This Morning Report describes one soldier suffering from “battle fatigue” and the efforts of the aid men to help him. But what is “battle fatigue” exactly? What were the symptoms and signs? And how was it treated? In this article, I will explore these questions and answer them first for the US Army in general […]
When a casualty’s injury warranted evacuation from the battalion aid station/casualty collecting point, and the treatment he had received had stabilized his situation enough for him to be transportable, he would enter the second echelon of the Chain of Evacuation. The second echelon was the responsibility of the medical battalion. Just as all the medical
Medical Evacuation and Treatment Series. Part 5: Medical Battalion. Read More »
First echelon evacuation meant getting the casualties away from the front line, as quickly as the tactical situation allowed, to a battalion aid station. Here, they would be seen by a doctor for the first time after being wounded. “Soon after dawn, we began to receive casualties, many of whom were severely wounded. The aid
Medical Evacuation and Treatment Series. Part 4: Battalion Aid Station. Read More »
In many of the photos and films taken in the European Theater of Operations, we find medical personnel and vehicles marked with Geneva Convention Red Crosses. The medics found that, generally, the Germans followed the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of personnel and equipment marked as non-combatants. For this, the Army had the brassards as
Geneva Convention Red Cross markings Read More »
After being wounded, a casualty received first aid (Part I). Emergency medical treatment was then started by a company aid man (Part II). Now it was time to get the casualty away from the front as quickly as possible. This evacuation followed the links of the Evacuation Chain. In this part, I will take a
Medical Evacuation and Treatment Series. Part 3: First echelon evacuation. Read More »
How do you train men to prepare them for war? How do you train them when you have to expend your armed forces roughly one hundredfold? And how do you do this when you have to do it while you are fighting a global conflict? I believe the answer inevitably will contain “compromises” and even
Medical Evacuation and Treatment Series. Part 2: company aid man. Read More »
“MEDIC!”… I think we have all seen scenes in war movies or Tv-series where one of the portrayed soldiers is wounded in battle: Men are running. There are disorienting loud noises: the rattling of machinegun fire, the “pings” of M-1 Garand clips ejecting. There are explosions. Orders are shouted. Then there is that scream: “MEDIC!”.
Medical Evacuation and Treatment Series. Part I: First Aid Read More »
One of the things I love about doing historical research is the excitement of receiving new documents. Every time I have received or found new documents I felt like I am going on a treasure hunt! And just like a real treasure hunt, sometimes you find things that are not all that exciting. But then
On paper the system of evacuation worked well. It did however not accommodate to the incredible speed of advance sometimes made by units like the 4th AD. The biggest problem was the lack of transport equipment of the third echelon hospital units.
Fixing the weakest link in the chain Read More »