Changjiao massacre

The Changjiao massacre (simplified Chinese: 厂窖惨案; traditional Chinese: 廠窖慘案) was a massacre of Chinese civilians by the China Expeditionary Army, a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army, in Changjiao, Hunan during the early stage of the Battle of West Hubei. Gen. Shunroku Hata was the commander of the Japanese forces. Over a period of four days, from May 9 to May 12, 1943, Hata's troops killed more than 25,000 civilians and 5,000 Chinese soldiers. Victims included 7,000 residents of Changjiao town, 12,000 refugees who fled to Changjiao, 5,000 officers and soldiers of the 73rd Corps and other units of the Kuomintang, and more than 6,000 civilians in areas near Changjiao.