Chapter 323 5. Troops crossing the river solve the problem of boats and crossings

To cross the river, you must have a boat, and if you have a boat, you must have someone who can punter.Therefore, the first task for the troops to reach the river is to raise ships and mobilize the boatmen.After some publicity and mobilization, many fishermen donated their boats.But some boat owners were not interested in these propagandas, and some even drove their boats into the lake to hide them.Most of these boat owners are people who are in the rivers and lakes. They control the boatmen. Because they have suffered from being cheated, they don't trust the words of strangers, but they value affection, loyalty, love to make friends, love to do glorious things, and are willing to listen to the speeches of high officials.

In response to these characteristics, the troops changed their working methods and held parties with ship owners and boatmen. The army commander, political commissar and director of the political department came forward to speak and mobilize them, calling on them to participate in the war and make meritorious service.Sanye also issued the "Certificate of Honor for Boaters Crossing the River", and some troops also printed "Certificate of Meritorious Service for Boaters".All of these have effectively stimulated the enthusiasm of ship owners and boat workers. The 9th Corps also clearly announced: the life of the boatmen and their families will be provided by the army according to the system. The boatmen will be given 3.5 catties of food every day, 2 catties for family members, and 1 catty for children under 6 years old; the wounded will be treated and their wages will be paid; , Just like the army personnel, they will be issued a certificate of honor; the victims will be given pensions and their families will be resettled;

With their worries lifted, many people scrambled to sign up as boatmen, and the boat owners voluntarily handed over the boats hidden in the lake to the army, and salvaged the boats that sank to the bottom of the river and lake.The boatmen with their skirts open clasped their fists and beat their chests, and said from the bottom of their hearts: "If we are here, there will be a boat. If you don't send you across the river, what kind of men are you?" In this way, the second field and the third field raised a total of more than 9,400 ships of various types. On average, each first echelon army has more than 500 large and small ships, which can transport more than 10,000 people at a time.

With the boat, the troops began to "test the water" training of swimming and boating.In the early spring along the river, it was warm and cold, and the river was icy cold, but cadres and soldiers splashed in the rivers, lakes and ponds all day long, and many people were too cold to speak.However, after a period of hard training, most of the "land ducks" from the north have become "water ducks" and have learned skills such as paddling, punting, self-rescue and mutual rescue. Then, the troops carried out tactical drills such as boarding and disembarking, sailing formation, communication, water shooting, landing and breakthrough.Both the second field and the third field have issued instructions, requiring that in the training, we must implement the tactical thinking of advancing without retreat, being brave and tenacious, independent, and cooperating with friends and neighbors, as well as scattered landings, concentrated operations, first landing first assault, small group actions, and bold thrusts. tactical principles and action essentials.

Accordingly, a competition is launched among the troops to see who has the best performance.They practiced from the river to the lake, and from the lake to the Yangtze River.The 185th Regiment of the 21st Army crossed Chaohu Lake for 70 miles in 3 hours, and it took only 5 minutes for the whole regiment to land on the shore! Achievements come from training, and inventions come from training.A soldier accidentally fell into the water, which triggered everyone's thinking about self-made lifebuoys.Soon, all kinds of life buoys were manufactured! On April 9, Liu Bocheng, Zhang Jichun, and Li Da notified the Sanye and the 4th and 5th Corps:

"Our 12th Army crossed the river with 20 catties of straw bundled into a circle and tried it successfully. Because of its small size and the ability to expose the chest, soldiers can shoot while crossing the river. The straw circle can still be used after being soaked in water for 12 hours. Now we are trying to use The 3 grass circles are connected to the finished glyph so that the mutual aid group can move forward together and continue to report the results of the trial.” On April 14, Zhang Zhen also notified the second field of the life buoy successfully tested by the 10th Corps in the inland river:

A. Use 9 to 10 catties of cattail reeds or wheat straw to form a triangle with a length of 1.3 to 1.5 meters (a thin stick must be added to the last corner), and a 150 cm circle in the middle (wrapped with cloth is just right for people) thick waist).In order to increase resistance, the circle of the grass handle should be slightly larger than the human body, tied in the triangle, and put the body in the center of the grass circle when using it. B. Take two fuel tanks and tie them around the waist with rope. C. Blowing air with 5 pig blisters and hooking them around the waist. D. Use oilcloth (American-style oilcloth is the best) to sew a car tire-shaped ring bag (larger than the human body), stuff the inside with random straw (preferably slept on) and store air, and put the ring bag on the chest of the person.

E. Use 4 moso bamboo tubes (each with a bamboo node) to hang around the waist (the moso bamboo tubes are made of bamboo green skins, which are lighter and have greater buoyancy). According to the test results, the buoyancy of the bamboo tubes enables those who can float to shoot with a machine gun. Those who can swim can hold a rifle to shoot, float on the water surface and the chest of a person, and move freely. The above-mentioned materials are easy to obtain, cheap, easy to make, light and easy to carry, and are now widely used by the Corps. The successful trial production of various lifebuoys is undoubtedly a boon for soldiers who are worried about falling into the water but are not good at swimming.

What if the boat is pierced by bullets and leaks water?This is another question that worries the fighters.Through experiments, they found a good way to fill the boat with cotton wool. In addition, the Sanye troops also installed car engines on wooden boats and converted the boats into gunboats and assault boats. The time to cross the river is approaching, and sending ships into the Yangtze River has become a big problem! Most of the ships of the People's Liberation Army are in the inner lakes and inland rivers, but the exits of the inner lakes and inland rivers or the places where they enter the river are mostly blocked by the artillery fire of the Kuomintang army.In this case, sailing the boat on land and lifting the boat into the Yangtze River is one way.But this is a waste of manpower and material resources, and it is easy to damage the ship and expose the target.So, with the help of the masses, the troops opened canals to irrigate, dug embankments to extradite, pulled the boat over the dam, and concealed the boat into the river.

By the beginning of April, the logistics department had supplemented the troops with 3 to 4 bases of ammunition, and the people had prepared enough food for the troops for a month. The masses in Shandong, northern Jiangsu, and northern Anhui formed dozens of migrant workers to accompany the army. Make sure that where the troops go, the pre-support work will be done. At this point, all preparations for crossing the river have been completed.