Die Bekämpfung der Pferdeseuchen in der Bayerischen Armee zwischen 1880 und 1920 an Hand der Akten des Kriegsarchivs in München

This dissertation focuses on epidemics which affected horses of the
Bavarian army between 1880 and 1920. It is based on files found in
the war archive in Munich and supplemented by contemporaneous
professional literature when the documents were incomplete. These
files show that contagious pneumonia (synonym: Pleuro-Pneumonia
Contagiosa Equorum) proved to be a great problem at the end of the
19th century, and there was no solution initially. The discovery of
salvarsan by Paul Ehrlich in 1909 and its use in equine medicine
three years later proved to be an effective therapy against this
frightening epidemic. Although occasional cases occurred during
World War I, the disease was controlled and did not limit the
marching ability of the troops. It was a different situation with
glanders. Due to strict precautions, horses of the Bavarian army
were not affected by this epizootic disease during peacetime. Yet,
once the army entered into World War I, the disease flared up and
threatened the operation of the troops. Systematic use of the
Mallein test and serological blood examination led to quick
containment. Even though the disease was not completely eradicated,
the operations of the troops were not endangered anymore. The
Bavarian army horses were absolutely free of mange before entering
World War I. However, the situation changed considerably a few
months after the war began. The mange epidemic hit a large number
of horses and the known therapies did not cure them. The marching
ability of the troops was soon at serious risk. A breakthrough was
finally discovered by exposing the horses’ bodies to vaporized
sulfuric acid. However, this breakthrough came too late to have
deep impact on the course of the war. In the post-war period only
glanders and mange were a risk for the horse of the Bavarian army.
In Germany, glanders were finally eradicated in 1955.