In June 1938, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Nationalist troops under Chiang Kai-shek intentionally broke the levees of the Yellow River near Huayuankou to slow the advance of the Japanese army.
The act of breaching the Yellow River levees by Nationalist forces in June 1938 during the Second Sino-Japanese War was a strategic maneuver aimed at slowing down the Japanese army's advance.