Changde chemical weapon attack 1944439 219186279 2008-06-13T23:51:31Z Sherurcij 120909 {{Merge|Battle of Changde|date=February 2008}} {{Unreferenced|date=April 2007}} The '''Changde chemical weapon attack''' refers to the use of [[Chemical warfare|chemical]] and [[Biological warfare|biological]] weapons by [[Japan]] during the [[Battle of Changde]] in the [[China|Chinese]] Province of [[Hunan]] in April and May, [[1943]]. In the intense fighting around [[Changde]], Japanese forces could not push through the heavy Chinese resistance, and decided to launch [[poison gas]] artillery shells into the city. The shells possibly contained [[mustard gas]] or [[lewisite]]. This action was undertaken by [[Unit 516]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese Army]] during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]. This and other units used assorted types of chemicals in liquid or gaseous form, including [[mustard gas]], [[lewisite]], [[cyanic acid]] gas and [[phosgene]] in experimental and some operational uses during hostile actions against China. This was effective in spreading fear, terror and death to devastating effect against both humans and livestock. During the [[Khabarovsk War Crime Trials]], some Japanese soldiers also admitted to have spread [[Bubonic plague]] within a 36-km radius around the city (Daniel Barenblatt, ''A plague upon Humanity'', HarperCollns, 2004, pp.220-221). However, the Japanese action did not achieve its objective, as the Chinese defenders put up additional resistance. Reinforcements from the [[National Revolutionary Army|Chinese army]] forced the Japanese to retreat and the Chinese retook the city. Furious over their defeat, the Japanese units took revenge by burning the city and massacring civilians during the retreat. {{IJA special research units}} [[Category:Chemical warfare]] [[Category:Japanese war crimes]] [[Category:War crimes in China]] [[Category:Second Sino-Japanese War]] [[Category:World War II crimes]] [[Category:Massacres]] [[Category:Conflicts in 1943]] [[Category:1943 in Japan]] [[Category:1943 in China]] {{China-hist-stub}} {{Japan-battle-stub}} {{WWII-battle-stub}}