Nowadays everyone should know what a field hospital is. WWII is a mournful page in the history of our country. Along with those who heroically defended the frontiers, won a precious victory, as well as those who worked in the rear, there are also medical workers. After all, their merit is no less. Often, being in close proximity to the places of hostilities, these people had to remain calm and, as far as possible, provide assistance to the wounded, fight epidemics, take care of the younger generation, monitor the he alth of workers at defense enterprises, and medical assistance was also needed for simple population. At the same time, the working conditions were very difficult.
Main function of field hospitals
It's hard to imagine, but statistics show that it was the medical unit that saved and returned to service more than 90 percent of those who won the victory. And to be more precise, it is as many as 17 million people. Of the 100 wounded, only 15 returned to duty thanks to the workers of the rear hospitals, and the rest came into shape during the militaryhospital.
It is also worth knowing that during the Great Patriotic War there were no major epidemics and infections. The front simply did not know about them during these years, an amazing situation, because epidemiological and infectious diseases, as a rule, are eternal companions of war. Military hospitals worked day and night to nip the foci of such diseases immediately in the bud, this also saved thousands of human lives.
Establishment of military hospitals
The People's Commissariat for He alth of the USSR immediately outlined the main task in wartime - saving the wounded, as well as their recovery, so that a person, having overcome an injury, could return to duty again and continue to fight. That is why, in the forty-first year, many evacuation hospitals begin to appear. This was indicated by the government directive adopted immediately after the start of the war. The plan for the creation of these institutions was even overfulfilled, because everyone in the country understood the importance of the function they performed and the danger posed by a meeting with the enemy.
1,600 hospitals were established to treat approximately 700,000 wounded soldiers. It was decided to use the buildings of sanatoriums and rest homes in order to place military hospitals there, since it was possible to create the necessary conditions for caring for the sick there.
Evacuation hospitals
It was difficult for doctors to work, but in the forty-second year 57 percent of the wounded returned to service from hospitals, in forty-three - 61 percent, and in forty-four - 47. These figures indicate the productive work of doctors. Those people,who, due to their injuries, could not continue to fight, were demobilized or sent on leave. Only 2 percent of those admitted to hospitals died.
There were also rear hospitals in which civilian doctors worked, because the rear also needed medical care. All such institutions, as well as other types of hospitals, were under the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of He alth of the USSR.
But these are all so-called evacuation hospitals. It is more interesting to study how it was for those who saved the sick literally on the front line, that is, to learn about field military hospitals.
Field Hospital
Underestimate the work of those who worked under them, by no means! Thanks to these people, who, by the way, risked their lives themselves, the losses of wounded soldiers of the Soviet troops after the battles were minimal. What is a WWII field hospital? Photos in historical chronicles perfectly show how thousands and thousands of lives were saved, and not only the military, but also those who were close to the field. This is a huge experience in the treatment of shell-shock, shrapnel wounds, blindness, deafness, amputation of limbs. This place is definitely not for the faint of heart.
Difficulties of work
Of course, and doctors often got hit by shells, staff died. And there are many memories of how a very young nurse, dragging a wounded soldier from the battlefield, fell from enemy bullets, or how a talented surgeon, medical staff and the wounded died from the blast wave and shell fragments. But to the last, each of themdid his hard work. Even training for the medical staff often went under fire, but the personnel were badly needed, the work of Pirogov and Daria Sevastopolskaya had to be continued. What is a field hospital? This place concentrated real humanism and self-sacrifice.
Few descriptions of how the field hospital was equipped, what this place looks like, can only be traced through rare photographs and video chronicles of wartime.
Description of the military hospital
What did the field hospital look like? Although the name of this institution sounds solid enough, in essence, it was most often just a few large tents that were easily laid out or assembled so that the hospital could follow the fighters. Field hospitals had their own vehicles and tents, which endowed them with maneuverability and the ability to be located outside settlements and be part of army bases. There were other cases as well. For example, when the hospital was based in a school or a large residential building in a settlement near which the fighting took place. It all depended on the circumstances.
There were no separate operating rooms for obvious reasons, all the necessary surgical manipulations were performed by the doctors right there, assisted by nurses. The environment was extremely simple and mobile. Often screams of pain were heard from the hospital, but there was nothing to be done, here people were saved as best they could. This is how the field hospital functioned in 1943. The photo below, for example, represents the necessary medical tools for a nurse.
Contribution to Victory
It's hard to imagine how great the contribution of Soviet medical workers to the fact that in May 1945 every citizen of the USSR rejoiced with tears in his eyes, because it's hard to believe, but they won. It was everyday work, but it is comparable to true heroism: to bring back to life, to give he alth to those who no longer hoped. It was thanks to the wartime hospitals that the number of troops remained at the proper level in this mournful time. The field hospital is a place where real heroes worked. The Great Patriotic War became the most difficult test for the whole country.
Memories of eyewitnesses
History keeps a lot of memories of the post-war period, many of which were written by employees of field military hospitals. In many of them, in addition to descriptions of the hell that was happening around, and the story of a difficult life and a difficult emotional state, there are appeals to the younger generation with requests not to repeat wars, to remember what happened in the middle of the 20th century on the territory of our country, and appreciate what each of them worked for.
In order to show the humane attitude of all those who worked in military hospitals, I would like to recall that in many cases assistance was provided not only to Soviet citizens or representatives of the allied forces, but also to wounded soldiers of the enemy army. There were many prisoners, and often they ended up in the camp in a deplorable state, and they had to be helped, because they are also people. In addition, having surrendered, the Germansthey did not show resistance, and the work of doctors was respected. One woman recalls a 1943 field hospital. She was a twenty-year-old nurse at the time of the war, and she had to single-handedly help more than a hundred former enemies. And nothing, they all sat still and endured the pain.
Humanism and selflessness are important not only in wartime, but also in our everyday life. And these wonderful spiritual qualities are exemplified by those who fought for human lives and he alth in field hospitals during the Great Patriotic War.
