In 1938, China was in a critical period of the all-out War of Resistance Against Japan. The iron hooves of the Japanese invasion are approaching step by step, and China's fate seems to hang on a rope, which may break at any moment. In that year, the Chinese Nationalist Government made a highly controversial decision to blow up the Yellow River embankment at Huayuankou, northeast of Zhengzhou, Henan Province, to block the Japanese attack by replacing troops with water. This decision has not only gone down in history because of its great sacrifice, but also has become the focus of historians' research because of the complex decision-making process and far-reaching impact behind it.
On a spring dawn in 1943, on the embankment of the Yellow River at Huayuankou outside Zhengzhou, the wind was surging and the river was churning. High-ranking officials and military generals of the Nationalist Government stood around the embankment, and the scene in front of them made everyone's hearts tug. In the end, the moment of decision came, the commander raised the flag in his hand, the artillery immediately lit the fuse, and in an instant, the huge explosion echoed in the silence of dawn, the embankment of the Yellow River collapsed in the shocked eyes of everyone, and hundreds of millions of tons of Yellow River water instantly discharged out and rushed towards the southeast.
As the commander of the Fifth Theater of Operations, Li Zongren's heart was full of complicated emotions. A few months earlier, the victory in Taierzhuang had given him a glimmer of hope for war, but Chiang's decision-making had made that hope blurred. At the strategic meeting before the war, the elder Jiang Tie was determined to take Zhengzhou as a strategic point and vowed to block the southward march of the Japanese army. Li Zongren once strongly advised: "We should avoid its edge and take defense as an attack, instead of taking a risk!" But Lao Jiang's determination has been determined, and no one can shake it.
With the flooding of the Yellow River, more than 40 counties in Henan, northern Anhui and northern Jiangsu have been baptized by floods, and millions of people have been displaced. In this man-made flood, villages were destroyed, crops were inundated, and homes were turned into an ocean. One after another, people left their homes in tears, fleeing and cursing the perpetrators of this catastrophe.
The brutality of the war did not stop because of the flooding of the Yellow River. The 14th Division of the Japanese Army, led by Kenji Dohihara, launched a fierce attack on Lanfeng despite the dilemma of the long supply line. The Kuomintang army, under the command of Xue Yue, attempted to encircle and annihilate this lone army. Xue Yue said eagerly into the phone at the front-line headquarters: "All troops must be closely coordinated, we must deal a heavy blow to the enemy here!" But fate did not seem to be on their side, and the Japanese army's bold and cunning tactics continued to be displayed on the battlefield, causing repeated setbacks to the plans of the Nationalist army.
As time passed, the smoke of the war gradually dissipated, but the suffering of those displaced by the bursting of the embankment at the mouth of the garden is indelible. In refugee camps, families sit in rudimentary tents and share what little food they have. The children's eyes lost their former liveliness, leaving only dazed and fearful. The old people whispered the sadness of the destruction of their homes, and every story was a torture of the soul.
In 1945, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression finally ended with China's victory. For those who lost everything in the Garden Mouth incident, the end of the war did not bring much consolation. Many of them will never be able to return to their former homeland and will have to start a difficult life in a foreign land. The Nationalist Government's reflection on and accountability for this decision gradually faded out of the public eye amid the post-war political changes.
Huayuankou's decision is to find life in despair, and it is a helpless choice to survive in danger. History has always reminded us in its own unique way that behind every decision, there is a hidden happiness and life of countless individuals. This man-made catastrophe is not only a profound reflection on strategic choices, but also a severe test of human nature. In the years to come, let us remember the lessons of history and face every decision that could change the fate of countless people with a more prudent and humane attitude.