Goguryeo was a kingdom that ruled across the north and center of the Korean peninsula. Its territory extended into Manchuria, encroaching on Sui Dynasty territory. The Sui forces vastly outnumbered the Goguryeo. General Mondeok carried out a strategy. The goal was to repel Sui forces before retreating to the Salsu River, where the Goguryeo had set a trap. The river had been blocked, allowing the Sui to join the shallow water. When they did, the Goguryeo breached the dam and drowned a large number of Sui men. The remainder were readily vanquished. ¹⁾

Beginning in 1931, Japan conquered Chinese territory. The Chinese made repeated attempts to free themselves. The Japanese Imperial Army invaded farther into China in 1937 in order to suppress Chinese nationalism. Wuhan, China's second largest city at the time, was crucial to the uprising. Through air supremacy, Japan scored a decisive victory, killing or capturing the majority of Chinese ships and aircraft. Their ground troops, on the other hand, were mostly intact, although the Japanese army suffered significant losses. The Chinese army was then able to contribute to Japan's defeat in World War II. ²⁾

The Battle of Kiev was one of the USSR's worst defeats of the war. Soviet forces were stationed near Kiev on the Southwestern front. The troops stationed at the front were crucial to German forces, but they were concentrated on pushing towards Moscow. When Hitler discovered that the Soviet troops in Kiev were in trouble, he shifted his forces from Moscow to Kiev. The German forces surrounded the Soviet troops, cutting off supplies and reinforcements. Thousands of Kiev citizens were killed in bombing raids. ³⁾