[citation needed] In November 1935, he was named as the Commander of the 5th Division in the 2nd Red Army to lead the forces in the Long March.

He initially led it in skirmishes and guerrilla attacks, like the Ambush of Yanmen Pass on 18–21 October 1937, during the Battle of Xinkou in northern Shanxi.

In December 1938, he served as a detachment leader in the 120th Division, actively working with Political Commissar Yu Qiuli to expand the army's area of influence across the northern banks of the Qing River.

In winter, He Bingyan led a detachment into Jizhong and successively conducted battles in Lianzikou and Bei Biaoqiao, smashing a 3-layer encirclement by the Imperial Japanese army.

[2] In November 1944, he was ordered to incite and establish an anti-Japanese base in Honghu and serve as the commander of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army in, Hubei, Henan and Jiangxi provinces.

[7] He had lost his right arm, had received 11 injuries, 16 scars and suffered from high blood pressure, arthritis, bronchial asthma and kidney disease.