Napoleon’s doomed retreat: New study uncovers the diseases that finished what Russia began
New DNA evidence from a mass grave in Lithuania reveals Napoleon's retreating Grand Armée was decimated by paratyphoid and relapsing fevers in 1812. Microscopic pathogens, likely spread through contaminated food and lice, preyed on soldiers weakened by cold and starvation. This biological onslaught, combined with Russian strategy, proved more devastating than previously understood, contributing significantly to the army's catastrophic collapse.
New DNA evidence from a mass grave in Lithuania reveals Napoleon's retreating Grand Armée was decimated by paratyphoid and relapsing fevers in 1812. Microscopic pathogens, likely spread through contaminated food and lice, preyed on soldiers weakened by cold and starvation. This biological onslaught, combined with Russian strategy, proved more devastating than previously understood, contributing significantly to the army's catastrophic collapse.
