Disease

[Custer6]

Reading up on this campaign before the game comes out and came across this passage in Fire in the Sky- The Air War in the South Pacific :

"for the period Dec 42- June 44 5th Air Force had a hospital admission rate per annum of 899 per 1000 for all causes: Disease comprised 772. In other words in a given year 77% of personnel were admitted to a hospital at least once for disease"

This seems incredible and changed my thinking. If these stats are not twisted then the mosquito was the highest priority enemy in the South Pacific, not the Japanese. Anybody see this differently?

[corbulo]

I just finished rereading Saburo sakai's Samurai. It is great and gives a good perspective from IJN. Another book I have is
Guadalcanal by Frank.
I would also like to rewatch "the Thin Red Line" by Terence Malick
to be ready for Uncommon Valor.

[Kadste]

Custer6,

Yes disease was a real concern during this time period.

In the Buna Sanananda campaign (Sep42-Feb43) the Americans sent 13,645 combat troops in.

Casualties:
KIA: 671 (4.9%)
Other deaths: 116 (0.85%)
WIA: 2,172 (15.9%)
Sick in Action:7,920 (58.1%)

Sick in Action accounted for almost 73% of all casualties.

All figures from CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
UNITED STATES ARMY

[Joel Billings]

Disease is in the game in a big way. Fatigue levels can get very high, especially when moving through the jungle. This can lead to large numbers of troops becoming disabled and eventually destroyed. Bringing in fresh troops is very important, as is keeping them well supplied and in large base areas as long as possilbe.

Joel

[Paul Goodman]

Actually, the disease rates seem like a throwback in history. Typically, disease inflicted far more casualties that combat. Disease limited the amount of time armies could be kept in the field. Even with the astounding combat casualties of WW I, the flu that swept the western world after that killed 40 million people, far exceeding battle deaths for the war.

For the allies, the diseases (in number, mostly malaria) meant large sick calls; for the Japanese, on short rations, it meant death.

Paul

[Raverdave]

The Australian military is still haunted by the numbers of troops that that were struck down by mosquito borne disease, that even today, Australia is at the fore front in the battle against malaria.

[Snigbert]

My grandfather was in the US Army in the South Pacific, and he worked with the engineers on disease control.
Basically, whenever US forces secured a new base area, he and a few other guys would go out with canisters of kerosene and spray them on any bodies of still water that they could find, to destroy mosquito larvae.
Couldn't have been too good for the environment, and looking at the statistics, I don't think they did a very good job.

[Paul Goodman]

Ah, Raverdave, now I understand why you guys drink so many gin and tonic's. It's the quinine water! Of course, of course.

Paul

[Raverdave]

Originally posted by Paul Goodman
Ah, Raverdave, now I understand why you guys drink so many gin and tonic's. It's the quinine water! Of course, of course.

Paul

It ain't just G & T, anything with alcohol will do:D

[corbulo]

in "the THin Red Line" everyone in the Unit gets Malaria.