> In an effort to block Japanese troops before they reached the strategically important city of Wuhan, nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek ordered his forces to blow up a key dike on the Yellow River, knowing full well that it would flood a huge portion of central China. (Chinese generals had been using similar strategies since the 12th century.)
According to official Chinese estimates, more than 800,000 Chinese civilians were killed in the resulting flooding and millions more were forced to flee. The Japanese suffered only minor casualties and took Wuhan three months later.