Simplify the following text for a Grade 6 native English-speaking person.
Original: In the first phase , the Japanese secured the Pinghan Railway between Beijing and Wuhan ; in the second , they eliminated the US air forces stationed in Hunan province and reached the city of Liuzhou , near the border with Japanese-held Indochina .
Simplified: In the first part , the Japanese secured the Railway between Beijing and Wuhan . In the second part they destroyed the US air forces in Hunan province and reached the city of Liuzhou .