Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

In short, the goal was to delay the arrival of the Japanese army at Yushe Mafang as much as possible, and at the same time kill the 20th Division's active forces through ambush.

On the southern battlefield, once the Japanese army started to leave the city and head towards Wuxiang from Xiangheng, the 84th Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the 86th Regiment would block them in sections along the way, and at the same time, deal a heavy blow to the Japanese army on its retreat route.

The 59th Regiment set out from Licheng and was lured by a battalion sent by the 89th Regiment along Hongjing Xijing to Yangzhuang and Taohuazhai in the western area of ​​Huangyadong. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions set up an ambush on the mountains on both sides of Yangzhuang and Taohuazhai in Huangyadong Town. When the 59th Regiment entered the ambush circle, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 86th Regiment immediately blocked the retreat route of this Japanese army in Xiachiyu.

The 28th Brigade of Wu'an, led by the 1st Battalion of the 88th Regiment, lured a portion of the Japanese troops northwest toward the mountainous area of ​​Yangjiao Town, ambushing them at every turn. The remaining Japanese troops advancing toward Shexian were surrounded and annihilated near Shahe Village by the 783rd Regiment, the 2nd Battalion of the 88th Regiment, and the 180th Mountain Artillery Regiment. When the Japanese troops deep into the mountainous area of ​​Yangjiao Town returned for reinforcement, the 3rd Battalion of the 88th Regiment blocked their route and continued to attack them until the 783rd Regiment and other units had eliminated most of the Japanese forces before withdrawing.

On the northeastern front, after the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade set out from Pingding, the 85th Regiment, commanded by Xun Bai, ordered the 1st Battalion of the 80th Regiment to lure the enemy into the mountainous area of ​​Zhanshang Town. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 80th Regiment and the 85th Regiment set up ambush and blocking positions in the mountainous areas around Madaoling and Zhangjiagou. At the same time, after the New 1st Regiment captured the Zhengtai Line, it immediately moved south and occupied Pingding County to block its retreat.

As for the 9th Infantry Regiment of the 16th Division in Shijiazhuang, the 1st Battalion of the 782nd Regiment was responsible for leading it along the Gantao River to the Qiheng Village area near Ceyu Town. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 782nd Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the 81st Regiment set up ambushes on three sides nearby. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 81st Regiment blocked the retreat route of the 9th Regiment, and the 181st Regiment served as the artillery support force.

The last group was the 20th Regiment of the 16th Division from Xingtai. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 83rd Regiment immediately lured them to the Lijiazhuang area along Longmen and Sigou. The 87th Regiment set up an ambush on the mountains on both sides of Lijiazhuang and waited for them to enter the ambush circle. The 3rd Battalion of the 83rd Regiment immediately blocked the retreat route of the 20th Regiment in Sigou Village, and the 182nd Regiment followed as artillery support.

At the same time, the troops on the western front were commanded by Hong Chao, commander of the 781st Regiment, in the Yushe Mafang area; Chen Jinquan, commander of the 82nd Regiment, in the Shouyang Songta area; Liu Gancheng, commander of the 84th Regiment, in the Wuxiang area; Sun Yuqing, commander of the 89th Regiment, in the Licheng area; and Xun Bai, commander of the northern part.

The Wu'an Shexian direction was commanded by Cao Deqing, commander of the 783rd Regiment. As for the two regiments of the 16th Division, they were commanded by Chen Zifeng, commander of the 782nd Regiment, and Zhang Ziqing, commander of the 83rd Regiment, respectively.

Zeng Jiwen, Chief of Staff Wang Zhuo, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhu Guosheng, and Cai Xu were stationed at the brigade headquarters, ready to adjust the combat deployment according to the actual situation on the battlefield at any time.

As the order for the second phase of the 389th Brigade's operations was issued, the Eighth Route Army regiments surrounding the Japanese troops began to carry out combat missions in accordance with the orders of the brigade headquarters.

At 9:00 am on the 21st, Yangle Station.

At this time, a company of the 1st Battalion of the 781st Regiment, led by the battalion commander Zeng Wenhui and the political instructor Xie Youxun, was quietly lurking on the hillside west of Yangle Railway Station, staring at the actions of the two regiments of the 39th Brigade of the 20th Division of the Japanese Army.

At this time, most of the Japanese troops in the station had packed their bags and were ready to go, waiting for the order from the brigade commander Yoshito Takagi to continue advancing south.

Suddenly, the communicator brought news that the commander of the 781st Regiment, Hong Chao, had ordered the commander of the first battalion, Zeng Wenhui, to lead the first battalion to harass this group of Japanese troops, forcing the Japanese to split up and lure them to the western Guanshang Village area, and then lure them westward along the western horizontal ridge to the vicinity of Jingquangou, forcing the Japanese to split up.

After receiving the order, Zeng Wenhui immediately opened the combat map. After seeing the terrain along the way, he immediately decided that, except for the company next to him, the other three companies would march in a line along Moshi Village, Wubugou, and Changrui Village to set up ambush points along the way, and the machine gun companies would be assigned to the three companies for joint action.