Contagion.

[observer]

Whilst we may be faniliar with the Black Death and the Great Plague; it seems disease has been the biggest killer in warfare throughout history. The mere fact of assembling a large number of men in a confined area, with all the logistical problems of food and supply, often meant such things as smallpox, typhus and cholera could decimate an Army before it even went to war.

[safeway56]

Steady on...you could be on muddy land..There's a claim that a large group of people gathered together in one spot were systematically murdered 60 odd years ago...no mention of disease and starvation in that particular case.

[observer]

Think your on about incinerators that didn't need planning permission?! Battlefield medicine was practised by the Greeks, Romans and throughout history and could be surprisingly effective at dealing with trauma, but death from infection was a big killer. One of the best medics historically was Napoleon's Surgeon to the Guard (Baron de Larrey?), who brought in a system of field ambulances and casualty clearance systems that reduced the death rates from wounds. Modern tactical theory is that wounded enemies cause more disruption than dead one's, requiring fit men to evacuate the wounded - rather cynical eh?! But the really big killer, has always been disease, especially in the later period of colonial expansion.

[observer]

The Lady with the lamp - Florence Nightingale is well remembered in history; but the lady who had far more impact in caring with the caualties of the Crimean War, was a Jamaican born woman named Mary Seacole, who learned her trade treating cholera epidemics in various parts of the world. She volunteered for Nightingale's group of "middle class" do-gooders, but was refused (presumably because of her skin colour); she made her own way to the Crimea, and proceeded to treat troops at the front line, and was much more appreciated by the soldiers than her more famous contempory.