushed to the bridgehead position of Luding Bridge. The subsequent echelon stepped on the bridge board and crossed the bridge desperately, rushing into Luding County City.
At the last moment, Li Quanshan, the commander of the Sichuan Army, learned that there was a Red Army behind him, and he immediately ordered the main force of Zhou Gui's third battalion cover regiment to retreat. Zhou Gui handed over the cover task to Company Commander Rao Jie. Company Commander Rao Jie ran away before the Red Army arrived. Battalion Commander Zhou Gui retreated while hosting his officers and soldiers. Finally, he found that there were only a dozen people left in his third battalion.
In the evening, the First Division and the Cadre Regiment of the Red First Army led by Liu Bocheng arrived at the edge of Luding Bridge along the north bank of the Dadu River, and the two armies met at the bridgehead.
On the second day, the main force of the Red 1st Army led by Lin Biao, the main force of the Red 5th Army led by Dong Zhentang, and the central column arrived at Luding Bridge one after another.
22 Red Army warriors who crossed the Dadu River each received a set of Lenin suit, a pen, a notebook, an enamel water cup and a pair of chopsticks. This was the highest material reward that the officers and soldiers of the Central Red Army at that time could get.
Red Star Shining [Issue 30]
Ludingqiao
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I liked writing since childhood, and when I was a primary school student, I often made model essays. During his literary youth period, many articles won awards. After decades of ups and downs, my hobbies have not changed. I like to read literature and history, insist on writing, and welcome communication.
