What does a field hospital look like? WWII field hospital.

St. Petersburg State University

Faculty of Medicine

Abstract for the course “History of Medicine” on the topic:

"Medicine during the Great Patriotic War"

1st year student 102 gr. A. R. Kerefov

Table of contents

Introduction

Women doctors

Surgery on the battlefield

Great Frontline Surgeons

Hospitals underground

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

Russian medicine has traveled a bright and original path, marked by many years of wars. One of the most cruel and merciless was the Great Patriotic War, where our country lost 27 million people and the 60th anniversary of which we celebrate this year. The famous commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan, after the end of the war, wrote: “What was done by Soviet military medicine during the years of the last war can, in all fairness, be called a feat. For us, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, the image of a military medic will remain the personification of high humanism, courage and dedication.”

In 1941, in an editorial in the Pravda newspaper, the strategic task facing medicine was formulated as follows: “Every warrior returned to duty is our victory. This is a victory for Soviet medical science... This is a victory for a military unit, into whose ranks an old, battle-hardened warrior has returned.”

In a life-or-death battle with the enemy, military medics walked along the battlefields along with the troops. Under deadly fire, they carried the wounded from the battlefield, delivered them to medical centers, provided the necessary assistance, and then evacuated them to medical battalions, hospitals and further to specialized rear institutions. The clearly organized military medical service worked intensively and smoothly. During the Great Patriotic War, there were more than 200 thousand doctors and over 500 thousand paramedics, nurses, medical instructors and orderlies in the army and navy, many of whom died in the fire of battle. In general, during the war, the mortality rate of medical workers was in second place after riflemen. The combat losses of the medical corps amounted to 210,602 people, of which 84,793 were irrecoverable. The greatest losses were on the battlefield or near it - 88.2% of the total number of losses, including corpsmen-porters - 60%. The Motherland highly appreciated the selfless work of military and civilian healthcare workers. More than 30,000 civil healthcare workers were awarded orders and medals during the Great Patriotic War. More than 116 thousand military doctors were awarded orders, 50 of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and 19 became full holders of the Order of Glory.

Since the exploits of every doctor on the battlefield and all examples of the heroism of doctors during the war cannot be reflected in this essay, I turned to several of the most key and interesting aspects from the point of view of the history of medicine.

Women doctors

Marshal of the Soviet Union I.Kh. Bagramyan wrote: “What was done by military medicine during the years of the last war can, in all fairness, be called a feat. For us, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, the image of a military medic remains the personification of high humanism, courage and dedication.”
Thanks to the heroic selfless work of military doctors, with the help of Soviet healthcare and the entire Soviet people, unprecedentedly high rates of return to duty of the wounded and sick after treatment were achieved. The outcomes of severe injuries and illnesses have been significantly improved compared to past wars.

Thanks to the efforts and care of military doctors, the lives of 10 million defenders of the Motherland were saved. 72.3% of those injured in battles and 90.6% of sick soldiers were returned to duty. Truly this is a feat in the name of life. The army and the population were reliably protected from the occurrence of epidemics - these constant companions of war.

Most doctors are women, mothers, sisters, daughters. The brunt of military everyday life fell on their shoulders, because almost the entire male population was on the front line.

Women doctors. They faced no less trials than the soldiers on the front line. They showed so much bravery, courage and fearlessness! Old people and children, the wounded and disabled, the weak and sick - everyone needed the help of a nurse and a sanitary squad. And every soldier and commander felt this in battle, knowing that there was a sister nearby - a “sister”, a fearless person who would not leave you in trouble, would provide first aid in any conditions, would drag you to shelter, carry you in difficult times, and hide you from the bombing. on the way. Many years have passed since the terrible events of the Patriotic War, but the memory has preserved the names and exploits of these wonderful women who, not sparing their health and life itself, worked “on the front line,” daily saving the lives of wounded soldiers and commanders in any and the most difficult battle conditions, helping they can return to duty, and after victory - to their family and favorite job.

Let us present data from a letter from the command of the 6th Rifle Corps of Siberian volunteers to the working people of the Krasnoyarsk Territory about the military exploits of Krasnoyarsk residents and a call to join the ranks of the dead dated January 7, 1943: “... Comrade Verozubova carried over 200 wounded from the battlefield and provided them with first aid help. Taking part in a tank landing on the battlefield, she bandaged 40 wounded soldiers. The three-time wounded woman did not leave the battlefield.”

Indeed, many doctors were still very young, in some cases they deliberately gave themselves a year or two to be older. Taisiya Semyonovna Tankovich, born in the Mansky district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, recalls that she had to carry out her work in difficult conditions: “I, a young nurse, under bombing and shelling, had to bandage wounds on the battlefield, find those who were breathing, find help and save , to drag the heavy soldier with weak girlish hands to the dressing station... On the way they came under bombing, the walking wounded were able to jump out and run away into the forest. The seriously wounded were screaming in fear, I calmed them down as best I could, running from car to car. Luckily, the bombs didn’t hit.” Many doctors walked almost the entire combat path on their feet, but it turned out to be impossible to destroy enthusiasm and willpower. In the Oryol-Kursk direction, losses were enormous. Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Petrova (a participant in these events) did not have deep knowledge of medicine, but despite this, Nadezhda Nikolaevna provided assistance to wounded soldiers in a temporarily equipped dressing station (in a deep bomb crater), since other nurses were wounded. Now the lives of all the wounded depended on the girl from Irbey. She had to, without hesitation, if she needed to help a person save his life, then, without hesitation, she said: “Take blood from me as much as necessary,” and in return received words of gratitude and letters. Anna Afanasyevna Cherkashina talks about military life on the Oryol-Kursk Bulge. She, who could not swim, drove a rubber boat and pulled the wounded out of the water when crossing the Dnieper. While saving the lives of soldiers, being wounded herself, she did not think about herself. Another case was when doctor V.L. Aronov and nurse Olga Kupriyanova were not at a loss during a raid by enemy planes, but were able to calm the patients by ordering Olga to sing loudly:

I accompanied you to your feat,
A thunderstorm thundered over the country...

We cannot forget the doctors, nurses, orderlies, all those who worked in the rear and helped people who were close to death return to life, they looked death in the face. The soldiers who were treated in hospitals addressed with gratitude through newspapers, without naming the names of the doctors, but only their names and countries: “Hello, dear mother Praskovya Ivanovna, I cannot find the high words of gratitude that I am obliged to write to you; I loved Dora Klimentyevna, I loved as I loved my mother in childhood, you carried me a lot in your arms; I ask you, mom, take care of yourself.” Appeals are found in all letters addressed to the medical personnel of the Krasnoyarsk Territory; these are people who do not ask for anything, do not pretend to anything, but simply express their “high feelings of gratitude” from the bottom of their hearts. Our doctors did not remain indifferent after treating the fighter. They searched through letters for their former patients at the front, on collective farms and cities; they wanted to know if the wounds had opened. Are post-operative scars bothering you, or is your bad heart bothering you? But this is something that was often not achieved even in peacetime from many highly titled medical institutions.

Among the medical instructors, 40% were women. Among the 44 doctors - Heroes of the Soviet Union - 17 are women. As one of the heroes of K. Simonov’s story “Days and Nights” said: “Well, by God, there really aren’t any men for this work. Well, let them go to the rear, in the hospital for the wounded, but why come here.” According to the testimony of the poetess Yu. Drunina, it often happened: “Men in bloody overcoats called a girl for help...”

She saved a hundred wounded alone
And she carried it out of the firestorm,
She gave them water to drink
And she bandaged their wounds...

To save the defenders of the Motherland, the girls spared neither their strength nor their lives.
Yu. Drunina wrote the following lines about the heroes of these events:

...We did not expect posthumous glory,
We wanted to live with glory.
...Why in bloody bandages
The blonde soldier is lying down?
His body with his overcoat
I covered it, clenching my teeth,
The Belarusian winds sang
About the Ryazan wilderness gardens....

Surgery on the battlefield

Surgery has always been one of the most important specialties of medicine. Surgeons have long enjoyed special trust and favor. Their activities are surrounded by an aura of holiness and heroism. The names of skilled surgeons are passed down from generation to generation. That's how it was. This is still the case today. During the war, saving people's lives became their daily job.

A memorable picture of the work of the surgeons of the medical battalion was painted by Mikhail Sholokhov in the novel “They Fought for the Motherland”: “... and the surgeon, meanwhile, stood, clutching with both hands the edge of a white table, as if filled with red wine, and swayed, stepping from his toes to his heels. He was sleeping... and only when his comrade, a big black-bearded doctor who had just completed a complex abdominal operation at the next table, pulled off his gently sobbing gloves, wet with blood, from his hands and quietly said to him: “Well, how is your hero, Nikolai Petrovich? Will he survive?" - the young surgeon woke up, unclenched his hands that were gripping the edge of the table, adjusted his glasses with the usual gesture and answered in the same businesslike, but slightly hoarse voice: “Absolutely. There's nothing wrong with it yet. This one must not only live, but also fight. The devil knows how healthy he is, you know, it’s even enviable... But now we can’t send him away: he has one wound, something I don’t like... We have to wait a little.”

The writer of the front-line generation, Evgeny Nosov, in the story “Red Wine of Victory”, from his own recollections, conveys the situation of the medical battalion: “They operated on me in a pine grove, where the cannonade of a nearby front reached. The grove was filled with carts and trucks, constantly bringing up the wounded... First of all, the seriously wounded were let through ... Under the canopy of a spacious tent, with a canopy and a tin pipe over a tarpaulin roof, there were tables placed in one row, covered with oilcloth. The wounded, stripped to their underwear, lay across the tables at intervals of railroad sleepers. This was an internal queue - directly to the surgical knife. .. Among the crowd of nurses, the tall figure of the surgeon began to flash, his bare sharp elbows began to flash, the abrupt, sharp words of some of his commands could be heard, which could not be heard over the noise of the primus, which was constantly boiling water. From time to time a ringing metallic slap was heard: this is the surgeon. threw the extracted fragment or bullet into a zinc basin at the foot of the table... Finally, the surgeon straightened up and, somehow martyrically, hostilely, looking at the others with reddish eyes from insomnia, waiting for their turn, went to the corner to wash his hands.”

Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov wrote that "... in the conditions of a major war, achieving victory over the enemy depends to a large extent on the successful work of the military medical service, especially military field surgeons." The experience of the war confirmed the truth of these words.

During the war, not only the medical service of the armed forces, but also local health authorities, and with them tens of thousands of people far from medicine, participated in the care of the wounded and sick during the war. Mothers, wives, younger brothers and sisters of soldiers, working in industry and agriculture, found time and energy to carefully care for the wounded and sick in hospitals. Experiencing great deprivation in food and clothing, they gave everything, including their blood, in order to quickly restore the health of the soldiers.

The work of medical battalion workers was depicted by the poet S. Baruzdin:

And the sisters are busy,
They work skillfully and quickly,
And the drivers are sweating,
Trying to make it shake less.
And the gray-haired doctors
With the hands of real sappers
For some reason they think
That we were simply lucky...

During the Patriotic War, our entire system of providing medical care in battle and subsequent treatment of the wounded until recovery was built on the principles of staged treatment with evacuation as directed. This means dispersing the entire treatment process in relation to the wounded between special units and institutions, which represent separate stages on his way from the place of injury to the rear, and carrying out evacuation to the destination where each wounded person will be provided with qualified and specialized treatment dictated by the requirements of modern surgery and medicine in general. Changing stages along the evacuation route and the medical personnel providing assistance and care at these stages will not harm the treatment process if there is a strong connection between all stages and mutual understanding and interdependence have been established in advance. But the first thing that is required is a common understanding by all physicians of the fundamentals on which military field surgery is organizationally based. We are talking about a unified military field medical doctrine.

The content of this doctrine was formulated by the head of the Main Military Sanupra, E.I. Smirnov. He said during the war that “modern staged treatment and a unified military field medical doctrine in the field of field surgery are based on the following provisions:

1) all gunshot wounds are primarily infected;

2) the only reliable method of combating infection of gunshot wounds is primary wound treatment;

3) most of the wounded require early surgical treatment;

4) wounded who were subjected to surgical treatment in the first hours of injury give the best prognosis.”

In his speeches, E.I. Smirnov repeatedly emphasized that in the conditions of a field health service, the volume of work and the choice of methods of surgical intervention and treatment are most often determined not so much by medical indications as by the state of affairs at the front, the number of incoming sick and wounded and their condition, the number and the qualifications of doctors, especially surgeons, at this stage, as well as the availability of vehicles, field and sanitary facilities and medical equipment, the time of year and weather conditions. Successes in providing surgical care and subsequent treatment of the wounded at the stages of medical evacuation were largely ensured by the work of the advanced stages and, first of all, by organizing first aid in battle, removing the wounded from the battlefield and delivering them to the battalion medical center and then to the regimental medical center (BMP and PMP).

The work of advanced medical stages is of utmost importance in saving lives and restoring the health of the wounded. Time is of the essence in the success of this work. Sometimes minutes are important to quickly stop bleeding on the battlefield.

One of the most striking indicators of the organization of the field medical service, which was of paramount importance for all subsequent surgical work, was the time of arrival of the wounded after being wounded at the regimental medical station, where he was provided with first medical care. The early arrival of the wounded at the primary care facility predetermined the success of the entire subsequent fight against shock and the consequences of blood loss, and was also important for accelerating the further transfer of the wounded from the primary care hospital to the medical battalion, where primary surgical treatment of wounds and the necessary surgical interventions were carried out.

Our main requirement for the medical service was to ensure that all wounded arrived at the primary care facility within 6 hours after injury and to the medical battalion within 12 hours. If the wounded were delayed at the company site or in the area of ​​​​the infantry fighting vehicle and arrived after the specified deadlines, then we considered this as a lack of organization of medical care on the battlefield. The optimal period for providing primary surgical care to the wounded in the medical battalion was considered to be within six to eight hours after injury. If there were no special conditions in the nature of the battle that could delay the arrival of all the wounded from the forward zone to the first aid station (the lightly wounded arrived completely), then the delay in the arrival of the seriously wounded could only be explained by emergency circumstances that required the intervention of a battalion paramedic, a senior regiment physician, and sometimes and nachsandiva.

The most important body of first aid, undoubtedly, was the battalion medical center, headed by the battalion paramedic. It was he who organized all medical care and all sanitary, hygienic and anti-epidemic measures carried out in the battalion. The work of the sanitary departments of the companies and the evacuation of the wounded from company areas to infantry fighting vehicles depended primarily on the battalion paramedic. The most important thing for him was to speed up the arrival of the wounded at the infantry fighting vehicles and their transfer to the infantry fighting vehicles. At the same time, special attention was paid to removing the wounded from company areas, ambulance transport was sent to help, orderlies and porters from a previously prepared reserve were attached to the medical instructors. It was especially important when the wounded were admitted to the BMP to examine them in order to send, first of all, to the PMC the wounded who required emergency medical, including surgical, care. The condition of the BMP was checked and previously applied bandages and transport tires were corrected. When the wounded were admitted in a state of shock, cardiac and painkillers were used. The wounded were warmed with chemical heating pads and warm blankets. For penetrating wounds of the chest, a large hermetic pressure bandage was applied with a gasket made from the rubberized shell of an individual bag.

The conduct of anti-epidemic measures by a battalion paramedic was of particular importance during offensive operations and the liberation of previously occupied areas that were extremely unfavorable in terms of epidemics. The incredible oppression, poverty and deprivation to which the population of the regions occupied by the Nazis were subjected created a difficult epidemiological situation that threatened our advancing troops if serious and rapid anti-epidemic measures were not taken. The regiment's medical unit also paid great attention to this work.

The path of the wounded man from the place of first aid on the battlefield to his arrival at the first aid station, despite its shortness (three to five kilometers), was very difficult for the victim himself. During the medical examination of the arriving wounded in the first aid station in order to determine the degree of urgency of their evacuation to the emergency medical unit, bandages that were wet and unsatisfactorily applied were changed, the correct application of splints was checked and, if necessary, they were replaced, and the tourniquets previously applied to stop arterial bleeding were monitored. Particular attention was paid to the administration of antitetanus and antigangrenous serums for artillery and mine wounds of the lower half of the body, as well as for all lacerated wounds and large contamination of the body. At the primary care facility, measures were taken to combat shock and the consequences of large blood losses, which required emergency assistance in the form of preoperative blood transfusions and blood substitutes, which was of particular importance in the difficult conditions of evacuation of the wounded.

Under these conditions, primary care hospitals turned from general medical care points into preparatory surgical stages. At the regimental medical station, for the first time on the evacuation route of the wounded, medical registration of the wounded was carried out, and medical cards from the forward area were filled out, which followed them along the entire evacuation route. In some cases, when there were significant difficulties with the evacuation of the wounded from the primary hospital to the primary care unit, it was practiced to send a surgeon from the medical battalion to the primary hospital for surgical care (mainly for emergency and urgent operations).

The specific contribution of BCP doctors, medical battalions and ambulance trains to the stage-by-stage treatment of the entire mass of the wounded is that they continued bandaging, sanitizing, sorting, and on the other hand, ensured the healing of soldiers with light and moderate wounds, and carried out a huge number of operations. The third group of doctors, as noted, were employees of inpatient hospitals. Their features are the high qualifications and specialization of doctors, communication with the civilian population. A special group of doctors consisted of the staff of ambulance trains. They took the seriously wounded to the rear of the country.

Doctors responsible for blood transfusions were assigned to medical battalions and hospitals. To receive, store and distribute blood to armies and evacuation centers, a blood transfusion group consisting of a hematologist and two nurses was organized in September 1941. The group was provided with two ambulances and was located close to the location of the front-line air ambulance. The responsibility of the group, in addition to receiving, storing and distributing blood locally, included organizing donations at all medical institutions, especially in the army region. Blood was delivered by plane from Moscow (Central Institute of Blood Transfusion - TsIPK) and from Yaroslavl, where a branch of TsIPK was organized specifically for our front. On non-flying days, blood was delivered from the capital by motor vehicles, mainly by rail, and from Yaroslavl by return medical services and medical trains. The main point of delivery of blood from Moscow to the front was the village. Edrovo near Valdai.

In the army, blood was delivered by air ambulances, using their return flights to evacuate the wounded. In all armies, “blood groups” were also organized, consisting of a doctor and one or two nurses: blood was sent to places in medical battalions and hospitals by their vehicles (sanitary and trucks, on carts, sleighs, and in case of complete impassability - on foot) During the period During the spring thaw of 1942, units cut off by flooded rivers and swamps received blood in special dump baskets designed by the head of the blood service, I. Makhalova (now a retired colonel of the medical service). For a considerable time, our front also supplied blood to the neighboring armies of the Kalinin and Volkhov fronts. Simultaneously with the use of blood at the front, blood substitutes (plasma, transfusin, Seltsovsky’s fluid, Petrov’s fluid, etc.) began to be widely used.

Great Frontline Surgeons

Petr Andreevich Kupriyanov - chief surgeon of the Leningrad Front in the Great Patriotic War

During the Great Patriotic War, Professor P. A. Kupriyanov was appointed chief surgeon of the Northern Front, then of the North-Western direction, and from 1943 until the end of the war - of the Leningrad Front. The blockade of Leningrad and the extraordinary difficulties of defending the besieged city required heroic efforts from the medical service, as well as from the entire population and all soldiers. Under these conditions, the speedy restoration of the health of the wounded and their return to duty were of national importance. The leading role in organizing the surgical service and developing the most appropriate methods of treating the wounded was played by P. A. Kupriyanov.
He could often be seen at the forefront of the defense, where fierce battles took place. P. A. Kupriyanov recalled: “When our troops converged on Leningrad, medical battalions were located on the outskirts of the city, partly on its streets. Field army hospitals became part of the general network of the front evacuation point.” When the evacuation of the wounded from Leningrad stopped on August 31, 1941, Pyotr Andreevich organized hospital bases for the lightly wounded in each army. During the most difficult days of the siege of Leningrad, in agreement with the chief therapist of the front, E.M. Gelshtein, it was decided to locate therapeutic mobile field hospitals “end-to-end” on the same site with surgical mobile field hospitals. This made it possible to use experienced therapists to treat those wounded in the chest, abdomen and in the postoperative period.

Along with the main work of the chief surgeon of the front, P. A. Kupriyanov supervised the work of a specialized hospital where those wounded in the chest lay. The chief surgeon of the Volkhov Front, A. A. Vishnevsky, who arrived on business in besieged Leningrad, will write in his diary what he saw P. A. Kupriyanova “... calm as always, smiling slightly, but much thinner.” During the blockade, Pyotr Andreevich performed more than 60 operations on those wounded in the heart.
During this difficult period of the Great Patriotic War, P. A. Kupriyanov did not stop engaging in scientific activities. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, his book “A Short Course in Military Field Surgery,” written together with S.I. Banaitis, was published in Leningrad. It summarizes the achievements of military field surgery of the pre-war period and outlines the organizational principles of providing surgical care at various stages of medical evacuation. In the preface to this book, E.I. Smirnov and S.S. Girgolav wrote: “This textbook uses the experience of the war with the White Finns. Its authors were active participants in the war, organizers of surgical work on the Karelian Isthmus. There is no need to prove that personal experience work dominated the authors. And this is good... The basic organizational principles of military field surgery are presented correctly, with knowledge of the matter, and therefore the release of this textbook will only enrich our military medicine.”
This assessment of the book needs no comment. It was “A Short Course in Military Field Surgery” by P. A. Kupriyanov and S. I. Banaitis that served as a reference manual for surgeons during the Great Patriotic War. The book has not lost its significance even today, since the basic information presented in it remains true to this day.

On the initiative of Pyotr Andreevich, in the most difficult conditions of blockaded Leningrad, the “Atlas of Gunshot Wounds” began to be created. For this purpose, a team of authors and artists was involved. The entire publication consists of 10 volumes and was published under the editorship of P. A. Kupriyanov and I. S. Kolesnikov. Some of the volumes appeared during the war years, the rest were published in the post-war period. This unique scientific work outlines the basic guidelines for the surgical treatment of wounds of various locations and outlines the surgical technique, illustrated with excellent color drawings. There is no similar scientific work in Soviet and foreign literature.

When creating the outstanding multi-volume publication “The Experience of Soviet Medicine in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” P. A. Kupriyanov was invited to join the editorial board. He took charge of the team of authors in compiling the ninth and tenth volumes of this edition, edited both volumes and wrote some of the chapters. These two volumes reflect the experience of surgical treatment of gunshot wounds of the chest and summarize the achievements in this field of surgery.
In addition to the above-mentioned major works, P. A. Kupriyanov wrote a number of other works during the war years scientific works– “Treatment and evacuation of the wounded on the Leningrad Front”, “Classification of wounds and wounds”, “On the surgical treatment of gunshot wounds”, “Principles of primary surgical treatment of wounds in the military area”, “Amputation of limbs (excluding fingers) at the stages of sanitary evacuation”, “Surgery of gunshot wounds of the chest organs” and many others. Together with N. N. Burdenko, Yu. Yu. Dzhanelidze, M. N. Akhutin, S. I. Banaitis and others, he took part in the development of the basic principles of providing surgical treatment to the wounded at the stages of medical evacuation. As a result, a coherent system of treating war victims was achieved and a high percentage of their return to work was ensured, which was of great importance for the country's defense.

In parallel with his service in the Soviet Army, P. A. Kupriyanov worked for a long time at the 1st Leningrad Medical Institute named after. I. P. Pavlova (1926-1948). At this institute, he headed the department of operative surgery and topographic anatomy (1930-1945) and the department of faculty surgery (1944-1948). In September 1944, while remaining the chief surgeon of the front, Kupriyanov was confirmed as head of the department of faculty surgery at the Military Medical Academy. S. M. Kirov.

In 1942, Pyotr Andreevich was awarded the title of Honored Scientist. He was one of the initiators of the creation of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, which was established on June 30, 1944 by resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 797. On November 14, 1944, he was approved as a full member, and on December 22 of the same year he was elected vice-president and held this position. position until October 1, 1950. In 1943-1945. Kupriyanov was elected chairman of the board of the Pirogov Surgical Society.
Organizational activities during the war with the White Finns (1939-1940) and then in the Great Patriotic War, as well as the publication of numerous and important scientific works, put P. A. Kupriyanov among the largest and most progressive military field surgeons in our country.

Hospitals underground

In besieged Sevastopol, doctors acted under conditions of tight defense, cut off from the front, from the active army. The city was under fire all the time. In the huge blue horseshoe of Sevastopol Bay, the water boiled from the explosions of bombs, mines and shells, and city blocks turned into ruins. Over the course of several days of December fighting, about 10 thousand wounded were admitted to the Sevastopol Naval Hospital. Several surgeons were unable to cope with them. We had to involve therapists, neurologists, and radiologists: they performed simple operations. And yet, the effect of the titanic efforts of the doctors was incomplete - the hospital was subjected to continuous bombing and shelling, the wounded received additional injuries, many died under fire and the ruins of the hospital, protected only by the sign of the Red Cross. There was no safe place left on the wounded and scorched land of Sevastopol.

It would be best to “hide” medical shelters underground. But where to find the necessary underground structures? It will take a long time to build, and there is no one. We found a way out. The commander of the Primorsky Army, General I.E. Petrov, and the commander of the Black Sea Front, Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky, helped. On their advice, they decided to use the quarry adits of “Champanstroy”: the adits were landscaped and reliably protected from fire by thick stones. In a matter of days, doctors from the 25th Chapaev Division (which was part of the Primorsky Army) installed electric lighting, ventilation, and water supply and sewage systems. In general, the uninhabited basement was turned into a hospital with 2 thousand beds. Surgeons officiated in six underground operating rooms and dressing rooms. The most experienced surgeons B.A. Petrov, E.V. Smirnov, V.S. Kofman, P.A. Karpov, N.G. Nadtoka operated here... At night, boats and boats approached the Inkerman piers: from the Grafskaya pier, from the piers of the North side, from Mine Harbor, the wounded and medicine were delivered to the hospital. The experience of the first underground hospital was widely used in Sevastopol. A significant part of the hospitals and medical centers operated underground: in the abandoned cellars of a champagne wine factory, in the natural shelters of Holland Bay (the medical battalion of the 95th division was located here), Korabelnaya Storona, and Yukharinaya Balka. The doctors of the Marine Corps brigade located their medical center in a former cave monastery on the steep slope of the Inkerman Heights at the very tip of the Northern Bay. They reached the former monastery cells along a ladder, and the seriously wounded were lifted here on blocks using a hand winch.

In reliable shelters in the rocks, in tunnels made in the limestone mountains, under a protective fifty-meter thickness that no aerial bombs or shells could penetrate, the wounded felt safe. And the surgeons of a besieged city, enduring continuous shelling and bombing, worked much calmer here. There was a lot to do. All hospitals and medical battalions were overcrowded. Surgeons did not leave the operating rooms for days, each performing more than 40 operations per shift. The doctors were tormented by the thought: how and where to evacuate the wounded? Ahead is the enemy, behind is the sea. True, at first it was possible to use the sea route. Warships, cargo ships, and ambulance ships evacuated 11 thousand wounded in November 1941. It became much freer in hospitals and medical battalions. However, when the Nazis launched a new offensive in December, up to 2.5 thousand wounded were received every day. And again the problem of their evacuation overshadowed all others. The medical transport ships of the Black Sea Fleet, transporting the wounded, quickly broke down. Violating all the laws and customs of war, the fascist vultures specifically hunted for them, many times with a tenacity incomprehensible to a normal person, they attacked and sank defenseless ships, and shot the wounded who tried to escape with machine guns. Thus, the transports and motor ships “Svaneti”, “Georgia”, “Abkhazia”, “Moldova”, “Crimea”, “Armenia” were sunk. On the “Armenia”, together with the naval doctors accompanying the wounded sailors, the chief surgeon of the Black Sea Fleet B.A. Petrov and Professor E.V. Smirnov were supposed to sail from Sevastopol. By some chance, they did not get on the ship and sailed a day later on a warship. And soon a message came about the death of “Armenia”. On this day, in his diary, B.A. Petrov wrote in despair: “We arrived in Tuapse. Here we were met with thunderous news: “Armenia” was lost... Everything surgical that was in Sevastopol was loaded onto it. The entire surgery was destroyed. All the surgeons of the Black Sea Fleet were killed. All my friends, assistants, students, like-minded people died... The entire medical, political, and economic staff of the Sevastopol hospital died. Everything died!!! Will I really still laugh and enjoy life? It seems to me now sacrilege.”

With the loss of medical transport ships, which made heroic voyages under enemy bombs, doctors used only warships. And although the capabilities of battleships and destroyers, cruisers and leaders are significantly lower than specially equipped ambulance transports, and they arrived irregularly, this was a very important “window.” On one of the December nights of 1941, the battleship Paris Commune boldly entered the Sevastopol Bay and, standing on its barrels, opened fire on the enemy, who had fortified himself on the northern side. At this time, barges with the wounded approached its side one after another. Having received more than a thousand people, the ship went out to the open sea. But, despite the heroism of the military and doctors, the situation worsened. Huge fascist planes began to dive on any lone vehicle transporting the wounded, and bombs were thrown at every cart that appeared on the street or road. Helpless wounded were repeatedly wounded and often died. In the underground hospital, equipped in adits, the ventilation and water supply stopped working, the electric lights went out, and smoke entered from fires, bomb explosions and shells. But the wounded kept arriving, and the surgeons continuously operated, now by the light of kerosene lamps, forgetting about rest and barely able to stand on their feet from fatigue. The sad truth is that it was not possible to evacuate all the wounded, although great efforts were made to do so. On the seashore, near the new sanitary piers in Kamyshovaya and Cossack bays, near the rocky Cape Khersones in last days There were about 10 thousand soldiers and sailors injured in the battles, and with them doctors: doctors, nurses, orderlies. Of course, the doctors alone, without the wounded, could perhaps still evacuate. But abandon the wounded, leave them to the mercy of the Nazis? They stayed, stayed with those they saved.

Medical service in the Battle of Stalingrad

The military medical service of the 62nd Army, which defended Stalingrad, was created in the spring of 1942, simultaneously with the formation of the army itself. By the time the 62nd Army entered hostilities, the medical service had mainly young cadres of doctors, paramedics and nurses, most of them without practical special and combat experience. Medical units and institutions were not fully provided with personnel equipment, there were very few tents, and there was almost no special ambulance transport. Treatment and evacuation institutions had 2,300 full-time beds. During the fighting, a large number of wounded - tens, hundreds, thousands of victims - needed medical help. And they received it.

There were many difficulties in the work of the medical service. But military doctors did everything possible, and sometimes seemingly impossible, to fulfill their sacred duty. Given the current combat situation, new forms of medical support were sought.

In addition to the existing medical support system, attention was paid to training all military personnel to provide self- and mutual assistance.
In assault groups and detachments, in combat formations, and in individual garrisons, there were always orderlies and medical instructors, and additional forces were allocated to ensure the removal of the wounded. Often these separate groups and garrisons found themselves cut off from their troops and fought surrounded by combat. In these cases, the evacuation of the wounded became almost impossible, and battalion medical posts (BMPs) were equipped in the basements of buildings, dugouts, and dugouts directly behind the battle formations.

Regimental medical stations (RMS) were deployed close to the battle formations of the battalions. Most often, they provided the necessary assistance, supplementing what was already provided, and taking all measures for the rapid evacuation of the wounded. The operation of infantry fighting vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles took place in the zone of effective enemy rifle and machine gun fire. The medical service suffered heavy losses.

Advance groups of medical and sanitary battalions worked near the banks of the Volga. They deployed, as a rule, reception and triage rooms, operating rooms, small hospitals for those temporarily unable to transport, and provided emergency qualified surgical care to evacuees.

Here on the shore were located the advanced groups of field mobile hospitals (MFH) No. 80 and No. 689 and evacuation point (EP) - 54, which, having deployed surgical dressing and evacuation units, provided qualified assistance and prepared the wounded for evacuation across the Volga. A task force of the army sanitary-epidemiological detachment (SED) worked nearby.

Operating dressing, triage, evacuation hospitals were deployed in basements, adits, dilapidated premises, dugouts, crevices, dugouts, sewer wells and pipes.
Thus, the hospital department of the medical battalion 13 GSD was located in a sewer pipe; operating room of the medical battalion 39 SD - in the adit; operating room PPG-689 - in the basement of the water pump; operating and evacuation EP-54 - in a restaurant near the central pier.
The evacuation route from the front line to the medical battalion and the mobile surgical field hospital (SFMH) was very short, only a few kilometers. Operability was high. In many cases, even extremely seriously wounded people were on the operating table within 1-2 hours.

On the left bank of the Volga, 5-10 km. the main departments of medical battalions and first-line KhPP were located (Kolkhoznaya Akhtuba, Verkhnyaya Akhtuba, Burkovsky farms, Gospitomnik).

Berths were equipped in Krasnaya Sloboda, Krasny Tug and just on the shore. A sanitary treatment point was set up in the Kolkhoznaya Akhtuba area.
The provision of specialized care, treatment of the wounded and sick was carried out in second-line hospitals and front-line hospitals, which were located in Leninsk, Solodovka, Tokarev Sands, Kapyar, Vladimirovka, Nikolaevsk, etc. - 40-60 km away. from the front.

In the second half of November, at the Tumak pier on the eastern bank of the Volga, a receiving feeding and heating station was organized, next to which KhPG-689 was deployed to provide emergency qualified care, an operating and dressing unit and a hospital for those temporarily unable to transport. All departments were equipped in dugouts built by hospital personnel.
An army field hospital APG-4184 with 500 beds was deployed in Tokarevsky Sands. All departments of the hospital were equipped in large-area dugouts. The work was supervised by the head of the hospital - military doctor 2nd rank, later - Professor Landa, political officer Zaparin, leading surgeon military doctor 2nd rank Teplov.

But perhaps the most difficult aspect of medical support was the evacuation of the wounded across the Volga. There were no special means. To evacuate the wounded, everything that could be adapted for these purposes was used. The evacuation took place mainly at night. By order of the commander of the 62nd Army, Marshal V.I. Chuikov, all types of transport that brought ammunition, weapons, troops and other property across the Volga were supposed to pick up the wounded on the way back.

By mid-September, the issue of transporting the wounded became especially complex and difficult. By decision of the Military Council, KhPG-689 and EP-54 were allocated to ensure the crossing of the wounded. The work of the personnel of these medical institutions was very difficult and dangerous. There were always enemy planes over the crossings and shells were exploding.
In the period from September 20 to September 27, 1942 alone, EP-54 lost 20 of its personnel.

At the beginning of October the situation deteriorated sharply. The enemy reached the Volga in some places. He scanned and kept under fire a large area of ​​the river's surface. The number of wounded during this period increased, and the conditions for crossing the wounded became even more difficult. However, for example, in just one day on October 14, about 1,400 wounded were transported across the Volga. At this time, the wounded were transported at night to Zaitsevsky Island, where groups from the 112th medical battalion and EP-54 were located. After providing assistance to those in need, the wounded were taken on stretchers to the piers located 2 km away and transported to the left bank. During the period of ice drift, the berths for the wounded became “flying”, i.e. They were where, given the ice conditions, the crossing facilities could land.

Describing the work of the medical service during the defense of Stalingrad, the head of the GVSU, Colonel General m/s Smirnov, in his work “Problems of Military Medicine” writes: “The presence of a large water barrier in the military rear, such as the Volga, sharply complicated the organization of medical and evacuation support for troops. At Stalingrad there was mass heroism, mass courage of medical workers, especially the 62nd Army.”

Speaking at a meeting of veterans of the 62nd Guards Army, Marshal of the Soviet Union V.I. Chuikov said: “The wonderful deeds of doctors, nurses, sanitary instructors who fought with us shoulder to shoulder on the right bank of the Volga will remain forever in everyone’s memory.. The dedication of medical workers, who were essentially at the forefront of the fight against the enemy, helped the 62nd Army complete its combat mission.”

Conclusion

The contribution of Soviet doctors to the cause of Victory is invaluable. Everyday mass heroism, unprecedented in its scale, selfless devotion to the Motherland, and the best human and professional qualities were demonstrated by them in the days of severe trials. Their selfless, noble work restored life and health to the wounded and sick, helped them regain their place in the combat ranks, made up for losses, and helped maintain the strength of the Soviet Armed Forces at the proper level.

The Great Patriotic War became the most difficult test for the entire country.
In the address of veterans of the Great Patriotic War, employees of the Ryazan State Medical University, to the younger generation there are the following lines: “You are the young generation. The future of Russia largely depends on you. We urge you to know the heroic past, highly value the present, and more deeply comprehend the great meaning of our Victory. We pass on to you the baton of glorious heroic deeds, the baton of defending the Motherland.”

The memoirs of Lidia Borisovna Zakharova may seem surprising, as she said that doctors had to provide medical care to all patients, regardless of who was wounded: a Red Army soldier or a German enemy! “Yes, I was afraid... I was afraid that while helping the Germans, I would hurt and they would kill me. When I entered, I saw an 18-year-old boy - skinny, pale, guarding them. Walking into the barracks, I saw about 200 healthy men of German nationality, whom I began to bandage. The Germans behaved calmly and offered no resistance at all... I still ask myself the question, how can this be, because I am alone and I’m only 22 years old, and what about a security guard?..” http://www.historymed.ru/static.html?nav_id=177

Gaidar B.V. The role of doctors in the Great Patriotic War. – St. Petersburg: Medical Bulletin, 2005 – No. 3, p. 85.

Evacuation hospitals in Vladimir 1941-1945.

Nowadays, everyone should know what a field hospital is. The Second World War is a sad page in the history of our country. Along with those who heroically stood to defend our borders and won a precious victory, as well as those who worked in the rear, stand the medical workers. After all, their merits are no less. Often, being in close proximity to the sites of hostilities, these people had to remain calm and, to the extent possible, provide assistance to the wounded, fight epidemics, take care of the younger generation, monitor the health of workers at defense enterprises, and also needed medical care for simple population. At the same time, the working conditions were very difficult.

The main function of field hospitals

It’s hard to imagine, but statistics show that it was the medical unit that saved and returned to duty more than 90 percent of those who achieved victory. To be more precise, this 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 returned to form at the military hospital.

It is also worth knowing that during the Great Patriotic War there were no major epidemics or 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 outbreaks of such diseases immediately in the bud, this also saved thousands of human lives.

Creation of military hospitals

The People's Commissariat of Health of the USSR immediately outlined the main task in wartime - rescuing the wounded, as well as their recovery, so that a person, having overcome injury, could return to duty and continue to fight. That is why, back in 1941, many evacuation hospitals began to appear. This was indicated by a government directive adopted immediately after the start of the war. The plan for the creation of these institutions was even exceeded, because everyone in the country understood the importance of the function they performed and the danger that a meeting with the enemy threatened.

1,600 hospitals were established to treat approximately 700,000 wounded soldiers. It was decided to use the buildings of sanatoriums and rest houses in order to place military hospitals there, since the necessary conditions for caring for the sick could be created there.

Evacuation hospitals

It was difficult for doctors to work, but in forty-two, 57 percent of the wounded returned to duty from hospitals, in forty-three - 61 percent, and in forty-four - 47. These indicators 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 hospitalized died.

There were also rear hospitals in which civilian doctors worked, because the rear workers also needed medical care. All such institutions, as well as other types of hospitals, were under the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Health of the USSR.

But all these are so-called evacuation hospitals. It’s more interesting to study what it was like for those who saved patients literally on the front line, that is, to learn about military field hospitals.

Field hospital

Under no circumstances should we underestimate the work of those who worked under them! Thanks to these people, who, by the way, risked their lives themselves, the losses of wounded Soviet soldiers 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 of military personnel, but also of those who found themselves close to field operations. This is a huge experience in the treatment of shell-shock, shrapnel wounds, blindness, deafness, and amputation of limbs. This place is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Difficulties of work

Of course, doctors often fell under shells and personnel 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 wounded died from a blast wave and shell fragments. But until the last, each of them carried out his difficult task. Even training for the medical staff often took place under fire, but personnel were urgently needed; the case of Pirogov and Daria Sevastopolskaya had to be continued. What is a field hospital? This place concentrated true humanism and self-sacrifice.

There are few surviving descriptions of how the field hospital was equipped; what this place looks like can only be traced from 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 quite solid, 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 gave them maneuverability and the ability to be located outside populated areas and be part of army bases. There were other cases. For example, when the hospital was based in a school or a large residential building in a settlement near which battles took place. Everything depended on the circumstances.

For obvious reasons, there were no separate operating rooms; doctors performed all the necessary surgical procedures right there, assisted by nurses. The situation was extremely simple and mobile. Screams of pain were often heard from the hospital, but nothing could be done, here people were saved as best they could. This is how the field hospital of 1943 functioned. The photo below, for example, represents the necessary medical tools of a nurse.

Contribution to Victory

It’s hard to imagine how great the contribution of Soviet medical workers was to the fact that in May 1945, every citizen of the USSR rejoiced with tears in their eyes, because it’s hard to believe, but they won. It was daily work, but it was comparable to true heroism: bringing back to life, giving health to those who had no hope. It was thanks to wartime hospitals that the number of troops remained at the proper level during this sorrowful time. The field hospital is the place where real heroes worked. The Great Patriotic War became the most difficult test for the entire country.

Memoirs of eyewitnesses

History holds a lot of memories of the post-war period, many of which were written by workers in military field hospitals. In many of them, in addition to descriptions of the hell that was happening around, and stories about the difficult life and 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.

To show humane treatment All those who worked in military hospitals would like to remember 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 they often arrived at the camp in a deplorable condition; we had to help them too, because they are people too. Moreover, having surrendered, the Germans did not offer resistance, and they respected the work of doctors. One woman remembers a field hospital in 1943. She was a twenty-year-old nurse during the war, and she had to single-handedly provide care to more than a hundred former enemies. And nothing, they all sat quietly and endured the pain.

Humanism and selflessness are important not only in wartime, but also in our everyday life. And an example of these wonderful spiritual qualities are those who fought for human lives and health in field hospitals during the Great Patriotic War.

From the very first days of the war, the medical service of the Soviet Army was faced with extremely difficult and responsible tasks. In a situation of fierce defensive battles with the advancing enemy, all its units were required to be especially efficient in helping the wounded and evacuating them from threatened areas. It was also necessary, in an extremely limited time, to deploy the medical service of units and formations, armies and fronts according to wartime states, to establish the smooth functioning of all medical units and institutions.

The situation was further complicated by the fact that many hospitals, medical warehouses and other medical institutions, including newly formed ones, were destroyed, disabled or captured by the enemy.

The Main Military Sanitary Directorate (GVSU, head, Lieutenant General of the Medical Service E.I. Smirnov) took energetic measures to make up for the losses incurred and to satisfy the growing demands of the fronts for medical forces and equipment. If by the beginning of the war 35,540 beds were deployed in garrison and evacuation hospitals, then by July 1, 1941 in the active army the number of hospital beds was increased to 122 thousand, and by August 1, 1942 - to 658 thousand. 388

However, the active army continued to experience an acute shortage of hospitals, ambulance transport, and medical equipment. By July 16, 1941, the Western Front had only 17 thousand beds. By the beginning of the Smolensk defensive battle (July - August 1941), the armies of this front had less than one third of the medical units and institutions they needed. In the armies of the North-Western Front during approximately the same period, there were on average 700-800 beds and 1000 places in evacuation centers, and in the front hospital base there were only 1800 beds. In the armies of the Western and Kalinin fronts, by the beginning of the counter-offensive near Moscow, an average of 2,500-300 beds were deployed 389.

The created situation was largely explained by the fact that a significant part of the mobilized medical institutions at that time relocated from west to east.

As a result of the evacuation of enterprises in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, production and, consequently, the supply of many types of medical and sanitary equipment and medicines to the troops sharply decreased or stopped altogether. At the beginning of the war, the Northwestern Front's need for divisional medical post (DMP) tents was, on average, only 20 percent satisfied. Some medical and sanitary institutions were called to the front without having sufficient quantities of the most necessary medical equipment.

The situation with medical personnel was not entirely successful either. On July 12, 1941, on the Western Front there were only half the number of doctors on staff. The situation with orderlies, orderlies-porters and sanitary instructors was extremely difficult.

To rectify the situation, the State Defense Committee and the Main Military Sanitary Directorate carried out a number of important organizational measures during the summer-autumn campaign of 1941 and the winter campaign of 1941/42. Some institutions, units and governing bodies of the medical service were abolished, and some of them underwent serious reorganization. Staffing levels and health care records have been significantly reduced. Instead of three types of field mobile hospitals (corps, military and army), one was created; the Evacuation Point Directorate and the Front Hospital Base Directorate merged. As a result, health service authorities have become more flexible and institutions have become less cumbersome.

The main attention of the medical service during the period of forced withdrawal of our troops was focused on ensuring the rapid removal and removal of the wounded from the battlefield, providing them with qualified medical care and further evacuation. The Central Committee of the Party and the Soviet government in August 1941 decided to present military orderlies and porters with government awards for carrying the wounded from the battlefield with their weapons or light machine guns, regarding their rescue as a manifestation of high military valor.

In the summer and autumn of 1941, throughout the country, in cities and workers’ settlements, sanatoriums and rest homes, a wide network of military hospitals was created, equipped with the necessary equipment and instruments, provided with medical personnel and medicines, clothing and food. In order to improve medical care for wounded and sick soldiers, civilian doctors were mobilized and extensive training was organized for paramedical personnel. The wounded arriving from the front were treated in hospitals with great attention and care. Doctors and nurses did everything necessary to quickly get them back into action. Soviet people became donors. Created at the beginning of the war under the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the All-Union Committee for the Care of Wounded and Sick Soldiers and Commanders of the Soviet Army united the efforts of a number of departments and organizations (Narkomzdrav, All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, Komsomol, Executive Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and others) to create and improve hospitals, improving the organization of nutrition for the wounded, collecting gifts for them and cultural services 390.

By a resolution of September 22, 1941, the State Defense Committee assigned responsibility for the medical care of the wounded on the territory of the country to the People's Commissariat of Health of the USSR, and in the rear areas of the fronts and armies - to the Main Military Sanitary Directorate of the Soviet Army. All evacuation hospitals formed during wartime were transferred to the subordination of the People's Commissariat of Health of the USSR, and evacuation points to the Main Military Sanitary Directorate of the Soviet Army. At the same time, the department retained the right to control the work of evacuation hospitals of the USSR People's Commissariat of Health. Treatment of the lightly wounded directly in the rear areas of divisions and armies was organized, which made it possible to sharply reduce evacuation to the rear and speed up the return of soldiers to their units. In each army, battalions of recovering lightly wounded soldiers (500 people) were formed, and in the rifle division (with medical battalions) - teams of recovering lightly wounded soldiers (100 people), requiring hospital treatment for no more than 10-12 days.

During the defensive battle and counteroffensive of Soviet troops near Moscow in October 1941 - January 1942, the medical service acquired extremely valuable experience, which was subsequently successfully used in organizing and implementing medical support for front troops in major offensive operations of the second and third periods of the war.

The activities of the medical service in the Battle of Moscow took place under unique conditions. Heavy defensive defensive battles and retreat to new lines led to large sanitary losses; the fronts had a relatively small depth of army and front-line rear areas, a limited number of medical forces and equipment. Significant difficulties in providing medical care to the troops were associated with a rather harsh winter.

A difficult situation was created in the medical service of the Western Front, which had lost a lot of manpower and resources and by the beginning of the defensive battle near Moscow was far from fully equipped with medical units and institutions. There were not enough hospital beds and sanitary evacuation transport. On November 2, 1941, the 5th Army of the Western Front had only four field hospitals with 800 beds, the 16th Army had two hospitals with 400 beds, and the 33rd Army had three hospitals with 600 beds. The remaining armies of this front were somewhat better equipped with hospitals. The military medical service did everything possible to ensure timely search, collection and removal of the wounded from the battlefield. The early, harsh winter exacerbated the problem of heating the wounded along the evacuation routes. In conditions of off-road conditions and deep snow cover, the small number of ambulance transports could not cope with the evacuation of the wounded. The cavalry ambulance companies urgently formed first on the Western and then on other fronts helped resolve this issue.

A particularly heavy burden fell on the medical battalions. During the days of intense defensive battles, up to 500-600 wounded were received at divisional medical centers (DMP). In view of this, it was necessary to reduce the volume of surgical care. In some medical battalions, only 12-14 percent of the wounded who required surgical intervention were operated on. After providing qualified assistance to the wounded at these points, they were evacuated to medical institutions of the armies and fronts.

Given the small number of army forces and equipment and the complexity of the situation, the leadership of the medical service of the Western Front shifted the center of gravity of treatment and evacuation measures to front-line hospitals. They were moved to the army rear areas and received the main flow of wounded directly from the troops (DMP). The main part of the medical institutions of the first echelon of the front-line hospital base was deployed in Moscow and its suburbs, which somewhat alleviated the situation. The second echelon of this base was located in cities located northeast and east of the capital.

Throughout the entire defensive battle near Moscow, while evacuating and treating the wounded, the medical service of the Center, fronts and armies at the same time increased forces and resources, preparing them for medical support of troops during the counteroffensive. By the beginning of December 1941, the provision of armies and fronts with hospitals and other medical institutions had noticeably improved. The armies of the Western Front already had an average of 12 thousand hospital beds, and in the front - about 71 thousand.

With the start of the counteroffensive near Moscow, the medical service of the Western, Kalinin and other fronts focused on the uninterrupted evacuation of the wounded from the troops to army and front-line medical institutions. In the very first days of the offensive, the workload of army hospitals was several times higher than the standard capacity. The medical service bodies of the Western and other fronts resorted to effective maneuver with the forces and means at their disposal. Having evacuated the wounded from part of the medical facilities of the hospital base of the fronts into the interior of the country, they moved them to the army rear areas. On the Western Front, until the end of the counteroffensive, three field evacuation points with their medical evacuation facilities were moved behind the advancing armies and deployed in the main operational directions. A significant part of the front hospitals were deployed in Moscow. The clear organization of sorting and distribution of the wounded to the appropriate medical institutions made it possible to effectively use the available hospital forces and resources and to carry out medical work well. The second echelon of the Western Front's hospital base was located in Ivanovo, Vladimir, Murom, and Sasovo. The increase in its bed capacity made it possible to transfer a significant flow of wounded from the armies here, to create conditions for unloading the hospitals of the first echelon of the front hospital base and the subsequent maneuver of front-line hospitals.

The experience of organizing medical support for troops in the Battle of Moscow, especially during the counteroffensive, showed the exceptional importance of rational and effective use of available forces and means, their bold maneuver, and close interaction between the army and front-line medical service units. The enormous importance of mobility, maneuverability of units and medical service institutions, and the ability to continuously advance behind advancing troops in conditions of significant medical losses also became obvious. The medical service of the fronts, armies and formations at that time still lacked these qualities.

In addition, during the counter-offensive near Moscow, the decisive importance for the successful organization and implementation of medical support was revealed to be the presence in any, even the most tense, situation on the fronts of a reserve force and equipment of the medical service.

By the beginning of the second period of the Great Patriotic War, the medical service had accumulated significant experience. In carrying out medical evacuation measures, uniform principles were established, the work of medical units and institutions was structured more clearly, organizedly, and efficiently. This was facilitated by the strengthening of the medical service, the expansion of the bed capacity of medical institutions, and a more expedient distribution of the bed network between the fronts, armies and the deep rear. By January 1, 1943, the number of hospital beds in the active army increased by 21.2 percent 391 compared to the same period in 1942.

The ratio of hospital facilities for various purposes has also changed. On August 1, 1941, the bulk of the bed capacity (68.1 percent) was concentrated in the deep rear, 22.8 percent of it was in the front rear and only 9.1 percent in the army rear 392. By the beginning of 1942, the situation was almost hasn't changed. This caused great difficulties in organizing and providing medical care, sharply reduced the capabilities of the army medical service, and forced the evacuation of a large number of wounded and sick to the interior of the country. If in the first months of the war the current situation to some extent corresponded to the conditions of the combat situation, then subsequently, with the stabilization of the strategic defense of our troops and the conduct of major offensive operations, it only created difficulties in providing medical support to the front troops. Measures were taken to move the main part of the hospital bed network to the front-line and army rear areas. In September 1942, the number of hospital beds in the deep rear amounted to 48.3 percent, in the fronts - 35.3 and in the armies - 16.4 percent of the total bed capacity, and by January 1943 - 44.9 and 27.5, respectively percent 393.

An equally important event was a significant increase in the provision of the medical service of the army with field mobile hospitals. On January 1, 1942, the number of beds in field mobile hospitals was only 9.1 percent of the total bed capacity of hospital bases of the fronts and armies. In the second period of the war, the number of these beds increased significantly and on January 1, 1943 amounted to 27.6 percent 394.

The staffing of medical units and institutions of the active army with medical personnel has significantly improved. As of May 1, 1943, the medical service of fronts, armies, formations and units was staffed by 92 percent of doctors and 92.9 percent of paramedics. The supply of the active army and medical specialists has improved 395. All this has made it possible to make serious changes in the organization of medical and evacuation measures, to improve the work of medical institutions, and to more expediently resolve many issues of medical support for front-line troops during ongoing operations. This was manifested primarily in the increasing role of army and front-line hospital bases, in a sharp increase in the number of wounded who completed treatment in medical institutions of the armies and fronts and returned to duty. If during the battle of Moscow 70 percent of the wounded were evacuated outside the rear areas of the fronts, then in the Battle of Stalingrad - 53.8 percent. In the Battle of Kursk, 17.6 percent of all wounded were evacuated from the medical institutions of the hospital base of the Voronezh Front, 28 percent of the Bryansk Front, and 7.5 percent of all wounded on the Steppe Front. Overall, only 22.9 percent of the wounded were evacuated from the hospital bases of the four fronts that participated in the Battle of Kursk. The overwhelming number of patients were also treated within the rear areas of the fronts. In this operation, only 8.9 percent of patients were sent to the interior regions of the country (46 percent near Moscow) 396. The growth of the hospital bed network in the active army, the strengthening of hospital bases of armies and fronts with hospitals of various profiles, especially those operating in the most important operational-strategic directions, created more favorable conditions for the successful implementation of medical and evacuation measures than in the first period of the war.

Of exceptional importance for improving the quality of the medical service and improving the results of treatment of the wounded and sick was the fact that during this period the problem of organizing and implementing specialized medical care was successfully resolved, essentially for the first time in the history of domestic military medicine. The provision of specialized medical care to the wounded and sick in medical institutions of army and front-line hospital bases was regulated by a system of staged treatment with evacuation by appointment and was one of its most important features. However, in the first years of the war it was not possible to implement this provision. And although elements of specialization of medical institutions of front-line hospital bases (and to a lesser extent army) were noted on a number of fronts back in 1941, the difficult situation with bed capacity, the lack of medical personnel, primarily medical specialists, the necessary instruments, equipment and other circumstances did not made it possible to deploy specialized medical care to the required extent. During this period it was carried out only in medical institutions in the rear.

In the second period of the war, thanks to the comprehensive assistance provided to the medical service by the Communist Party, the Soviet government, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and the Logistics Command of the Soviet Army, the appropriate material and organizational prerequisites were created for the widespread deployment of specialized medical care for the wounded and sick, starting with medical institutions of army hospital bases . The specialization of field hospitals that were part of army and front-line hospital bases was carried out by assigning them specialized groups from individual medical reinforcement companies (ORMU). Along with this, specialized evacuation hospitals (surgical, therapeutic, psychoneurological and others) were included in the hospital bases of the fronts, and in some cases in the army hospital bases. In general, the bed network of hospital bases was profiled in 10-12 or more specialties. This made it possible, in case of severe and complex injuries or illnesses of military personnel, to provide assistance from highly qualified medical specialists at a fairly early date. Despite the difficult conditions in which the medical service had to work in the second period of the war, the outcome indicators for treating the wounded and sick compared to the previous period of the war have improved markedly. According to the Main Military Sanitary Directorate of the Soviet Army, in 1942, 52.6 percent of the total number of wounded and sick with definite outcomes were returned to service from field medical institutions and evacuation hospitals of the fronts. In 1943, this figure increased to 65 percent 397.

Along with the improvement in the quality of work of medical institutions of army and front-line hospital bases, the increased efficiency of treatment of the wounded and sick was also due to a significant increase in the level of work of the military medical service, a more precise organization and implementation of the removal and removal of the wounded from the battlefield and the expansion of the activity of surgical work at divisional medical points. In the second period of the war, divisional medical centers became the center of qualified surgical care for the wounded in the military rear. If in the first year of the war, in the context of the forced withdrawal of our troops and the intensive evacuation of the wounded to the rear, surgical care at divisional medical stations averaged 26.7 percent of the wounded received, then in subsequent years the situation changed significantly. Surgical care at divisional medical centers during the destruction of the encircled group of Nazi troops near Stalingrad was 42.8 percent, during the Battle of Kursk - 48.7 percent, in the Belarusian operation - 62.1 percent 398. High rates of qualified medical care at these points were also noted in subsequent offensive operations.

The majority of primary surgical wound treatments were performed at the DMP. Serious surgical interventions for penetrating wounds of the chest and abdomen were also performed there. According to generalized data, 72.6 percent of the wounded who received primary surgical treatment were operated on at the emergency hospital, 18.8 percent were operated on in surgical field mobile hospitals (SFMG), 7 percent were operated on at army hospital bases, and 0.9 percent were performed at front hospital bases. Thus, the vast majority of the wounded were operated on at DMP 399. It is no coincidence that the divisional medical centers were called the “main operating room.”

It should be emphasized that surgical activity at divisional medical stations contributed to bringing surgical care closer to the wounded, and possibly early performance of necessary operations. Carrying out the bulk of primary surgical treatments and surgical interventions at the emergency department made it possible to concentrate the efforts of medical institutions at hospital bases of armies and fronts on providing specialized medical care to the wounded, on performing complex operations that require the participation of highly qualified medical specialists, appropriate equipment and conditions.

In the second period of the war, the introduction of effective methods of treating the wounded and sick into the practice of medical support for troops in the active army and the work of medical institutions in the interior of the country, allowing one to achieve the best results in the shortest possible time. Preventing various complications and reducing the duration of treatment meant a quick return to duty for many hundreds of soldiers.

Leading scientists of our country were studying the experience of medical institutions, analyzing treatment outcomes, and searching for new effective methods of surgical treatment of wounds and their complications. To develop effective means of combating shock - the most severe complication of gunshot wounds - on the initiative of N. N. Burdenko, special medical teams were created, which included experienced specialists. These brigades went to the active army, to the advanced stages of medical evacuation, and there they tested new treatment methods and determined the most effective and reliable means. The experience gained was generalized and became the property of the entire medical staff. Methodological letters, special instructions from the Main Military Sanitary Directorate and chief specialists explained the procedure for using new methods and means of treatment, and helped military doctors quickly master them.

In the second period of the war, another extremely important task was persistently solved - the introduction of uniform principles of medical care and treatment of the wounded and sick into the medical support of front-line troops and into the work of all medical institutions. The conscription into the Armed Forces of a large number of civilian doctors who had different qualifications and practical experience, belonging to different scientific schools and directions, could lead to the fact that at different stages of medical evacuation doctors would use different methods of treating the wounded and sick.

In peacetime conditions, in civilian medical institutions, where the patient, as a rule, is treated until the final outcome, this approach is quite legitimate, since it has a positive effect on the patient’s health. In wartime conditions, when every wounded and sick person is forced to go through a significant number of stages of medical evacuation, and the activities carried out at each of them were consistently supplemented and expanded, the absence of a unified method of treatment, a unified approach to injury or illness could be fraught with the most severe consequences. The need for such a unified medical tactic was most clearly demonstrated in relation to the application of a primary suture to a gunshot wound. Civilian doctors conscripted into the army, accustomed to working in peaceful conditions, initially sought to suture the wound tightly after surgical treatment, hoping for quick and smooth healing. However, after such treatment, the wounded were admitted to subsequent stages with symptoms of inflammation. Doctors were forced to remove the stitches again and deal with the complications that had developed. That is why the issues of using uniform, successive, most effective methods of treatment, which made it possible to transform the entire treatment and evacuation process into a single inextricable whole, have always been the focus of attention of the leadership of the medical service of the Soviet Army.

In December 1942, the head of the Main Military Sanitary Directorate issued a directive to all heads of front sanitary departments, which stated: “I have information that the chief surgeons of the fronts use methods of treating the wounded that are not provided for by our instructions. I propose: 1) banning gag in military field surgery; 2) any innovation must be carried out only with the permission of the Glavvoensanupra.”

The Main Military Sanitary Directorate persistently and consistently introduced into the practice of the medical service a unified understanding of the principles of medical support for troops and methods of providing qualified and specialized medical care and treatment of the wounded and sick. It took vigorous measures to introduce scientifically based methods of treating the wounded and sick in the rear areas of armies and fronts, as well as in the interior of the country. The central authorities of the military medical service issued a large number of directives, manuals, and service letters that were important for improving the medical support of the troops in the active army. A lot of organizational and methodological work was carried out locally by leading specialists of the military medical service. All this contributed to the fact that in the second period of the war, the uniform provisions and principles of medical support for the troops of the active army became the property of the entire medical staff of the army and navy and formed the basis of their practical activities.

Extremely important in this regard was the role of the Scientific Medical Council under the head of the Main Military Sanitary Directorate, which included prominent medical scientists of our country. During the war years, several plenums of the Scientific Medical Council were convened, at which the most important issues of organizing medical support for front-line troops were discussed, the results of the activities of the army and navy medical services were analyzed, and methods of treating various wounds and diseases were considered. In their work, much attention was paid to the generalization, approval and introduction into practice of medical support for troops of uniform principles and methods of work of the medical service of the active army and the deep rear.

The materials of the plenums of the Scientific Medical Council, as a rule, became a kind of program for improving the medical support of front-line troops and naval forces, and steadily increasing the level of medical work. They contained scientifically based recommendations based on the experience and capabilities of medical science and practice. The relevance of the issues brought up for discussion at these plenums is evidenced by their listing alone. Thus, at the VI plenum of the Scientific Medical Council, held in August 1942, issues of diagnosis and treatment of shock, organization of neurological care for the wounded with gunshot injuries of the peripheral nervous system, treatment of general nutritional disorders and vitamin deficiencies and other problems were raised. In April 1943, the VII Plenum of the Scientific Medical Council discussed the issues of reconstructive surgery, gunshot wounds of joints, amputation, secondary suture, issues of military field therapy and, in particular, the diagnosis and treatment of wartime nephritis and pneumonia in the wounded. Leading specialists and leaders of the military medical service of the Soviet Army E. I. Smirnov, N. N. Burdenko, S. S. Girgolav, M. S. Vovsi, P. I. Egorov and others made presentations on these problems.

As a result of the measures taken, the quality of medical work in medical institutions of the active army and in the depths of the country has constantly increased. Significant advances have been made in the treatment of severe complications such as shock and anaerobic infection. Blood transfusions to the wounded have become widespread. As is known, the main cause of death for all wounds other than cranial wounds during the war was shock and blood loss. According to special developments, shock in combination with loss of blood and in isolated form was observed in those killed with penetrating wounds of the chest in 68.4 percent, in the abdomen in 42.3 percent, and in gunshot fractures of the hip in 59.7 percent of cases. It is clear that the use of a whole range of anti-shock measures, and above all blood transfusions, played a huge role in the fight to save the lives of the wounded. Due to the constant improvement of blood services, the number of transfusions increased all the time during the war. In 1943, blood transfusions were performed on 13.4 percent of all wounded, in 1944 - 26.1, in 1945 - 28.6 percent 400. Widespread donation in the country made it possible to supply the medical service with canned blood in sufficient quantities. In 1942 alone, 140 thousand liters of preserved blood were sent to the active army, and in 1943 - 250 thousand liters 401.

Treatment of sick soldiers was also carried out successfully. Military therapists were faced with the task of developing a system for the prevention and treatment of diseases associated with the specific conditions of warfare and the geographical features of theaters of military operations. In the difficult situation of defensive operations, such as the defense of blockaded Leningrad, the defense of Sevastopol and Odessa, malnutrition diseases, vitamin deficiencies and others became widespread. Therapists, in collaboration with hygienists, have developed a whole range of measures aimed at preventing diseases among personnel of the active army and naval forces. Despite the extremely difficult conditions, the provision of medical care and treatment of patients was organized at the proper level. Therapists played an important role in organizing the treatment of the wounded in the postoperative period. A thorough analysis of the causes and nature of complications that arise after operations for wounds of the chest, abdomen, and limbs has made it possible to develop a number of measures to prevent them. Most important was the prevention and treatment of pneumonia, a common complication of gunshot wounds.

In the second period of the war, the medical service solved serious problems of sanitary, hygienic and anti-epidemic support for troops. The sanitary and epidemiological condition of the active army during this period worsened. On a number of fronts, there was an increase in the incidence of dysentery, typhus and typhoid fever. A serious outbreak of tularemia occurred on the Western and Don fronts. The condition of the areas of Soviet territory liberated from fascist occupation was dangerous for the troops. The extremely difficult living conditions in which the local population found themselves, hunger, and lack of medical care led to the widespread spread of infectious diseases. There was a threat of these diseases being introduced into the troops. Extensive preventive measures were required among the troops and among the local population.

The medical service carried out an enormous amount of work in this area during this period and in subsequent years. Mass preventive vaccinations were carried out among military personnel, strict control over the water supply was carried out, and contacts of personnel with the population in areas unfavorable in sanitary, hygienic and epidemic terms were excluded. Extensive health promotion activities were carried out among the local population. Thus, in 1943, with the help and means of the medical service of the fronts and armies, more than 1.5 million civilians were sanitized only in epidemic foci and 1.7 million sets of clothing were disinfected 402. Thanks to the precise organization and successful implementation of a wide range of anti-epidemic measures, the troops of the active army were protected from the spread of infectious diseases and the occurrence of mass epidemics.

The medical service of the active army provided enormous assistance to civilian healthcare, helping to restore the system of medical care for the population in the liberated territories. This aspect of the activities of the military medical service was given great attention in the subsequent years of the war, especially during the period of expulsion of Nazi troops from Soviet soil and the liberation of the peoples of European states enslaved by Nazi Germany. In addition to extensive anti-epidemic work in the troops, great efforts were required to provide medical care to the civilian population. In January - March 1944, the hospitals of the 1st Belorussian Front alone admitted over 10 thousand patients with typhus for treatment.

During the operations of the second period of the war, the medical service had to face a number of features and serious difficulties. During the counteroffensive near Stalingrad, medical and evacuation support for troops was carried out with extremely limited forces and means. In view of this, the medical institutions of the hospital bases of the armies and fronts were filled by 80-90 percent with the wounded and sick. Meanwhile, the medical service did not have reserve funds. To receive wounded from the troops, army and front-line hospitals were deployed at 150-200 percent above their normal capacity. Due to the large distance of army and front-line hospital bases from the front line and the lack of ambulance vehicles, serious difficulties arose in organizing and carrying out the evacuation of the wounded and sick. But the relatively low level of sanitary losses and the relatively shallow depth of the offensive made it possible to ensure the evacuation and treatment of the wounded with the available forces and means.

Based on the experience gained in the Battle of Stalingrad, during the counteroffensive near Kursk, a bold and effective maneuver was carried out by the forces and means of the medical service. The approach of the first echelon of the hospital base of the Central Front to the armies made it possible to preserve the army hospital bases for medical support during the most intense period of offensive operations. The deployment of the first echelons of front-line hospital bases in army rear areas in subsequent offensive operations became an effective and widespread type of maneuver by the forces and means of the medical service, creating conditions for the optimal use of army medical institutions during the offensive.

In the Battle of Kursk, only in the medical institutions of the Bryansk Front, 67,073 surgical interventions, 15,634 blood transfusions, and over 90 thousand immobilizations were performed 403. The medical service of the same front returned to service about 34 thousand wounded and sick 404 by the end of the operation.

A major role was played by hospitals for the lightly wounded (GLR), which were officially introduced into the staff of armies and fronts at the end of 1941 - beginning of 1942. In the 2603rd hospital alone, in the six months of 1943, 7840 soldiers 405 were cured and returned to duty.

In the final period of the war, during the implementation of such major offensive operations as Korsun-Shevchenko, Belorussian, Lvov-Sandomierz, Yassy-Kishinev, East Prussian, Vistula-Oder, Berlin, the medical service was required to work extremely hard and widely use new forms and methods of organizing and implementing medical care. The decisive conditions for the success of medical support for the troops of the fronts during this period were the ability of the control bodies of the medical service of the fronts and armies to quickly regroup their forces and means in order to provide rapidly advancing troops, the ability to concentrate the main efforts of the service on the direction of the main attacks, and timely carry out the necessary maneuver with forces and means during the development of operations.

The decisiveness of the targets in offensive operations, the participation in them of huge masses of manpower, military equipment and weapons predetermined the intensity and fierceness of the fighting, and, consequently, large sanitary losses. Medical support for the troops participating in these operations required the solution of extremely complex and difficult tasks of the immediate removal (removal) of the wounded from the battlefield, timely provision of qualified medical care to them, rapid evacuation to army and front-line hospitals and their subsequent treatment. For example, in the Vistula-Oder offensive operation in the 8th Guards Army, 28.3 percent of all wounded were delivered to regimental medical stations within an hour after being wounded, 32 percent - one to two hours and 23.3 percent - two to three hours, that is, more than 83 percent of the wounded were admitted to regimental medical stations (RPM) in the first three hours after injury 406. Such timing ensured the timely provision of necessary medical care to the wounded.

In the third period of the war, the medical service had much greater forces and resources than in the first and second periods. Its bed capacity has increased significantly. The number of field mobile hospitals in the armies and on the fronts has increased. The organizational and staffing structure of all levels of the service has become more perfect, the equipment of medical units and institutions with technical means, and the provision of medicines and medical equipment have improved.

By the beginning of the operations of the final period of the war, the governing bodies of the medical service managed to create a fairly powerful group of medical institutions as part of the hospital bases of the armies and fronts. Nevertheless, during periods of the most intense combat operations, especially in the directions of the main attacks, army and front-line hospitals worked under significant overload. But in general, the provision of operational units with hospital beds was quite satisfactory. During the Berlin offensive operation, only in the medical institutions of the 1st Ukrainian Front there were 141.6 thousand beds, including over 60 thousand in armies 407.

In order for qualified medical care to be as close as possible to the advancing troops - and this principle was the leading one in the work of the medical service throughout the war - medical units and institutions had to move repeatedly during the operation, moving behind the attacking troops, in conditions of high rates of attack connections. Movements of regimental and divisional medical stations were especially frequent. Sufficient experience has already been accumulated in carrying out this type of maneuver with medical forces and means. The reserve of medical units and institutions created by the military sanitary departments of the fronts during the preparation period and during operations was widely used.

However, it should be noted that in the offensive operations of the final period of the war, the medical service often had great difficulty in coping with the tasks of quickly regrouping hospitals and other medical institutions over long distances, with their advancement behind the advancing troops, especially in the difficult conditions of the spring thaw. The nature of hostilities and the current situation often required more advanced technical equipment for medical units and institutions. In general, clear planning of the organization of medical support, the use of effective forms and methods of work, bold and operational maneuver with available forces and means, the creation of a sufficiently powerful reserve of medical units and institutions at the disposal of the heads of the military sanitary departments of the fronts and its correct use ensured the successful solution of all tasks . As a rule, the removal (removal) of the wounded from the battlefield and provision of first aid to them was carried out in an extremely short time. During the Berlin operation, 74.5 percent of all wounded were received at regimental medical stations in the first four hours after injury. Some categories of wounded, and especially the seriously wounded, were operated on mainly at divisional medical stations. On the 3rd Belorussian Front in the East Prussian operation, 93.8 percent of those wounded in the chest with penetrating wounds and open pneumothorax were operated on at divisional medical stations, 73.7 percent without open pneumothorax, 76.8 percent of those wounded in the abdomen with penetrating wounds, wounded in the thigh with bone injuries - 94.2 percent 408. Along with this, the organization of specialized medical care has noticeably improved. It was provided to medical institutions at army and front-line hospital bases at an early stage, which increased its effectiveness and ensured high treatment results. Its differentiation has increased significantly. In army hospital bases, specialized medical care was provided to the wounded and sick in 10-12 areas, in front hospital bases - in 20-24 areas.

The qualifications and practical experience of all medical personnel have increased, their preparedness to work in difficult environmental conditions, and the ability to successfully solve complex large-scale tasks of organizing and implementing medical support for large offensive operations.

The clear and effective organization of the work of the medical service during the Great Patriotic War made it possible to achieve high results in the treatment of the wounded and sick. The medical service of the 1st Ukrainian Front, for example, in the first half of 1944 alone returned over 286 thousand wounded and sick soldiers to duty. This personnel was sufficient to staff almost 50 divisions at that time. Over the last two years of the war, the medical service of the 2nd Ukrainian Front returned 1,055 thousand 409 soldiers to the troops.

During the years of the last war, the military medical service returned 72.3 percent of the wounded and 90.6 percent of the sick to duty. Throughout the war, the personnel of the Soviet Armed Forces were reliably protected from mass epidemics - an inevitable and terrible companion of past wars. No army of capitalist countries could achieve such high results in medical support for the troops of the active army, either during the Second World War or in previous wars.

Military doctors had to operate in complex and difficult conditions - on the front line under enemy fire, in partisan detachments, in besieged cities, in assault groups and airborne troops, in the Far North, in the Caucasus Mountains and the Carpathians, in wooded, swampy and desert areas . And everywhere military doctors skillfully and selflessly fulfilled their noble and humane duty. The history of the Great Patriotic War preserves many examples of high courage and heroism shown by military doctors.

In a battle near the village of Verbovye, Zaporozhye region, medical instructor of the 907th Infantry Regiment of the 244th Infantry Division V. Gnarovskaya, protecting the wounded who were awaiting evacuation to the rear from the breaking through fascists, blew up an enemy tank with a bunch of grenades and saved the wounded at the cost of her life. She was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

When crossing the Kerch Strait and seizing a bridgehead on the Kerch Peninsula, medical service sergeant S. Abdullaev was among the first to land on the coast in the Eltigen area. Under heavy enemy fire, he provided medical assistance to the wounded and carried them to cover. Protecting the wounded from the advancing enemy, he destroyed five fascists in hand-to-hand combat, but he himself was seriously wounded. Foreman of the medical service S. Abdullaev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In the summer of 1944 he died a heroic death.

The sanitary instructor of the tank unit, V. Gaponov, became a full holder of the Order of Glory. Gaponov showed particular courage and fearlessness during the crossing of the Vistula. He pulled 27 wounded from burning tanks, carried them off the battlefield and provided first aid. There are many similar examples that can be given.

The massive heroism of military doctors and their selfless work was highly appreciated by the Communist Party and the Soviet government. 44 medical workers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, more than 115 thousand were awarded orders and medals, of which 285 people received the Order of Lenin.

It was possible to successfully cope with the complex and difficult problems of organizing and implementing medical support for the troops of the active army during the Great Patriotic War, primarily due to the fact that the military medical service of the Soviet Army relied in its work on advanced scientific principles. During the war years, it successfully implemented a scientifically based, effective system of staged treatment of the wounded and sick in combination with evacuation for medical reasons. During the war, expedient organizational forms, methods and methods of medical-evacuation, sanitary-hygienic and anti-epidemic support for the troops of the active army were developed. The high scientific level of medical evacuation measures, in-depth analysis and generalization of the experience of the medical service in various conditions, the use of the most advanced and effective treatment methods, and the desire to widely use the latest achievements of medical science and practice contributed to the constant increase in the level of medical support for troops.

The successful results of the military medical service during the war were also ensured by the fact that it had experienced, highly trained medical personnel, selflessly devoted to the Communist Party and the socialist Motherland. In the active army, on numerous fronts, major scientists and specialists known throughout the country worked together with ordinary doctors. Among the personnel of the military medical service during the war there were 4 academicians, 22 honored scientists, 275 professors, 308 doctors of science, 558 associate professors and 2000 candidates of science 410. High vocational training Military doctors and specialists from medical institutions also differed. The Military Medical Academy named after S. M. Kirov and other educational institutions played a major role in the training of military medical personnel in the pre-war years and during the war.

During the war years, many officers and generals of the medical service, who led the activities of the personnel of command and control bodies, medical units and institutions, proved themselves to be talented, skillful leaders of the medical service and organizers of medical support for the troops of the active army. They owe considerable credit for the effective organization and successful implementation of medical support for front-line troops in a number of large defensive and especially offensive operations of the Soviet troops. It is no coincidence that many of these generals were awarded military orders, including M. N. Akhutin, A. Ya. Barabanov, E. I. Smirnov, N. N. Elansky and others. N. N. Burdenko, Yu. Yu. Dzhanelidze, L. A. Orbeli were awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

During the war, the military medical service in its daily activities relied on all possible assistance and support of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the State Defense Committee, the Soviet government, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the Logistics Command of the Soviet Army, and the entire Soviet people. More than 25 thousand sanitary warriors and about 200 thousand activists trained by Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations took part in providing assistance to military doctors and caring for the wounded and sick. During the war, there were 5.5 million donors in the country. They gave over 1.7 million liters of blood to the front and helped save the lives of thousands of wounded 411 soldiers.

During the Great Patriotic War, the medical service personnel successfully completed their tasks and made a worthy contribution to the victory over the enemy. He gained invaluable experience in organizing and implementing medical support for troops in the active army.

The rear of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Great Patriotic War

Fighting always leads to losses. A person who is injured or sick can no longer perform his tasks fully. But they needed to be returned to service. For this purpose, medical institutions were created throughout the advance of the troops. Temporary, in the immediate vicinity of military battles, and permanent - in the deep rear.

Where were the hospitals created?

During the Great Patriotic War, all hospitals had at their disposal the most spacious buildings in cities and villages. For the sake of saving wounded soldiers and speeding their recovery, schools and sanatoriums, university auditoriums and hotel rooms became medical wards. They tried to create better conditions for the soldiers. The cities of the deep rear turned into havens for thousands of soldiers during illness.

Hospitals were located in cities far from the battlefields during the Great Patriotic War. Their list is huge, they covered the entire space from north to south, Siberia and further to the east. Yekaterinburg and Tyumen, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk, Irkutsk and Omsk welcomed dear guests. For example, in a city as remote from the front as Irkutsk, there were twenty hospitals. Each reception point for soldiers from the front line was ready to carry out the necessary medical procedures, organize adequate nutrition and care.

The path from injury to healing

A soldier wounded during the battle did not immediately end up in the hospital. The first care for him was placed on the nurses’ fragile but so strong female shoulders. “Sisters” in soldier’s uniforms rushed under heavy enemy fire to pull their “brothers” out from under fire.

The red cross, sewn on a sleeve or scarf, was issued to its employees by hospitals during the Great Patriotic War. A photo or image of this symbol is clear to everyone without words. The cross warns that a person is not a warrior. The Nazis simply went berserk at the sight of this distinctive sign. They were irritated by the mere presence of little nurses on the battlefield. And the way they managed to drag hefty soldiers in full uniform under targeted fire simply infuriated them.

After all, in the Wehrmacht army, such work was performed by the healthiest and strongest soldiers. Therefore, they opened a real hunt for little heroines. As soon as a girl’s silhouette with a red cross flashed by, many enemy guns were aimed at him. Therefore, deaths of nurses on the front line were very common. Leaving the battlefield, the wounded received first aid and were sent to triage areas. These were the so-called distribution evacuation points. The wounded, shell-shocked and sick from nearby fronts were brought here. One point served from three to five directions of military operations. Here soldiers were assigned according to their main injury or illness. Military ambulance trains played a great contribution to the restoration of the army's fighting strength.

VSP could simultaneously transport a large number of wounded. No other ambulance transport could compete with these locomotives for providing rapid medical care. From triage points, the wounded were sent to the interior of the country to specialized Soviet hospitals during the Great Patriotic War.

Main directions of hospitals

Among the hospitals, several profiles stood out. The most common injuries were injuries to the abdominal cavity. They were considered especially serious. A shrapnel hit in the chest or abdomen resulted in damage to the diaphragm. As a result, the chest and abdominal cavities are left without a natural boundary, which could lead to the death of soldiers. To treat them, special thoracoabdominal hospitals were created. Among such wounded, the survival rate was low. To treat limb wounds, a femoral-articular profile was created. His arms and legs suffered from wounds and frostbite. Doctors tried in every conceivable way to prevent amputation.

A man without an arm or leg could no longer return to duty. And the doctors were tasked with restoring combat strength.

Neurosurgical and infectious diseases, therapeutic and neuropsychiatric departments, surgery (purulent and vascular) threw all their strength into their frontline in the fight against diseases of Red Army soldiers.

Staff

Doctors of different specializations and experience came to serve the Fatherland. Experienced doctors and young nurses came to hospitals during the Great Patriotic War. Here they worked for days. Among doctors they were often But this did not happen from lack of nutrition. They tried to feed both patients and doctors well. Doctors often did not have enough time to take a break from their main work and eat. Every minute counted. While lunch continued, it was possible to help some unfortunate person and save his life.

In addition to providing medical care, it was necessary to cook food, feed the soldiers, change bandages, clean the wards, and do laundry. All this was carried out by numerous personnel. They tried to somehow distract the wounded from their bitter thoughts. It so happened that there were not enough hands. Then unexpected helpers appeared.

Physician assistants

Detachments of Octobrists and Pioneers, individual classes provided all possible assistance to hospitals during the Great Patriotic War. They served a glass of water, wrote and read letters, entertained the soldiers, because almost everyone had daughters, sons or brothers and sisters at home somewhere. A touch of peaceful life after the bloodshed of terrible everyday life at the front became an incentive to recovery. During the Great Patriotic War, famous artists came to military hospitals with concerts. Their arrival was awaited; they turned into a holiday. The call to bravely overcome pain, faith in recovery, and the optimism of the speeches had a beneficial effect on patients. Pioneers came with amateur performances. They staged skits where they made fun of the fascists. They sang songs and recited poems about the imminent victory over the enemy. The wounded looked forward to such concerts.

Difficulties of work

The hospitals that were created functioned with difficulty. In the first months of the war, there was no sufficient supply of medicines, equipment, or specialists. There was a lack of basic things - cotton wool and bandages. I had to wash them and boil them. The doctors could not change the gown in time. After just a few operations, he turned into a red sheet of fresh blood. The retreat of the Red Army could lead to the hospital ending up in occupied territory. In such cases, the lives of soldiers were at risk. Everyone who could take up arms stood up to defend the others. At this time, medical personnel tried to organize the evacuation of the seriously wounded and shell-shocked.

It was possible to establish work in an unsuitable place by going through tests. Only the dedication of the doctors made it possible to equip the premises to provide the necessary medical care. Gradually, medical institutions no longer experienced shortages of medicines and equipment. The work became more organized, under control and supervision.

Achievements and omissions

During the Great Patriotic War, hospitals were able to reduce the mortality rate of patients. Up to 90 percent returned to life. This would not have been possible without bringing in new knowledge. Doctors had to test the latest discoveries in medicine immediately in practice. Their courage gave many soldiers a chance to survive, and not just to stay alive, but also to continue to defend the Motherland.

Deceased patients were buried in. Usually a wooden plaque with a name or number was placed on the grave. Working hospitals during the Great Patriotic War, the list of which in Astrakhan, for example, numbers several dozen, were created during major battles. These are mainly evacuation hospitals, such as No. 379, 375, 1008, 1295, 1581, 1585-1596. They were formed during the Battle of Stalingrad; they did not keep records of the dead. Sometimes there were no documents, sometimes a quick move to a new place did not provide such an opportunity. That is why it is now so difficult to find burial places of those who died from wounds. There are still missing soldiers.