Page 12 - History of War - Issue 01-14

DISPATCHES

Military news and opinion from around the globe, including a new theory on Alexander’s
death, the uncovering of some rare First World War photographs and a Boer Wars bugle

GREAT WAR DEATH TOLL UNDERESTIMATED

BY UP TO A MILLION MEN

New book reveals errors and miscalculations

he First World War claimed established,” he says. “So there
up to a million more lives is confusion concerning places
than previously calculated, whose borders had shifted; there
according to a new book. is inconsistency in recording the
T Antoine Prost, Professor deaths of soldiers from sickness
Emeritus of History at the and prisoners of war who died in
University of Paris, is one of the captivity; and there is uncertainty
academics who have contributed surrounding the number of
to The Cambridge History Of The soldiers reported missing.”
First World War, and in his essay The book also claims that the
he argues that a combination of number of men who suffered
error, confusion and an inclination from shell-shock may have been
to publish conservative figures underestimated. Says editor
led to an underestimation of the Jay Winter of Yale University,
death toll – by anywhere between “Studies show that stress in the
500,000 and a million men. Great War was probably more
While studying analyses of intense than in later conflicts,
casualty lists across participant and yet physicians were reluctant
nations, Professor Prost to diagnose many injuries as
discovered dozens of errors and psychological. To do so probably CONFUSION AND AN INCLINATION
miscalculations. “The calculation would have made it less likely he
of losses isn’t easy, and most would receive a pension.” TO PUBLISH CONSERVATIVE FIGURES MAY
studies present lists of figures The Cambridge History Of The Getty Images
without explaining what they First World War is reviewed on HAVE BROUGHT THE OVERALL FIGURE DOWN
cover or how they have been page 94.

Alexander the Great may have been

killed by poisonous wine

istorians have speculated Poisons Centre, believes that poisons such Greek historian Diodorus, who said the
about it for 2,000 years as arsenic could not have been to blame, King doubled up with pain after drinking
Hbut, finally, the mystery as death would have come much faster. wine in honour of his hero, Hercules.
surrounding Alexander the Great’s death Instead, he points the finger at veratrum “Veratrum poisoning is heralded by the
may have been solved… album – otherwise known as white sudden onset of epigastric and substernal
The Macedonian King – conqueror of pain, which may also be accompanied
the Persian Empire – died in 323BC Schep points by nausea and vomiting, followed by
aged 32, following a 12-day illness bradycardia and hypotension with severe
during which he had been unable the finger at muscular weakness,” the research says.
to speak or walk. Since then, there “Alexander suffered similar features for the
have been numerous theories as veratrum album – duration of his illness.”
to what brought about his demise, a poisonous plant While he is pleased with his findings,
ranging from natural causes to Dr Schep – who started investigating the
arsenic poisoning. from the lily family mystery in 2003 after he was approached
But now, a leading scientist by a team making a BBC documentary
has come up with a new – concedes that they will never be
explanation for Alexander’s hellebore – a poisonous plant from the conclusive. “I said, ‘I’ll give it a go, I like a
iStockphoto from New Zealand’s National into wine and, once consumed, would anything,” he remembers. “And to my utter
challenge,’ thinking I wasn’t going to find
lily family that could have been fermented
death: wine made from
a poisonous plant.
surprise, I found something that could fit
have taken much longer to kill. This theory
Leo Schep, a toxicologist
the bill. But we’ll never really know.”
would match an account written by ancient
12 HISTORY WAR
of