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Luding Bridge

Part of the Long March (Chinese Civil War)

Luding Bridge seen from the side of the city

Date	29 May 1935
Location	Dadu River, Sichuan
Result	Red Army victory

Combatants

Red Army, Chinese Communists

Warlords linked to Kuomintang

Commanders

Yang Chengwu

Li Quanshan

Strength

22 to 100

One regiment?

Casualties

Maybe 4

Most fled or changed sides

Luding Bridge (Chinese: 泸定桥; pinyin: Luding Qiao) is a historical landmark in China where soldiers of the Fourth Regiment of the Chinese Workers and Peasants' Army secured a vital river crossing during the Long March in 1935. Without the bridge, the Red Army would probably have been destroyed. In the 19th century, the last army of the Taiping peasant rebels had been destroyed in the same area. There is an ongoing dispute about the battle or skirmish required to take the bridge. Overview map of the course of the Long March The Long March (Chinese: é•·å¾; Pinyin: ChÃ¡ngzhÄ“ng) was a massive military retreat undertaken by the armies of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the Peoples Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. ... Combatants Chinese Nationalists Chinese Communists Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1728x1152, 618 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Luding Bridge Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Dadu River (å¤§æ¸¡æ²³), a tributry of the Yangtze, also known as the Tatu River. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Alternate meaning: Shining Path The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA); Traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍, Simplified Chinese: 人民解放军, pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàng Jūn), including strategic nuclear forces, an army, navy and air force, serves as the military of... Alternate meaning: Shining Path The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA); Traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍, Simplified Chinese: 人民解放军, pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàng Jūn), including strategic nuclear forces, an army, navy and air force, serves as the military of... Communist Party of China flag The Communist Party of China (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; pinyin: Zhōnggu ngchǎndǎng) is the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: ä¸åœ‹åœ‹æ°‘é»¨; Simplified Chinese: ä¸å›½å›½æ°‘å…š; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Tongyong Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang), commonly known as the Kuomintang (KMT), is a centre-right political party in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and is currently the largest political party in terms of sitting Legislative... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell and yin means sound. The most common variant of pinyin in use is called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: HÃ nyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... Overview map of the course of the Long March The Long March (Chinese: é•·å¾; Pinyin: ChÃ¡ngzhÄ“ng) was a massive military retreat undertaken by the armies of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the Peoples Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. ... Combatants Qing Empire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Commanders Xianfeng Emperor, Tongzhi Emperor, Empress Dowager Cixi Hong Xiuquan The Taiping Rebellion (1851â€“1864) was perhaps the bloodiest civil war in human history, a clash between the forces of the Qing Empire in China and those inspired by a Hakka self-proclaimed mystic...

Overview

Fleeing from pursuing Kuomintang forces, the communists found that there were not enough boats to cross the Dadu River (Sichuan province). They were forced to use Luding Bridge, a Qing dynasty chain bridge built in 1701. [1]. It consisted of thirteen heavy iron chains with a span of some 100 yards. Normally thick boards lashed over the chains made the road of the bridge. This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of... Events January 18 - Frederick I becomes King of Prussia. ...

In the morning of May 28, 1935, the 4th regiment of the Lin Biao's 2nd division, 1st Corps of the Chinese Red Army received an urgent order from the general headquarter: Luding Bridge must be captured on May 29, 1935, one day ahead of the original schedule. May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

After a 120 km march and defeating numerous nationalist forces that blocked their path, at the dawn on May 29, 1935, around 6:00 a.m., Lin Biao's 4th regiment, 2nd division of the Chinese Red Army reached the bridge, only to discover that local warlords allied with the ruling Kuomintang had removed most of the planks on the bridge. Furthermore, Luding City itself was occupied by a regiment of troops from local warlord Liu Wenhui's 38th Brigade, 4th brigade, under the 5th division of the 24th Corps. Its commander Li Quanshan (李全山), a wealthy opium dealer like many other local warlord commanders at the time, such as his direct superior Yuan Guorui (袁国瑞), the commander of the 4th brigade, was an opium addict himself, as most of his soldiers were. Li divided his regiment into two parts, with two battalions deployed inside Luding City, while another battalion was deployed some distance outside in the suburb. His defence still enjoyed numerical superiority because the Red Army 4th regiment was severely understrengthed: around two third of the soldiers fell behind on the way, and only a battalion sized force had reached the western bank of the Luding Bridge that morning. KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... The warlord era represents the period in the history of the Republic of China from 1916 to 1928 when the country was divided by various military cliques. ... The Chinese Nationalist Party (Traditional Chinese: ä¸åœ‹åœ‹æ°‘é»¨; Simplified Chinese: ä¸å›½å›½æ°‘å…š; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Tongyong Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang), commonly known as the Kuomintang (KMT), is a centre-right political party in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and is currently the largest political party in terms of sitting Legislative... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to military echelon under a division, above a regiment where that exists as such, nowadays often a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to military echelon under a division, above a regiment where that exists as such, nowadays often a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to military echelon under a division, above a regiment where that exists as such, nowadays often a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ...

Local warlord politics

Relationship Between local warlords

Another factor that contributed to the Chinese Red Army's victory was that the local warlords were much more worried about Chiang's plan to take over their home turfs by allowing them to fight each other than the Red Army's passing by: the area was controlled by a warlord Liu Wenhui (刘文辉), who fought the civil wars in Sichuan Province against his own nephew, Liu Xiang (刘湘), another local warlord who managed to have nearly all of the other warlords in Sichuan join him in the struggle against his uncle. Chiang remained neutral ostensively at the beginning, in the hope of weakening the local warlords by letting them fight each other, and then making his move to take over. Look up Victory in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ...

Gradually, it was apparent that the nephew would prevail over the uncle because the nephew was willing to take heavy loss in exchange of land, while the uncle was unwilling to sacrifice large number of his troops. Fearing Liu Xiang (刘湘) would not last in Liu Wenhui's massive counterattack had Liu Wenhui (刘文辉) committed his troops in full strength in such anticipated counterattack (which never came), Chiang shifted his support to the nephew Liu Xiang, who eventually defeated his own uncle Liu Wenhui (刘文辉), forcing the latter to retreat to Xikang Province. Chiang would rather face a weak alliance of smaller warlords than facing a single strong warlord that dominated the entire province, and just as Chiang had expected, when Liu Wenhui's defeat became obvious, the smaller warlords' alliance soon existed in name only. Knowing that the Red Army was only passing by, Liu Wenhui (刘文辉), like other warlords, was extremely reluctant to commit his force in any significant numbers to fight the Red Army because his forces had to be preserved to fight other warlords in Sichuan, a role vital to his survival, especially when his force was reduced to 20,000 from its peak of 120,000. This article is about the domestic group. ... A troop is a military unit. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... Province is a name for a subnational entity. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ...

Relationship between Chiang Kai-shek and local warlords

In addition to preserving forces to fight others, the local warlords were also keen to preserve their forces to keep Chiang out of their turfs: just before the Red Army entered Sichuan Province, Chiang's army followed the Red Army into the in the neighboring Guizhou province, ostensively to help the local warlord Wang Jialie (王家烈) fight the Red Army, but when the Red Army was gone, Chiang's troop remained. Under the excuse of failing to stop the Red Army, Wang Jialie (王家烈) was removed by Chiang with the backup of his newly deployed troops in the Guizhou Province. The local warlords knew that they could return and regain control of their territory after the Red Army had left, but if Chiang's army came, they would be removed for good. Therefore, despite the Chiang's advisors' accurate prediction of the need of at least three regiments (and possibly four or five) of local warlord's troop to stop a single Red Army regiment, the local warlord only deployed a single regiment at Luding Bridge, and his main force was deployed to block Chiang's two regiments sent to reinforce the defense of Luding Bridge. The defenders of Luding Bridge were well aware of the political situation after witnessed the warlord's fall in the neighboring Guizhou province and were obviously not willing to sacrifice their own lives for Chiang's potential take-over. Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... (Simplified Chinese: è´µå·ž; Traditional Chinese: è²´å·ž; pinyin: GÃ¹izhÅu; Wade-Giles: Kuei-chou; also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... (Simplified Chinese: è´µå·ž; Traditional Chinese: è²´å·ž; pinyin: GÃ¹izhÅu; Wade-Giles: Kuei-chou; also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... (Simplified Chinese: è´µå·ž; Traditional Chinese: è²´å·ž; pinyin: GÃ¹izhÅu; Wade-Giles: Kuei-chou; also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ...

In Chiang's divide and conquer tactic, he awarded the local military command of the northern Dadu River region to a smaller Sichuanese warlord, Yang Sen (杨森), who joined the second largest Sichuanese warlord Liu Xiang (刘湘) to fight against the biggest Sichuanese warlord Liu Wenhui (刘文辉), but at the time, the region was still under Liu Wenhui's control, and Liu Wenhui's troop certainly would not take orders from Yang Sen (杨森). Although received military, political, as well as financial support from Chiang Kai-shek, Yang Sen (杨森) would not sacrifice his own troop by sending them to help Liu Wenhui (刘文辉)to stop the communists either, both were well aware of Chiang's trick, and both held their main forces to prepare for Chiang's potential take-over. Knowing the local opium addicted warlord commanders were incapable of stopping the communist forces, Chiang tried to send more capable officers from his own officer corps, but this attempt were politely but unanimously rejected by all local Sichuanese warlords because they feared Chiang's takeover. Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... In politics and sociology, divide and rule (also known as divide and conquer) is a strategy of gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ...

Weaponry

Other sources that suggest the incident is exaggerated come from the memoirs of Chinese Red Army Veterans that were released in the 1990's ^{[citation needed]}. Numerous surviving Chinese Red Army veterans recalled that the weapons used by the local warlords guarding the bridge were far inferior to what the Chinese Red Army had, and despite the Chinese Red Army's morale and courage, the weaponry was probably just as equally important:

Realizing their dangerous situation, the Chinese Red Army sent their crack troops to seize the bridge, and the soldiers were armed with the best guns captured from the National Revolutionary Army, which in turn had German assistance; the assault team members were all armed with submachine guns with an effective range of 300–400 meters while many others were armed with the semi-automatic rifles and repeating rifles with 800-meter effective range. In contrast, the local warlord's troops were armed only with bolt-action rifles, many of which were single-shot rifles so that their firepower was far less dense than what the Chinese Red Army could lay on them.

Another important factor was the types of bullets used. The Chinese Red Army used the best quality bullets they captured, including a significant portion of foreign made bullets, while those used by the local warlord's troops were locally manufactured, which was far inferior in quality even when compared to other domestic Chinese arms factories such as those in eastern part of China such as Shanghai. In addition, most of the bullets were decades old. When the Red Army troops test fired the captured bullets after their victory, it was discovered that these bullets used by the local warlord's troops only had a maxmium range of around 100 meters; when fired from a rifle at standing position, most of the bullet would drop to the ground at 100 meters or so, and the effective range of these bullets was of course less than 100 meters, which was not enough to cover the span of the bridge. The machine guns deployed by the local warlord's troop used the same bullets, so they suffered the same problem. This discovery was affirmed decades later when surviving members of the local warlords' troops were interviewed abroad. The local warlord's troops said that they had neither the density of fire nor the rate of fire needed to suppress the Chinese Red Army, and in fact, they were the ones that were forced to take cover for most of the time during the battle, rarely firing any shots. The interviewers concluded that the superior density of fire, rate of fire, and accuracy gave the Chinese Red Army the edge, in addition to morale and courage, and that the battle was one sided.

The technical advantage in weaponry that greatly contributed to the Red Army's success was carefully hidden by the communist for decades to fit the political propaganda needs, and it was not until 1979 during the reform era did this fact came out, first by a movie titled 'Da Du He' that was made about this battle. This movie gives a relatively accurate description of the Red Army's advantage in weaponry by showing many Red Army soldiers were armed with submachine guns. However, for political propaganda purposes, the movie greatly exaggerated the defenders' firepower by depicting the nationalist troops were all armed with semi-automatic repeating rifles instead of the actual bolt-action single-shot rifles used by many if not most of the local nationalist warlords' troops.

An MP5A4 (fixed stock and 3-round burst trigger group), a popular modern submachine gun A submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... A rifle is a firearm with a stock and a barrel that has a spiral groove or grooves (rifling) cut into its interior. ... A repeating rifle is a single barreled rifle containing multiple rounds of ammunition (consisting of primer, powder, and bullet contained in a cartridge). ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... Half opened bolt on a Winchester Model 70. ... A rifle is a firearm with a stock and a barrel that has a spiral groove or grooves (rifling) cut into its interior. ... A rifle is a firearm with a stock and a barrel that has a spiral groove or grooves (rifling) cut into its interior. ... .357 Magnum cartridges, containing bullets A bullet is a solid projectile propelled by a firearm and is normally made from metal (usually lead). ... .357 Magnum cartridges, containing bullets A bullet is a solid projectile propelled by a firearm and is normally made from metal (usually lead). ... Shanghai (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Shanghainese: ), stuated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is the largest city of the Peoples Republic of China. ... .357 Magnum cartridges, containing bullets A bullet is a solid projectile propelled by a firearm and is normally made from metal (usually lead). ... .357 Magnum cartridges, containing bullets A bullet is a solid projectile propelled by a firearm and is normally made from metal (usually lead). ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... An MP5A4 (fixed stock and 3-round burst trigger group), a popular modern submachine gun A submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size. ... A repeating rifle is a single barreled rifle containing multiple rounds of ammunition (consisting of primer, powder, and bullet contained in a cartridge). ... Half opened bolt on a Winchester Model 70. ... A rifle is a firearm with a stock and a barrel that has a spiral groove or grooves (rifling) cut into its interior. ...

Orders of battle

Defender: Nationalists

Supreme commander: Chiang Kai-shek, assisted by Liu Wenhui (刘文辉)and Yan Sen 杨森(in name only). Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ...

The 24th Corps commanded by Liu Wenhui (刘文辉) A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals...

The 5th Division
- The 4th Brigade commanded by Yuan Guorui (袁国瑞), who was in charge of the overall defense of the region, but abandoned his post after the initial defeat and fled the scene.
  - The 38th Regiment commanded by Li Quanshan (李全山), the actual commander of the battle
  - The 10th Regiment
  - The 11th Regiment

Chiang Kai-shek's forces did not reach the site in time to participate in the battle, though on paper, these forces were subject to the local warlords' commands. Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to military echelon under a division, above a regiment where that exists as such, nowadays often a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ...

Attacker: Communists

Supreme commander: Mao Zedong, assisted by Zhu De and Zhou Enlai (December 26, 1893 â€“ September 9, 1976) (also Mao Tse-Tung in Wade-Giles transliteration) was a Chinese Marxist military and political leader, who led the Chinese Communist Party to victory against the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War, leading to the establishment of the Peopleâ€™s Republic of China... Zhu De ZhÅ« DÃ© (æœ±å¾·, Wade-Giles: Chu Teh, zi: YÃ¹jiÄ“ çŽ‰é˜¶) (December 1, 1886 â€“ July 6, 1976) was a Chinese Communist military leader and statesman. ... This is a Chinese name, Zhou is the surname. ...

The right (eastern) column of the 1st Corps commanded by Liu Bocheng and Nie Rongzhen A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... Liu in his Field Marshal uniform Liu Bocheng (åˆ˜ä¼¯æ‰¿, Wade-Giles: Liu Po-cheng; December 4, 1892 - October 7, 1986) was a Chinese Communist military commander and Field Marshal of the Peoples Liberation Army. ... Nie Rongzhen (Simplified Chinese: 聂荣臻, Traditional Chinese: 聶榮臻, py: Niè Róngzhēn Wade-Giles:Nieh Jung-chen) (1899-1992) was a Chinese Communist military leader. ...

The 1st Division commanded by Li Jukui (李聚奎)
- The 1st Regiment commanded by Yang Dezhi (杨得志) and political commissar Li Lin (黎林)
- The 2nd Regiment
- The 3rd Regiment

The left (western) column of the 1st Corps commanded by Lin Biao Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ...

The 2nd Division commanded by Chen Guang (陈光)
- The 4th Regiment commanded by Wang Kaixiang (王开湘) and the political comissar Yang Chengwu (杨成武), actual commanders of the battle.

The communist force was so under-strengthed due to Long March that brigades did not exist at the time. Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Overview map of the course of the Long March The Long March (Chinese: é•·å¾; Pinyin: ChÃ¡ngzhÄ“ng) was a massive military retreat undertaken by the armies of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the Peoples Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to military echelon under a division, above a regiment where that exists as such, nowadays often a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ...

Lin Biao's false legacy

Contrary to the misbelief that Lin Biao was in command, the actual commander was the regimental political comissar Yang Chengwu. Lin Biao and other commanders were still at their temporary headquarter 160 km away, so the task was given to Lin Biao's vanguard unit, the 4th regiment lead by commander Wang Kaixiang (王开湘) and political comissar Yang Chengwu (杨成武), because the regiment was 40 km closer to the bridge. The misbelief was the result of the Cultural Revolution in which Lin Biao was glorified to boost his fame, and fabricating him with the credit for jobs accomplished by his subordinates was one of the tricks used. In fact, during the Cultural Revolution, the actual commander Yang Chengwu (杨成武) was jailed and persecuted under the direct order of Lin Biao. Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: WÃºchÇŽn JiÄ“jÃ WÃ©nhuÃ DÃ GÃ©mÃ¬ng; literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to æ–‡åŒ–å¤§é©å‘½ wÃ©nhuÃ dÃ gÃ©mÃ¬ng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or even simpler, to æ–‡é© wÃ©ngÃ©, Cultural Revolution) in the People... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ... The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: WÃºchÇŽn JiÄ“jÃ WÃ©nhuÃ DÃ GÃ©mÃ¬ng; literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to æ–‡åŒ–å¤§é©å‘½ wÃ©nhuÃ dÃ gÃ©mÃ¬ng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or even simpler, to æ–‡é© wÃ©ngÃ©, Cultural Revolution) in the People... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ...

The actual decision was made by Mao Zedong himself with the help of Zhu De at noon on May 26, 1935, after they reached Anshunchang, the ferry with four small boats. It was obvious that with what the communists had, to ferry the entire Red Army across would take at least a month, but Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist force commanded by Xue Yue was closing in fast, so the main force had to cross the Dadu River at Luding Bridge, 160 km away upstream. Mao decided that the Red Army would launch a two pronged attack on Luding Bridge, with the 1st division personally led by the Chinese Red Army chief-of-the-general-staff Liu Bocheng and the political commissar of the 1st Corps Nie Rongzhen on the eastern bank of Dadu River, spearheaded by commander Yang Dezhi (杨得志)'s and political commissar Li Lin (黎林)'s the 1st regiment, 1st division, 1st Chinese Red Army corps, and the 2nd division lead by Lin Biao on the western bank of Dadu River spearheaded by the commander Wang Kaixiang (王开湘)'s and political commissar Yang Chengwu (杨成武)'s 4th regiment, 2nd division, 1st Chinese Red Army corps, leading the main force. Mao also prepared for the worst: if the two forces could not meet at Luding Bridge, Liu Bocheng and Nie Rongzhen would move into western Sichuan and set up a new base there. (December 26, 1893 â€“ September 9, 1976) (also Mao Tse-Tung in Wade-Giles transliteration) was a Chinese Marxist military and political leader, who led the Chinese Communist Party to victory against the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War, leading to the establishment of the Peopleâ€™s Republic of China... Zhu De ZhÅ« DÃ© (æœ±å¾·, Wade-Giles: Chu Teh, zi: YÃ¹jiÄ“ çŽ‰é˜¶) (December 1, 1886 â€“ July 6, 1976) was a Chinese Communist military leader and statesman. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... Xue Yue (Chinese: è–›å²³; pinyin: XuÄ“ YuÃ¨) (December 26, 1896 - December 26, 1998) was one of Nationalist Chinas best generals. ... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... Liu in his Field Marshal uniform Liu Bocheng (åˆ˜ä¼¯æ‰¿, Wade-Giles: Liu Po-cheng; December 4, 1892 - October 7, 1986) was a Chinese Communist military commander and Field Marshal of the Peoples Liberation Army. ... Nie Rongzhen (Simplified Chinese: 聂荣臻, Traditional Chinese: 聶榮臻, py: Niè Róngzhēn Wade-Giles:Nieh Jung-chen) (1899-1992) was a Chinese Communist military leader. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... Liu in his Field Marshal uniform Liu Bocheng (åˆ˜ä¼¯æ‰¿, Wade-Giles: Liu Po-cheng; December 4, 1892 - October 7, 1986) was a Chinese Communist military commander and Field Marshal of the Peoples Liberation Army. ... Nie Rongzhen (Simplified Chinese: 聂荣臻, Traditional Chinese: 聶榮臻, py: Niè Róngzhēn Wade-Giles:Nieh Jung-chen) (1899-1992) was a Chinese Communist military leader. ... (Chinese: å››å·; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ssu-ch`uan; Postal Pinyin: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ...

Lin Biao had little to do with the planning and commanding of the event besides carrying out Mao's order by ordering his unit to follow the plan. In fact, Lin Biao did not reach Luding Bridge until May 30, 1935, well after the end of the battle; even Liu Bocheng reached Luding Bridge at the night of May 29, 1935, earlier than Lin Biao. Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Liu in his Field Marshal uniform Liu Bocheng (åˆ˜ä¼¯æ‰¿, Wade-Giles: Liu Po-cheng; December 4, 1892 - October 7, 1986) was a Chinese Communist military commander and Field Marshal of the Peoples Liberation Army. ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Lin Biao (Chinese: æž—å½ª; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lin Piao) (December 5, 1907 - September 13, 1971) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, once known as Mao Zedongs comrade-in-arms, but later condemned as a traitor. ...

Prelude to the battle

On their way to Luding Bridge, the soldiers of the 4th regiment, 2nd division, 1st corps of the Chinese Red Army discovered that on the opposite bank, two regiments of the nationalist reinforcement was on their way to Luding Bridge also—the enemy was faster because they used torches at the night while the communists did not do so for the sake of stealthiness. The commander Wang Kaixiang (王开湘) and the political commissar Yang Chengwu (杨成武) decided to use torches also, and the communists were of course discovered by their enemy. A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ...

Neither forces had any radio equipment and the sound of the raging river made any vocal communication impossible. As a result, the nationalists resorted in using bugles. However, the communists successfully fooled the nationalists on the eastern bank of Dadu River by making them believe that they were on the same side because the communists used the bugle score of Chiang Kai-shek's ally, another local warlord, Yang Sen (杨森), in reply. As the rain got heavier, the nationalists stopped their march and camped, but the communists pressed on, reaching the bridge in advance. The word bugle has two different meanings: A brass musical instrument, seeBugle (instrument) An often cultivated lamiaceae, Bugle (plant) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The word bugle has two different meanings: A brass musical instrument, seeBugle (instrument) An often cultivated lamiaceae, Bugle (plant) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887â€“April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ...

On the eastern bank, the right column already started their march to the Luding Bridge, and the 10th regiment, 4th brigade was the closest nationalist force to the communists, and it was spreading out along the Dadu river. On May 27, 1935, the 2nd regiment of the 1st division of the communist force defeated the nationalist 10th regiment, at the Waba (瓦坝) after several hours of fierce fighting, and the next day, after more than 50 km march, the communist 2nd regiment successfully crushed the remaining units of the nationalist 10th regiment. On May 29, 1935, the communist 2nd regiment engaged the nationalist 11th regiment, and with the help of the communist 3rd regiment which arrived after the battle begun, completely wiped out the nationalist 12th regiment, to destroy the brigade headquarters 25 km away from Luding Bridge. The nationalist commander of the 4th brigade, Yuan Guorui (袁国瑞), fled to the surrounding mountains with his surviving staff, and did not reestablish links with the rest of the nationalist forces after the bridge and the city were both taken by the communists, thus leaving the task of organizing the defense to Li Quanshan (李全山), the regimental commander of the 38th regiment, a job that was too great for him to handle. Although the surviving nationalist commanders and soldiers lost all of their logistic equipment and nearly all of their weapons in their flight, they did manage to keep most of their opium smoking pipes with them as they fled. A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to military echelon under a division, above a regiment where that exists as such, nowadays often a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to military echelon under a division, above a regiment where that exists as such, nowadays often a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ...

The Battle at the bridge

With the main Kuomintang army closing in on the Chinese Red Army, a small volunteer force were sent across the badly damaged bridge. After the preparation, the volunteer force lead by the company commander Liao Dazhu (廖大珠) of the 2nd company begun their assault on the bridge at 4:00 p.m. under the covering barrage. Red Star Over China—which uses the old-style name, Tatu River—says it was a force of thirty men, but it is generally accepted that there were only twenty-two. Red Army sources agree that they crawled over the bare iron chains while under heavy machine-gun fire from the opposite side. Of the 22 assult team members, most of them did not even left their names behind, with the exception of 5, and in addition to the team leader Liao Dazhu (廖大珠), those 4 who left their names and ranks were: political commissar of the 2nd company Wang Haiyun (王海云), communist party secretary of the 2nd company (李友林), the communist party secretary of the 3rd company Li Jinshan (李金山), and the dupty squad commander of the 4th squad of the 2nd company Liu Zihua (刘梓华). The National Revolutionary Army (NRA) (Chinese: 國民革命軍; pinyin: guo2 min2 ge2 ming4 jun1) was the national army of the Republic of China. ... Alternate meaning: Shining Path The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA); Traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍, Simplified Chinese: 人民解放军, pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàng Jūn), including strategic nuclear forces, an army, navy and air force, serves as the military of... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... Mao Zedong in 1931. ... Commissar is the English translation of an official title (ÐºÐ¾Ð¼Ð¸ÑÑÐ°ÌÑ€) used in Russia after the Bolshevik revolution and in the Soviet Union, as well as some other Communist countries. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... In the fire service a Squad is a Engine Company with a compliment of rescue tools. ... In the fire service a Squad is a Engine Company with a compliment of rescue tools. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ...

According to Red Star Over China, three were hit, fell, and died but the rest came forward, and Red Star Over China suggests that some of the warlord forces admired their foes and were not shooting to kill. The Regimental political commissar Yang Chengwu was the commander who led the actual attack, and according to his memoir and that of the survivors of the twenty-two assault team, there was no fatalities on the bridge itself, despite that several members were wounded. However, in the ensuing battle to establish a bridgehead, two were killed, and there were more fatalities in the subsequent battles to defend the bridgehead from the defenders' counterattacks until the Red Army reinforcement arrived. It further stated that at a late stage, "paraffin was thrown on the planking and it began to burn". But there were Red Army forces on both sides. The force guarding the bridge and Luding City were driven off; some surrendered. Mao Zedong in 1931. ... Mao Zedong in 1931. ...

According to an account by a now late Will Downs [2],

"At last one Red crawled up over the bridge flooring, uncapped a grenade and tossed it with perfect aim into the enemy redoubt. Nationalist officers ordered the rest of the planking torn up. It was already too late. More Reds were crawling into sight. (Kerosene) was thrown on the planking and it began to burn. By then about twenty Reds were moving forward on the hands and knees, tossing grenade after grenade into the enemy machine-gun nest."

As a reward, every surviving member of the volunteer team was awarded a fountain-pen, a notebook, a pair of chopsticks, a set of Zhongshan suit, and an enamel bow, and this was significant at the time in terms of Chinese Red Army's standard: the reward was equivalent of at least half a decade's salary of an ordinary Chinese Red Army soldier. The political commissar of the 4th regiment Yang Chengwu also received the same reward. Zhongshan suit The Mao suit, also known as Chinese tunic suit or tunic suit, is the western name for the style of male attire known in China as the Zhongshan suit (Traditional Chinese: ä¸å±±è£; Simplified Chinese: ä¸å±±è£…; pinyin: ZhÅngshÄn zhuÄng, or Chinese: ; pinyin: ZhÅngshÄn fÃº); named after... Commissar is the English translation of an official title (ÐºÐ¾Ð¼Ð¸ÑÑÐ°ÌÑ€) used in Russia after the Bolshevik revolution and in the Soviet Union, as well as some other Communist countries. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ...

However, none of the survivors lived to see the establishment of the People's Republic. The dupty squad commander of the 4th squad of the 2nd company Liu Zihua (刘梓华) was killed in January 1949 when liberating Tianjin during the Pingjin Campaign, and the commander of the 2nd company, Liao Dazhu (廖大珠) was the last to die: he was killed in the battle to liberate Shanghai in May, 1949. The commander of the 4th regiment, Wang Kaixiang (王开湘) did not survive either: after the Long March, the regimental commander was struck with malaria and he accidentally shot himself in his unconsciousness, because he loved his pistol so much that he hid it in his sick bed against the regulation, and in the convulsions induced by the pernicious malaria, he discharged the pistol, killing himself. At the Luding Bridge memorial museum specially built to commemorate the event, only 4 out of the 22 pillars had names engraved, while the rest were unnamed. For the pillar with the name of the dupty squad commander of the 4th squad of the 2nd company Liu Zihua (刘梓华), his head statue was also engraved. In the fire service a Squad is a Engine Company with a compliment of rescue tools. ... In the fire service a Squad is a Engine Company with a compliment of rescue tools. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... January is the first month of the year and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... (Chinese: ; pinyin: TiÄnjÄ«n; Postal System Pinyin: Tientsin) is one of the four municipalities of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Combatants National Revolutionary Army Peoples Liberation Army Northeast and North China Field Army Commanders Fu Zuoyi Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan Strength ~500,000 1,000,000 Casualties ~520,000 (including non-combat losses) 40,000 Pingjin Campaign (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: PÃngjÄ«n ZhÃ nyÃ¬), known as... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... Shanghai (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Shanghainese: ), stuated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is the largest city of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Look up May in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Overview map of the course of the Long March The Long March (Chinese: é•·å¾; Pinyin: ChÃ¡ngzhÄ“ng) was a massive military retreat undertaken by the armies of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the Peoples Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. ... In the fire service a Squad is a Engine Company with a compliment of rescue tools. ... In the fire service a Squad is a Engine Company with a compliment of rescue tools. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ...

Second battle

There were actually two battles fought simultaneously at the site, one at the bridge and the other at the suburb of Luding City. However, due to the political propaganda needs, the second battle was not mentioned until recently, but it was the second battle that fought at the suburb of Luding City that was critical in taking the bridge, and the first shot was fired in this second battle. Furthermore, it was not the twenty-two members of the assault team from the 2nd company, 4th regiment that first entered Luding City, but it was the 7th company of the same regiment with more than five dozens of soldiers who first succeeded in breaking into the city. A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ...

After reaching the bridge, the commander and the political commissar of the 4th regiment, 2nd division, Chinese Red Army 1st Corps divided the troops into three formations: one assault team to attack the bridge, one team would cross the river and attack the from behind from the suburb of Luding City, and the majority of the force would provide the cover for the assault team. The 7th company was assigned to perform the second task. A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ...

There was a turn of the Dadu River two km downstream from Luding Bridge, and it was impossible for the defenders of the city to see what was going on at the turn; besides, the nationalist defenders never expected that anyone would cross from there. As a result, the 7th company was able to cross the Dadu River with two rafts, and there was not a single enemy soldier at the opposite shore. After the crossing, the five dozens soldiers of the 7th company marched upstream toward Luding City on the eastern bank of Dadu River. KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ...

Around 2:00 p.m. on May 29, 1935, the 7th company was discovered by the sentries of the battalion the nationalist defenders deployed outside the city, and the nationalist sentries hastily fired the first shots of the battle at the Luding Bridge. However, the communist soldiers and the nationalist soldiers were more than 250 meters apart; the bullets of the nationalist soldiers could not reach their targets due to the nationalists' inferior weaponry. The communist soldiers of the 7th company immediately assulted the enemy position and decimated the nationalist battalion in two hours. May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... .357 Magnum cartridges, containing bullets A bullet is a solid projectile propelled by a firearm and is normally made from metal (usually lead). ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ...

Learning the news that the Red Army had come from behind, the nationalist commanders immediately redeployed their troops by sending out another battalion for reinforcement, leaving only a token force to guard the bridge—some residents later claimed that there were as few as a squad at the bridge. The nationalists were over confident in its defense of the bridge, not believing that anybody could cross over the bare iron chains under fire. However, the nationalist response simply took too long and it was so disorganized that it was not until the battalion outside the city was wiped out that the reinforcement began to move out of the city. One of the reasons was that the nationalists did not believe that anybody could march 120 km to Luding City in such a short time, and in fact, many of nationalist commanders thought the battle at the suburb of Luding City was a case of misunderstanding and friendly fire, because they believed the communist force was the nationalist reinforcement. Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... In the fire service a Squad is a Engine Company with a compliment of rescue tools. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ...

After realizing the attacking force was indeed the enemy instead of the reinforcement they hoped for, it was claimed that after witnessing defeat of the battalion deployed in the suburb, the nationalist defenders inside the city were very reluctant to leave the protection of the city wall and fortifications. Furthermore, the survivors of the battalion deployed outside the city wall greatly exaggerated the strength of the attacking communist force in order to make an excuse for their own failure after escaping back into the city. In order to prevent morale from dropping further, the nationalist commanders decided not to inform their soldiers about the incoming communist force except the battalion sent out, a decision they would later regret deeply. Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ...

The disorganized and slow response also created another disaster for the national defenders inside the city wall: unaware of the newly changed battle plans that was hastily put together, the soldiers of the remaining battalion begun to flee, abandoning their posts, because they thought the other battalion sent out to reinforce the already destroyed battalion in the suburb were in fact escaping. The battalion on its way outside the city wall, in turn, seeing the remaining defenders starting abandoning their posts to flee and hearing the greatly exaggerated enemey from the survivors from the already destroyed battalion, also panicked and fled back in to the city, abandoning their assigned mission. Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ...

Taking the advantage of the chaos, soldiers of the 7th company, 4th regiment of the 2nd division, 1st Chinese Red Army Corps successfully fought their way into Luding City at 4:00 p.m., suffering only a dozen fatalities along the way, and by this time, the 2nd company of the same regiment on the western end of the bridge had already started their assault from the other side. The survivors of the 7th company fought their way directly toward the bridge, and successfully supported their comrades from the other side on the western bank of the Dadu River. After the assault team crossed the bridge and subsequent arrival of the main force of the 4th regiment, the battle ended at 6:00 p.m. with the bridge and the city firmly in the Red Army's hands. A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ...

The third battle at Luding City

Four hours after the communist victory, the nationalist reinforcement arrived from the eastern bank Dadu River, and together with the survivors of the defenders who were scattered by the Red Army in earlier battles, the nationalists launched their attack from the eastern suburb of Luding City around 10:00 p.m. on the night of May 29, 1935. The 4th regiment, 2nd division, 1st Chinese Red Army Corps expected a fierce battle, but instead, the battle was short-lived. The nationalists either surrendered or escaped in to the surrounding mountains almost as soon as the battle begun, because the 1st regiment, 1st division, 1st Chinese Red Army Corps on the eastern bank of Dadu River, led by commander Yang Dezhi (杨得志) and political commissar Li Lin (黎林) had also arrived, soon followed by the main force of the 1st division led by the Chief-of-the-General-Staff of the Chinese Red Army Liu Bocheng and the political commissar of the 1st corps Nie Rongzhen, and Red Army units on both banks of Dadu River had met at the Luding City as Mao had planned. May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... Liu in his Field Marshal uniform Liu Bocheng (åˆ˜ä¼¯æ‰¿, Wade-Giles: Liu Po-cheng; December 4, 1892 - October 7, 1986) was a Chinese Communist military commander and Field Marshal of the Peoples Liberation Army. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... Nie Rongzhen (Simplified Chinese: 聂荣臻, Traditional Chinese: 聶榮臻, py: Niè Róngzhēn Wade-Giles:Nieh Jung-chen) (1899-1992) was a Chinese Communist military leader. ...

Significance

The entire Chinese Red Army completed its crossing on June 2, 1935, and thus this skirmish may have saved the Red Army from a major defeat.

"'Victory was life' said P'eng Teh-huai (Peng Dehuai); 'defeat was certain death'." (Red Star Over China (1971 edition)). The event was incorporated in the elementary school text for patriotic education.

The event raised morale for the troops, and was later used as a propaganda tool to highlight the courage of the communists. "For their distinguished bravery the heroes of An Jen Ch'ang [the seized ferry boat] and Liu Ting Chiao [the bridge] were awarded the Gold Star, the highest decoration in the Red Army of China." (Red Star Over China'). Peng Dehuai . PÃ©ng DÃ©huÃ¡i (T. Chinese: å½å¾·æ‡·, S. Chinese: å½å¾·æ€€, Wade-Giles: Peng Te-huai) (October 24, 1898 - November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader. ... Mao Zedong in 1931. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Controversy

Jung Chang

The British-Chinese writer Jung Chang and her historian husband, Jon Halliday, in their 2005 biography of Mao, Mao: The Unknown Story, write that there was no battle at Luding Bridge. Having interviewed eye-witnesses, including the owner of a nearby shop, they state that the Kuomintang did not sabotage the bridge, or contest the crossing. According to them, the Long March was exaggerated and used as propaganda. Currently, Chang & Halliday's is a rare account in denying that there was a battle at Luding Bridge. There are non-Chinese historians who have supported the Communist point-of-view: for example, Harrison E. Salisbury in The Long March: The Untold Story, Dick Wilson in The Long March 1935 : The Epic of Chinese Communism's Survival and Charlotte Salisbury in Long March Diary. While much academic research exists in support of the communist perspective, Deng Xiaoping, veteran of the incident and former CCP Chairman once suggested propaganda surrounding the incident is exaggerated. Jung Chang Jung Chang, (Traditional Chinese: å¼µæˆŽ, Simplified Chinese: å¼ æˆŽ, Wade-Giles: Chang Jung, Hanyu Pinyin: ZhÄng RÃ³ng), (born Er-hong Chang in 1952), is a Chinese-born British writer, best known for her autobiography Wild Swans, selling over 10 million copies worldwide, except in mainland China, where it is... Jon Halliday is a historian of Russia who was a former Senior Visiting Research Fellow at Kings College, University of London. ...

Brzezinski

In a speech given at Stanford University, former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski related the following conversation with Deng Xiaoping: Stanford redirects here. ... Zbigniew Brzezinski Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski (born March 28, 1928, Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish-American political scientist, geostrategist, and statesman. ... Deng Xiaoping with US President Jimmy Carter Deng Xiaoping (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: DÃ¨ng XiÇŽopÃng; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-ping; August 22, 1904â€“February 19, 1997) was a leader in the Communist Party of China (CCP). ...

I even told them we went to Luding Bridge, which was the site of a special, important heroic battle in which the Red Forces were able to cross the river under very difficult and treacherous conditions. If they hadn’t they would have been wiped out. It was a great feat of arms to have crossed that bridge. At that point, Chairman Deng smiled and said, “Well, that’s the way it’s presented in our propaganda. We needed that to express the fighting spirit of our forces. In fact, it was a very easy military operation. There wasn’t really much to it. The other side were just some troops of the warlord who were armed with old muskets and it really wasn’t that much of a feat, but we felt we had to dramatize it.

Political propaganda

The incident served to be a moralising opportunity for political propaganda, and it is incorporated in to the textbooks of Chinese elementary schools. However, in order to portray the heroism of the Red Army, the important second battle fought at the suburb of Luding City on the eastern bank of Dadu River was kept secret, despite the fact it is well documented in the communists' own history archives. Even in the era of reform, movies such as Dadu River (1979), depicting the event, did not touch the subject. It was not until well after 2000, when Wu Qingchang (吴清昌), a veteran of the second battle was interviewed by various Chinese media, that the second battle and its importance, as well as the participants of the 7th company, 4th regiment, 2nd division, 1st Chinese Red Army corps became known to the public. Wu was only 18 when he participated in the battle and he lost a section of his left index finger in that battle, and he was the only survivor in his squadron to reach Shaanxi after the Long March, and like most Chinese Red Army veterans, Wu does not brag about his exploits because he felt he was lucky just to be alive. Shaanxi (Simplified Chinese: é™•è¥¿; Traditional Chinese: é™è¥¿; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Shensi, pronounced like Shahn-shee) is a north-central province of the Peoples Republic of China, and includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River as well as the Qinling... Overview map of the course of the Long March The Long March (Chinese: é•·å¾; Pinyin: ChÃ¡ngzhÄ“ng) was a massive military retreat undertaken by the armies of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the Peoples Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. ...

Recent additions

Two westerners living in China investigated the matter while retracing the route of the Long March:

With the exception of Yang Chengwu, no source ever suggests that there were no casualties on Luding Bridge. The very first description of the battle, given by Edgar Snow in Red Star Over China in 1937, cited three deaths. The official number, inscribed on the bridge itself, is now four.^[1]

Sun Shuyun, who was born in China and has made documentaries for the BBC, did her own retracing of the march. At Luding Bridge, a local blacksmith gave her the following account: Mao Zedong in 1931. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world. ...

Only a squadron was at the other end. It was a rainy day. Their weapons were old and could only fire a few metres. They were no match for the Red Army. When they saw the soldiers coming, they panicked and fled—their officers had long abandoned them. There wasn't really much of a battle. Still, I take my hat off to the twenty-two soldiers who crawled on the chains. My father and I did it in the old days when we checked the bridge, but we were inside a basket. Those men were brave. They crossed very quickly."^[2]

The blacksmith also said that after they had crossed, the Red Army cut through four of the bridge's nine chains, making it unusable for months. This has not been mentioned in other accounts, but Sun Shuyun found another source and discovered that the idea came from Mao. She also suggests that the Red Army was indeed given an easy passage, but that this was done by local warlords in defiance of Chiang Kaishek: Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887–April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. ...

It seems that one of the warlords, Liu Wenhui (刘文辉), was a key figure... When [Red Army commander] Zhu De, Liu Bocheng and Nie Rongzhen, his fellow Sichuanese, sent him money and a letter, asking for safe passage through his territory, including the Luding Bridge, he happily obliged... 'Chiang gives my army no ammunition or food, how can we fight tough battles?' he grumbled. He told his men to put up only half-hearted resistance, and to allow the Red Army through without much of a fight... Liu kept his contact with the Communists ... In 1949 he mutinied, taking two other warlords with him over to the Communists... he was made Minister of Forestry, and then a minister in the Communist government. (Ibid.) Zhu De ZhÅ« DÃ© (æœ±å¾·, Wade-Giles: Chu Teh, zi: YÃ¹jiÄ“ çŽ‰é˜¶) (December 1, 1886 â€“ July 6, 1976) was a Chinese Communist military leader and statesman. ... Liu in his Field Marshal uniform Liu Bocheng (åˆ˜ä¼¯æ‰¿, Wade-Giles: Liu Po-cheng; December 4, 1892 - October 7, 1986) was a Chinese Communist military commander and Field Marshal of the Peoples Liberation Army. ... Nie Rongzhen (Simplified Chinese: 聂荣臻, Traditional Chinese: 聶榮臻, py: Niè Róngzhēn Wade-Giles:Nieh Jung-chen) (1899-1992) was a Chinese Communist military leader. ...

Sources

"Crossing of the Luding Bridge"
"Account by the late Will Downs
The Long March : The Untold Story by Harrison E. Salisbury
The Long March 1935 : The Epic of Chinese Communism's Survival by Dick Wilson
Stories of the Long March - Lightning Attack on Luting Bridge by Yang Cheng-wu
Long March Diary by Charlotte Salisbury
Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday
The Crossing of the Iron Chain Bridge
The Long March (Jocelyn & McEwan), by Ed Jocelyn and Andrew McEwan, Constable 2006
The Long March (Sun Shuyun), by Sun Shuyun, HarperCollins 2006

Harrison Salisbury (November 14, 1908 â€“ March 5, 1993), an American journalist, was the first regular New York Times correspondent in Moscow after World War II. During the Vietnam War, Salisbury was the first mainstream, well known and respected journalist to oppose the war after visiting North Vietnam in 1966 (as... Not to be confused with Richard Wilson. ... Jung Chang Jung Chang, (Traditional Chinese: å¼µæˆŽ, Simplified Chinese: å¼ æˆŽ, Wade-Giles: Chang Jung, Hanyu Pinyin: ZhÄng RÃ³ng), (born Er-hong Chang in 1952), is a Chinese-born British writer, best known for her autobiography Wild Swans, selling over 10 million copies worldwide, except in mainland China, where it is... Jon Halliday is a historian of Russia who was a former Senior Visiting Research Fellow at Kings College, University of London. ...

References

^ The Long March, by Ed Jocelyn and Andrew McEwan, Constable 2006.
^ The Long March, by Sun Shuyun, HarperCollins 2006.

Results from FactBites:

Luding Bridge - China-related Topics LU-LZ - China-Related Topics (701 words)
	Luding Bridge is a historical landmark in China where soldiers of the Fourth Regiment of the Chinese Workers and Peasants' Army defeated a Kuomintang force during the Long March.
	On May 29, 1935, Lin Biao and communist army forces reached the bridge to discover that local warlords, allied with the Kuomintang, had removed most of the planks on the bridge.
	The force guarding the bridge and Luding City were driven off; some surrendered.

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