Battle of Luding Bridge - Knowledge (XXG)

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communist force defeated the nationalist 10th regiment at Waba (瓦坝) after several hours of fierce fighting. The next day, after more than a 50 km march, the communist 2nd regiment successfully defeated 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 began, completely wiped out the nationalist 12th regiment. The communist 2nd and 3rd regiments then proceeded to destroy the brigade headquarters located 25 km away from Luding Bridge. The nationalist commander of the 4th brigade, Yuan Guorui (袁国瑞), fled with his surviving staff to the surrounding mountains, from where they were unable to reestablish links with the rest of the nationalist forces after the bridge and the city were both taken by the communists. This left to Li Quanshan (李全山), the regimental commander of the 38th regiment, the task of organizing the defense, which he was unable to accomplish.

813:. In addition, most of the provincial troops' bullets were decades old. When the Red Army troops test fired captured cartridges after their victory, it was discovered that the ammunition used by the local warlord's troops only had a maximum range of around 100 meters. When fired from a rifle at standing position, most of the bullets would drop to the ground at approximately 100 meters. This was not enough to cover even the length of the bridge. The machine guns deployed by the local warlord's troops used the same ammunition, with the same range problems. This discovery was affirmed decades later when surviving members of the local warlords' troops were interviewed abroad . The survivors said that they had neither the density of fire nor the rate of fire needed to suppress the Chinese Red Army. In fact, they were forced to take cover for most of the time during the battle, and rarely fired any shots. The interviewers concluded that the superior density of fire, rate of fire, and accuracy gave the Chinese Red Army the edge. 759:(王家烈), fight them. When the Red Army left Guizhou, Chiang's troops remained. Blamed for failing to stop the Red Army, Wang Jialie was removed by Chiang with the backup of his newly deployed troops in the province. The local warlords knew that they could return and regain control of their territory after the Red Army had left; however, if Chiang's army came, they would be removed for good. Therefore, despite Chiang's advisors' accurate prediction of the need of at least three regiments—and possibly four or five—of the local warlord's troops to stop a single Red Army regiment, the local warlord only deployed a single regiment at Luding Bridge. The 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 witnessing the fall of the neighboring warlord in Guizhou province and were not willing to sacrifice their own lives for Chiang's potential take-over. 778:. At the time of the Luding Bridge incident, the region was still under Liu Wenhui's control. Liu Wenhui's troops certainly would not take orders from the lesser rival Yang Sen. Although he received military, political, as well as financial support from Chiang Kai-shek, Yang Sen would not sacrifice his own troops by sending them to help Liu Wenhui stop the communists. Both were well aware of Chiang's divide and conquer strategy, and both held their main forces to prepare for Chiang's potential take-over. Knowing the local opium dependent warlord commanders were incapable of stopping the communist forces, Chiang tried to send more capable officers from his own officer corps to advise the local troops. These attempts were politely but unanimously rejected by all local Sichuanese warlords, as they feared Chiang's takeover. 1064:, was the commander who led the actual attack. According to his memoirs and the recollections of the survivors of the twenty-two man assault team, there were no fatalities on the bridge itself, but several members of the force were wounded. However, in the ensuing battle to establish a bridgehead, two men were killed, and there were more fatalities in the subsequent battles to defend the bridgehead from the nationalists' counterattacks, which continued until the Red Army reinforcements arrived. At a late stage in the battles, "paraffin was thrown on the planking and it began to burn". Despite the presence of Red Army forces on both ends of the bridge, the NRA force guarding the bridge and Luding City were driven off it and began to retreat towards the city proper, and some surrendered. 1146:

around 10:00 p.m. on the night of May 29, 1935. The 4th regiment of the 2nd division, 1st CRA Corps, expected a fierce battle between them and the nationalists, but instead, the battle was short-lived. The nationalists either surrendered or escaped into the surrounding mountains almost as soon as the battle began, because the 1st regiment, 1st division, 1st CRA 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 Chinese Red Army Chief of the General Staff,

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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 decimated that the reinforcement began to move out of the city. One of the reasons for the delay was that the nationalists did not believe that the 120 km to Luding City could be marched 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 amongst nationalist forces.

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survive a massive counterattack from Liu Wenhui, Chiang shifted his support to the nephew Liu Xiang. But the anticipated counterattack from Liu Wenhui never came. Liu Xiang eventually defeated his own uncle, Liu Wenhui, forcing the latter to retreat to Xikang Province. Chiang was then able to face a weak alliance of smaller warlords rather than confront a single strong warlord that dominated the entire province. As Chiang had expected, when Liu Wenhui's defeat became obvious, the smaller alliance of warlords soon existed in name only.

1263:(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. He was the only survivor in his squadron to reach 63: 319: 1137:

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 had 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.

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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 other than for the battalion sent out, a decision they would later regret.

1100:, the regimental commander was struck with malaria and he accidentally shot himself while under the convulsive effects of the disease. At the Luding Bridge memorial museum, specially built to commemorate the event, only four out of the 22 pillars had names engraved, while the rest were unnamed. For the pillar with the name of the deputy squad commander of the 4th squad of the 2nd company, Liu Zihua (刘梓华), his head statue was also engraved. 558: 1249:

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.

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battalion deployed 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 enemy from the survivors from the already destroyed battalion, also panicked and fled back into the city, abandoning their assigned mission.

125: 22: 734:(刘湘). Liu Xiang managed to have nearly all of the other warlords in Sichuan join him in the struggle against his uncle. Chiang ostensibly remained neutral at the beginning of Sichuan's provincial conflicts in order to weaken the local warlords by letting them fight each other. Once the provincial warlords were weak and in disarray, Chiang's forces moved in and took over. 235: 1346:, 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... 1109:

was critical in taking the bridge, and the first shot of all 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 the 7th company of the same regiment, with more than five dozen soldiers, who first succeeded in breaking into the city.

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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 assaulted the enemy position and conquered the nationalist battalion within two hours.

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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

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For many years in movies and TV series made of the March and the battle itself only the 4th Regiment's vanguard platoon, and the actions of the other servicemen of the regiment which helped lay replacement wooden planks on the bridge as the attacking force advanced into the northern side of the river

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Taking 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. By this time, the 2nd company of the same regiment on the western

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There was a turn of the Dadu River two km downstream from Luding Bridge, which made it 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

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There were actually two battles fought simultaneously at the site, one at the bridge and the other in Luding City, although due to the needs of political propaganda, the second battle was not publicized until recently. Indeed, it was the second battle that was fought at the suburb of Luding City that

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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

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has commonly been given credit for direct command of the assault. However, the actual commander was the regimental political commissar Yang Chengwu. Lin Biao and other column commanders remained at their temporary headquarters 160 km away from Luding Bridge, and the task of taking the bridge was

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As a result of the provincial conflicts Liu Wenhui, like the other warlords, was extremely reluctant to commit his force in any significant numbers to fight the Red Army. Knowing that the communists were only passing by, Liu Wenhui, like other warlords, preserved his forces to fight other warlords in

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Another important factor was the ammunition. The Chinese Red Army used the best ammunition they had captured from the nationalists. These included a significant amount of foreign made ammunition. The bullets used by the provincial warlord's troops were locally manufactured. They were far inferior in

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Gradually, it was apparent that the nephew would prevail over the uncle because the nephew was willing to take heavy troop losses in exchange for territory. The uncle was unwilling to sacrifice large number of his troops during initial skirmishes with his nephew. Knowing Liu Xiang would probably not

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After realizing the attacking force was indeed the enemy and not the reinforcements they hoped for, purportedly only after witnessing defeat of the battalion deployed in the suburb, the nationalist defenders inside the city were reluctant to leave the protection of the city wall and fortifications.

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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 to cross the river and attack them from behind from the suburb of Luding City,

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deployed inside Luding City, while another battalion was deployed some distance outside in the suburb. His defending forces still enjoyed numerical superiority over the attacking Red Army. The 4th regiment had lost considerable strength during the hurried 24-hour march - approximately two-thirds of

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for command and control. However, the communists successfully fooled the nationalists into believing that they were on the same side by using the bugle commands of Chiang Kai-shek's ally and designated regional commander, Yang Sen, in reply to the nationalists' signals. In the face of heavy rains,

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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 were on their way to Luding Bridge. The nationalists were faster because they used torches at night,

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had removed most of the planks on the bridge. Furthermore, Luding City itself was occupied by a regiment of troops from warlord Liu Wenhui's 38th Brigade, 4th brigade, under the 5th division of the 24th Corps. The brigade's commander, Li Quanshan (李全山), was also a wealthy opium dealer. This was a

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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. (One of these chains is on

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The incident served as a major morale-raising opportunity for political propaganda. It is incorporated into the textbooks of Chinese elementary schools. In order to magnify the heroism of the Red Army, however, the important second battle fought at the suburb of Luding City on the eastern bank of

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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

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Four hours after the communist victory, nationalist reinforcements arrived from the eastern bank of the 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

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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 were hastily put together, the soldiers of the remaining battalion began to flee, abandoning their posts, because they thought the other

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Learning that the Red Army had come from behind, the nationalist commanders immediately sent out another battalion for reinforcement, leaving only a token force to guard the bridge. The nationalists were overconfident in their defense of the bridge, not believing that anybody could cross over the

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Numerous surviving Chinese Red Army veterans recalled that the weapons used by the local warlords guarding the bridge were far inferior to the weapons used by the Chinese Red Army, suggesting that the incident may have been exaggerated. While the Chinese Red Army soldiers had high morale and were

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On the eastern bank, the right column already started their march to the Luding Bridge. The Nationalist 10th infantry regiment, 4th brigade was the closest opposing force to the communists, and began spreading out along the Dadu river. On May 27, 1935, the 2nd regiment of the 1st division of the

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reached Luding Bridge during the night of May 29, 1935, earlier than Lin Biao. However, Lin Biao can be credited with having the audacity, even recklessness, to order his troops to quickly march 160 km in 24 hours through hostile territory, and then, without rest, fight against an enemy of

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Lin Biao had little to do with the planning or the direct battle maneuvers of the event. He probably provided logistical implementation for Mao's orders, and then dispatched his units to follow the plan. Lin Biao himself did not reach Luding Bridge until May 30, 1935, well after the end of the

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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

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In addition to preserving forces to fight others, the local warlords were also keen to preserve their forces to keep Chiang out of their own territory. Prior to the Red Army entering Sichuan Province, Chiang's army had followed the Red Army into the neighboring

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This account says that the attackers were led by Platoon Commander Ma-Ta-chiu, who was also the first to die. And that overall seventeen men died. (This may include deaths in the unit that had crossed the river by boat and attacked from the other side.)

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The 4th regiment then marched 120 km in less than 24 hours. Along the way, they engaged and defeated numerous nationalist forces which blocked their path. On the dawn of May 29, 1935, Lin Biao's troops reached the bridge, only to discover that local

1212:"On dark nights, when there is no moon, you can still hear the spirits of our Taiping dead wailing at the Ta Tu River crossing and over the town where they were slaughtered. They will wail until they are avenged. Then their spirits will rest." ( 946:

given to Lin Biao's vanguard unit, the 4th regiment, as it was 40 km closer to Luding. The regiment was led by commander Huang Kaixiang (黄开湘) and political commissar Yang Chengwu (杨成武). Credit was publicly given to Lin Biao during the

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while the communists avoided them in order to move without being detected. When Red Army commander Wang Kaixiang and political commissar Yang Chengwu (杨成武) did finally decide to use torches, they were discovered by their adversaries.

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The main force would be on the western bank of Dadu River. This was Lin Biao's 2nd division, spearheaded by the commander Wang Kaixiang's and political commissar Yang Chengwu's 4th regiment, 2nd division, 1st Chinese Red Army

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Despite their rewards, none of the survivors lived to see the establishment of the People's Republic. The duty squad commander of the 4th squad of the 2nd company Liu Zihua (刘梓华) was killed in January 1949 when liberating

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Realizing their dangerous situation, the Chinese Red Army sent their elite troops to seize the bridge. The soldiers were armed with the best of the weapons captured from the National Revolutionary Army, which in turn had

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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.)

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Dadu River with two rafts, and there was not a single enemy soldier at the opposite shore. After the crossing, the sixty soldiers of the 7th company marched upstream toward Luding City on the eastern bank of Dadu River.

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with an effective range of 300–400 meters while many others were armed with the semi-automatic rifles with an effective range of up to 800 meters. In contrast, the local warlord's troops were armed only with

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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."

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tool to highlight the courage of the communists. "For their distinguished bravery the heroes of An Jen Ch'ang and Liu Ting Chiao were awarded the Gold Star, the highest decoration in the Red Army of China."

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dynasty suspension bridge built in 1701. The bridge consisted of thirteen heavy iron chains with a span of some 100 yards. Thick wooden boards lashed over the chains provided the roadway across the bridge.

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Most of the assault team did not leave their names behind. Of the 22 assault team members, only four other than the team leader, Liao Dazhu, are known. The four whose names are known are: political

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sounds from the south end. Red Army sources agree that the members of the force crawled over the bare iron chains of the bridge while under heavy Nationalist machine-gun fire from the opposite side.

1096:, 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, Huang Kaixiang (黄开湘) did not survive either; after the 687:'s 2nd division, 1st Corps of the Chinese Red Army, received an urgent order from general headquarters: Luding Bridge must be captured on May 29, 1935, one day ahead of the original schedule. 1224:

It appears independent of the better-known version given by Edgar Snow. Different English versions of the same Chinese names are used: the river is the 'Ta Tu' and the bridge "Lutinchiao".

402: 1030:, it was decided to send a small volunteer force across the badly damaged bridge. After preparation, the volunteer force led by the company commander, Liao Dazhu (廖大珠), of the 2nd 726:

and his plans to take over their territories, and they felt much less threatened by the Red Army's passing through. The area containing Luding bridge was controlled by the warlord

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Mao had 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 there set up a new base.

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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 deputy

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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.

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Chiang Kai-shek's forces did not reach the site in time to participate in the battle, though technically these forces were part of the provincial warlords' command.

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finally featured the point of view of servicemen of the 1st Regiment when that unit fired at the north end of the bridge where the Nationalist force was stationed.

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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

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Neither of the forces had any radio equipment, and the sound of the raging river made vocal communication impossible. Consequently, the nationalists used

980:. They were 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. 1644: 1259:

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

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rifles, many of which were single-shot rifles so that their firepower was far less dense than the firepower the Chinese Red Army was able to deploy.

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the soldiers had fallen behind during the march - and only a battalion-sized force had reached the western bank of the Luding Bridge that morning.

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

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The 4th Regiment commanded by Huang Kaixiang (黄开湘) and the political commissar Yang Chengwu (杨成武), who were the actual commanders of the battle.

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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.

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In 2006 the Propaganda Director of Luding government stated: "West Point has documented the crossing of Luding Bridge into their textbook."

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the nationalists stopped their march and camped. The communists pressed on, and the battalion-sized contingent arrived at the bridge first.

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Ed Jocelyn and Andrew McEwen, two western writers living in China investigated the matter while retracing the route of the Long March:

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On the eastern bank of the Dadu river would be the 1st division, personally led by the Chinese Red Army chief-of-the-general-staff,

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and the majority of the force to provide the cover for the assault team. The 7th company was assigned to perform the second task.

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Sichuan. Strength preservation was vital to his survival: his force had been reduced to 20,000 from its previous peak of 120,000.

1363: 1326:.) She also suggests that the Red Army was indeed given an easy passage, but that this was done by local warlords in defiance of 428: 961:, was closing in fast, so it was decided that the main force would cross the Dadu River at Luding Bridge, 160 km upstream. 1208:, she mentions that Zhu De as a child had heard about the fate of the Taiping army that had perished there, and had been told: 1060:

suggests that some of the warlord forces admired their foes and were not shooting to kill. The Regimental political commissar,

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As a reward, every surviving member of the volunteer team was awarded a fountain-pen, a notebook, a pair of chopsticks, a

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The actual decision to capture Luding Bridge was made by Mao Zedong himself, at noon on May 26, 1935, with the help of

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tactic, Chiang awarded the local military command of the northern Dadu River region to a smaller Sichuanese warlord,

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common business for many of the local warlord commanders. Li divided his regiment into two parts, with two

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quality even when compared to ammunition from other domestic Chinese arms manufacturers, such as

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by the soldiers of the Fourth Regiment of the Chinese Workers and Peasants' Red Army during the

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in 1937, cited three deaths. The official number, inscribed on the bridge itself, is now four.

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The 38th Regiment commanded by Li Quanshan (李全山), the actual commander of the battle

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Mao decided that the Red Army would launch a two-pronged attack on Luding Bridge:

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The 1st Regiment commanded by Yang Dezhi (杨得志) and political commissar Li Lin (黎林)

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It seems that one of the warlords, Liu Wenhui (刘文辉), was a key figure... When

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Red Army's victory was that the local warlords were mainly concerned with

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display in The Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution in

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According to an account from the website of the late Will Downs:

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The event raised morale for the troops, and was later used as a

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found that there were not enough boats to cross the Dadu River (

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commander of the 4th squad of the 2nd company Liu Zihua (刘梓华).

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brave, their superior weaponry was probably equally important:

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Stories of the Long March - Lightning Attack on Luting Bridge

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province). Thus, they were forced to use Luding Bridge, a

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The right (eastern) column of the 1st Corps commanded by

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The left (western) column of the 1st Corps commanded by

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Relationship between Chiang Kai-shek and local warlords

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On the morning of May 28, 1935, the 4th regiment of

1475:, by Ed Jocelyn and Andrew McEwan, Constable 2006. 134:needs attention from an expert in Military history 1614:, by Ed Jocelyn and Andrew McEwen, Constable 2006 930:Due to the devastating attrition rate during the 1557: : The Epic of Chinese Communism's Survival 1150:, and the political commissar of the 1st corps, 976:, and the political commissar of the 1st Corps, 755:province, ostensibly to help the local warlord, 655:and was a river crossing vital to the Red Army. 796:; the assault team members were all armed with 659:Overview of the bridge's role in the Long March 214: 921:The 2nd Division commanded by Chen Guang (陈光) 623:) of 1935 was a controversial crossing of the 1453:America and the New Asia(APARC - Stanford115) 1205:The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh 899:The 1st Division commanded by Li Jukui (李聚奎) 842:The 24th Corps commanded by Liu Wenhui (刘文辉) 396: 8: 239:Luding Bridge seen from the side of the city 50:Learn how and when to remove these messages 403: 389: 381: 211: 1166:"'Victory was life' said P'eng Teh-huai ( 168:Learn how and when to remove this message 107:Learn how and when to remove this message 1240:related the following conversation with 556: 70:This article includes a list of general 1375: 718:A major factor that contributed to the 1544:The Long March : The Untold Story 1236:, former US National Security Advisor 658: 145:may be able to help recruit an expert. 1611:The Long March (Jocelyn & McEwen) 1604:The Crossing of the Iron Chain Bridge 464:Resumption of hostilities (1945–1949) 7: 1489:, by Sun Shuyun, HarperCollins 2006. 1640:Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture 937: 714:Relationship between local warlords 641:Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture 269:Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture 1170:); 'defeat was certain death'." ( 76:it lacks sufficient corresponding 14: 31:This article has multiple issues. 1645:Battles of the Chinese Civil War 1428:Shangri-la-river-expeditions.com 1364:Outline of the Chinese Civil War 631:. The bridge, situated over the 429:Outline of the Chinese Civil War 317: 305: 233: 123: 61: 20: 1538:"Account by the late Will Downs 1533:"Crossing of the Luding Bridge" 1141:The third battle at Luding City 1092:, and the commander of the 2nd 39:or discuss these issues on the 1424:"Will Downs Flip Side Website" 1202:In Agnes Smedley's biography, 938:Lin Biao's role in the assault 647:, China, was located about 80 619: 596: 574: 452:Japanese invasion of Manchuria 1: 1383:Crossing of the Luding Bridge 536:Kuomintang Islamic insurgency 143:WikiProject Military history 1619:The Long March (Sun Shuyun) 372:Minimal; Most fled or went 1671: 1275:were seen, the 2016 movie 423: 363: 350: 333: 298: 243: 232: 219: 1018:The battle at the bridge 198:29.914500°N 102.229889°E 1197: 695:allied with the ruling 567:Battle of Luding Bridge 561:Battle of Luding Bridge 442:Autumn Harvest Uprising 436:First Phase (1927–1937) 215:Battle of Luding Bridge 91:more precise citations. 1589:Mao: The Unknown Story 1500:"四川泸定宣传部长驳斥飞夺泸定桥是虚构传闻" 1388:March 6, 2005, at the 1352: 1319: 1251: 1188:Red Star Over China'). 823:Defender: Nationalists 709:Local warlord politics 663:Fleeing from pursuing 562: 447:Encirclement campaigns 334:Commanders and leaders 1549:Harrison E. Salisbury 1332: 1314: 1246: 1232:In a speech given at 997:Prelude to the battle 560: 546:Cross-strait conflict 364:Casualties and losses 203:29.914500; 102.229889 1626:, HarperCollins 2006 1254:Political propaganda 1024:main Kuomintang army 870:Attacker: Communists 651:west of the city of 1583:Charlotte Salisbury 1555:The Long March 1935 1298:Red Star Over China 1238:Zbigniew Brzezinski 1234:Stanford University 1173:Red Star Over China 1058:Red Star Over China 1054:Red Star Over China 948:Cultural Revolution 874:Supreme commander: 839:杨森 (in name only). 827:Supreme commander: 665:Chinese Nationalist 620:Lúdìng Qiáo Zhàndòu 593:traditional Chinese 194: / 1510:on January 7, 2018 1458:2006-09-17 at the 1412:on March 15, 2023. 1026:closing in on the 993:unknown strength. 764:divide and conquer 571:simplified Chinese 563: 541:China–Burma border 1650:Conflicts in 1935 858:The 11th Regiment 855:The 10th Regiment 846:The 5th Division 794:German assistance 554: 553: 415:Chinese Civil War 412:Campaigns of the 379: 378: 294: 293: 226:Chinese Civil War 178: 177: 170: 160: 159: 117: 116: 109: 54: 1662: 1578:Long March Diary 1520: 1519: 1517: 1515: 1506:. 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Archived from 1398: 1392: 1380: 1283:Recent additions 1198:Zhu De's account 1090:Pingjin Campaign 1028:Chinese Red Army 908:The 3rd Regiment 905:The 2nd Regiment 818:Orders of battle 621: 612: 590: 418: 416: 405: 398: 391: 382: 322: 321: 320: 312:Chinese Red Army 310: 309: 308: 245: 244: 237: 212: 209: 208: 206: 205: 204: 199: 195: 192: 191: 190: 187: 173: 166: 155: 152: 146: 127: 126: 119: 112: 105: 101: 98: 92: 87:this article by 78:inline citations 65: 64: 57: 46: 24: 23: 16: 1670: 1669: 1665: 1664: 1663: 1661: 1660: 1659: 1630: 1629: 1529: 1524: 1523: 1513: 1511: 1498: 1497: 1493: 1483: 1479: 1469: 1465: 1460:Wayback Machine 1451: 1447: 1437: 1435: 1434:on 3 March 2016 1422: 1421: 1417: 1402:"Luding Bridge" 1400: 1399: 1395: 1390:Wayback Machine 1381: 1377: 1372: 1360: 1328:Chiang Kai-shek 1285: 1256: 1230: 1200: 1195: 1160: 1143: 1106: 1020: 999: 940: 872: 829:Chiang Kai-shek 825: 820: 798:submachine guns 784: 748: 724:Chiang Kai-shek 716: 711: 661: 555: 550: 479:Northeast China 419: 414: 411: 409: 318: 316: 306: 304: 279: 238: 202: 200: 196: 193: 188: 185: 183: 181: 180: 174: 163: 162: 161: 156: 150: 147: 141: 128: 124: 113: 102: 96: 93: 83:Please help to 82: 66: 62: 25: 21: 12: 11: 5: 1668: 1666: 1658: 1657: 1652: 1647: 1642: 1632: 1631: 1628: 1627: 1615: 1607: 1600: 1585: 1574: 1563: 1551: 1540: 1535: 1528: 1525: 1522: 1521: 1491: 1486:The Long March 1477: 1472:The Long March 1463: 1445: 1415: 1393: 1374: 1373: 1371: 1368: 1367: 1366: 1359: 1356: 1303: 1302: 1284: 1281: 1255: 1252: 1229: 1226: 1218: 1217: 1214:The Great Road 1199: 1196: 1194: 1191: 1179: 1178: 1175:(1971 edition) 1159: 1156: 1142: 1139: 1105: 1102: 1078:Zhongshan suit 1074: 1073: 1019: 1016: 998: 995: 982: 981: 970: 939: 936: 928: 927: 926: 925: 912: 911: 910: 909: 906: 903: 878:, assisted by 871: 868: 864: 863: 862: 861: 860: 859: 856: 853: 831:, assisted by 824: 821: 819: 816: 815: 814: 806: 783: 780: 747: 744: 715: 712: 710: 707: 660: 657: 552: 551: 549: 548: 543: 538: 533: 527: 526: 522: 521: 516: 511: 506: 501: 496: 491: 486: 481: 476: 467: 466: 460: 459: 454: 449: 444: 438: 437: 433: 432: 424: 421: 420: 410: 408: 407: 400: 393: 385: 377: 376: 370: 366: 365: 361: 360: 357: 353: 352: 348: 347: 342: 336: 335: 331: 330: 314: 301: 300: 296: 295: 292: 291: 285: 281: 280: 259: 257: 253: 252: 249: 241: 240: 230: 229: 217: 216: 176: 175: 158: 157: 131: 129: 122: 115: 114: 69: 67: 60: 55: 29: 28: 26: 19: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1667: 1656: 1655:1935 in China 1653: 1651: 1648: 1646: 1643: 1641: 1638: 1637: 1635: 1625: 1621: 1620: 1616: 1613: 1612: 1608: 1606: 1605: 1601: 1599: 1595: 1591: 1590: 1586: 1584: 1580: 1579: 1575: 1573: 1569: 1568: 1564: 1562: 1558: 1556: 1552: 1550: 1546: 1545: 1541: 1539: 1536: 1534: 1531: 1530: 1526: 1509: 1505: 1501: 1495: 1492: 1488: 1487: 1481: 1478: 1474: 1473: 1467: 1464: 1461: 1457: 1454: 1449: 1446: 1433: 1429: 1425: 1419: 1416: 1411: 1407: 1403: 1397: 1394: 1391: 1387: 1384: 1379: 1376: 1369: 1365: 1362: 1361: 1357: 1355: 1351: 1347: 1345: 1341: 1337: 1331: 1329: 1325: 1318: 1313: 1311: 1307: 1300: 1299: 1294: 1290: 1289: 1288: 1282: 1280: 1278: 1272: 1270: 1266: 1262: 1253: 1250: 1245: 1243: 1242:Deng Xiaoping 1239: 1235: 1227: 1225: 1222: 1215: 1211: 1210: 1209: 1207: 1206: 1192: 1190: 1189: 1184: 1176: 1174: 1169: 1165: 1164: 1163: 1157: 1155: 1153: 1149: 1140: 1138: 1134: 1130: 1126: 1122: 1118: 1114: 1110: 1104:Second battle 1103: 1101: 1099: 1095: 1091: 1087: 1081: 1079: 1070: 1069: 1068: 1065: 1063: 1059: 1055: 1052:According to 1050: 1048: 1044: 1039: 1037: 1033: 1029: 1025: 1017: 1015: 1011: 1008: 1003: 996: 994: 991: 988:battle. Even 985: 979: 975: 971: 967: 966: 965: 962: 960: 956: 951: 949: 944: 935: 933: 923: 922: 920: 919: 918: 917: 907: 904: 901: 900: 898: 897: 896: 895: 891: 886: 885: 881: 877: 869: 867: 857: 854: 851: 850: 848: 847: 845: 844: 843: 840: 838: 834: 830: 822: 817: 812: 807: 804: 799: 795: 790: 789: 788: 781: 779: 777: 773: 769: 765: 760: 758: 754: 745: 743: 739: 735: 733: 729: 725: 721: 713: 708: 706: 703: 698: 694: 688: 686: 681: 678: 674: 670: 666: 656: 654: 650: 646: 642: 638: 637:Luding County 634: 630: 626: 625:Luding Bridge 622: 616: 611: 608: 605: 602: 599: 594: 589: 586: 583: 580: 577: 572: 568: 559: 547: 544: 542: 539: 537: 534: 532: 529: 528: 524: 523: 520: 517: 515: 512: 510: 507: 505: 502: 500: 499:Yangtze River 497: 495: 492: 490: 487: 485: 482: 480: 477: 475: 474: 469: 468: 465: 462: 461: 458: 455: 453: 450: 448: 445: 443: 440: 439: 435: 434: 431: 430: 426: 425: 422: 417: 406: 401: 399: 394: 392: 387: 386: 383: 375: 371: 368: 367: 362: 358: 355: 354: 349: 346: 343: 341: 338: 337: 332: 329: 325: 315: 313: 303: 302: 297: 289: 286: 283: 282: 278: 274: 270: 266: 265:Luding County 262: 258: 255: 254: 250: 247: 246: 242: 236: 231: 227: 223: 218: 213: 210: 207: 189:102°13′47.6″E 172: 169: 154: 151:November 2008 144: 139: 135: 132:This article 130: 121: 120: 111: 108: 100: 97:February 2008 90: 86: 80: 79: 73: 68: 59: 58: 53: 51: 44: 43: 38: 37: 32: 27: 18: 17: 1617: 1609: 1602: 1598:Jon Halliday 1587: 1576: 1572:Yang Chengwu 1565: 1553: 1542: 1512:. 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Retrieved 1432:the original 1427: 1418: 1410:the original 1396: 1378: 1353: 1348: 1344:Nie Rongzhen 1333: 1320: 1315: 1304: 1296: 1286: 1277:The Warriors 1276: 1273: 1260: 1257: 1247: 1231: 1223: 1219: 1213: 1203: 1201: 1187: 1180: 1171: 1161: 1158:Significance 1152:Nie Rongzhen 1144: 1135: 1131: 1127: 1123: 1119: 1115: 1111: 1107: 1082: 1075: 1066: 1062:Yang Chengwu 1057: 1053: 1051: 1040: 1021: 1012: 1004: 1000: 986: 983: 978:Nie Rongzhen 963: 952: 941: 929: 913: 894:Nie Rongzhen 887: 873: 865: 841: 826: 785: 762:Following a 761: 749: 740: 736: 717: 689: 682: 667:forces, the 662: 618: 566: 564: 472: 427: 359:One regiment 340:Yang Chengwu 299:Belligerents 251:May 29, 1935 220:Part of the 186:29°54′52.2″N 179: 164: 148: 140:for details. 133: 103: 94: 75: 47: 40: 34: 33:Please help 30: 1561:Dick Wilson 1504:News.qq.com 1340:Liu Bocheng 1216:, page 27). 1193:Controversy 1168:Peng Dehuai 1148:Liu Bocheng 1088:during the 990:Liu Bocheng 974:Liu Bocheng 890:Liu Bocheng 803:bolt-action 757:Wang Jialie 345:Li Quanshan 324:Nationalist 201: / 136:. See the 89:introducing 1634:Categories 1624:Sun Shuyun 1594:Jung Chang 1406:Structurae 1370:References 1306:Sun Shuyun 1293:Edgar Snow 1269:Long March 1267:after the 1261:Dadu River 1228:Brzezinski 1183:propaganda 1098:Long March 932:Long March 884:Zhou Enlai 876:Mao Zedong 835:(刘文辉) and 833:Liu Wenhui 776:Liu Wenhui 728:Liu Wenhui 702:battalions 697:Kuomintang 669:communists 649:kilometers 633:Dadu River 629:Long March 471:Operation 457:Long March 261:Dadu River 222:Long March 72:references 36:improve it 1514:6 January 1438:6 January 1043:commissar 1022:With the 772:Liu Xiang 732:Liu Xiang 525:Aftermath 514:Guningtou 473:Beleaguer 138:talk page 42:talk page 1456:Archived 1386:Archived 1358:See also 943:Lin Biao 916:Lin Biao 837:Yang Sen 811:Shanghai 782:Weaponry 768:Yang Sen 693:warlords 685:Lin Biao 531:Xinjiang 504:Shanghai 484:Liaoshen 369:3 killed 351:Strength 328:warlords 326:-allied 288:Red Army 256:Location 1527:Sources 1324:Beijing 1265:Shaanxi 1094:company 1086:Tianjin 1032:company 959:Xue Yue 753:Guizhou 720:Chinese 673:Sichuan 645:Sichuan 519:Wanshan 494:Pingjin 489:Huaihai 290:victory 273:Sichuan 85:improve 1336:Zhu De 1036:bugler 1007:bugles 969:corps. 955:Zhu De 880:Zhu De 617:: 615:pinyin 595:: 573:: 509:Hainan 284:Result 74:, but 1622:, by 1047:squad 653:Ya'an 277:China 1596:and 1516:2018 1440:2018 1342:and 892:and 882:and 677:Qing 565:The 374:AWOL 248:Date 1592:by 1581:by 1570:by 1559:by 1547:by 1310:BBC 1295:in 635:in 1636:: 1426:. 1404:. 1338:, 1330:: 1271:. 1244:: 643:, 639:, 613:; 591:; 356:22 275:, 271:, 267:, 263:, 45:. 1518:. 1442:. 1186:( 610:鬥 607:戰 604:橋 601:定 598:瀘 588:斗 585:战 582:桥 579:定 576:泸 569:( 404:e 397:t 390:v 228:) 224:( 171:) 165:( 153:) 149:( 110:) 104:( 99:) 95:( 81:. 52:) 48:(

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