Lao Xiucai saved 20,000 Red Army troops with one sentence
On May 9, 1935, Comrade ***, the leader of the Communist Party of China, led the Red Army to successfully break through the encirclement of hundreds of thousands of Kuomintang troops, skillfully crossed the Jinsha River from Kyaukpingdu, Yunnan Province, and held an important "Huili Conference" outside the city of Huili, and finally determined the strategic decision to go north to join the Red Fourth Front Army.
It turned out that the Red Army was faced with a Dadu River more than 300 meters wide and a turbulent current, with a treacherous surface and dangerous shoals, and it was difficult to cross the river safely. And Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang army had already laid a net of heaven and earth, waiting for the Red Army to follow in the footsteps of Shi Dakai.
On both sides of the Dadu River are lofty mountains and mountains, the terrain is dangerous, and the local folk song once said: "If you want to sail in the Dadu River, you will step on the ghost gate with one foot." At this critical moment of life and death, the director of the Political Department was full of joy, and he whispered to the chairman.
Unexpectedly, the words of ** became the key to whether the Red Army could break through the encirclement.
On the evening of May 26, 1935, in the mountains and ravines under the moonlight, an old Xiucai in his nineties was knocked on the door, which was supported by the old party members.
This visit was of crucial importance to the survival of the Red Army. Why are *** words so important? Who is the old Xiucai they visited? The problem of crossing the river trapped the Red Army next to the Jinsha River.
They planned to continue north along the line of Huili and Xichang Avenues, with the goal of crossing the Dadu River and entering the western Sichuan region to join the Red Fourth Front Army. However, the Dadu River became a huge obstacle in front of them.
The Dadu River has been a dangerous place since ancient times. The river is more than 300 meters wide and nearly 30 meters deep, and the water is turbulent, and the river roars through the canyon, forming countless whirlpools.
Even experienced old boatmen did not dare to set foot lightly. But it was in such a treacherous environment that the Red Army found the key to breaking through the encirclement. On May 21, 1935, Chiang Kai-shek sent a secret order to He Guoguang, who was stationed in Chongqing, in an attempt to prevent *** from joining up with the Red Fourth Front Army and preventing him from breaking through to Xikang.
In addition, he also gave instructions to other troops: ordered Xue Yue, the commander-in-chief of the front line of the 2nd Route Army, to lead his troops to cross the Jinsha River north and advance to Xichang in an attempt to encircle the ** Red Army; ordered the main force of the 42nd Army of the Sichuan Army to ambush and snipe on the left bank of the Dadu River on the front line of Luding Fulin; He also ordered the 20th Army and the 21st Army to advance to the Ya'an and Fulin areas.
The arrival of Xue Yue caused Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang to set up a net to prevent the chairman and the Red Army from crossing the Dadu River. The situation became extremely serious, and the Red Army had to cross the Dadu River as soon as possible.
However, how to cross the Dadu River safely in the shortest possible time? At this time, the skillful crossing of the Jinsha River is particularly important. In order to successfully cross the river, the Red Army spent a lot of effort, found seven boats and 36 experienced boatmen, and finally sent 20,000 Red Army safely to the opposite bank after seven days and seven nights of hard work.
Chiang Kai-shek thought that he had the chance of victory, but in just a few hours he issued an urgent secret order: first, take away all the boats and boat construction materials on the south bank and concentrate them on the north bank; the second is to expropriate the grain stocks of the inhabitants of the south bank to prevent the Red Army from fighting a protracted war; The third is to burn all the shelters on the south bank to prevent the Red Army from using the shelters to carry out guerrilla tactics.
In order to prevent our army from advancing, Chiang Kai-shek not only deployed two battalions of troops on the riverbank, but also confidently quoted the story of Shi Dakai of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, believing that our army would repeat the mistake of Shi Dakai.
However, on May 24, 1935, the vanguard of the Red Army successfully conquered the Anshun Chang ferry at a small cost, and at the same time accidentally discovered a boat hidden by a local landlord.
The next day, ** ordered to force the crossing of the Dadu River, and Sun Jixian, the commander of the first battalion of the Red First Regiment, led 17 warriors to form an assault team and heroically braved the enemy's artillery fire to successfully seize the ferry on the north bank of the Dadu River.
However, the water on the north shore is more turbulent and it is impossible to build bridges.
The Red Army soldiers returned exhausted with four small boats, which would have taken at least a whole month to cross the main force of more than 30,000 men on these boats alone.
Although there are boats, crossing the river is still a tricky issue. However, time was pressing, and the Kuomintang pursuers arrived at the Dadu River a few days later. On the morning of May 26, the members of the command of the ** Red Army were worried and had been looking for a way to cross the river, and the entire Red Army was shrouded in a gray atmosphere.
At this time, an old show came up with a plan to solve their confusion. On the afternoon of May 25, a rush of footsteps interrupted ***'s thoughts, and the director of the Political Department *** brought a crucial message.
Song Dashun, a former Qing Dynasty talent in his 90s, is well-read and has witnessed the fall of Shi Dakai. **Hearing this news, immediately let *** take yourself to visit the old gentleman.
That night, ** and *** rushed to Lao Xiucai's house non-stop. When Song Dashun was a child, he had witnessed the defeat of Shi Da's army at the Anshun Ferry, and he had his own opinions about the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Wing King Shi Da's army and the defeat of Zi Da.
Although full of admiration for the wisdom of the old gentleman, it is prudent to ask him to share his views on this issue. After Song Dashun pondered for a moment, he slowly said that the reason why Shi Dakai was defeated in Anshun was because he missed a critical opportunity.
Shi Dakai's decision-making mistake at the Anshun Field of the Dadu River caused the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to miss the best time to cross the river, and was finally successfully deployed by the Qing army on the north bank of the Dadu River under the condition of thunderstorms and loss of popular support. "
On the night when Shi Dakai's portrait appeared, a violent storm poured down, and the water level of the Dadu River suddenly **. This made Shi Dakai miss the best opportunity to cross the river, so that the Taiping army fell into a passive situation of the Qing army, the militia and the Yi Tusi troops being attacked on three sides, and finally defeated the Dadu River.
If Shi Dakai had been able to seize the opportunity to cross the river immediately, or if he could have gained the support of the local people, the situation of the Taiping army might not have been so passive. Although the steepness of the Dadu River is prohibitive, it is not without other ways out.
Even if they failed to cross the river in time, Shi Dakai's army could take advantage of the surrounding steep mountains to maneuver with the Qing army and buy time. Moreover, if they can win the support of the local Yi people, then the Taiping Tian ** team will have the material foundation for a protracted war, and can cross the Dadu River when the water is calm, so as to avoid falling into a desperate situation.
In front of ***, Song Dashun, with his knowledge and experience, analyzed the possibility of how to cross the Dadu River for 40,000 people in a few days by 4 small boats. He made it clear that this is not possible.
The Dadu River is turbulent and must be rowed down in a straight line by experienced boatmen, and must be crossed by a river boat unique to the Dadu River. This type of boat has a unique design with a bent bow that is raised high to avoid the waves.
In addition, due to the characteristics of the Dadu River, it is necessary to change direction to avoid the undercurrent every time it travels for a period of time. As a result, the large army could not cross the Dadu River by boat ferry, and had to seek other routes.
He added that there is a Luding Bridge built in the Kangxi period and built by the Qing Dynasty in the upper reaches of the Dadu River, 320 kilometers away from Anshun Field.
As soon as his words fell, ** immediately got up and thanked him again and again. At noon on May 26, 1935, ** and *** clarified two river crossing routes at the head of the Anshun River: he divided the Red Army into two parts, one part of which was the responsibility of the First Division of the Red Army Corps and the cadres of the Military Commission, and forcibly crossed the Dadu River from Anshun Field, and then continued north along the Dadu River.
In the other part, the 2nd Division of the 1st Red Army advanced along the upper reaches of the Dadu River and captured the Luding Bridge to create conditions for the army to cross the river. On the banks of the Luding River, the heroic soul of the Red Army lives on.
At that time, the Kuomintang pursuers were in hot pursuit, and the situation was extremely grim. On May 27, ** ordered the left column, composed of the 1st and 5th Red Army Corps, to travel 320 kilometers in three days and seize the Luding Bridge.
Luding Bridge: An Insurmountable Moat? Luding Bridge, built in the 44th year of Kangxi, is located in Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture at an altitude of 1,300 meters. Under the bridge is the raging Dadu River, and the fire coverage of the enemy troops on the opposite bank adds endless difficulty to this task.
However, the enemy has caught up, and it is urgent to seize the Luding Bridge. In this emergency situation, the ** Military Commission once again issued an order for the advance regiment of the left column to capture the Luding Bridge on the 29th.
The soldiers of the whole regiment shouted: "After walking two hundred and four, rush to Luding Bridge!" The slogan is moving towards Luding Bridge. At the critical moment when the Red Army was about to capture the Luding Bridge, Chiang Kai-shek got the news and hurriedly deployed two brigades of Sichuan troops to rush to the Luding Bridge, and ordered the Xikang warlord Liu Hui to blow up the Luding Bridge.
This undoubtedly caused greater difficulties for the Red Army, but the Red Army did not flinch from this. They firmly stepped onto the Luding Bridge and launched a fierce battle. In the end, they succeeded in recapturing the Luding Bridge and achieved this seemingly impossible task.
The battle of Luding Bridge showed us the fearless courage and firm determination of the Red Army, and they proved with their actions the belief that "there is no hurdle that cannot be overcome, only those who cannot be overcome".
On the way to Luding Bridge, the soldiers of the 2nd Division and 4th Regiment had to cross those winding, undulating paths. However, the road is narrow and steep, and the slightest mistake can lead to a fall into a cliff.
To make matters worse, the enemy also set up a fire net along the way, adding more difficulties to our march. Fifty-five kilometers from the Luding Bridge, the soldiers of the Red Fourth Regiment had not eaten for 10 hours, and they were thirsty and hungry, but at this time they encountered a torrential rain.
The warriors, dressed in rain-soaked clothes, swallowed steamed buns in the rain, and although it was difficult, none of them gave up.
At 6 a.m. on May 29, 1935, Chiang Kai-shek's prediction was disappointed, and the speed of the Red Army's reaction caught him off guard. The left column galloped all the way and arrived at the Luding Bridge ahead of schedule, taking the enemy by surprise.
The Kuomintang troops did not have time to blow up the Luding Bridge, but only removed the wooden planks on the bridge. Even so, there were only bare iron cables left on the Luding Bridge, and it was not easy to make a surprise attack to the other side of the river, not to mention that there was a group of enemy machine guns on the opposite side.
The enemy even arrogantly provoked: "You guys flew here, why didn't you fly over!" ”
In order to break through the dangerous Luding Bridge as soon as possible, the Red Fourth Regiment of the left column carefully selected twenty warriors to form a death squad. They braved the rain of bullets and jumped on the chain bridge.
He was followed by Wang Youcai, the commander of the third company, who commanded the soldiers to meticulously lay the wooden planks one by one. At two o'clock in the afternoon of May 29, 1935, the right column arrived at Luding Bridge under the leadership of ***, and the two armies launched a fierce attack on the enemy together after the two armies met.
After more than two hours of fierce fighting, the enemy army was defeated by our army, and our army successfully captured the Luding Bridge, opening the road to victory.
Original text: **At 10 o'clock in the evening of May 29, **Marshal stepped on the Luding Bridge again, he paced back and forth on the Luding Bridge several times, walked from this end of the bridge to that end, and finally stomped three times on the bridge board, and sighed: "Luding Bridge, Luding Bridge, we have won!"
This battle smashed Chiang Kai-shek's attempt to completely annihilate the Red Army by using the Dadu River, and the Red Army once again successfully evaded Chiang Kai-shek's encirclement, and also broke the prophecy that our army would become "Shi Dakai's second".
In the same geographical environment, even the situation of the Red Army was even more difficult than that of Shi Dakai, and the lethality of the Kuomintang's machine guns and mortars was dozens of times higher than that of the traditional artillery of the Qing army.
Why was the Red Army able to seize the opportunity to cross the river safely? The main reasons for this are as follows:
1. The Red Army deeply understood the importance of "the power of the people is strong, and it is also possible to overthrow the regime." When they marched to Mianning County to the front line of Anshun Field, they were all rugged and difficult mountain roads, and they were mainly inhabited by Yi people.
Therefore, they quickly convened a congress to inspire the masses to unite against the warlords. In addition, they organized armies, confiscated the property of local tyrant landlords, and distributed it to the poor people, so that the landlord class lost control of power.
It is particularly worth mentioning that the comrades of the advance army also formed a brother with a different surname with Xiao Yedan, the leader of the Gu Ji family of the Yi nationality, which undoubtedly won the enthusiastic support of the local people.
Second, the tactical command of the Red Army was excellent. Shi Dakai failed to seize the opportunity to cross the river in time, and the Red Army learned this lesson and divided the troops into two columns, left and right, so that they could respond more flexibly to enemy attacks in battle.
3. One force crossed the Dadu River and advanced north along the east bank of the river, while the other made a rapid march to seize the Luding Bridge. This method caught the enemy defenders by surprise and successfully carried out a roundabout flanking attack.
Fourth, the indomitable fighting spirit of the Red Army soldiers. By the time they arrived at the Anshun Ferry, the Red Army had been marching rapidly for more than 80 days, and blood blisters had appeared on the feet of every soldier.
However, shouting the slogan "If you want a bridge, you will not die", and with firm revolutionary convictions, they broke through the encirclement of local troops in only three days. From the Long March to the Anti-Japanese War to the War of Liberation, the Communists experienced countless baptisms of war, but they still maintained high morale and devoted themselves to the revolutionary cause.
Their tenacity and determination have enabled them to overcome difficulties and make the impossible possible. As *** wrote in the poem: "The golden sand water beats the clouds and cliffs warm, and the Dadu Bridge crosses the iron cable cold." ”
How much blood and tears are contained in the rushing and angry Dadu River.