Having just lost Kaifeng, the Chinese were desperate to slow the Japanese advance. The Japanese now threatened Zhengzhou, an important rail junction linking major cities of Wuhan and Xi'an. Chiang Kaishek and his advisors decided to use the force of nature to stop the Japanese. In the morning of 9 Jun 1938, dikes at Huayuankou were opened. Water of the Yellow River flooded out rapidly, creating a natural barrier between the Japanese and the Chinese, but it also gave residents no time to evacuate the area at all, if they knew to evacuate at all, that is. To ensure no intelligence leaked to the Japanese side to prepare to deal with the flooding, it was decided that the Chinese civilians were not to be warned. Somewhere between 500,000 and 900,000 lives were lost as a result of the flooding, and 54,000 km² of land destroyed, containing millions of homes. The flood waters eventually flowed into the Chia-lu and Huai Rivers, forever changing the course of the Yellow River. What the flood achieved was mediocre at best, slowing Japanese military and logistical movements, but the obstacles were overcome rather quickly.
Contrasted to the story above it gives a good idea about the fog of war and the power of propaganda.
Chinese reports say many hundreds of Japanese were drowned
Chinese press reports lay the opening of the Yellow River dikes to Japanese bombing and shelling.
So, did F. Tillman Durdin not notice any of the 500,000 to 900,000 dead Chinese or did his editors back in New York decide it wasn’t “fit to print?” Same with the “Chinese press reports” that claimed the Japanese opened the dikes. Were any other possibilities investigated or did the official line suit the Times’ purpose?
Here is Tainan’s comment on a 5/17/38 article:
Almost all of the 'news reporting' from this era is complete manufactured horse muffins. The 'reporters' were given an assignment to make Peanut Head look as good as possible to justify US support form his 'efforts' - actually his lack of efforts was more correct.
I see what he means.
I’ve seen estimates that more Chinese died as a direct result of the war with Japan than Soviets died as a result of war with Germany. However, there is no way anyone could know with any certainty. Rural China had so few records at that time.
As for the effectiveness of the Chinese military, well...they weren’t. Not at all. The Chinese strategy was to get America into the war, and let the American foreign devils beat the Japanese foreign devils.
"Monocacy was at Kiukiang protecting American neutrality during the Japanese invasion of China, when on 29 August 1938 several mines exploded within 50 yards of the ship, showering the gunboat with fragments. She was then held at the port until the Japanese completed sweeping operations some days later. She decommissioned at Shanghai 31 January 1939. The veteran gunboat, one of the last "Old China Hands," who had never seen the land which she served so well, was towed to sea and sunk 10 February, in deep water off the China coast." (From DANFS)