Archive · 27 Oct 2025
Pathogens Revealed: Diseases Beset Napoleon's Army During 1812 Retreat
Imagine a very long walk, like a long school trip, but much, much worse.
This happened to Napoleon's army in 1812 when they tried to invade Russia and then had to walk all the way back, it was very cold.
Many soldiers died.
Scientists studied the bones of soldiers from a mass grave to learn what made them sick.
They found that some soldiers had paratyphoid fever, like a really bad tummy ache, and relapsing fever, which makes you get a high fever again and again.
These illnesses, along with cold, hunger, and other diseases, made the soldiers very weak and many of them died.
Scientists are using this information to understand exactly what happened to the army during the retreat.
Study analyzes DNA from French soldiers buried in a mass grave in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Identifies paratyphoid fever and louse-borne relapsing fever among the soldiers.
These pathogens add to the understanding of diseases that affected the army.
Previous studies identified typhus and trench fever.
The findings highlight the difficult conditions faced by the soldiers during the retreat.
- Who
- French soldiers from Napoleon's Grande Armée.
- What
- Study reveals paratyphoid fever and louse-borne relapsing fever among soldiers.
- When
- 1812 retreat from Russia.
- Where
- Vilnius, Lithuania, mass grave.
- Why
- To understand the causes of death and suffering during the retreat.
- Event
- Retreat of Napoleon's Grande Armée in 1812
- Location of Mass Grave
- Vilnius, Lithuania
- Soldiers in Grave
- Approximately 2,000 to 3,000
- Pathogens Detected
- Paratyphoid fever and Louse-borne relapsing fever
- Previous Pathogens Detected
- Typhus and trench fever