The Spanish Flu and the End of the Great War

Abstract

The Spanish flu hit large parts of the world in three waves. It first appeared in Europe in spring 1918 in the French theatre of war. By the middle of that year, large parts of Germany were affected by it. However, the most severe impact came with the second wave that hit in autumn 1918. The Spanish flu killed disproportionately large numbers of young people who had not been affected by previous flu pandemics. The third wave at the turn of 1919 was much less fatal. However, the second wave, whose mortality peaked in the second half of October 1918, may have contributed to the fact that revolution broke out so soon in Germany, meaning that the armistice in early November 1918 came about sooner than might have been expected. It could thus be argued that the flu ended the Great War more quickly.