7/6/1918 Influenza spreads its tentacles

Since Albert Gitchell took ill in March this strange new strain of influenza has spread across the world. The disease is rarely lethal, certainly no more so than a normal winter flu, but it is extremely infectious and makes those it afflicts too sick to do anything for long periods, sometimes up to several weeks. Even after the worst of the illness has passed, victims are left in a weakened state, making basic tasks a struggle.

The influenza has arrived on the Western Front, where it appears to hit the Germans harder than the Allies. In the month of May their army suffers some 77,000 cases, more than all the Allies put together. These losses may have cost Ludendorff victory in the spring offensives (though he still hopes to end the war with a final assault in Flanders). But temporary losses of manpower in all the armies are considerable…