The Battle of Limanowa in December 1914 saw brutal hand-to-hand combat unfold in the forested mountainous terrain. At a mass grave in the Limanowa Forest near Mordarka, Russian troops exhumed the bodies of their fallen soldiers.

    On the Eastern Front of World War I, the Battle of Limanowa in December 1914 saw brutal hand-to-hand combat unfold in the forested mountainous terrain. At a mass grave in the Limanowa Forest near Mordarka, Russian troops exhumed the bodies of their fallen comrades. Hungarian soldiers fought fiercely against the Russians, using their rifle butts as clubs. Broken rifles lay scattered, and the bodies of Russian soldiers with shattered skulls littered the ground. 

   The Russian Third Army advanced rapidly westward, closing in on Kraków, an important Austrian fortress city. The Austro-Hungarian Army executed a bold and dangerous operation to reverse their disadvantage, creating a gap between the Russian 4th and 3rd Armies and luring the Russians in. While the Russian forces were concentrated in the west, they deployed the Roth Corps from the south, launching a surprise attack on the Russian left flank to encircle and annihilate them.

    The Battle of Limanowa raged fiercely from December 1 to 13, 1914, around Limanowa and Wapienica in southern Poland. From December 1 to 5, the Austro-Hungarian Army, reinforced by German troops, began its advance on Limanowa. The Russian Army, underestimating the threat from the flank, persisted with its frontal assault on Krakow. From December 6 to 10, the Roth Corps struck the flank of the Russian Third Army, sparking fierce fighting. 

    The Austro-Hungarian forces were composed of multi-ethnic units, including Austrians, Hungarians, and the Polish Legions fighting for Polish independence. The terrain was rugged, forcing many cavalrymen to dismount and fight as infantry. The bloody battle on the hills of Jabłonowiec erupted on December 11-12. 

   The fighting culminated on the hills of Jabłonowiec near Limanowa. Russian reinforcements arrived, pushing the Austrian front to the brink of collapse. Hungarian hussars and units like the 9th and 13th Regiments engaged the Russians in hand-to-hand combat, suffering heavy casualties but pushing the Russians back and holding the hill at all costs. From December 13th, the Russian army was in retreat. With their flanks threatened and supply lines cut, the Russians finally ordered a full withdrawal, ending the threat to Krakow. 

　 

On May 13, 1943, German military doctors allowed Allied prisoners of war to observe the autopsies of victims killed by Soviet forces in the Katyn Forest, as part of the International Katyn Investigation.

    On May 13, 1943, German military doctors allowed Allied prisoners of war to observe the autopsies of victims killed by Soviet forces in the Katyn Forest, as part of the International Katyn Investigation. On the left is the German forensic scientist who chaired the Katyn massacre investigation. On March 5, 1940, Soviet authorities decided to execute more than 21,000 Polish nationals who had been taken prisoner after the Soviet invasion of Poland. The executions were carried out by the NKVD, the Soviet political police.

   After the discovery of the mass graves in the Katyn Forest was announced on April 11, 1943, Lieutenant Colonel Van Fleet Jr. was selected, along with Lieutenant Colonel Stuart and Lieutenant Colonel Frank Parker Stephenson, at Oflag IX/AZ to participate in the International Katyn Commission's exhumation work in the Katyn Forest. On May 13, 1943, Allied prisoners of war participated in the activities of the International Katyn Commission, viewing many exhibits and witnessing the autopsies.

   It was determined that the massacre in the Katyn Forest included more than 25,000 Poles. The breakdown was 8,000 officers, 6,000 police officers, and 8,000 civilians, including priests, rabbis, nobles, and professionals. Additionally, 14 generals, 1 admiral, 24 colonels, 79 lieutenant colonels, 17 naval captains, 3,000 non-commissioned officers, civilians, civil servants, intellectuals, and 200 pilots—including Janina Lewandowska, the first female pilot in the Polish Army—were also among the victims.

On October 9, 1983, a bombing terrorist attack occurred at the Aung San Memorial in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar). Perpetrated by North Korea, the bombing resulted in a major catastrophe: over 20 fatalities, including 17 South Koreans (4 cabinet ministers) and 4 Burmese nationals, with over 47 injured.

     On October 9, 1983, a bombing terrorist attack occurred at the Aung San Memorial in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar). Caused by North Korean bombers, it killed South Korean cabinet ministers, while President Chun Doo-hwan narrowly escaped the crisis. The bombing occurred at night in the capital Rangoon, carried out by North Korean operatives. It targeted the assassination of South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan and his entourage, who were on an official visit to Burma. Numerous people, including South Korean cabinet ministers, were killed. The incident led to the severance of diplomatic relations between Burma and North Korea.

    At the time of the incident, the Chun Doo-hwan regime in South Korea, while facing domestic and international criticism for its military dictatorship, maintained a hardline stance toward North Korea. North Korea advanced its terrorist operations against the South, including plans to assassinate Chun Doo-hwan, and devised a plot to assassinate key figures during the Burma visit. Three operatives belonging to the North Korean military entered Burma aboard a cargo ship. With support from North Korean embassy personnel in Burma, they prepared for the crime within Rangoon. On the night of October 7, they installed a remote-controlled bomb in the attic of the Aung San Memorial, the tomb of the nation's founding father, General Aung San, planning to detonate it during the official visit on the 9th. 

     The bomb exploded around 10:25 a.m. local time, just as South Korean dignitaries, who had arrived ahead of President Chun Doo-hwan's party, were lining up in front of the memorial, causing part of the building to collapse. The blast killed numerous South Koreans, including several cabinet ministers, and also claimed the lives of Burmese ministers and government officials. The final death toll exceeded 20, with 17 South Koreans (including 4 ministers) and 4 Burmese, while over 47 people were injured, making it a major catastrophe. 

    President Chun Doo-hwan had not yet arrived at the shrine when the explosion occurred, narrowly escaping assassination by mere minutes. The South Korean government convened an emergency cabinet meeting that same day, declaring the incident an “organized conspiracy by North Korea” and ordering the military and police to enter a state of heightened alert. Burmese authorities pursued the fleeing operatives, killing one in a gunfight and capturing two others wounded. The operatives, Major Kim and Captain Kang, were subsequently executed. With North Korea's involvement now clear, the Burmese government strongly condemned the act of using the tomb of “Father of the Nation” Aung San as a stage for terrorism. On November 4 of the same year, Burma severed diplomatic relations with North Korea and revoked its state recognition. The Rangoon Incident demonstrated how Cold War tensions on the Korean Peninsula had expanded to involve third-country international terrorism, further cementing North Korea's status as a state sponsor of terrorism.

A relative carries the body of Palestinian infant Jabr Al-Ashhab, who was killed in an Israeli military strike, during his funeral outside Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025.

2025年9月4日に、パレスティナのガザ市のシファ病院外で行われた葬儀で、親族がイスラエル軍の攻撃で死亡したパレスチナ人乳児ジャブル・アルアシュハブの遺体を運んだ。9月4日にガザ市のシファ病院によると、イスラエル軍の攻撃が避難民を収容するテントを直撃し、同病院には25体の遺体が搬送された。うち9体が子ども、6体が女性だった。死亡者の中には生後10日の乳児も含まれていた。カーンユーニスにあるナセル病院によれば、ガザ南部ではさらに3名が死亡した。

　 病院当局によると、9月4日のイスラエル軍による空爆で28人が死亡し、その大半が女性と子どもだった。イスラエル軍は飢餓に苦しむガザ市での攻撃を継続している。最新の攻撃は、イスラエル軍がガザ市の一部で作戦を展開中に、全市制圧を計画中のタイミングで発生した。パレスチナで最も人口の多いガザ都市には約100万人が居住しており、その多くは既に複数回にわたり避難を余儀なくされている。

　パレスチナ人の死者数が6万4000人を超えたと保健当局が発表して、イスラエルとハマスは要求を巡り対立を深めている。2025年9月4日にガザ地区でほぼ2年間続いた戦争で、パレスチナ人6万4千人が死亡したと現地保健当局が9月4日に発表した。ハマスとイスラエルは、武装組織による2023年の攻撃で勃発した戦闘終結に向け、互いに相容れない要求を改めて表明した。

Warning: A relative carries the body of Palestinian infant Jabr Al-Ashhab, who was killed in an Israeli military strike, during his funeral outside Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

On October 23, 1923, the KPD (German Communist Party) launched an uprising in Hamburg, Germany. The KPD's “German October,” with corpses blocking the streets, was nothing more than a bloody farce.

    On October 23, 1923, the KPD (German Communist Party) launched an uprising in Hamburg, Germany. The KPD's “German October,” with corpses blocking the streets, was nothing more than a bloody farce. In Hamburg, an armed uprising by the Communist Party, known as the “Hamburg Uprising,” occurred from October 23 to October 29, 1923. This was carried out by the KPD under Soviet instructions, an attempt to spread the Soviet Revolution to Germany. 

    Amid worsening economic crisis and unemployment, at dawn on October 23, Communist Party members launched a surprise attack and seized a suburban guard post. They declared a “Soviet” in Schifbeck, attempting to block the security police.

     The plan anticipated a Ludendorff-style mass mobilization, but communication failures left them isolated and unsupported, leading to failure. The plan envisioned mass mobilization and the occupation of city halls, but workers demanded only bread and fat, refusing to support the revolution. Isolated by communication errors, the Social Democratic Party government banned and suppressed the KPD's party newspaper, allegedly deliberately inciting the rebellion.

    Shipyard stoppages, port strikes, and starvation fueled the coup. Workers demanded only bread and jobs, refusing to support revolution. After three days of gunfire, it failed. Casualties: ~100 dead (21 insurgents, 17 police, 61 bystanders), over 200 wounded, 1,400 arrested.

    The KPD communists' uprising lost its fanatical illusion. It cooled the revolutionary fervor of the masses. It concluded that the true social revolution lay in the liberation of workers from the state, criticizing the Weimar Republic's collapse of the empire and the SPD and KPD's stance of defending the state. The KPD prioritized imperial unity, refrained from targeting the wealthy, and neglected the starvation of workers.

On the Western Front during World War I, the body of a British soldier lay on the rim of a crater created by the blast of a German mine on June 6, 1916.

    On the Western Front during World War I, on June 6, 1916, the body of a British soldier lay killed at the edge of a crater marked by the blast of a German mine. The crater at Hooghe village in Flanders, Belgium, was created when the German army detonated the Kassels mine in 1916.

   During World War I, a mine explosion occurred near Ypres at Hooghe. Parts of the Hooghe area were devastated by relentless shelling. Belward Farm, positioned directly behind the German frontline trenches on the far left flank and targeted by the entire British attack, was reduced to ruins. The buildings of Hooge village were reduced to piles of rubble, and the protective woodland of Chateau Wood was shattered to pieces. The area around Hooge became the scene of fierce fighting, with frequent mine explosions by both sides thereafter. 

    On June 6, 1916, the German army detonated multiple mines near Hooge. They recaptured the area and the British front line. This was part of a series of attacks in the region; in 1915, the British also detonated large mines against the Germans. The first major crater at Hougue was created when the British detonated mines against the Germans on July 19, 1915, in response to German mine laying in February 1915. German mines in 1916 were detonated in June 1916 beneath British and Canadian positions in an attempt to recapture the area. The Hougue Crater Group was formed by British mine explosions beginning on July 19, 1915. The cluster of craters in this area resulted from repeated mine operations by both sides throughout the war.

During the Pacific War, on May 29, 1943, the Japanese garrison on Attu Island launched a banzai charge against the American forces and was completely annihilated. American soldiers stared at the corpses of Japanese soldiers lying on the ice and snow.

 　During the Pacific War, on May 29, 1943, Japanese garrison soldiers on Attu Island launched a Banzai charge against American forces, suffering total annihilation and dying in a last stand. American soldiers stared intently at the corpses of Japanese soldiers lying on the ice and snow. The Japanese military resisted the fierce American assault on Attu Island from May 11 to May 30, 1943. In the bitter cold and snow, a mere 2,500-strong Japanese garrison held out against the Americans. 

    Located at the western end of the Aleutian Islands, the Battle of Attu in the Pacific War began on June 7, 1942, when U.S. forces launched an operation to retake the American territory of Attu Island, which had been occupied by Japanese forces. In the final stages, the Japanese soldiers fought to the last man and were annihilated. Japan's Imperial General Headquarters was preoccupied with the Battle of Guadalcanal, leading to Attu being underestimated and neglected. 

   The U.S. forces suffered heavy casualties due to the blizzards on Attu and the fierce resistance of the Japanese troops. The Japanese forces carried out the first kamikaze assault of the Pacific War and were completely wiped out. American soldiers, lacking any experience in extreme cold and insufficiently trained in amphibious landing operations, were sent from warm sunshine to the bitter cold of the Aleutian Islands. The U.S. military had no surplus forces to spare for the Aleutian campaign. They bypassed Kiska Island, heavily defended by the Japanese, and invaded Attu Island, where rear defenses were thin.

   Cut off from retreat, the Japanese forces resolved to fight to the end. 2,650 Japanese soldiers defended Attu Island. After their final assault failed, 500 Japanese soldiers committed mass suicide by detonating grenades together on a mountainside, marking the bloody finale of this battle. The American forces suffered 549 combat deaths, while the Japanese forces saw 2,351 killed or committed suicide, with only 28 taken prisoner. The garrison on Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands, facing certain doom, miraculously succeeded in escaping from the American forces.

The South Vietnamese Army's operation in the dense jungle near Ben Cat failed. Furthermore, South Vietnamese government soldiers were killed in action. As they withdrew across the flat, open wilderness in the evening, they carried the bodies of South Vietnamese government soldiers on stretchers.

    The South Vietnamese Army's operation in the dense jungle near Binh Cat failed. The South Vietnamese government forces withdrew to their base in the setting sun. More South Vietnamese government soldiers were killed in action. As they withdrew across the evening's flat wilderness, they carried the bodies of South Vietnamese government soldiers on stretchers.

　Ben Cat was a strategically important rural area and fire support base in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, it was frequently the site of large-scale battles and military operations. Ben Cat was a key point in the Iron Triangle. Covered in forest and heavily fortified, it became a major stronghold for the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese Army (NVA).

   Throughout the Vietnam War, numerous U.S., Australian, South Vietnamese (ARVN), and allied forces were involved in operations around Binh Cat. In 1965, U.S. Army units were stationed there and suffered intense attacks from insurgents. U.S. forces arriving late in 1965 conducted mop-up operations along National Highway 13 between Lai Ke and Binh Cat.

Allied forces countered Viet Cong and North Vietnamese resistance with large-scale search-and-destroy operations, airborne assaults, and road-control operations. During the 1968 Tet Offensive, Ben Cat became a battleground for the nationwide Tet Offensive. The 1974 Battle of the Iron Triangle saw large-scale combat against invading North Vietnamese forces. With artillery support, the ARVN recaptured Binh Cat and other key positions after fierce fighting. Soldiers in Binh Cat faced harsh conditions and encountered landmines and booby traps.      

During the Battle of Teruel from December 15, 1937, to February 22, 1938, on the Angolan Front of the Spanish Civil War, the bodies of Republican soldiers killed by Nationalist forces on December 21, 1937, were scattered across the barren highlands.

   During the Battle of Teruel on the Angolan Front of the Spanish Civil War, on December 21, 1937, the bodies of Republican soldiers killed by Nationalist forces were scattered across the barren highlands. The Battle of Teruel in central-eastern Spain, fought from December 15, 1937, to February 22, 1938, was one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of the Spanish Civil War, with Republican casualties exceeding 60,000 and Nationalist casualties exceeding 57,000.

     In the north, Nationalist forces held the advantage. Republican forces were committed south of Teruel starting December 18, where Nationalist troops had occupied and fortified positions. With Russian support providing 100 fighter planes and 100 tanks, they confronted the Nationalist garrison in Teruel.

      On December 15, Republican forces launched an encirclement attack. Nationalist fighter planes were shot down by Republican forces on December 17. Fighting in the city center began on December 19. Republican forces fully captured Teruel on December 22. Despite heavy casualties, Republican forces recaptured Teruel, aided by bombing support from Italian and German forces.

        The Republican forces blew up bridges, thwarting the Nationalist advance on January 2, 1938. After the last stronghold was blown up on January 8, the high ground surrounding Teruel fell back to the Nationalists. On January 22, they encircled the Republican forces liberating Teruel. By February 7, the Nationalist forces had completely encircled the Republican forces, making a breakout impossible. The Republican forces were ordered to retreat, but many soldiers were killed or captured during the withdrawal. On February 22, the Nationalist forces reoccupied Teruel.

In December 1937, the Japanese army entered Nanjing waving the Rising Sun flag at the city gates. Numerous Japanese soldiers at Nanjing's Zhonghua Gate stared at the scattered corpses of the many Chinese who had been massacred.

    Japanese troops waved the Rising Sun flag at the gates of Nanjing as they entered the city. Numerous Japanese soldiers at Nanjing's Zhonghua Gate stared at the scattered corpses of massacred Chinese people. The three characters “Zhonghua Gate” were left by the Chinese garrison troops, while the four characters “Swear to avenge the nation's humiliation” were inscribed on the gate's walls.

  The Kwantung Army was promoted from the Shanghai Expeditionary Army to the Central China Expeditionary Army. Pursuing the Chinese forces, it prepared to advance on Nanjing. When the Expeditionary Army strongly advocated occupying Nanjing, the order to occupy Nanjing was finally issued on December 1. On November 20, the Imperial General Headquarters was established, marking the full-scale escalation of the Incident into war. However, the Imperial General Headquarters severed ties with the Japanese government and began acting increasingly arbitrarily. 

   The Kwantung Army entered Nanjing on December 10 and finally occupied it on December 13. The Japanese army committed a massacre in Nanjing. Defenseless civilians were captured, humiliated without reason, and slaughtered. In Nanjing alone, up to 50,000 women and children were killed. It is estimated that up to 300,000 non-combatants were killed in the fighting between Shanghai and Nanjing. In addition, looting of civilian homes was rampant, with Japanese soldiers transporting stolen goods using looted automobiles and carts. The Chinese people's resolve to resist grew ever stronger. The Nationalist Government, refusing to yield and defying Japanese expectations, relocated its capital to Hankou and strengthened its policy of resistance.

 

In April 1945, during the famine in Vietnam, Vietnamese people who went out to gather food collapsed and starved to death. The bodies lying on the streets were collected.

　　During the famine in Vietnam in April 1945, Vietnamese people who went out to gather food collapsed and starved to death together. Corpses lying on the streets were collected. Cholera spread rapidly during the floods. The Japanese military forced Vietnamese farmers to abandon rice cultivation and grow jute instead. This severely impacted food production in northern Vietnam, leading to severe famine. 

　　The great famine in Vietnam in 1945 was also known as the At Dau Famine. It occurred in Tonkin and Annam under occupation by French and Japanese forces. Both forcibly confiscated food from farmers to feed their soldiers. This famine claimed 2 million lives in North Vietnam. International documents estimated the death toll at approximately 1 million, or about 8% of the population. Clearing more land to address food shortages became a key element of the propaganda efforts of the Vietnam Independence League (Viet Minh). Preventing famine again became central to the legitimacy of the communist regime. The over two million victims who perished in the great famine did not fit the narrative of the Vietnamese Communist Party's national salvation. 

　　In September 1940, Japanese forces occupied northern and central Vietnam based on an agreement with French colonial authorities. The Japanese military remained stationed there until the end of World War II, placing the Vietnamese people under dual colonial rule. While famines were frequent under French colonial rule, none were as catastrophic as the 1945 famine under Japanese occupation. Although no deaths from starvation occurred in the capital, food shortages were severe. The famine that struck 32 provinces from 1944 to 1945 worsened dramatically under Japanese occupation.

During the Russia-Ukraine War, on September 5, 2025, Ukrainian soldiers conducted autopsies on the bodies of six Russian soldiers killed in combat in the wastelands of the Donbas region and loaded them onto a van.

   In the Russia-Ukraine War, Ukrainian soldiers conducted autopsies on the bodies of six Russian soldiers killed in combat on September 5, 2025, in the wastelands of the Donbas region, then loaded them into a van. They carry out their mission driving refrigerated white vans marked with the Red Cross emblem, having recovered over 300 bodies in the Donbas over the past five months. They frequently venture into dangerous areas to recover the bodies and remains of both Ukrainian and Russian military personnel, as well as civilians. 

   They work tirelessly, without rest. They drive, investigate, transport, and search. Always, they say. It is also grueling work. They dig up decomposing bodies of Russian soldiers buried in shallow trenches or collect remains from charred armored vehicles. According to the UN, over 5,000 Ukrainian civilians have died since Russia's invasion in February. 

    Russia's independent media outlet Mediazona has identified 125,681 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine based on official sources. The latest report covers the period from February 24, 2022, to August 28, 2025, confirming an additional 4,174 Russian military personnel killed in action since the previous update in early August. The current reported death toll includes 34,200 volunteers, 18,100 conscripted prisoners, and 13,500 mobilized soldiers.

Warning: In an idyllic wasteland of the Donbas, there was a van loaded with 6 corpses of Russian soldiers fallen in combat, September 5, 2025.  (@XimenaBorrazas)

On April 12, 1927, the Chinese Nationalist Party army massacred Communist activists in Shanghai. This purge, which occurred at the height of the power struggle between the Nationalist Party's left and right factions, spread to other regions, accompanied by further massacres of Chinese leftists and Communist Party members.

 　On April 12, 1927, the Chinese Nationalist Party army massacred Communist activists in Shanghai. They also suppressed the Communist uprising in Guangdong Province. The Nationalist army, police, and secret police subdued disarmed workers and picket lines, dissolving labor unions. This purge, the culmination of the power struggle between the Kuomintang's left and right factions, spread to other regions, accompanied by further massacres of Chinese leftists and Communist Party members. Chiang Kai-shek, who held power, troubled by the alliance with the Chinese Communist Party and Soviet interference, resorted to decisive measures. In April 1927, he launched an anti-Communist revolution and established an authoritarian regime.

　The Kuomintang government established a national government with Guangzhou as its capital and began the fight for Chinese unification. Chiang Kai-shek served as Commander-in-Chief of the Army. From October to December 1925, forces under his command occupied Guangdong Province. In July 1926, they began their Northern Expedition based on Soviet plans. In the autumn of 1926, Chiang Kai-shek's forces captured Wuhan. By February 1927, they had seized Nanjing, and by March of the same year, they had taken Shanghai. After occupying Nanjing, Chiang moved the capital there and established the National Government, which gained support from some northern warlord factions.

　He and his supporters believed their objectives had been achieved and argued that reform activities should now commence. However, the Chinese Communist Party insisted that the revolution should continue and that the path of socialist construction should be pursued. In 1927, the revolutionary camp split. Plagued by the alliance with the Chinese Communist Party and Soviet interference, Chiang Kai-shek resorted to decisive measures, launching an anti-communist revolution in April 1927 and establishing an authoritarian regime.

Chiang unified and brought China under his control. The Communist uprising in Nanchang ended in failure. Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and China were severed. The Chinese Communist Party launched a guerrilla struggle against the Kuomintang. Amidst the struggle between the Chinese Communist Party and the Ho Minh Doctrine, the ideology guiding Chinese communists took shape. Revolution in China would primarily take the form of peasant and guerrilla warfare. From 1930 to 1934, Chiang Kai-shek's forces achieved five victories against the Soviet regions established by the Communist Party. The Chinese Soviet system movement was defeated but did not disappear.

On May 25-26, 1945, the U.S. military conducted its fifth and final low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing raid on Tokyo's Omotesando district. The bodies of countless victims were scattered throughout the Aoyama tram depot.

　　On the night of May 25 to 26, 1945, the U.S. military conducted its fifth and final low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing raid on Tokyo's Omotesando district. The bodies of countless victims littered the Aoyama tram depot. Along Omotesando, stretching from Aoyama-dori to the entrance of Meiji Shrine, the bodies were scattered in great numbers. The incendiary bombing attack involved 464 B-29 bombers dropping 3,258 tons of incendiary bombs on the Yamate district during the night of May 25 to 26. It resulted in 3,242 deaths, displaced 559,683 people due to destroyed homes, and burned an area of approximately 43 square kilometers. After the Yamate Great Air Raid, the total area destroyed in Tokyo reached 147 square kilometers. After the Yamate Great Air Raid, the total area of destruction in Tokyo reached 147 square kilometers.

　　The death toll of 3,242 was significantly influenced by the Yamate district's undulating terrain and open spaces, which greatly facilitated evacuation. From the night of May 25 to 26, B-29 bombers rained incendiary bombs over the surrounding area, unleashing a firestorm of terrifying speed and intensity. By the morning of May 27, the entire 1-km stretch of Omotesando was charred, with bodies strewn particularly around the Jingumae intersection on Aoyama-dori. Countless corpses were piled atop each other at subway station entrances and in front of the nearby Yasuda Bank. Black stains from the oil seeping from the bodies remained on the bank's walls and the sidewalk.

　　Tokyo first suffered American bombing on February 23, 1945. 174 B-29 bombers devastated approximately 2.56 square kilometers of the city. Following the March 10 Tokyo Firebombing, the US military launched concentrated napalm attacks on 66 cities nationwide. The March 10 Tokyo Firebombing: 334 bombers unleashed a two-hour assault, creating a firestorm similar to that seen in the Dresden bombing. A 41-square-kilometer urban area, home to about 10 million people, was reduced to a wasteland. 330,000 homes, representing 40% of the city's housing stock, were destroyed. The bombing resulted in an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 or more deaths.

 

On the morning of May 30, 1940, as German forces began their invasion on the Western Front during World War II, the bodies of fallen British soldiers lay scattered amid the smoldering rubble of the city of Flanders.

　　On the Western Front during World War II, German forces invaded France in a blitzkrieg in 1940. As dusk fell on May 29, 1940, a final opportunity for escape arrived, but for some British soldiers, it was already too late. By the morning of May 30, 1940, as German forces began their advance, the bodies of British soldiers lay scattered among the still-smoldering ruins of Flanders City. During the fighting against the German forces in May 1940, the order to retreat for the British 145th Brigade defending Flanders City did not reach them until the morning of May 29. British soldiers who were unable to escape in time were subjected to fierce attacks, finding themselves in a desperate situation.

　　All communication with British soldiers who had been in Cassel until the afternoon of May 28 was severed. The British 145th Division was captured by the advance guard of the German 6th Panzer Division. Further north, German SS regiments launched a fierce assault on Volmue, swiftly taking 150 soldiers from the British 144th Infantry Brigade prisoner. However, the war crimes that erupted at Vormue saw atrocities committed not only against British soldiers but also against the residents of Vormue. Many British soldiers were shot dead despite having laid down their weapons. The perpetrators of these war crimes were almost never punished. War can bring forth astonishing individual courage, but it also reveals a brutal side.

　　The result of the nighttime withdrawal on May 29th brought the Dunkirk coastal fortifications significantly closer. By the early morning of May 29th, the British 50th and 3rd Infantry Divisions held the line from Poperinge to Rijsel, while the British 42nd Infantry Division and 5th Infantry Division defended the Yser River, with rearguard units desperately providing cover. Mont des Caux was subjected to unrelenting mortar fire and air raids. Around 10:00 AM, the British 44th Infantry Division was forced to abandon part of its positions. Despite mounting casualties from German artillery and bombing, the main body of the British divisions completed their withdrawal into the Dunkirk coastal fortifications. The order to withdraw finally reached Cassel at 6:00 a.m. The British 145th Brigade Group was already surrounded by German forces within the town of Cassel. The British endured a full day of shelling and attempted to withdraw during the night. Few British soldiers made it to Dunkirk.