Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign
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On April 18, 1942, the United States launched the Doolittle Raid, an attack by B-25 Mitchell bombers from the USS Hornet on Tokyo, Nagoya, and Yokohama. The original plan was for the aircraft to bomb Japan and land at airfields in the unoccupied portion of China. Because the raid had to be launched earlier than planned, most of the aircraft ran out of fuel and crash-landed in the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi. Sixty four airmen parachuted into the area around Zhejiang. Most were given shelter by the Chinese civilians but eight of the Americans were picked up by Japanese patrols; three were shot after a show trial for 'crimes against humanity'[citation needed]. The Japanese army then conducted a massive search for the other airmen and in the process whole towns and villages that were suspected of harboring the Americans were burned to the ground[citation needed], and many civilians executed[citation needed]. The Japanese also wanted to occupy the area to prevent American air forces from establishing bases in China from which they could reach the Japanese mainland. When Japanese troops moved out of the Zhejiang and Jiangxi areas in mid-August, they left behind a trail of devastation. Chinese estimates put the death toll at 250,000 civilians.[1] In retaliation, the Imperial Japanese Army had also spread cholera, typhoid, plague and dysentery pathogens[2]. [edit] Notes
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