Show HOW If OW WARS ARE WON AND LOST History Reveals Pestilence as Big Factor War is merely a n gang Jang tight fight between be tween remnants of or armies which have hn survived camp epidemics no Homers Homer's Ho Homers Homer's mers mer's Iliad opens with a n pestilence and so does the Oedipus Rex of ot Sophocles The plague at Athens which slew Pericles may many have collapsed collapsed collapsed col col- col- col lapsed the Athenian empire quite as ns directly as ItS the Sicilian disaster It was an epidemic which turned back Xerxes' Xerxes Invasion of ot Greece the diseases diseases dis dis- eases which thwarted the Carthaginians Carthaginians Cartha Cartha- g In Sicily In and B B. C. C contributed by depriving Ing them of or that base against Italy to the victory vic VIe victory tory of or Home Rome In the Punic wars and thus to the result that European European Euro furo- civilization Is predominantly Hellenic Instead of ot Semitic The Callor fall Call of or Rome Itself may be explained by bythe bythe bythe the epidemics which ra n ravaged ed Italy from the First century to the Sixth century for it would be Impossible to maintain permanently n a political and social organization of ot the type and ma magnitude of or Rome Home In the face of or complete lack of modern modem sanitary knowledge The Thc Crusaders were balked ed by epidemics more decisively than by the Saracens In 1 1093 a n Christian army of ot melted In Ina Ina ina a year to and If It one would read the details of their sickness and still sun keep an nn appetite for luncheon luncheon luncheon lunch lunch- eon he needs to be a doctor The Thirty Years war was blown this way and that like the damned souls In Dante by deadly epidemics dysentery dysentery dysentery dys dys- In a decisive e campaign threw victory to the French revolution then Ics his with to annihilate Napoleons Napoleon's army armyon on Its retreat from Moscow Thus disease has decided more c ct campaigns than Caesar Hannibal and Napoleon General Jingle- Jingle breeches omits to reflect that be they brave as your our soldiers cannot cannot can can- not fight when they are dead of or dis dis- dis- dis ease The epidemics get the blame for tor defeat the generals get the credit for victory This Is still applicable to modern times ExperIence Experience Experience ence I In iii l the cantonments of 1 1917 17 and andin andin in the sanitation of ot active e troops showed that war Is today tollay 75 per percent percent percent cent an engineering and sanitary problem and a little less than i per percent percent percent cent a military one Other things being approximately equal that army will win which has the best engi engl- flooring and sanitary services The only reason this Is not apparent In wars Is because the military minds on both sides are too superb to notice that both armies are simultaneously simultaneously simultaneously simul simul- Immobilized by hy the same diseases Typhus concludes Dr inns Hans In his biography of ot that disease entitled Rats flat Lice Ilce and History has at least as Just a reason to claim that It won the war as any of the contend contending In nations Many 9 a French barroom fight might have been avoided a If it this had been clearly understood Doston Boston Globe |