Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

[...] Luding-qiao Iron Chain Bridge In Western Sichuan Province, Liu Wenhui, after a defeat in the hands of his nephew Liu Xiang, had retreated to the neighboring Xi-kang Province [now being parts of Sichuan & Tibet] with about 20,000 remnants out of his original force of 120,000 soldiers. Chiang Kai-shek had appointed Liu Wenhui the post of "director for Xi-kang pacification office". Liu Wenhui, though retaining the serial number of 24th Corps and inventing some extra division and multiple brigade numbers, still could not expand above 20,000 headcounts due to the economic limitations of the garrison region. In this area, Chiang Kai-shek had dispatched to Ya'an and Hanyuan some unit of Kang Ze's first contngent of special operation force [i.e., a guerilla fighting force that were deployed in Japanese-occupied territories after 1937]. Under pressure from both KMT Central and the communist threats, Liu Wenhui ordered that Xi-kang border commander Liu Yuanzhang deploy the brigades of Liu Yuantang, Liu Yuanzong, Xu Jianshang, Deng Xiuting and Liu Yuanxuan, about 12 falsified regiments, to the Jin-sha [golden sand] River, while having Yuan Guorui & Yang Xuerui brigades of 5th Division guard the Dadu [grand crossing] River. Yu Songlin's brigade was dispatched to the upperstream Dadu River. To secure a scapegoat, Liu Wenhui called upon a retired officer called Chen Guangzao for organizing a so-called 5th Division under his 24th Corps. On April 29th, Red Army Central Front defeated Liu Yuantang's brigade and crossed the Jin-sha [golden sand] River at Longjiedu & Jiaopingdu crossings. At Huili city, Liu Yuantang withdrew all surrounding forces for a defence. Three days later, Red Army descended upon Huili, but after seven days and seven nights, failed to sack the city. Chiang Kai-shek ordered an airdrop of a bonus of 10,000 yuan as a bonus to Liu Yuantang and conferred the title of brigadier-general onto Liu Yuantang. Having failed to sack the city, Red Army then went north and defeated Xu Jianshang's brigade. At this time, Chiang Kai-shek ordered that Liu Yuantang command Liu Wenhui's 24th Corps for defending the north bank of Dadu River and Yang Sen command Liu Xiang's 20th Corps as well as part of 21st Corps to the relief of Liu Yuanzhang. On May 14th 1935, Chiang Kai-shek telegraphed Liu Wenhui with instructions as to defence of Dadu [Tadu] River and threat of court martial for any dereliction of duty. Meanwhile, on May 15th, Red Army split into two routes after passing Xichang, with Zuo Quan and Liu Yalou leading Red Army 1st Corps-conglomerate for the Dashubao crossing, and Liu Bocheng & Nie Rongzhen penetrating the Yi-zu minority domain for the Anshuchang crossing on the west ban of Dadu River. In the path of the two Red Army contingents would be Chen Guangzao and his newly-organizd 5th Division of 24th Corps. Chen Guangzao managed to recruit about 50 former soldiers and officers in total. Sitting in Ya'an, Division Chief Chen Guangzao dispatched deputy division chief Chen Nengfen and tactician Ye Jianming to Hanyuan for leading the Dadu defence. Chen Nengfen and Ye Jianming, after arriving at Hanyuan, found out that they had no soldiers or guns at Hanyuan. Li Quanshan, i.e., so-called 38th regiment chief of 4th brigade under the empty-shell 5th Division of 24th Corps was sent to Luding Iron Chain Bridge. Li Quanshan and his followers ran their way to the bridge by the evening of May 28th. Since locals refused to destroy the chains, Li Quanshan ordered that his barehand soldiers dismantle the wooden planks. Under rainy weather, Li Quanshan's soldiers soon stopped their work for smoking pipe. Luding Bridge, with thirteen chains, built in 1701 under Manchu reign, measures about 100 meters long and 2.8 meters wide. Overnight, Zuo Quan and Liu Yalou's contingent ran their way towards the iron chain bridge on the relatively flat path of the east bank, while Liu Bocheng & Nie Rongzhen's contingent marched slowly on the west bank towards the same target. At one time, Zuo Quan and Liu Yalou met with the relief army of Sichuan Provincial Army across the river and pretended to be of same camp by flashing the torch light. While Liu Bocheng & Nie Rongzhen chased up the Sichuan provincial relief army on the west bank, Zuo Quan and Liu Yalou's contingent, with machinegun overpowering the west end of the Luding Iron Bridge, organized a 22 member commando team at day break. With a loss of several soldiers, Yang Chengwu's assault team succeeded in overwpowering the badly-equipped Li Quanshan gang. Mao Tse-tung and the bulk of Red Army Central Front, probably numbering far less than 7000-9000 at this time, would cross the suspension bridge on May 30th. Thereafter, Red Army Central Front went towards Tianquan for their next target of the Long March, i.e., union with Zhang Guotao's Red Army Fourth Front of close to 100,000 soldiers. Li Zongren signed that it was the Heaven which had allowed Mao Tse-tung cross the river where Shi Dakai, i.e., King Yi-wang of Taiping Heavenly Kingdon, had been doomed. What Li ZOngren did not fully realize is that Red Army had already taken control of the Anshunchang Crossing in lowerstream Dadu River, thus averting Shi Dakai's fate of death with his son and followers at Anshunchang. The related myth of communist using humand shield being another fallacy, Jung Chang & Jon Halliday's wild claim that Chiang Kai-shek had let go the Reds with a cart of supplies and map was not worthy of refutation by this webmaster.