Information on the Battle of Jinsha River

Cunningly Crossing the Jinsha River

On April 28, 1935, the Military Commission column set out from the Xitun and Mian Dian areas of Qujing and passed through Jitou Village and Wangjiazhuang in Malong. Both the First and Third Red Army Corps were stationed in Xundian. As the Red Army's various armies advanced rapidly towards central Yunnan in consecutive days, the main force of the Yunnan Army was forced not to leave Kunming, and the pursuing troops behind were unable to arrive in time. This situation showed that the enemy was no longer able to prevent the navy from crossing the Jinsha River north. In addition, both sides of the Jinsha River were empty. The Military Commission seized this opportunity and decisively decided that the Red Army from all walks of life would immediately advance to the Jinsha River

in preparation for the crossing. Jinsha River.

On April 29, the Central Military Commission issued urgent instructions to all ministries at Xundian Lushaoshao, "Instructions on our army's rapid crossing of the Jinsha River to establish a Soviet area in western Sichuan." It was pointed out that "Due to the maneuvers of the past two months, our field army has obtained favorable conditions to move westward. Generally, the pursuing enemy is already behind our flank, but the enemy has concentrated more than 70 regiments of troops to pursue us. It is no longer convenient for us to carry out larger operations in the current area." On the other hand, the two sides of the Jinsha River are empty. The central government's past decision to transfer the field army to western Sichuan to establish a Soviet base has now become possible. Therefore, the Political Bureau decided that our field army should take advantage of the current favorable opportunity to strive for a rapid transition. Cross the Jinsha River, transfer to western Sichuan, eliminate the enemy, and establish a Soviet base area."

Chief of General Staff Liu Bocheng was appointed as the commander of the advance team to cross the river, responsible for forming a cross-river headquarters and unified command of the entire army to cross the river. The Red Army troops were divided into four groups: the First Army Corps of the Red Army seized the Yuanmou Longjie Ferry; the Third Army Corps seized the Luquanhongmen Ferry; the Cadre Regiment seized the Jiaoping Ferry; the Military Commission column followed the Cadre Regiment; the Fifth Army Regiment took the rear; Cross the river between rivers. The first legion bypassed the east and northeast of Kunming and had the task of feigning an attack on Kunming and covering other columns.

On the same day, the Red Army moved closer to the Jinsha River at a rapid marching speed. The first legion set out from Hongqiao in Malong and Tangzi in Xundian, entered Songming County and captured the county seat. The Red Army used wired telephones to communicate with the enemy defenders in Kunming and threatened to attack Kunming. The leading troops also arrived at Dabanqiao, 15 kilometers away from Kunming, and posted slogans along the way to attack Kunming, creating a threat to Kunming. The Kunming defenders were shocked by the Red Army's feint attack and did not dare to leave the city to fight.

On the same day, the three armies set out from the Gaotian area and captured Xundian County via Qixing Bridge. The Military Commission column moved at a rapid march speed from the junction of Songming and Xundian, surpassing the 1st and 3rd Army Corps and stationed in Yaojia Village.

On April 30, the Military Commission Column, the Fifth Army Corps and the Third Army Corps entered the Kedu area to prepare for crossing the Jinsha River. The First Army Corps moved toward Xianglong Street, connecting the three counties of Keluquan, Wuding, and Yuanmou along the way, attracting pursuing enemies from all walks of life. This made it possible for the Military Commission column and the Third Army Corps to cross the river secretly.

On May 1, the Military Commission column entered Luquan County via Ji Street, successfully passed Pudu and Tiesuo Bridge, and arrived at Xiaocang Street that night.

On the same day, the 5th Vanguard Company of the Cadre Regiment and the Central Vanguard Reconnaissance Team, inspired by the slogan "Cross the Jinsha River to celebrate May Day", rushed to Jiaoping Ferry in the evening and searched for two old boats , and crossed the Jinsha River that night, eliminated the Sichuan army defending the enemy, and took control of the ferry.

On May 3, the Red Army crossing troops, under the command of Liu Bocheng, began to cross the river using 6 wooden boats found by the cadre group. The Fifth Army Corps built field fortifications in the Shibanhe area, more than 40 kilometers away from the river, to block the enemy.

On the afternoon of May 5, the Military Commission column completed its crossing of the river. At this time, the first regiment was at Longjie Ferry. Due to the wide river, deep water and fast current, it was impossible to erect a pontoon bridge. The enemy was already approaching and it was difficult to cross the river. The Third Regiment was also unable to build a bridge due to the tight water flow across the Hongmen River. It was too slow to cross the river by one boat, and only the 13th Regiment crossed the river. Under this circumstance, the Military Commission urgently ordered the 1st and 3rd Army Corps to cross the river at Jiaoping on June 7 and 7. The two armies arrived at the ferry on time and crossed the river one after another.

The Fifth Army Corps, which was responsible for the cover task, fought fiercely for several days with the enemy's 13th Division, which arrived first, and forced the enemy to retreat to Tuan Street. After completing the mission, they evacuated the blocking position on the evening of May 9 and crossed the Jinsha River that night.

The Ninth Red Army Corps, which broke away from the main Red Army on the north bank of Wujiang River at the end of March, passed through Qianxi, Bijie, Dading, Shuicheng, Nayong, and Panxian, entered Yunnan on April 25, and occupied it on April 27 Sherwin. On May 3, the Ninth Army Corps received an order from the Military Commission to quickly cross the river. On the 4th, the vanguard regiment occupied Shujie Ferry in Huize County and captured more than 40 salt boats. On the 5th, follow-up troops arrived. On the 7th, the whole army crossed the Jinsha River in Huize, Bei Shu Festival.

At this point, the Central Red Army successfully crossed the Jinsha River north, and the battle to cross the Chishui River for the fourth time ended successfully. The Red Army got rid of hundreds of thousands of enemy troops and achieved a decisive victory since the strategic shift.