Anzio III.

This is coolbert:

"mi·as·ma : n : a vaporous exhalation (as of a marshy region or of putrescent matter) formerly believed to cause disease (as malaria) - - an unwholesome or oppressive atmosphere"

Anzio continuing!

Bio-warfare!

The German at Anzio, waging war of a biblical scale - - the German creating in a quite pre-meditated and very sinister nature conditions of an apocalyptic nature!!

"a·poc·a·lyp·tic 3. predicting or presaging imminent disaster and total or universal destruction"

Areas actually within the beachhead [Anzio landing] or adjacent to the Pontine marshes, ONLY drained and made suitable for agriculture during the 1930's - - flooded by the German, the intent - - the desire - - to create conditions favorable for the spreading of malaria! Disease hopefully to strike and debilitate the allied troops - - a nightmare scenario making an already bad situation worse!

"The Germans stopped the pumps and opened the dikes, refilling the marsh [Pontine] with brackish water . . . the return of the salt water would encourage the return of Anopheles labranchiae [malaria-carrying mosquito] . . . The flooding was an act of biological warfare"

Malaria is ORDINARILY THOUGHT to be an illness associated with the tropics. But this is not so! Malaria was endemic to large portions of Europe until just very recently!

Conditions at the time, in addition to the flooding of what was previously marsh land, being extremely favorable for the disease [malaria] to "enjoy" a comeback.

"medicines were in short supply, the diet was bad . . . veterans returning from the Balkans brought back resistant strains of the disease."

As has been mentioned in previous blog entries, historically, feet and water have been by far the biggest killers of soldiers, NOT actual combat.

Soldiers having bad feet, not able to keep up with the march, falling out and separated from their unit, set upon by marauders/irregulars/partisans, killed.

Water - - not having enough to drink or drinking bad water. And this too - - water - - swamps or marshlands, breeding grounds for mosquitoes or other biting insects, carrying disease and transmitting same to humans, whether it be malaria, yellow fever, etc.

IN A RECENT ISSUE OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, IT WAS STATED THAT AT LEAST ONE-HALF OF THE HUMAN POPULATION THAT HAS EVER LIVED HAS DIED FROM MALARIA OR COMPLICATIONS FROM THE DISEASE THEREOF!

That malaria spread by biting insects - - also posed a grave danger to the Germans themselves? The mosquito is an equal-opportunity offender, striking indiscriminately friend and foe alike! Environmental degradation of this sort is NOT normally worth the effort? Tactics of this sort often backfire with bad consequences!

coolbert.