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On the afternoon of May 18, an exercise was kicked off between the highway bridge and the double-tracking railways bridge of the Huaihe River, near Bengbu City in Anhui Province. Bombs were booming and the place was under a blanket of smoke, both the highway bridge and the railway bridge were damaged under the "enemies'" bombing, and couldn't be repaired soon. The militia of Bengbu City concentrated their firepower and military strength to carry out antiaircraft firing. The pontoon bridge construction troops of a reserve forces unit established the crossing site immediately and threw a float bridge over the 500-meter-wide Huaihe River successfully. Shortly, more than 40 military vehicles full of equipment passed the bridge smoothly.
The actual troops exercise, with an aim to overcome river obstacles and ensure smooth transportation for the army during wartime, intended to check the "counterattacking, defending, repairing, rescuing, crossing and supplying" ability of the militia and the reserve forces during wartime. The pontoon bridge construction troops of a reserve forces unit, who took part in the exercise, had already organized more than 200 soldiers to carry out high-intensity field trainings for more than 50 days and learned the know-how of throwing a float bridge before the exercise, thus enabling them to fulfill their tasks in the exercise successfully.
Sources has it that it was the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China that the militia and the reserve forces successfully throw a float bridge over the Huaihe River.
By Meng Liu and Wu Jie
(May 25, PLA Daily)
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