In May 1941, a Japanese artillery soldier in the attack forces was in Shansi. He gave the following account.
As we got close to the front lines, the heavily wounded from the infantry units were brought down by stretcher one after another. Our unit finally pushed our way deep into Shansi and charged into a hamlet called Hsiyangtsun, if I recall correctly. We were astonished by the many rifles that were dug up from the ground in that village. These had the chrysanthemum crest* clearly carved into them: they were the weapons of Japanese troops. A unit had advanced into this remote area of Shansi before us and had met a crushing defeat. They had returned to earth along with their rifles without anyone knowing about it and without making a mark on history.
一九四一年五月，日本進攻軍隊一個砲兵在山西。以下是他的記述。
我們逐漸走近前線，看見步兵部隊重傷者一個接一個給人用擔架擡着退下來。我們部隊終於深入山西，攻進一個小村莊：假如我記憶無誤，那村莊叫西陽村。我們在村中，掘出很多埋在地下的步槍，上面清楚刻着菊花紋章*，是日軍的武器。一支部隊在我們之前，曾進犯山西這個偏僻地區，結果一敗塗地，和他們的步槍一起，回歸黃土，不為人知，歷史上也不留痕迹。
*菊花紋章是日本皇室家徽。