From time immemorial, war has been a serious test for both soldiers and commanders. Sometimes, for the successful completion of an operation or the rapid advance of troops, it was necessary to act beyond human capabilities. And then the stimulants came into play. At different times they were different, however, before the harmful effects of this "doping" were noticed, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were captured by dangerous addictions.
One of the most difficult wars of the 19th century was the Franco-Prussian one. In difficult field conditions, the soldiers lived at the limit of their capabilities. Therefore, in order for the army to more easily endure the hardships of wartime, morphine began to be massively used, which was then considered almost a panacea for all diseases. The result of the widespread use of injections of this drug to combat fatigue turned out to be sad - a huge number of soldiers and officers, after the end of the war, could not get rid of the addiction.
But in Germany, for example, at the state level, to increase the endurance of their troops, they decided to resort to the tactics of changing the diet. So, army nutritionists made a new product that was supposed to be nutritious and add strength to the soldiers. They became "pea sausage" - a special mass of their pea flour, bacon and meat juice. But the idea turned out to be not entirely successful: this "addition" to the diet turned out to be very satisfying and high-calorie, but too heavy for the body, which is why many army men were "tormented".
Interesting fact: Despite the fact that the ineffectiveness of pea sausage was revealed quite quickly, this problem was never solved, and the nourishing product remained in the diet of German soldiers until the end of World War II.
The French, on the other hand, decided to resort to exotic methods of increasing the "cheerfulness" of the soldiers. During military campaigns in Africa, they noticed the extraordinary endurance of the natives. Moreover, it did not deplete even in the conditions of driving prisoners and slaves through the rugged tropics. And the natives most often did not have provisions with them.
However, there was one oddity: as soon as prisoners and slaves found themselves in Europe or the New World, their endurance disappeared without a trace and, exhausted by unbearable working conditions, they quickly died.
The reason for the African cheerfulness was found pretty soon - it was all about the fruits of the kola nut, which the natives ate. They suppressed the feeling of hunger and seemed to "open up" the internal resources of the human body: strength and abilities grew by leaps and bounds.
For a long time, the Europeans considered stories about the amazing properties of the cola nut to be just fiction. However, after a while, after several testimonies of the officers of the French army, who experienced the effects of the walnut on themselves and showed amazing abilities for endurance and vigor.
Scientists, under the control of the authorities, quickly adopted the properties of the African tree. So, in 1884, specially for the French army, the so-called "rusks with an accelerator" were made, which a year later successfully passed the baptism of fire during the campaign in Algeria, and then in France itself.
At the same time, scientists discovered that nuts cannot be taken in their pure form - at the same time as increasing stamina and vigor, the substances contained in the fruits increased the feeling of aggression and sexual desire. And so that the soldiers during the hostilities did not begin to turn into marauders and maniacs, cola extract began to be given out strictly dosed and only when absolutely necessary. Most often, the bitter-tasting nut extract was “hidden” in chocolate, which was very popular among the infantry, sailors and pilots.
Another, even more famous and universal remedy was vodka and other alcoholic beverages. They were even included in the diet of soldiers at the official level: according to Novate.ru, in tsarist Russia beer and wine were present in the army menu. And before the battle, the soldiers were given special vodka rations, which were considered a fairly effective remedy for pain shock in the field. After the battle, she also relieved the tension.
The First World War brought a new trend in army doping - hard drugs became fashionable among soldiers. In addition to returning to the already familiar morphine, cocaine and heroin began to be used en masse. And in the rebellious times of the October Revolution and the Civil War that followed it, the "trench cocktail" was invented - cocaine was diluted in alcohol. This stunning blend has been used to boost alertness, dull feelings of fear and hunger. Moreover, they used it en masse and on both sides of the front. Of course, after the end of the war, most of the “connoisseurs” of the cocktail could no longer get rid of their addiction.
And on the other side of the planet, the jungle gave the world another stimulant. It happened during the Chak war of 1932-1935. between Bolivia and Paraguay. Then the latter were helped by several dozen Russian officers in exile. During the encirclement of the Bolivians by the Paraguayan army in the jungle, they were cut off from their usual sources of food. It was then that the command began to airplanes to drop the leaves of the coca bush, among other things, to the surrounded units. The sap of this plant contained substances that dull the feeling of hunger, increase endurance and add strength.
However, the miracle cure had one very serious side effect: soldiers who consumed large quantities of coca experienced a feeling of uncontrollable fear and saw hallucinations. The Paraguayans, under the command of the Russians, decided to take advantage of the unbalanced state of the Bolivian units and staged a "psychic attack", as a result of which the frightened soldiers "under the coke" rushed from the "evil spirits" chasing them straight to the enemy's artillery. This method of attack was used by Russian émigré officers during the Civil War, including against Chapaev's army.
Continuing the topic: The invisible hand of the market, or How "cheer pills" entered the Allied troops