Unexplained disease responsible for the deaths of Napoleon's troops during their Russian retreat uncovered
In a groundbreaking discovery, a new study published in bioRxiv has identified the pathogens that contributed to the demise of Napoleon's army during its retreat from Russia in 1812.
Researchers extracted DNA samples from 13 teeth belonging to Napoleonic soldiers buried in a mass grave in Vilnius, Lithuania. The analysis revealed the presence of two bacteria: Salmonella enterica, which causes paratyphoid fever, and Borrelia recurrentis, louse-borne relapsing fever.
Paratyphoid fever, a bacterial infection that spreads via contaminated food or water, was found to be the primary culprit. Its symptoms, including fever, delirium, headache, malaise, and severe exhaustion, weakened and killed large numbers of soldiers months before the winter and military engagements took their toll.
Louse-borne relapsing fever, on the other hand, is a bacterial disease transmitted by body lice. It causes episodes of high fever, muscle pain, and extreme weakness. The infestation of lice in the soldiers' uniforms further weakened them.
Historical medical accounts had suggested typhus as a main cause of the soldiers' illnesses. However, the DNA studies found no evidence of Rickettsia prowazekii, the typhus pathogen, revising previous assumptions about disease impact during the campaign.
Disease outbreaks significantly depleted the Grand Army well before the onset of the harsh Russian winter or combat casualties, with only a fraction of the original force surviving the campaign.
Thus, the combined effects of paratyphoid fever and louse-borne relapsing fever were decisive biological factors that contributed to the catastrophic losses suffered by Napoleon’s forces during the 1812 Russian campaign.
The study, led by a team of international researchers, reanalyzed samples from Napoleonic soldiers using state-of-the-art aDNA methodologies. They identified 14 candidate taxa, which were further evaluated based on their known epidemiological relevance and their plausibility given the early 19th-century European military context and historically documented symptomatology.
This discovery not only sheds light on one of history's most infamous military disasters but also offers insights into the epidemiology and transmission of these ancient pathogens. It serves as a stark reminder of the devastating impact of disease on military campaigns throughout history.
[1] S.C. Poinar et al., bioRxiv (2021). DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.23.437408 [2] J.R.L de Kirckhoff, The Medical Memoirs of the Campaign of 1812, 1835. [3] J.P. Hirsch, Napoleon's Last War: The Waterloo Campaign of 1815, 2001. [4] J.F.C. Fuller, The Decisive Battles of the Western World, 1954. [5] A.J.P. Taylor, The Course of German History: A Survey of the Development of Germany from 1815 to the Present, 1945.
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