The Mountain Road

In 1944, in eastern part of China, U.S. Army Major Baldwin and his volunteer team of demolition engineers are left behind the retreating Chinese forces. Their task is to slow down the Japanese advance into eastern China by blowing up bridges, roads, airfields and munitions dumps. They start by blowing up an American airfield and ammo dump. They receive the order to destroy a vital bridge over a mountain pass. The team uses a few army trucks to move around. At the bridge, they encounter a Nationalist Chinese Army unit in charge of guarding the bridge. Thanks to an American soldier who speaks some Chinese, Major Baldwin requests the permission, from the Chinese commander, to blow up the bridge. The Chinese colonel agrees but asks the American Major to do him a favor by also destroying a munitions dump located at some distance away. He also requests that Madame Sue-Mei Hung, the widow of a Chinese colonel, be transported by the American demolition team to the nearest major town. Major Baldwin is reluctant to be responsible for the woman's life but he reluctantly agrees to transport her, in the name of Chinese-American war cooperation. Since the ammo dump is on the way, Major Baldwin also agrees to destroy it, at the request of the Chinese commanders. The Chinese dispatch Colonel Kwan to serve as liaison officer and translator with the American demolition team. Colonel Kwan also carries stamped orders from the Chinese commanders for any Chinese forces they might encounter on the way. Thus assembled, the demolition team of Major Baldwin commences its dangerous journey toward its objectives. With the Japanese forces advancing at a rapid pace, the team doesn't have much time at its disposal to achieve its goals. To make matters worse, the demolition team discovers that local Chinese folk, Chinese refugees and Chinese bandits roaming the region can be as much of a threat as the invading Japanese forces.—nufs68