The golden sand water beats the clouds and cliffs warm, and the Dadu Bridge is cold. "On the Red Army's Long March, the forced crossing of the Dadu River must be one of the most colorful.
On the Dadu River, 18 warriors bravely crossed the river and composed a generous song of revolutionaries, which is still praised by later generations for a long time.
What happened to the eighteen warriors who bravely crossed the river after crossing the river? After the founding of the People's Republic of China, who was the highest among them?
The Zunyi Conference in January 1935 was a major turning point for the Red Army during the Long March, after which the Red Army regained military command and the Red Army's marching strategy underwent a great change.
Under the leadership of ***, the Red Army shuttled between enemy troops with flexible and mobile tactics, completed feats such as crossing the Chishui River four times and crossing the Jinsha River skillfully, and completely grasped the strategic initiative in the Long March.
By May, the Red Army had left the enemy's main force far south of the Yangtze River, and only the Dadu River was in front of the Red Army.
According to the investigation, the ** Military Commission decided to carry out a forced crossing at Anshun Field, where the enemy's troops were relatively weak, and the advance team was served as the 1st Red Division and 1st Regiment, which was known as the "pioneer in the Long March."
When Yang Dezhi, the commander of the 1st Red Regiment, received the order, he had already led his army to Ma'anshan near the Anshunchang Ferry, so he immediately began to reconnoiter the Anshunchang Ferry.
In fact, since the four crossings of Chishui, the enemy has completely lost sight of the direction of the Red Army's march.
After Yang Dezhi finished the reconnaissance, he also rushed to the station of the Red First Regiment and jointly formulated a strategy to retreat from the enemy. In the end, under the discussion of the three of them, it was decided that Yang Dezhi would lead a battalion to capture the Anshunchang ferry, and then seize the boat and force the crossing.
The enemy at that time did not expect the Red Army to move so quickly, the garrison was extremely lax, and even the sound of singing was heard from the tents.
Under these circumstances, the first battalion rushed to the enemy camp with lightning speed, and in less than half an hour, all the enemy of a battalion at the Anshunchang ferry port were annihilated.
The initial victory was achieved in the forced crossing mission, but it was the enemy on the other side of the river that was the main force.
In the follow-up investigation, Yang Dezhi found that a battalion of troops was also deployed on the opposite bank, and a large army was stationed not far from the river bank.
In this way, the fighters of the 1st Red Battalion were required to quickly seize the enemy's positions on the opposite bank, and use the enemy's fortifications to cover the fire, and wait until the 1st Red Regiment had crossed the river before exchanging fire with the enemy's main force.
In order to achieve this, someone must cross the river as a vanguard.
The river at Anshunchang Ferry is 300 meters wide and about 20 meters deep, and the current is turbulent, and the river is full of reefs and rocks.
Just crossing the river in normal times is full of dangers, let alone advancing against the enemy's bullets.
However, the reality does not allow Yang Dezhi to think too much, and once it drags on for a long time, the enemy on the other side is very likely to increase the deployment of firepower, and it will be even more difficult to cross the river at that time.
At present, the next battalion is at the Anshunchang ferry, and the commander of the first battalion, Sun Jixian, quickly organized a 17-member brave team to prepare to attack the other side of the Dadu River.
However, there was only one ferry boat at the crossing, and only four boatmen were willing to risk their lives to help them cross the river.
In desperation, Sun Jixian decided that Xiong Shanglin, the commander of the first battalion and the second company, and other nine people would forcibly cross the river first, and then he would lead the remaining eight people to follow.
In the early morning of May 25, Xiong Shanglin and a team of team members sailed across the river.
At this moment, the day was bright, and the enemy on the opposite bank quickly spotted the warriors crossing the river, and immediately the enemy pillboxes and fortifications sprayed bullets.
And the improvised ferry was shot and leaked in many places.
At this time, Sun Jixian commanded the ferry troops to provide fire cover for Xiong Shanglin and others, Yang Dezhi commanded other combat units of the first regiment to shoot at the enemy at a long distance, and even Zhao Zhangcheng, the "sharpshooter" of the 1st Red Division, joined the battle.
Under the cover of the strong firepower of the crossing troops, a group of warriors seized the opportunity to land first, and quickly established a temporary position to engage the enemy.
At the same time, the ferry had already returned to the ferry port and picked up Sun Jixian and eight other warriors and headed for the opposite bank.
When the Eighteen Warriors rendezvous on the opposite bank, they quickly routed the enemy's charge, and fought with all their might, beating the enemy on the opposite bank into disarray.
The gunfire on the opposite bank gradually became smaller, and the other fighters of the first battalion also arrived on the opposite bank in batches, and the position of the first battalion on the opposite bank became more and more solid.
And under such a dense rain of bullets, none of the eighteen warriors who forcibly crossed the Dadu River died.
So, what happened to these eighteen river crossing warriors?
The heroic deeds of the 18 warriors who crossed the river were highly praised by their superiors, and their fearless revolutionary spirit was propagated throughout the army as an example.
At that time, party, government, and military newspapers, such as the "Red Star" newspaper and the "Warrior Daily", all reported the deeds of the eighteen warriors of the Dadu River.
In addition to Sun Jixian, commander of the first battalion, and Xiong Shanglin, commander of the second company, 16 brave men, including Luo Huiming, Liu Changfa, Zhang Biaoke, Zhang Guicheng, Xiao Hanyao, Wang Huating, Liao Hongshan, Lai Qiufa, Zeng Xianji, Guo Shicang, Zhang Chengqiu, Xiao Guilan, Zhu Xiangyun, Xie Liangming, Ding Liumin, and Chen Wanqing, all received awards of varying degrees.
However, except for Sun Jixian and Xiong Shanglin, the other sixteen warriors did not continue to write brilliant deeds.
It is a great pity that they either died in battle, or that they did not survive the extremely harsh natural environment during the march of the Red Army.
Finally arrived in northern Shaanxi, Xiong Shanglin, the commander of the first battalion and the second company of the former Red First Regiment, who was still registered, also died in the subsequent War of Resistance Against Japan.
In the spring of 1938, Xiong Shanglin served as a battalion commander in a certain unit of the Eighth Route Army, and once again met his old superior, Sun Jixian, who had forcibly crossed the Dadu River.
Xiong Shanglin is a rugged man with a very frank personality.
It is precisely under such a character that he is not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice, and relies on his courage to fight fiercely against the Japanese in Pingxingguan in the Anti-Japanese War.
Subsequently, Xiong Shanglin followed the troops across the Taihang Mountains, advanced into the eastern Hebei region, and obeyed the organization and deployment, and opened up the Pingbei anti-Japanese base area.
As an important city in northern China, it was naturally heavily garrisoned after being occupied by the Japanese invaders, and the anti-Japanese base near Beiping was even more difficult.
1942 can be called a year of great pressure on the battlefield behind enemy lines during the Anti-Japanese War.
All the base areas behind enemy lines were faced with the frantic sweep of the Japanese invaders, and the anti-Japanese base areas in Pingbei, which Xiong Shanglin had managed to open up, were also constantly interspersed and divided into several small pieces by the enemy.
Even in such a bad situation, Xiong Shanglin still continued to lead dozens of comrades to fight bravely and fight to the death against the Japanese invaders and the puppet army.
With these dozens of soldiers, Xiong Shanglin fought with the Japanese invaders in the area of the Great Wall while propagating the party's anti-Japanese ideology and policies, and later miraculously opened up the situation.
A squad of dozens of people was developed into the Pingbei Independent Regiment by him in a short period of time.
On June 18, 1942, Xiong Shanglin was tragically killed in Chongli County, Zhangjiakou, on the way to follow the transfer of troops.
The years of fighting have cultivated Xiong Shanglin, a true man who dares to fight and fight, who dedicates his blood to the party and the people without reservation, and is a real hero!
At this time, of the eighteen warriors who forcibly crossed the Dadu River that year, only Sun Jixian was left. And he also saw New China, and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, the highest rank among the eighteen warriors.
However, his status as "one of the Eighteen Warriors" has been subject to some controversy.
After forcibly crossing the Dadu River, Sun Jixian followed the troops all the way to climb snow-capped mountains and cross grasslands, and went through countless hardships and hardships like thousands of Red Army soldiers, and finally arrived in northern Shaanxi.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Sun Jixian was appointed chief of staff of the 772nd Regiment of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army.
In 1938, due to the needs of the Anti-Japanese War, Sun Jixian was appointed as the leader of the 129th Division's advance team, and went deep behind the enemy to open up a new anti-Japanese base area, and has been active in the Jinpu line since then.
In this process, Sun Jixian led the troops to open up the anti-Japanese base area along the Jilu border.
It not only supported the Taierzhuang campaign commanded by Li Zongren, but also continued to develop anti-Japanese forces, and soon gained a firm foothold on the Jilu side, smashed many attacks by the Japanese invaders, and made great contributions in the War of Resistance against Japan.
During the War of Liberation, Sun Jixian's unit was incorporated into the East China Field Army, and successively participated in the Laiwu Campaign, the Menglianggu Campaign, the River Crossing Campaign, and the liberation of the Zhoushan Islands, and finally saw the day when New China was founded.
In 1955, when the title was conferred, Sun Jixian was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, becoming the highest-ranking one among the "Eighteen Warriors" that year.
In October 1958, Sun Jixian was appointed commander of the 20th Training Base, mainly responsible for the construction of the first comprehensive missile experimental range in New China.
With the advent of the era of peace, ** started the sorting out of some deeds in the revolutionary years, among which the deeds of "Eighteen Warriors Forcibly Crossing the Dadu River" were used as a typical example to verify and publicize.
However, at an enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission, some people suddenly raised the question of whether the Red Army had forcibly crossed the Dadu River in those years, and there were doubts about whether it was 17 or 18 warriors.
Even if eighteen warriors cross the river, Sun Jixian, as a front-line commander, should not be counted among the warriors.
At that time, Sun Jixian also attended the meeting, and a comrade next to him who was familiar with this incident reminded him: "Commander Sun, you should also speak. ”
But Sun Jixian whispered: "What can I say? Can you say you're a warrior? ”
In Sun Jixian's view, the title of "warrior" can only be given by the party and the people, and cannot be self-proclaimed.
Since Sun Jixian did not stand up and speak at this meeting, it was finally decided that all propaganda units should carry out propaganda in accordance with the caliber of the "17 warriors" when publicizing the forcible crossing of the Dadu River.
Regarding whether he is a warrior of the Dadu River, Sun Jixian has always remained silent and low-key.
Sun Jixian's children once heard him talk about this past, and when the "Eighteen Warriors" became the "Seventeen Warriors", they still found it difficult to accept.
Facing the children's doubts, Sun Jixian said earnestly:
In the revolutionary years, countless martyrs sacrificed their lives, and we, the survivors, feel uncomfortable when we think of them, and if we fight for any warriors, it will be too boring, and I feel very ashamed! ”
Sun Ji paused first, and then said to the children"The Red Army soldiers who fought bravely on the Long March, everyone is a hero, and every one of them is a warrior! ”
Although Sun Jixian himself did not care about this, Yang Dezhi, who witnessed the forced crossing of the Dadu River by the Eighteen Warriors, had a different opinion.
Yang Dezhi believes that propaganda work should respect historical facts, and it is true that Sun Jixian was a commander, but he also participated in the operation of crossing the river, and this is a fact that cannot be tampered with.
Yang Dezhi once said to Sun Jixian: "At that time, I was abroad, and the relevant departments did not ask for my opinion, so they changed the 'Eighteen Warriors' to 'Seventeen Warriors', and I will definitely correct it again in my future memoirs!" ”
In 1985, Yang Dezhi wrote a long memoir "Hengge Horse", in which he justified Sun Jixian's name when he mentioned the forced crossing of the Dadu River.
In April 1990, Sun Jixian died of illness in Jinan, and when his youngest son returned to Beijing from Jinan, he went to visit Yang Dezhi, who was hospitalized.
As soon as Yang Dezhi saw Sun Dongning wearing a black veil on his arm, he immediately realized what was happening, and he choked up and said:
"Your father is my best comrade-in-arms, he is a good comrade, he has many advantages, he is very brave in battle, he knows martial arts, and he can play big swords, ......”
When mentioning the Long March, Yang Dezhi said: "Your father led seventeen soldiers to cross the river, and he should be eighteen warriors, and your father should be regarded as a warrior." ”
When Sun Jixian was dying, he was also thinking about forcibly crossing the Dadu River, but he was the only one left among the eighteen warriors of that year.
Before dying, Sun Jixian instructed his family:
"Wait behind me, scatter some of the ashes in the Dadu River, I want to accompany the stormy waves of the Dadu River, and tell future generations about the amazing legend created here by the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army led by ***! ”
For the deeds of the eighteen warriors of the Dadu River, there are many documents that can be used for reference, among which the most widely circulated is the article "There are many heroes on the banks of the Dadu River".
Eighteen warriors will always live in the hearts of the people!