Epidemics and Military Battles Military campaigns were stopped or the outcome completely changed by insect borne epidemics. Typhus [Any of several forms of infectious disease caused by rickettsia, especially those transmitted by fleas, lice, or mites, and characterized generally by severe headache, sustained high fever, depression, delirium, and the eruption of red rashes on the skin. Also called prison fever, ship fever, typhus fever (American Heritage Dictionary) ]was the lead actor in many military battles, and determined how many each side had to fight with Xerces' invasion of Greece. Xerces, a Persian, tried to capture Greece several times Famous battle of hermopylae with Spartans, for example Xerces entered Thessalonia with an army of 800,000 men. He soon lost 300,000 men to what was probably either plague [Disease of over one-hundred animals, including rats and humans. Infection occurs from flea bites and can go from people to rats, people to people, or rats to rats. The Center for Disease Control has an excellent site with information on plague, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plagindex.htm including diagnosis, treatement, and vaccine info.] or dysentery, and abandoned the campaign and swept back into Asia. The Great Crusades In 1098, a Christian army besieged Antioch An epidemic killed 5,000 of their 7,000 horses. Armored horses = modern tanks Of the second crusade, led by Louis VII of France, and half a million men, only a handful survived Crusade of 1190 and 100,000 men reduced by famine, plague, and desertions to 5,000 men! WHY: Large group of men moving throughout country, sleeping close together, liberal use of local populace, poor sanitation. European Battles In 1566, army of Maximillian II of Germany and 80,000 men prepared to attack the Sultan of Hungary An epidemic of typhus was so violent that the campaign was abandoned 1708, Swedes lost Southern Russia due to plague outbreak Founding of the Haitian Republic Napoleon sent General LeClerc with 25,000 men to put down a revolution there, and yellow fever (mosquito transmitted) killed 22,000 of the French. So, Haitian Republic was eventually formed. Napoleon's Russia Campaign of 1812 Napoleon's army started with about 450,000 men After the battle of Ostrowo, 80,000 sick from dysentery and typhus Retreat from Moscow began October 19th, 1812, with not more than 80,000 men fit for duty About 6,000 finally made it back The Crimean War of the 1850's >From 1853 to 1856, this war was fought on the Crimean peninsula, a land mass on the North shore of the Black Sea The Russians were opposed by the French, British, and Turks Purpose was for the Russians to gain control of Crimea Statistics: Country*Died-Wounds*Sick*Died Disease French 20,356*196,430 *9,815 English 18,283*144,390*17,225 Russians 92,381*322,097*37,454 Happy Hunting, Sandy Monmouth Co., NJ Surnames: TILTON & HARRIS, PYLE & MORAN Mercer Co., KY Surnames: PATTERSON & BUNTON, LAWSON & McGINNIS "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." --- Helen Keller