INTRODUCTION: Insects and the diseases that they are capable to host have played a crucial role in the outcome of major military operations throughout recorded history. As a matter of fact, regular armies had to fight both against enemy uniform and invisible pathogens
the latter often causing battle casualties more disabling than bullets. METHODS: All the sources present on Pubmed and Google Scholar relating to the fight against RESULTS: First World War (WWI) was a position war also if considering the fight between humans against louse
with the latter being controlled by rudimentary but science-driven hygienic measures. Contrary, during Second World War (WWII) human forces, thanks to new research and development attainments, have gone on the counter-offensive by "shooting flights with cannons". CONCLUSIONS: The fascinating history of Bartonella quintana and Rickettsia prowazekii tells us that the war against armies could mirror the war against infectious diseases and their arthropod vectors.