Biological Warfare

The idea of biological warfare strikes fear into many people, probably its greatest advantage. Biological agents have never been an effective weapon of war, but many nations and aggressive groups have experimented with the concept and have weaponized biological materials. This Olive-Drab.com section provides factual material to counter the frequent hype associated with the threatened use of bio-weapons by terrorists or national armies.

Electron micrograph of Ebola virus.
Courtesy of Dr. Alan J. Cann, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.

Today in WW II: 9 Jul 1940 Battle of Calabria [Battle of Punta Stilo, the toe of Italy] fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British/Australian Royal Navies, 30 miles [48km] east of Punta Stilo. More ?

9 Jul 1943 US-British invasion of Sicily begins [night of 9-10 Jul].
9 Jul 1944 British and Canadian forces capture Caen from the Germans, a critical post-D-Day objective in Normandy, France.
9 Jul 1944 US forces reach the northern end of Saipan, finding thousands of Japanese civilian men, women, and children who commit suicide by leaping off the cliffs rather than be captured.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

Biological Warfare Resources

Bio-Hazard Symbol.

The American Medical Association has a series of Consensus Statements on the most likely agents for biological warfare and their medical and public health management. These are available by clicking on the links here:

The Department of Defense web site has a number of Information Papers available on biological warfare topics including:

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an informative web site on biological terrorism as a public health emergency, how to prepare and respond.

This USAF website hosts a full text version of Battlefield of the Future: 21st Century Warfare Issues. Three of the chapters are on the subject of Biological Warfare.

The Air War College has a page of links to Biological Warfare information from the USAF Counterproliferation Center.

Ataxia: The Chemical and Biological Terrorism Threat and the US Response is a comprehensive research report that examines the many facets of the unconventional terrorism issue in the United States. Among other analyses, it examines the actual threat of terrorism involving chemical and biological weapons, including technical feasibility, statistical trends, and a re-examination of the 1995 Aum Shinrikyo sarin attack in the Tokyo subway system.

Japanese Germ War and Experimentation on Humans

U.S. Army Field Manuals. Large collection of manuals including Medical Platoon and Company leader's handbooks.

Basic information on chemical and biological warfare can be found in this section from How Stuff Works.

Tulane University has this page of web resources for Biological Weapons and Warfare.