Li Gang's resoluteness and his unafraid of responsibility made several regiment commanders frown, and they could not help but sigh in their hearts about the actions taken by Li Gang to protect the troops of these two regiments.

Zhou Peng said: "Commander Li Gang, since you have taken a risk and made a decision, then hurry up and give an order." ”

Li Gang and the cadres of the 1st Regiment and the 5th Regiment held a meeting to decide on the difficult problem of fighting or withdrawing troops; everyone knew that once they disobeyed the order and withdrew their positions without authorization, and disrupted the action plan of the head of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, the Fucheng Field Hospital, and the three regiments to jump out of the enemy's encirclement, they would have fled from the battlefield and should be held accountable, and if they did not make trouble, they would be handed over to a military court for sanctions.

However, when Li Gang decisively issued an order to immediately withdraw from the battle, jump out of the encirclement that the enemy's large army was about to form, and retreat to the depths of the Taihang Mountains, Wang Yushu, the new director of the Electrical Investigation Department of the One Regiment, rushed to Li Gang in a few steps and shouted excitedly: "Commander Li, Commander Nie of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region is in a hurry. ”

Li Gang heard Commander Nie's urgent telegram, he was a little crazy with excitement, grabbed the telegram and unfolded it and read it aloud: Order the only regiment and the fifth regiment to withdraw from the battle as soon as possible, and maneuver around the Taihang Mountains with the enemy.

After listening to Li Gang read Commander Nie's telegram, everyone finally smiled, and they shouted at the same time: "Commander Li Gang, give an order quickly." ”

Li Gang immediately issued an order to all units to cross cover and quickly withdraw their positions and move to the Taihang Mountain Range.

Under the command of Li Gang, the only regiment covered the withdrawal of the fifth regiment with the greatest firepower, and then under the cover of the fire of the first battalion, the only regiment finally broke out of the encirclement that the enemy was about to form, and dangerously dragged this particularly capable force out of the clutches of the enemy and got a new life.

At this time, Commander Nie of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region stood in the war room of the Chengnanzhuang Frontline Headquarters, looked at the map still hanging on the wall, and kept asking Staff Officer Tang: "Where are my second and third regiments now?" ”

"Report to Commander Nie, the second and third regiments, now thirty miles southwest of Chengnanzhuang, are fighting fiercely with a wing of the 26th Brigade of the Japanese Army."

"Where is the Sixth Regiment?" Commander Nie drew a circle on the map and asked.

"The Sixth Regiment was in the Hujiapo position in Sanli, southeast of Chengnanzhuang, blocking a Japanese brigade surrounded by Chengnanzhuang." Staff Officer Tang reported clearly.

Commander Nie looked at the map and frowned more and more, and finally turned around sharply and said to Staff Officer Tang: "Order the third battalion of the second regiment to break through the enemy's encirclement, quickly move closer to Chengnanzhuang, and protect the transfer of the military region's organs."

The 2nd, 3rd, and 6th regiments were ordered to hold their positions for 20 minutes before the Japanese Katayama Brigade had yet to reach the Jonanzhuang to join the Sakamoto Brigade, and to engage the enemy with the most ferocious fighting spirit, and then wait for an opportunity to jump out of the enemy's encirclement and retreat to the area around Wutai Kongoku. ”

The 2nd, 3rd, and 6th regiments of the Eighth Route Army launched fierce counterattacks with the Japanese Sakamoto Brigade that surrounded them, and launched fierce counterattacks on the lines of Sanshilipu, Hujiapo, Bahugou, Shang, and Xiazhuang.

The commander of the Japanese Sakamoto Brigade howled arrogantly: "The head organ of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region of the Eighth Route Army is in Chengnanzhuang, and there are only three regiments with poor weapons and equipment that are blocking the attack on the periphery, and our Imperial Japanese Army has gradually surrounded Chengnanzhuang from three sides, and the head organ of the Tuba Road is already in the pocket of our Sakamoto Brigade, and I order the troops to speed up the advance to Chengnanzhuang, and we must wipe out the head of the Tuba Road Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region and the Tuba Road of the three regiments. ”

After one day and two nights of fierce fighting, the Sakamoto Brigade adopted a mobile and flexible strategy and tactics in the three regiments of the Eighth Route Army, and with the help of the special geographical conditions of Fuping, it circled the enemy in the mountainous area, attacked the enemy in rapid movement, tore through the enemy's newly formed encirclement, jumped out, and then returned to harass and contain it, so as to cover the military region organs, the Fuping City Field Hospital, and the safe transfer of military and civilian personnel.

The soldiers of the three regiments of the Eighth Route Army, who fought fiercely with the enemy for a day and two nights, were already in extreme fatigue, could not replenish weapons and ammunition, and the combat effectiveness of the three regiments was constantly declining, but without orders, no regiment could withdraw from the battlefield without authorization, even if they jumped out of the encirclement of the Japanese army, they had to fight into the enemy group again, so as to contain the enemy's march to Chengnanzhuang.

The 2nd Regiment was surrounded from three sides by a large battalion of the enemy at 30 miles, and Commander Zhang led the troops to counterattack on the position with all their might, intending to hold out until dark and then withdraw from the position, throwing off the enemy and suddenly appearing behind the enemy.

A large battalion of the Japanese army did not give the second regiment a chance to withdraw from its position at all, and constantly pinned it down with the most fierce firepower, and even accelerated the speed of encirclement, and when it was about to encircle the second regiment in 30 miles, regimental commander Zhang ordered the first battalion to cover the withdrawal of the main force from the position with firepower, and then immediately jumped out of the enemy's encirclement.

Hold the position to cover the retreating battalion of the main force, organize the maximum firepower, strike at the enemy who implements the encirclement, when the devil commander orders the troops to speed up the encirclement, and make every effort to destroy the battalion. Battalion Commander Ma personally led the first battalion to cover after three companies were broken, retreating while fighting, and when they jumped out of the enemy's encirclement, out of 113 soldiers, less than 70 remained, and more than 40 soldiers died heroically.

Another battalion of the Japanese army surrounded the third regiment at the bottom of the willow tree, and the commander of the third regiment did not wait for the enemy to close the circle, so he flexibly tore through the perimeter of the devil and led the enemy's nose to circle the mountains and forests at the bottom of the willow tree.

The Sixth Regiment and the enemy circled around the front line of Hujiapo and Shangxiazhuang, and the three regiments rushed left and right in the enemy's encirclement to cover the organs of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the Fuping Field Hospital, as well as the safe transfer of the army and civilians, and the battle situation became more and more dangerous.

The three regiments fighting with the enemy received an order from the headquarters to hold out for another half an hour, and when the Katayama Brigade was about to join up with the Sakamoto Brigade, they should do everything possible to break out of the enemy's encirclement and protect the transfer of the military region's organs to the Wutai Kongo Warehouse.

The Katayama Brigade finally broke through the Beishan position of the Duyi Regiment and the Fifth Regiment, and Chief of Staff Noda reminded: "General Katayama, my Fourth Independent Mixed Brigade is on the front line of the military city, and has been fighting fiercely with the Eighth Route Army for two days and two nights, and it has greatly delayed the rendezvous with the 26th Brigade at Chengnanzhuang to surround the Jinchaji head organ of the Eighth Route Army, but at this time, you order the troops to take advantage of the victory to pursue and destroy the fleeing Eighth Route Army, which will further delay the encirclement and suppression of the fighters of the head organ of the Eighth Route Army. Please think twice. ”

The commander of the Katayama Brigade stood in the position of the Eighth Route Army in Beishan, which had become a scorched earth, and although he finally destroyed and occupied this position, he was not happy at all.

He couldn't believe that a large army of independent mixed brigades and a large Japanese Imperial Army of nearly 10,000 people had been blocked by two regiments of the Eighth Route Army, which were poorly armed and lacked food and clothing, for two days and two nights on the front line of the military city.

This arrogant and conceited general Katayama was about to give an order to pursue the fleeing Eighth Route Army, but was reminded by the words of Chief of Staff Noda.

He waved his command knife and ordered: "The Fourth Brigade and all the troops, run closer to Chengnanzhuang, once they find a small force on the Eighth Road on the march, send a brigade to encircle and eliminate it, and the other troops continue to advance." ”

Commander Nie of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region was standing in front of the map to pay close attention to the current combat situation of the three regiments, and was constantly making revisions and adjustments on the route of the military region's organs to break out, when he suddenly turned to look at Staff Officer Tang and said: "Have you immediately implemented the Fuping Field Hospital and the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians safely transferred?" ”

Commander Nie shouted outside: "Order the third battalion of the second regiment and the guard regiment of the military region to prepare for a breakthrough within fifteen minutes, and the organs of the military region will immediately assemble, jump out of the enemy's encirclement along the line of Shangzhuang and Xiazhuang, and under the cover of the second, third, and sixth regiments, and move to the Wutai King Kong Warehouse." ”

The commander of the 26th Brigade, Sakamoto Brigade, discovered that the regiments of the Eighth Route Army fighting in three locations were suddenly showing signs of breaking and fleeing, and this cunning fellow immediately ordered the Japanese troops attacking in all directions to concentrate their forces and firepower to block the breakthrough of the three regiments of the Eighth Route Army, and in particular, to pay close attention to the movements of the head organ of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region in Chengnanzhuang.

Commander Nie knew very well in his heart that if he wanted to jump out of the encirclement of one of the enemy's brigades, the most important thing at hand was to disrupt the enemy's deployment and confuse the public to make the illusion of an uncertain direction of the breakthrough.

The commander of the Japanese Sakamoto Brigade ordered the troops, while encircling the second, third, and sixth regiments of the Eighth Route Army's Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region and the outer line of Chengnanzhuang, and ordered the troops to be on standby at any time, and the purpose of this was to encircle and eliminate the organs of the military region led by Commander Nie in Chengnanzhuang.

Commander Nie saw the fierce and cunning deployment of troops by the Japanese commander, and ordered the 2nd and 3rd Regiments to jump out of the enemy's encirclement and immediately move closer to the front line of Hujiapo and Shangxiazhuang, and cooperate with the 6th Regiment to fight in the enemy's outer encirclement, clearing the way for the organs of the military region to move outward.