There are two red flags like this, each with the words' Crossing the Yangtze River 'and' Liberate the whole of China 'printed on them. More than 60 years have passed, and they still shine with a red light.

These two banners are the banners of Xiangshan Mountain and Mount Huangshan Mountain, the beachhead of the Kuomintang garrison in the south of the Yangtze River, where the heroic river crossing vanguard crossed the Yangtze River in the river crossing campaign. The flag embodies the bravery, fearlessness, and great ideals of the soldiers crossing the river.

At the beginning of 1949, millions of People's Liberation Army marched to the north bank of the Yangtze River and vowed to carry out the liberation of the Chinese people to the end. With the support of millions of migrant workers, the People's Liberation Army is eager to fly across the Yangtze River and extinguish the struggling Nationalist government led by Chiang Kai shek. In order to cross the river smoothly, the 15th Army of the 5th Corps was honorably appointed as the river crossing assault force, while the 44th Division of the 15th Corps served as the first echelon. The main task was to break through the enemy's river defense with the nearby Huayang Town, wipe out the enemy in front of them, occupy Xiangshan and Mount Huangshan, and ensure the main force to cross the river.

On April 21st, Chairman Mao and Commander in Chief Zhu De issued an order to march across the country.

At 3 pm, the 15th Army artillery began test firing. At 4:45, we implemented effective shooting and the first shot was about to destroy the enemy lighthouse, causing a great shock to the enemy. Then the enemy's ammunition near the southeast earthen ridge of the lighthouse was hit, causing flames to burst into the sky, the river to tremble, and smoke to fill the south bank. The command post was filled with cheers, and the troops were greatly encouraged, with morale skyrocketing. At the same time, all of my assault troops, the 130th Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the 131st Regiment, began boarding ships and moving along the long river towards the riverbank. In the afterglow, the twelve mile long river was crowded with warships, and the commanders stood tall at the bow of their respective ships, softly shouting "left rudder" and "right rudder". The soldiers who used to be ignorant of water had now become skilled sailors. The sound of artillery fell silent, and the sound of oars became even louder.

At 7:30, when the ship arrived at the mouth of the river, it was discovered that the floating bridge on the long river had not been dismantled beforehand, causing a crowded formation and adding to the tense atmosphere. The assault troops hastily dealt with it, and the commander Li Zhongxuan chose to dance a big axe and swung it vigorously. After two hours of emergency operation, the obstacles on the river surface were cleared. Fortunately, the enemy did not detect our army's intentions and only engaged in sporadic blind shooting.

At this moment, it is raining lightly. The river became increasingly confused as hundreds of warships left the Huayang Ferry and entered the river, lined up along the riverbank. The 130th Regiment is located west of the river mouth, and the 1st Battalion of the 131st Regiment is located east of the river mouth. After the troops arrive, quickly adjust the landing target and wait for the order to attack.

At 23:00, the long-awaited northeast wind started. The boatmen were overjoyed and said, 'Heaven does as people wish, the Communist Party is blessed.'. The army immediately issued the order to launch a surprise attack. My ferry fleet is like arrows flying from the bowstring, striving towards the middle stream. The taillights of each ship fell like stars in the sky, scattering over the river. From a distance, the mast looks like a forest.

After more than ten minutes, the 44th Division reported, "The ship has arrived at the center of the river and everything is going smoothly." During the process of charging towards the south bank, the troops adopted the battle slogan of "advancing without retreating, striving for the first ship to cross the river" and showed great tenacity. The commander of the 130th regiment, Li Zhongxuan, was injured in the face and didn't care about bandaging. He stood up at the bow of the ship and commanded the troops to engage the enemy. The boatmen and sailors on board the ship where the commander of the third battalion was located were all injured, with three-quarters of the comrades on board suffering casualties. Vice commander Chen Qigui sacrificed heroically, and battalion commander Li Xuezeng was also injured in two places. However, everyone remained in high spirits and shouted slogans: "Only move forward, never retreat, and resolutely complete the mission." The rear compartment of the sixth platoon's warship was hit by enemy artillery, and most of the second platoon was injured. The boatmen sacrificed their lives, and river water flooded into the cabin, making the situation very serious. The commander of the sixth company, Luo Jinyin, who was on board the ship, disregarded his own shortcomings and worked hard to steer the ship. While organizing his troops to drain and seal the leaks, he encouraged everyone: "Everyone must be tough and speed up to the shore!" The closer the assault fleet approached the enemy shore, the more intense and fierce the enemy's firepower became. About 100 meters away from the enemy shore, the old boatman on the second row warship of the "Red Third Company" was injured by stray bullets, and then the mast was cut off by artillery fire. Along with the sail, the ship was thrown into the river and lost control. Warrior Zhang Guozheng rushed forward without hesitation to face the barrage of bullets and set the helm. Zhou Fuqi, the instructor, was very worried when he saw that his brothers' warships had overtaken one after another. Pointing to the red flag that said "Go across the Yangtze River" and hunting and flying in the wind and rain, he shouted loudly: "We can not live up to the trust of the whole regiment. What a hero! What a test!" The soldiers took up shovel and helmets and rowed hard, and their warships rushed forward again. The 4th class warship of the 1st company of the 131st regiment was bombed by an enemy hand grenade, causing the river water to pour in and the hull to sink. Vice squad leader Zhao Qiang, who suffered a chest injury, tied a rope around his waist, jumped into the water, and faced the enemy's crazy gunfire. He endured severe pain and swam towards the shore, turning around as soon as his foot touched the ground, and pulled the boat ashore regardless of everything.

In the face of the heroic actions of our soldiers, the enemy was terrified and used flamethrowers to block the beachhead, attempting to stop me from landing. My assault troops, with a heroic spirit that overwhelms all enemies, went through fire and water, seized the beach and landed, roaring towards the enemy's position.

Around 11:50, the 2nd Battalion of the 130th Regiment first landed near the lighthouse. After capturing the Jiang'an position, Company 3 advanced towards Xiangshan and, with the coordination of Company 5, occupied Xiangshan in one fell swoop.

At the same time, the 1st Battalion of the 131 Regiment, with the cooperation of its friends and neighbors, outflanked by two companies and attacked by one company in front to win Mount Huangshan. The 3rd Company of the 130 Regiment and the 3rd Company of the 131 Regiment planted the two flags of "crossing the Yangtze River" and "liberating the whole China" on the main peaks of Xiangshan Mountain and Mount Huangshan Mountain, proudly waving. And according to the prior agreement, the signalman immediately sent out three green signal flares. When the signal flare flew up into the sky, reddened by gunfire, it illuminated numerous faces filled with joy upon seeing it.

(Yang Xuegong from the Crossing of the Yangtze River Victory Memorial Hall; Wang Gao from the Crossing of the Yangtze River Campaign Memorial Hall)