Spanish influence annihilated German army • Cholera epidemic has created an uproar in Europe and prevented a huge invasion • Several epidemics led to tremendous change in the world

• Illustrative image // Photo: Sgt. Jennifer Lena, US Army Flickr

The world's most prevalent corona virus is affecting mankind now, including enormous economic damage, hysteria, the closure of borders between countries, and more. Interestingly, the virus cut, at least for the time being, the huge tension that existed between China and the US, a tension that became a trade war and had military aspects.

Of course, we do not know where the tension between the two powers came from, but this is not the first time in history that a plague has been decisive in wars, much more than the mere fighting between the parties on the battlefield. In fact, the impact of disease on human history and the history of the struggles between nations of the world has been far greater than combat victories.

Photo: Gil Kramer

The Peloponnesian War

After Athens ousted the Persian empire from Greece, its political and continental influence increased and threatened Sparta and its allies. To stop the spread of Athens, Sparta invaded Athens on its territory with a huge military force of 60,000 fighters, in front of the Athens army of 16,000. Athens leader Pericles thought it was useless for a land battle, because going back to Athens was a big advantage. So he gathered the peasants around the city to protect and protect the walls. What Pericles didn't take into account is the fact that a huge concentration of people in a small area is fertile ground for disease. The gut went wild in the city, killing a quarter of the residents, including Pericles himself. The consequences were severe, although Athens was not conquered, but its military strength dropped dramatically following the plague.

The cholera epidemic 1817-1824

The cholera epidemic began in India and spread through the Caucasus Mountains to the Mediterranean region and parts of Europe. It is unclear what pushed the epidemic, and it is now believed that it is precisely the British military movement and connection to the Empire of India that is the one that brought the epidemic forward. At the end of the epidemic, its impact was tremendous and in fact prevented a European war, as regimes throughout the continent fell and many local crises raged: Belgium gained independence from the Netherlands and the uprising in Poland, Portugal, Switzerland and Italy threatened the peace established by the Vienna Congress. At this point, the Prussian army organized a major invasion of Poland to stop the uprising and in fact ignite a struggle between many sides of the continent. The invasion did not take place and the war did not happen because both military commanders died of cholera and thus probably saved another harsh European war.

Conquest of the Aztec Empire

In 1519, Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortez landed on the coast of Mexico with 400 fighters, intending to conquer the local Aztec empire for the Spanish crown. It was an imaginary quest because, despite the horses, guns and guns, there were hundreds of thousands of fighters on the other side. Cortez turned to the Telexcala, the Aztec rivals who provided him with 100,000 warriors. The battles between the parties lasted two years when, at the end of what overwhelmed and led to the surrender of the huge empire, was the smallpox disease that the Spanish brought with them from Europe, which made names in children. And eliminated about half of their fighting army.

Justinian blow (glandular thing)

The Eastern Emperor of Byzantium, Justinian, led a widespread war campaign to restore parts of the Roman Empire that fell to the barbarians of Northern Europe. His forces recaptured many parts and liberated Rome itself. However, the clarification that reached Constantinople in 542 caused the deaths of between 25 and 50 million people in the Roman Empire, a terrible disaster that actually wiped out populations and entire cities. The epidemic also fatally damaged the emperor himself, but he survived the disease. The plague led to the fact that after the death of the emperor his successor could not lead to the continued Roman defense of Northern Europe, because he simply did not have fighters and money for such a factory after the enormous death blow of the thing.

The influence of Spanish

World War I was about to end. The German generals were still trying to win and were planning a huge attack on the western front to break the choking ring on them. But then, apparently, with the US military, it came down to an extreme and hard flu that made its name in all the armies that were parked in Europe, the British, the French, the Americans and the Germans. The epidemic hit most of the Germans, who broke down because of the lack of equipment, closure of them and the US-France connection which was significant on the battlefield.