How Napoleon’s army was destroyed: the truth that killed 300 thousand soldiers

Kokcha News Agency – Napoleon Bonaparte’s multinational army faced dire conditions during its retreat from Russia in 1812, including dwindling supplies and fierce Russian resistance. However, the true scale of the catastrophe that awaited them was even greater than previously understood. A new study, yet to undergo peer review, has identified the pathogens that decimated the weakened troops, shedding light on the massive losses suffered by the French army.

The Scale of the Disaster:
Out of the 600,000 soldiers who entered Russia, at least half—300,000—perished due to freezing winter conditions, starvation, and disease. While contemporary doctors documented typhus, characterized by fever, headaches, and rashes, microbiologist Remi Barbieri and his team from Paris Cité University found no trace of the typhus-causing bacterium, Rickettsia prowazekii.

The Role of Deadly Bacteria:
By extracting and analyzing ancient DNA from the teeth of 13 soldiers, researchers identified two infectious bacteria: Salmonella enterica, which causes paratyphoid fever, and Borrelia recurrentis, responsible for relapsing fever, transmitted by body lice. The study notes that while relapsing fever is not always fatal, it can severely weaken individuals already exhausted by harsh conditions.

Mass Graves Under Investigation:
In 2001, mass graves containing the remains of over 3,000 soldiers were discovered in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many soldiers were buried in their uniforms alongside their horses, and the absence of weapons suggests they did not die in combat. Researchers emphasize that the symptoms described in historical records could align with several diseases, including typhus, which may still have played a role in the army’s devastation.

A Plausible Scenario:
Barbieri and his team caution that the absence of typhus in their small sample does not rule it out entirely. They propose a plausible scenario for the soldiers’ deaths: a combination of exhaustion, cold, and diseases such as paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever.