For most of history, the great killer of soldiers was not combat but disease. Soldiers live in close quarters, frequently in rough conditions with rudimentary sanitation. When a communicable disease gets into that kind of environment, it rips through it like wildfire. For every soldier who was killed in combat during the American Civil War, two died of disease.
Anyway, not sure why I'm remembering all this today
Taking this excuse to recommend _The Great Hedge of India_, Moxon, which does a brisk outline both of alcohol vs boiled water as disease prophylactic for armies; and salt as trade and salary, also famously in armies.
@jalefkowit “Seirogan, a popular anti-diarrhoeal pill, is arguably one of the most successful pharmaceutical products of modern Japan. What is less known is that the Japanese army initially developed Seirogan during the Russo-Japanese War as the ‘Conquer-Russia-Pill’ “
Is the reason because our Secretary of Defense is a fucking idiot for suspending the flu vaccination requirements for our military?
Just spit-balling, but that's my guess.
* I wish these morons would read a damn history book at some point.
@jalefkowit I learned this week that the "Spanish Flu" was first noted, and may have started, at Camp Funston, Kansas.
The camp was run by Major General Leonard Wood, whose conduct during the 🇺🇸 war in the Philippines was infamous. In Spring 1918, he presided over the confinement, in awful conditions, and torture of WW1 conscientious objectors.
The 🇺🇸 army took the disease from Kansas to 🇫🇷 where it went on to kill an estimated 50 million people. Its effect on troops was probably a factor in ending the war.
General Wood later ran for the Republican nomination for president. Although Wood was considered seriously, he lost to Harding (whose rambling and vacuous manner of speech apparently is echoed by more recent, Republican 🇺🇸 presidents 🤔).
(Plug for my source, American Midnight, by Adam Hochschild, which I finished this week and thoroughly enjoyed.)
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/american-midnight-adam-hochschild
@michaelgemar @jalefkowit I seem to recall even Washington hesitated to vaccinate his army, having to carefully chose when to do so. Because he knew the vaccine itself would incapacitate his troops. *But did so anyways, because he knew.
Edit to add above*
worstpe
Jason Lefkowitz
clew
Daniel Baird
Lyons
Milcom Miasma
Tall Simon
Michael Gemar
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Ross of Ottawa
JillL