A Deliberate Disaster - Chiang Kai Shek Floods the Yellow River

The Second Sino-Japanese War that took place from 1937 to 1945 was a vicious, sprawling conflict that continues to deeply affect foreign relations between China and Japan today. Millions were mobilized with major battles as epic as those taking place elsewhere during World War II in Stalingrad, Kursk or at the Battle of the Bulge — yet it is difficult to find information in English about what happened. Perhaps we can take a look at these battles in a future video but today we want to visit a deliberate self-inflicted disaster by the Chinese Nationalist government — the flooding of the Yellow River in 1938. This horrid incident — made in desperation and approved by Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek — killed hundreds of thousands outright, displaced millions more across the Yellow River plain and sparked a major famine in 1942 that killed yet thousands more. It had limited significant strategic effect but caused pain and suffering for years. The event is largely forgotten today — so many died without fanfare.