The use of biological weapons in war is almost as old as war itself. We know that more than 2,500 years ago the Assyrians poisoned enemy water wells with a toxin produced by ergot, and we have evidence that during many sieges human corpses were thrown into enemy fortifications to cause epidemics and force surrenders. Humanity has always shown a fertile imagination when it comes to finding ways to annihilate one's neighbor, and biological warfare is one of the clearest examples of this madness.
War is possibly as old as humanity itself. While we believe it is despicable and never justifiable, we are always waiting for the slightest provocation to deploy tanks and planes to defend our interests. Throughout history we have used stones, sticks, bullets and bombs of all types and sizes to crush the adversary. In recent decades, the possibility of using bacteria or toxins as weapons has become a ghost hovering over every armed conflict. In fact, the alleged existence of these weapons in the hands of Saddam Hussein's regime served as an excuse for the world to overthrow him. However, these kinds of weapons have been used for centuries, often with terribly effective results.
Early Documented Cases
One of the oldest cases with reliable documentation of the use of biological weapons dates back to approximately 1500 to 1200 BC. Hittite texts from those times detail how plague victims were driven into enemy lands with the obvious intention of infecting all possible. Although historians do not entirely agree, many believe that the Assyrians used a toxin called ergotamine, whose ingestion can cause ergotism, to contaminate the drinking water wells of enemy populations.
Ergotism is a condition often called "fever of Saint Anthony", "fire of Saint Anthony", or "fire of hell", which begins with hallucinations, convulsions, and arterial contraction. Victims begin to feel intense cold in the extremities, which soon turns into a burning sensation. The picture leads to tissue necrosis, gangrene, and intense abdominal pain. If the affected person survives, they are usually left mutilated, often losing all their limbs.
Far from being the only ancient "biological weapon", ergotamine was just one among a considerable group. In Homer's epic poems about the legendary Trojan War (the Iliad and the Odyssey), for example, it is told how warriors smeared the tips of their spears and arrows with snake venoms, so that even a slight scratch would be fatal.
About 600 years BC, during the First Sacred War in Greece, the Athenians poisoned the water supply of the city of Crisa, near Delphi, which was under siege. They used a toxic plant called hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), the same one used to prepare a toxic concoction to coat their arrows. All parts of this plant are poisonous, and ingesting it causes everything from vomiting to delirium tremens, as well as violent diarrhea and sneezing (what one might call a terrible combination of symptoms).
Scythian archers, around 400 BC, also poisoned their arrows. Not only did they use snake venom, which is difficult to obtain in significant quantities, but they also used human or animal blood and feces, whose microorganisms often caused serious infections in the wounds caused by the arrows.
During the Middle Ages, the practice went from smearing arrows with feces to directly hurling the feces of bubonic plague victims over castle walls using catapults. And in some cases, such as during the siege of the city of Kaffa in 1346, directly catapulted the bodies of warriors dead from the plague, so that they would infect the besieged. In fact, some historians assert that this event was what ultimately triggered the Black Death epidemic that killed between 75 and 100 million people.
Of course, even though this practice was common enough to be used until 1710 (when the Russians attacked the Swedes in the city of Reval), simply throwing the clothing of the infected was equally effective. It might not have been as intimidating as a rain of decomposing bodies, but a simple infected coat or blanket could spread disease throughout an entire castle or city.
In North America, for example, the indigenous population began to be decimated by diseases from the Old World, since they lacked the necessary antibodies. There are at least two documented cases of attacks using smallpox germs carried in blankets offered as gifts to the natives. These true "Trojan horses" were, as recorded by militia commander William Trent in 1763, delivered especially "to transmit smallpox to the Indians".
Even without the help of modern technology, long before super-secret laboratories filled with evil scientists searching day and night for the perfect biological weapon, humanity has managed quite well to crush itself using germs and toxins, don't you think?
For more information, see Biological warfare.
https://old.neoteo.com/el-escuadron-731-1932/
