Across from Huarong, All Fell Silent

From 1938 to 1943, the waves of the Yangtze River around Huarong seemed to sob, while smoke from the fighting shrouded its banks.

The positions north of the river faced the full force of elite Japanese troops, while behind enemy lines to the south, undercurrents surged and danger lurked everywhere.

As the land fell to ruin, two forces, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, held their positions across the river and stood firm in the face of danger. Amid suspicion and unity, confrontation and cooperation, they formed the toughest line of resistance along the Yangtze in eastern Hubei.

With the five-year war on both banks of the Yangtze as its grand narrative, this book offers a sweeping reconstruction of the brutal campaigns: the desperate defense of the front, the painstaking work behind enemy lines, relief missions across the river, tactical flanking attacks, and the counteroffensive along the entire front.

The soldiers used their bodies as dikes and the river as a moat, breaking through layer upon layer of Japanese blockades, opening a route through the river in the face of despair, bridging the divide between north and south, and building a unique system of joint defense across the river. From passive defense to taking the initiative, from holding out alone to resisting the enemy as one, countless ordinary soldiers fought in rivers of blood and swore to defend their homeland to the death.

Focusing on the people of a nation in turmoil, their devotion to family and country, and their bonds forged in life and death, the story portrays faith and perseverance amid brutal warfare. It bears witness to a turbulent age when every inch of the land was paid for in blood, and composes a stirring ode to the unyielding resistance on both banks of the Yangtze.