How did the Influenza epidemic affect World War 1?

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How did the Influenza epidemic affect World War 1?

The years of the pandemic were 1918-1919 which was largely after the

war was over (at least after Oct. 1918).  So it would seem that it

would not have effected the combatants all that much.

 

However, that is not the case.  The flu did have an impact during the

war years and of course the war years impacted the way the flu was

spread.

 

Wherever the origin of the flu was located, it was called the Spanish

flu because Spain was the first country that suffered serious attacks

of it.    The illness then began to be noticed at military

installations in the United States. Fort Riley, Kansas was the first

in the spring of 1918.  By October 1918, some U.S. Army camps were

reporting a death every hour.

 

This was perhaps the greatest influence of the flu as far as US

participation in the war.  When the United States declared war on

Germany in April, 1917, the regular army medical service was not

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organized and was inadequate for the task of servicing the new forces.

Much of the medical care was under contract surgeons who retained

civilian status.  They had no official rank nor were they subject to

military discipline. The army had to turn to hospitals throughout the

country to organize the units to provide medical service and medical

personnel.

 

In other words, two things happened.  American troops were sent into

regions where flu outbreaks were already underway and the medical

sector associated with the military was unprepared to deal with it.

The bridge for the flu was built across ...

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