Battle of Dadu River: A life-and-death battle for the Red Army

The Battle of Dadu River: A life-and-death battle for the Red Army

The Battle of Dadu River was a thrilling battle during the Red Army's Long March, and it was also a life-and-death battle in the history of the People's Army. This battle mainly included two parts: the forced crossing of the Dadu River at Anshun Field and the battle to capture the Luding Bridge. It was another key battle since the Long March of the Central Red Army. In May 1935, after the Central Red Army crossed the Jinsha River, in order to completely smash Chiang Kai-shek's attempt to eliminate the Central Red Army by relying on the Dadu River, the Red Army advance team suddenly attacked the Ansunchang Ferry on the south bank of the Dadu River on the 24th, annihilating 2 enemy companies and capturing One ferry controlled the south bank ferry. The next day, a commando composed of 17 men from the 2nd Company of the 1st Red Regiment stormed and occupied the North Bank Ferry, defeating the enemy's counterattack. However, due to the approaching enemy and lack of tools to cross the river, Mao Zedong and the leaders of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission decisively decided to divide their troops into two groups and move up the river to capture the Luding Bridge to ensure that the army could cross the river. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon on the 29th, a commando composed of 22 officers and soldiers of the 4th Red Regiment braved the enemy's bullets, climbed 13 iron chains, rushed across the Dadu River, and captured the Luding Bridge. The follow-up troops immediately crossed the river to capture Luding City and annihilated the defending enemy regiment. Then, the main force of the Central Red Army crossed the naturally dangerous Dadu River from the Luding Bridge. The victory in the Battle of the Dadu River opened up a passage for the Central Red Army to move north, completely shattering Chiang Kai-shek's attempt to annihilate the Central Red Army south of the Dadu River, and shattered Chiang Kai-shek's dream of making the Central Red Army "the second in Shidakai".

Learn from history and prepare carefully

Forced river crossing operations have always been a major problem facing the army. The attacker must use various means to fully understand the hydrology, geology and other conditions of the river, especially the crossing points and the enemy's fortifications, before they can formulate a correct combat plan. In May 1935, after the Central Red Army passed through the Yi ethnic area, it was blocked by the naturally dangerous Dadu River. At that time, Shi Dakai, the wing king of the Taiping Rebellion, led the army by the Dadu River. Because of his unclear understanding of the special characteristics of back-water and water-crossing operations and lack of preparation, he was surrounded and annihilated by the Qing army in the Anshunchang area. When Chiang Kai-shek saw the Central Red Army walking into the place where Shi Dakai's entire army was annihilated, he arrogantly clamored to make the Central Red Army "the second Shi Dakai". In fact, compared with Shi Dakai 72 years ago, the Central Red Army faced a much more severe situation. Chiang Kai-shek mobilized heavy troops to pursue and intercept, and formulated a battle plan to blockade the Central Red Army in the areas north of the Jinsha River, south of the Dadu River, and east of the Yalong River to "fundamentally annihilate" them. Mao Zedong was equally clear about Shi Dakai's defeat at Dadu River. On May 12, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a famous iron factory meeting in Huili, Sichuan, and made careful arrangements on how to break through the Dadu River defense line. Mao Zedong firmly said that we will not be the second to Shi Dakai! The Central Red Army adhered to the policy of ethnic equality when passing through the Yi area, and conducted patient visits to local people's homes. They won strong support from the local people and made advance preparations for crossing the Dadu River. Zhang Boyan, the former chief of staff of the 24th Army of the Kuomintang, recalled: "At that time, I found a rough map of the Red Army's marching route. The mileage and village residents along the way were very detailed, just like a special survey before the war." The Red Army's intelligence was comprehensive and accurate, and it had a close relationship with the people and had a firm grasp of it. The strategic initiative is taken, the strategic deployment is far-reaching, and the tactical execution is thunderous. History is the best textbook, and the history of war is an inexhaustible asset for latecomers to study, examine, and grasp war. Only by focusing on strengthening the study of war history and war examples can we learn from history and learn from it.

Assess the situation and make decisions on the fly

Nothing is static, things are always changing, and even a comprehensive plan will inevitably need to be adjusted on the fly. It is indeed dangerous for the Central Red Army to forcefully cross the Dadu River. The Dadu River is fierce, with a width of about 300 meters and a depth of 30 meters in the center of the river. The water flow is extremely fast and has been a dangerous place for military strategists since ancient times. The Kuomintang army implemented the policy of "Strengthening the Wall and Clearing the Fields", strictly fortified the upper and lower reaches of the Dadu River, and searched away all ships, food and other materials. After the Red Army advance team successfully crossed the river, the large force lacked tools to cross the river. The Japanese only had three wooden boats (one captured and two found downstream of the ferry), which could only seat 40 people at most. A round trip took dozens of minutes and cost tens of thousands of people. If the army only relied on three wooden boats to cross the river, it would take an unknown amount of time, and the time and conditions for building a bridge did not allow for it. The situation was very critical. Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and others rushed to Anshun Field at noon on May 26. After carefully understanding the situation, they assessed the situation and made a decisive decision to rush the Red Army along both banks of the Dadu River to Luding Bridge, 160 kilometers away from Anshun Field.

Mao Zedong and the Central Revolutionary Military Commission decided to divide the troops into two groups. The 1st Red Division and Cadre Regiment formed the right column and advanced along the left bank of the Dadu River; the 1st Red Army Corps Headquarters, the main force of the 2nd Division and the 5th Army formed the left column and advanced along the right bank of the Dadu River. Troops on both sides of the Taiwan Strait supported each other, moved up the river, and captured the Luding Bridge. The Military Commission column and other troops crossed the river from Luding Bridge. In today's era, battlefield conditions are changing rapidly. To win a war, it is even more important to adapt to war in response to changes, make effective plans to deal with various complex situations, and continuously enrich and improve them in military practice. Especially when the battlefield situation undergoes sudden and dramatic changes, commanders must respond quickly, deal with it calmly, accurately analyze and judge the situation, adjust combat plans in a timely manner, make emergency decisions, and use decision-making advantages to win the initiative on the battlefield.

Soldiers are valued for their speed and flexibility

Ancient Chinese military strategists said that soldiers are valued for their speed and the opportunity cannot be missed; Engels also pointed out that "time is an army." When planning to forcefully cross the Dadu River at Anshun Field, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission decisively decided to avoid the real situation and attack the west. Taking advantage of the enemy's miscalculation, Anshun Field, where the enemy's troops were weak, was used as a breakthrough point for forcibly crossing the Dadu River; at the same time, another small force was sent. The troops disguised themselves as the main force of the Red Army and walked to Dashubao along Ningya Avenue to build up momentum to attract and confuse Fulin's enemies and cover the main force of the Red Army's forced crossing of the Dadu River from Anshun Field. Faced with the reality that there were too few ferries, the Central Red Army decided to head north to Luding Bridge in two ways. The enemy troops also rushed to Luding Bridge. Whoever gets there first will get the upper hand. The Central Red Army responded quickly: seize the bridge one day in advance! The order changed from "Ten thousand urgent" to "Ten thousand urgent". On the 28th, when the 4th Red Regiment was marching urgently to Luding Bridge, the Sichuan Army on the other side was also marching to Luding Bridge for reinforcements. The 4th Red Regiment was almost racing across the river with the enemy. While marching on a rainy night, suddenly the enemy reinforcements on the other side lit torches. The leader of the Red 4th Regiment suddenly decided to light torches as well, making the enemy mistake them for their accomplices. Later, the enemy on the other side was so tired that they had to camp, while the Red 4th Regiment was still pushing forward desperately. One day and night, the 4th Red Regiment marched 240 miles while fighting and walking! Finally, in the early morning of the 29th, we arrived at Luding Bridge ahead of the enemy. The most important thing in military affairs is speed, which is to win quickly. The most rare thing is time, and the most vulnerable thing is opportunity. The first battle of modern warfare is the decisive battle, and when it is discovered, it is destroyed. This requires us to accurately calculate time, use time, and gain time in future operations to effectively improve the troops' ability to respond quickly and strike quickly.

Strong faith, bravery and tenacity

People always have to have some spirit. In the Battle of Dadu River, the officers and soldiers of the Red Army relied on their infinite loyalty to the Chinese revolution and carried forward the spirit of revolutionary heroism of being heroic, unafraid of sacrifice and dauntless. They marched bravely in rapids, raced on dangerous roads, and attacked on iron ropes, fighting against difficulties and fighting against all odds. Race against time and fight against enemies. The 4th Red Regiment marched 240 miles in a hurry, setting a world army walking march record in one day and night; the heroic feat of the 17 warriors who forcibly crossed the Dadu River at the critical moment wrote a glorious page; the 77 local boatmen "cannot stop the boat" The "rest" ferry continued for 7 days and 7 nights, gaining precious time to seize the Luding Bridge; the 22 commandos who flew to seize the Luding Bridge faced the rain of bullets without fear, and marched forward bravely to seize the bridge, opening the way for the Central Red Army to go north. , and made immortal feats; "Magic Gunner" Zhao Zhangcheng relied on his excellent military quality to suppress the enemy's firepower when the advance of 17 warriors was blocked. He suppressed the enemy's firepower and made great contributions to the forced crossing of the Dadu River. Nie Rongzhen once said that we are the workers' and peasants' Red Army led by the Communist Party of China. Our enemies have political qualities that cannot be compared with ours and a flexible tactical quality that allows us to defeat the superior with the inferior. In particular, our army's commanders and fighters are infinitely loyal to the party. , loyal to the people, and loyal to the great spirit of sacrifice of the Chinese revolution, so sometimes we can survive from desperate situations, raise the flag of victory again, and regain the fruits of victory. From forcibly crossing the Dadu River to flying to seize the Luding Bridge, the Red Army not only created a miracle in the world's military history, but also created a miracle for mankind to challenge the limits. This was a spirited march supported by firm belief. Today, our material security has been greatly improved compared to the past, but our strong will and belief in victory cannot be lost. In this way, we can not only be invincible in "good times", but also win unexpectedly in "adversity".