/gulag/ - gulag

The myth of the Battle of Luding Bridge tells of a small group of brave Red Army soldiers who heroically crossed a narrow, chain-suspended bridge under heavy fire to secure a critical escape route during the Long March.

However, historical evidence suggests the entire battle was greatly exaggerated. The defending troops were troops from a warlord Liu Wenhui. The Sichuan troops were poorly equipped, poorly trained, and considered a fourth-rate force. They had no machine guns, no mortars, and were underequipped. This likely resulted in lighter resistance than the dramatic accounts suggest, casting doubt on the scale of the intense firefight