Changjiao massacre

The Changjiao massacre 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. For four days, from May 9 – 12, 1943, more than 30,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed. 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.