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    The Effects Of Infectious Disease On Napoleon’s Russian Campaign
    The Effects Of Infectious Disease On Napoleon’s Russian Campaign
    The Effects Of Infectious Disease On Napoleon’s Russian Campaign
    Ebook58 pages44 minutes

    The Effects Of Infectious Disease On Napoleon’s Russian Campaign

    By LCDR Brian M. Allen USN

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    This paper will discuss the effects of infectious disease on Napoleon’s forces during the Russian campaign of 1812. In short, it will argue that the primary reason Napoleon failed to defeat the Russian army was because his forces were decimated by disease, specifically typhus, dysentery, and diphtheria. It will also demonstrate the effect of disease and illness on Napoleon’s judgement and decision making process. This subject, infectious disease and the military, has great implications for military planners in the future. The recent Gulf war and its related “Gulf War Illness” is just one example. The United States has lost more men to disease during war than any other cause; hence it is critical that today’s and tomorrow’s military leaders are aware of the dangers. The scope of this paper is bounded by the Russian campaign timeframe, but it will concentrate on the march to Moscow; specifically the events that occurred upon entering Polish and Russian territory. Also, there were two major battles fought prior to reaching the gates of Moscow which this paper will show were the two decisive points in the campaign. These battles occurred at Smolensk and Borodino, and they illustrate key instances where Napoleon’s leadership, judgment and decision making come into question, not only by historians and authors, but by several of Napoleon’s own generals.

    The Russians were outnumbered in the summer of 1812 and were forced to play at fight and retreat game with Napoleon’s army. This was not well received by the Russian people who were suffering at the hands of the French invaders, but it was just about the only sound course of action the Russians could pursue. The situation turned itself around however when Napoleon reached Moscow and stayed there until an orderly and safe retreat was nearly impossible. At this time the Russian winter was upon them and they had neither the will nor the supplies to return to France.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWagram Press
    Release dateNov 6, 2015
    ISBN9781786250025
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      Book preview

      The Effects Of Infectious Disease On Napoleon’s Russian Campaign - LCDR Brian M. Allen USN

      This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

      To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – picklepublishing@gmail.com

      Or on Facebook

      Text originally published in 1998 under the same title.

      © Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

      Publisher’s Note

      Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

      We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

      THE EFFECTS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE ON NAPOLEON’S RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN

      by

      Brian M. Allen, LCDR, USN

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Contents

      TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

      Preface 5

      Abstract 5

      Chapter 1 — Introduction 7

      Composition of Forces 8

      The Real Threats 10

      Chapter 2 — Across the Niemen 13

      Smolensk 15

      Borodino 19

      Chapter 3 — Moscow 23

      The Russian Strategy 25

      So What? 26

      Chapter 4 — Conclusion 29

      REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 31

      Bibliography 32

      Preface

      This research topic seemed an interesting one for me as I have an undergraduate degree in microbiology. I have always been fascinated by the power that micro-organisms have and their ability to adapt to changing conditions. Especially important to the military are the ever increasing number of diseases that are developing resistance to treatment. This intent of this paper is to show the importance of understanding the role that microorganisms play in the use of military force around the globe.

      The National Command Authority has committed U.S. military forces to all parts of the world. Most recent deployments included places like Somalia, Haiti, and Liberia. These countries, unlike Russia were to Napoleon, are lands that contain diseases that U.S. service member’s immune systems are not familiar with. In most cases, as with Yellow fever, Typhus (which is still prevalent in these countries), Malaria, and others, the U.S. military can take precautions that will prevent epidemics from occurring in the ranks. With some diseases though, this is not possible. There is no vaccine yet for AIDS, and the deadly Ebola virus has proven elusive to scientists as well. The problem with these type diseases is that one cannot plan for when they will occur and with what virulence they will strike.

      Also, the ability of bacteria to mutate and develop resistance to current medical remedies (antibiotics) poses a similar dilemma to planners because they cannot possibly predict what changes will occur, nor when an outbreak will happen.

      Abstract

      This paper will discuss the effects of infectious disease on Napoleon’s forces during the Russian campaign of 1812. In short, it will argue that the primary reason Napoleon failed to defeat the Russian army was because his forces were decimated by disease, specifically typhus, dysentery, and diphtheria. It will also demonstrate the effect of disease and illness on Napoleon’s judgement and decision making process. This subject, infectious disease and the military, has great implications for military planners in the future. The recent Gulf war and its related Gulf War Illness is just one example. The United States has lost more men to disease during war than any other cause; hence it

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