In an apparent act of “scorched Earth” tactics, Russia has just burst the Kakhovka Dam on the Dnieper River to hinder the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Most historical comparisons have been to the RAF Dambusters Raid on the Ruhr Dams in 1943; but, depending on subsequent events, a more pertinent example may well be the Chinese decision in 1938 to flood their country in order to slow down the Japanese invasion that had begun the previous year.
When the Japanese decided to go to war with China in 1937, the main problem they faced was the vast size of the country. Accordingly, they preferred to bite off pieces of China and limit the war to manageable instalments. This would also limit the adverse effect the war would have on Japan’s international relations and prevent serious sanctions.
With the Nationalist government weak in the North, the Japanese were able to seize control of the area around Beijing without expending too much strength. This was also important because of the threat posed to their Northern flank by the Soviet Union.
While the Japanese wanted to fight a narrow and clinical war, the strategy of Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese leader, by contrast, was to broaden the war and to make it as “messy” as possible, in the hope of overstretching the Japanese and raising international opposition against the invaders.
Accordingly, in August he attacked the Japanese base in the internationalised city of Shanghai on China’s central coastline at the mouth of the Yangtze. Here, the Japanese part of the city included a residential zone guarded by 30,000 Japanese troops.
This attack soon escalated into a major battle, with additional Japanese forces landing near the city and gradually surrounding it. After a relatively stubborn battle, the Japanese finally defeated the Chinese forces and captured the city. They then pushed on towards China's capital, Nanking, further up the Yangtze, which was also captured, resulting in the events that later came to be called “The Nanking Massacre.”
The Japanese hoped that the capture of their enemy’s capital would end the war, but the Chinese Nationalists simply continued the struggle from Wuhan, another city further up the Yangtze.
The refusal of the Chinese to surrender despite these major setbacks induced the Japanese to fall into the Chinese trap and widen the war. Japanese troops based in Northern China and Manchuria were brought into the campaign in Central China.
Accordingly, the Northern Japanese army advanced South towards Zhengzhou, an important railroad junction on the Yellow River. Capturing this would threaten Wuhan from the North, along the Ping-Han Railway (black line on the map), so it was vital for the Chinese to block this move in some way.
.jpg)
Therefore, on June 5th, 1938, Chiang Kai-shek gave the order to destroy the Huayuankou Dyke on the south bank of the river. This unleashed flood waters across a wide area of the Provinces of Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu (green area on the map), and also dramatically changed the course of the river.
In order to prevent Japanese counter-measures, the civilian population had not been warned, so the flooding resulted in a massive death toll from drowning, estimated at 800,000, with many millions more displaced and made homeless.
Even if we accept the highest casualty figure for the so-called “Nanking Massacre,” which is around 300,000, it is clear that the death and devastation wrought by the intentional Yellow River Flood of 1938 was much worse. This act by the Chinese was a testament to their determination to resist the Japanese invaders despite their military inferiority.
Although this desperate action slowed down the Japanese advance by some months, it did not prevent the capture of Wuhan, which fell into Japanese hands in October of the same year, forcing the Chinese to once again move their capital. But this time, it was to Chongqing, which the Japanese would be subsequently unable to capture.
Originally published on Colin Liddell's Substack
Originally published on Colin Liddell's Substack
No comments:
Post a Comment
All Comments MUST include a name (either real or sock). Also don't give us an easy excuse to ignore your brilliant comment by using "shitposty" language.