How a Daring Bridge Crossing Saved the Red Army

With the Nationalist Army in hot pursuit, the Red Army found itself in a precarious situation in late May of 1935 as it reached the Dadu River in western Sichuan. The only viable crossing, the Luding Bridge was a chain bridge from which all planks had been removed. A vanguard regiment had marched around 120 kilometers in a single day to reach it. On the morning of May 29, 22 volunteer soldiers crawled across these bare iron chains under heavy machine-gun fire, storming the enemy-held east bank, and securing a vital victory on the Long March.