Even those
who were apparently well carried the germs of disease with them, for we
found whole families, says Krantz, in whose dwelling soldiers, showing no
signs of disease, had stayed over night, stricken down with typhus. The
Prussian soldiers of York's corps had not been with the Grand Army in
Moscow, and there was no typhus among them until they followed the French
on their road of retreat from Russia. From this moment on, however, the
disease spread with the greatest rapidity in the whole Prussian army corps,
and this spreading took place with a certain uniformity among the different
divisions. On account of the overflowing of the rivers, the men had to
march closely together on the road, at least until they passed the Vistula
near Dirschau, Moeve, and Marienwerder. Of the rapid extent of the
infection we can form an idea when we learn the following facts: In the
first East Prussian regiment of infantry, when it came to the Vistula,
there was not a single case of typhus, while after a march of 14 miles on
the highway which the French had passed before them there were 15 to 20 men
sick in every company, every tenth or even every seventh man. In those
divisions which had been exposed to infection while in former cantonments,
the cases were much more numerous, 20 to 30 in every company.
Simultaneously with typhus there appeared the first cases of an epidemic
ophthalmy. Although the eye affection was not as general as the typhus--it
occurred only in some of the divisions, and then at the outset not so
severely as later on--both evils were evidently related to each other by a
common causal nexus.
Pages:
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193