Hu Zongnan
The nationalists had suffered over 15,000 casualties in their defeat, and not only they had failed to achieve their original objective of linking up with their comrades-in-arms, but the original gap in the nationalist defense had greatly increased as the result of the nationalist defeat. In contrast, the communist victory had completely severed the link between the nationalist force under the command of Hu Zongnan in the south and the nationalist force under the command of Yan Xishan in the north. The original gap between the two groups of the nationalist forces was greatly increased that there was no chance for the nationalists to link up again because a vast area along the 100 km southern section of the Datong-Puzhou Railway had fallen into communist hands.