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The plague sweeps through the countryside, and the population succumbs to the disease. A flea-borne disease is causing people to fall ill and die faster than authorities can count the growing number of victims of this medieval plague. However, this is not the 14th century, this is World War II, and the disease was spread intentionally. Back in 1925, the international community banned the use of biological weapons. Since it was illegal, Japanese General Shiro Ishii decided that it could be an effective tool that needed further research. It seemed wrong to conduct research in Japan itself, but in 1931 an opportunity arose that could not be missed. That year, Japan occupied Manchuria,
part of China, and in 1933, a biological weapons research center was opened there. Later it was moved to another location, and in 1941 it was renamed " Detachment 731". The atrocities committed by this unit are infamous: they included horrific experiments such as amputations without anesthesia, extreme cold testing, and weapons testing on living people. Biological weapons were also tested. Diseases such as anthrax, typhoid, cholera, and many others were tested on live subjects. One of the pathogens tested was bubonic plague.
Caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, it is the disease that is most likely the cause of the "Black Death", which killed over a third of Europe's population in the 14th century. After infection, the bacteria enter the lymphatic system, where they begin to multiply rapidly in the lymph nodes, which swell, forming dark nodules called buboes, which gave the disease its name. These buboes are very painful, and the patient also suffers from fever, chills, and general weakness. Symptoms can appear 1-7 days after infection, and although some may survive, most infected people die. Today, the disease still exists and
can be effectively treated with antibiotics. The main source of infection is small animals such as rats, mice, squirrels, and other small mammals. Or, to be more precise, the fleas that live in their fur. These tiny parasites carry bacteria in their digestive system. And when they jump from one host to another, their bite spreads the disease. Japanese researchers from Unit 731 took this principle and turned it into a weapon. After tests that resulted in the deaths of countless Chinese victims, flea bombs were created. First, they launched a mass breeding program that produced fleas on an industrial scale. They were infected with the bacterium Yersinia pestis and then placed in specially made porcelain or clay bombs filled with
oxygen. Clay and porcelain break easily without releasing much heat that could kill fleas. The extra oxygen allowed them to survive during transport by plane at high altitude. Fleas weren't the only way the plague spread. In addition, contaminated strips of cotton cloth, rice, and grain were distributed, mixing with food supplies and contaminating crops in the fields. The fleas quickly found rats and other small animals, infested them, and then spread to people living in rural China. It is impossible to determine exactly how many Chinese civilians died from Unit 731's biological weapons, but estimates range from 35,000 to half a million. Japan did not limit its
biological weapons development efforts to rural areas of China. By 1945, the war was going poorly for the Japanese, to put it mildly. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and after months of planning, Operation Night Sakura was approved. Japan has just commissioned its first I-400-class submarine. These were massive vessels that were essentially underwater aircraft carriers. Each could carry three Seiran seaplanes launched from deck catapults. The plan was simple. Five submarines were to cross the ocean and raise their planes for a kamikaze attack.
Their target was not the typical kamikaze aircraft carrier, but something much larger-the city of San Diego. Their cargo was not bombs or incendiary mixtures, but the same plague-flea-infested bombs that had already been used in China. This was to coincide with other attacks to undermine America's war effort, including a strike on the Panama Canal. There were also plans to deliver these bombs using long-range balloons. The plans had to be changed after the successful American landing on Okinawa and finally canceled after the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945. While Japan may have unleashed the medieval plague on China, they were not the only ones interested in biological
warfare. The experiment was simple. A flock of sheep was released onto a remote island. After that, a small explosive device was detonated. A few days later, researchers examined the flock and found that all the sheep were dead. The explosion was too weak to cause any real damage. So how did the animals die? Even before the war began, Great Britain was concerned about rumors of possible German biological weapons and tried to stay ahead of them. After the outbreak of hostilities, research was conducted on the remote and uninhabited Scottish island of Gruynard. In 1942, a flock of sheep became the first victim of a biological weapons program using the deadly anthrax pathogen. Aside from being named after a
popular metal band, anthrax is a deadly bacteria found in soil and can be transmitted in three ways. It can enter the body through damage to the skin, where it forms dark sores, and is considered the least dangerous form. It can also be inhaled, where the bacteria cause bleeding in the lungs, which can quickly become fatal. It can also be ingested, spreading from the digestive system to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system. The disease is spread through contact with contaminated soil, the fur or wool of an infected animal, or through the consumption of diseased meat. Human-to- human transmission is extremely difficult, if not impossible.
However, when inhaled, the disease has a 95% mortality rate and can affect both humans and animals. It was this last fact that interested the British the most. The target of Anthrax was not the German population, but their agriculture. The experiments on Gruinard Island were part of the very aptly named Operation Vegetarianism. The plan was simple: infect German livestock with anthrax, the animals die, food supplies dwindle, and Germany becomes significantly closer to surrender. For 2 years, livestock, mostly sheep, were herded onto the tiny island and exposed to anthrax, which spread through a small explosion,
dispersing the disease through the air. The experiments were a resounding success. In fact, they were even too successful. The spores spread across the island, infecting the test subjects, who died within a few days. The British also tested flaxseed meal, saturated with anthrax, which was to be dropped from the air onto pastures to be eaten by German cows, thus spreading it. The cakes were actually manufactured and ready for use, but this and other biological weapons were never used, and the experimental agents were destroyed. However, Gruinard Island became uninhabitable because it was exposed to about 40 trillion anthrax spores. For the next few decades, the island was a no-go zone
, and soil samples were taken every few years to confirm that the site was still infected with the disease. In the 1980s, the island was cleared, the plants were treated with herbicides and burned, the ground was covered with a disinfectant solution, and the topsoil was removed. The grass was reseeded, and after an inspection in 1990, Gruinard Island was declared safe. There may be another example of the use of biological weapons during World War II. If the fighting at Stalingrad wasn't brutal enough, according to a Soviet defector, the Red Army used tularemia against the Wehrmacht. It is a bacterial infection that causes abdominal pain, fever, headache, loss of appetite, skin rashes, cognitive impairment, and other
symptoms, depending on the type. Its mortality rate is between 10 and 50% if left untreated, although it can be cured with antibiotics. It is known that there was an outbreak of tularemia during the Battle of Stalingrad, but did Soviet troops cause it? Perhaps, although there is little evidence for this. Tularemia, also called "little plague," is spread through direct contact, such as through a bite or touching the tissues of an infected animal-rabbits, as well as mice, rats, and other small animals-or through the bites of ticks and mosquitoes
that have been in contact with sick animals. It is not transmitted from person to person Bombed and destroyed Stalingrad may have been hell for the people who fought there, but it became a paradise for the local rodents. As their numbers grew , there were more carriers to spread the disease. There was certainly an outbreak, but evidence that it was spread intentionally is circumstantial and at best hearsay. There were also reports of outbreaks of tularemia even before the battle over a much wider area, likely caused by the general chaos of the war.
