The Fourth Horseman: One Man's Secret Campaign to Fight the Great War in America [Hardcover]

When anthrax spores were sent through the mails in 2001, we had a reminder of just how scary germs can be as weapons, but the use of such methods has a long history. Until bacteria were scientifically understood, however, those who tried to use infections as armaments were doing so by guesswork. Germs were first systematically deployed as weapons in World War I, and they were used within America by German saboteurs. _In The Fourth Horseman: One Man's Mission to Wage the Great War in America_ (PublicAffairs), Robert Koenig has pieced together the career of Anton Dilger, an American of German roots, and his campaign to strike at one of the foundations of the US Army of the time, its horses and mules. Dilger failed in almost all his efforts; others in later wars would make germ warfare truly frightening. Speculations on his personality and motivations, however, provide fascinating reading, and Koenig has filled his book with valuable historical notes on social and military forces of the time.

Anton Dilger was born on the Shenandoah farm of his father, who was born in Germany but had become a hero in the Union Army. Dilger was sent to German for an education, eventually studying medicine at the University of Heidelberg. When WWI started, as American citizen, he could have returned to the United States and remained neutral. He could not enter the German military, but he did volunteer to be a noncombatant surgeon. He got to see how America's slanted neutrality was hobbling Germany, and he sought a more active role in helping out his homeland. In 1915, the General Staff in Berlin were investigating the use of germs as weapons. The target for the operation would be horses and mules; this bypassed any early international conventions that forbid germ warfare against soldiers. Dilger had medical experience and an American passport, and he was thoroughly loyal to Germany; he was the perfect selection as saboteur to carry out the plan. He set up a basement lab in a house six miles outside of Washington, preparing to breed the germs that cause glanders, an incurable and highly infections equine disease. Dilger equipped his agents with vials of the germs that could be taken to ports on the east coast, where mules and horses were boarding for service in the war. The plot produced casualties, but although glanders could not be cured, it could be reliably tested for and afflicted horses could be culled. Dilger's efforts made little dent in the millions of animals shipped to Europe. He became part of the equally unsuccessful effort to make Mexico a German ally and to arm the units of the Mexican army that could invade the United States. He left Mexico for Madrid. There is nothing certain, but best evidence is that he died there in 1918, the victim of the Spanish flu pandemic, caused by a virus more potent than any he had tried to spread.

The importance of horses and mules to the war effort is a theme which runs through Koenig's fine book. How they were raised and shipped to be of service in the war is covered in detail. It is not clear how Dilger, a smart man and a sympathetic doctor, as well as a horseman from his youth, could have accepted an assignment that he must have hoped would have killed thousands of the animals. He must have thought that any means toward German victory was worth taking. Of the horses shipped to Europe, only the special mounts of officers ever made it back to America; the three quarters of a million other horses and mules either died in the fighting, or afterwards were sent to work in European farms or were slaughtered for meat. The carnage of horses in the war led to increased efforts in animal protection, but the Great War was the last conflict in which horses played a big role on the battlefield, and it is a good bet that they will are safe forever from again being the targets of a biological war. Humans, well, they are going to have to take their chances.

To someone from outside the US, this book brought many revelations, foremost of which was the insight into the thriving German community that existed there prior to 1914, but now is no more. We are familiar with Italian, Greek and Polish influences, but the Germans, as the enemy after a bitter war, had to subsume their culture.

The anti-hero of this gripping book, Anton Dilger, belonged to a family which was more American than German already, but he felt the pull back to earlier roots. The personal letters and insights that Rob Koenig has painstakingly researched show how horrific incidents like the Corpus Christi Massacre in Karlsruhe can have far-reaching effects through people struggling with their identity.

Koenig tells this story in such a way that you do not know what is coming, and thus every chapter has an impact. Throughout, he reveals his mastery of scientific writing for the public. I've read some of his other work on contemporary science, and was delighted to see this historical work. I hope he does another book. This one, meanwhile, is highly recommended to those who like biography, travel, history, science and warfare, all rolled up in one.

Prior to the events of September 11, 2001, many Americans had a false sense of security regarding foreign attacks on U.S. soil. But in the post 9/11 world, we sadly realized our vulnerability and acknowledged the possibility of subsequent, similar attacks and the potential for equally as heinous attacks of a chemical or biological nature. It is this vulnerability to horrific acts committed by foreign agents living among us and blending into our society, that draws us into the fascinating story of Anton Dilger, an American-born doctor, beloved by his family and well respected in his community, who came to lead a secret life as a German spy and saboteur during World War I.

This thought provoking and informative tale, with its blend of history, intrigue and espionage, will entertain the most ardent history buffs and WWI aficionados, as well as those simply looking for an entertaining and enjoyable change of pace book.