The Battle of Hill 731 has been described as the Verdun of the Greco-Italian War,[11] whereas others referred to it as the new Thermopylae. It was a bloody struggle, with soldiers often engaging in close quarters combat and fighting with whatever they had at hand. The ferocious ground and air bombardment transformed the hill's landscape, eliminating all trees and reducing its height by 2 meters: present day altitude is 729 meters.