In early March 1938 the 108th Division of the Japanese invading forces advanced westwards along the Handan-Changzhi highway in an attempt to join the 20th Division, that was moving southwards down the Datong-Puzhou Railway, to wipe out Kuomintang troops that had retreated to southern Shanxi. Acting on orders from the Revolutionary Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and the General Headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army marched to the area southeast of Xiangyuan, waiting for an opportunity to destroy the Handan-Changzhi highway and attack enemy troops. On March 16 part of the 129th Division attacked Licheng, an important military depot of the enemy, to attract enemy reinforcements from Lucheng. They then ambushed the enemy reinforcements in the Shentouling area between Licheng and Lucheng, wiping out more than 1,500 Japanese troops. On March 31 they ambushed a Japanese baggage convoy at Xiangtangpu, southwest of Shexian County, annihilating more than 400 Japanese troops, destroying 180 enemy trucks and capturing a huge amount of military supplies. The two victorious ambushes on the handan-Changzhi highway struck the Japanese troops hard and held them back, assisting the Kuomintang troops in western and southern Shanxi Province.