Soviet hospitals during the Great Patriotic War

Fighting always leads to loss. A person, wounded or sick, can no longer perform his tasks to the fullest. But they had to be returned to service. To this end, medical institutions were set up throughout the advance of the troops. Temporary, in the immediate vicinity of combat battles, and permanent - in the deep rear.

Where hospitals were created

All hospitals during the Great Patriotic War received at their disposal the most capacious buildings of cities and villages. For the sake of saving the wounded soldiers, their speedy recovery of the school and sanatorium, the university audience and hotel rooms became medical chambers. For the soldiers tried to create better conditions. The cities of the deep rear turned into a haven for thousands of soldiers for the time of illness.

In cities far from the battlefields, hospitals were deployed during the Great Patriotic War. Their list is huge, they covered the entire space from north to south, Siberia and further to the east. Ekaterinburg and Tyumen, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk, Irkutsk and Omsk greeted the dear guests. For example, in such a remote city, like Irkutsk, twenty hospitals were located. Each point of reception of soldiers from the front line was ready for the necessary medical procedures, organization of adequate nutrition and care.

The way from injury to healing

The soldier wounded during the battle did not immediately find himself in the hospital. The first care for him was laid on his frail, but such strong female shoulders nurses. "Sisters" in a soldier's uniform rushed under the heavy enemy fire to pull their "brothers" from the shelling.

A red cross, sewn on a sleeve or a scarf, was given out by its employees to hospitals during the Great Patriotic War. The photo or image of this symbol is clear to all without words. The cross warns that a person is not a warrior. The fascists at the sight of this distinctive sign were simply beastly. They were annoyed by the presence of little nurses on the battlefield. And the way they managed to drag huge soldiers in complete outfit under the aimed fire, just drove them into a rage.

After all, in the army of the Wehrmacht such work was performed by the most healthy and strong soldiers. Therefore, they opened a real hunt for little heroines. Only the maiden silhouette with a red cross will flash, and many enemy trunks aim at it. Therefore, the death to the advanced nurses was very frequent.

Leaving the battlefield, the wounded received first aid and went to the sorting sites. These were the so-called distributional evacuation points. They brought the wounded, shell-shocked and sick from the immediate fronts. One point served from three to five areas of military operations. Here the soldiers were distributed according to their primary injury or disease. Military-sanitary trains played a major role in the restoration of the army's combat strength.

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

The main directions of hospitals

Among the hospitals there were several profiles. The most frequent injuries were injuries in the abdominal cavity. They were particularly serious. Fragmentation in the chest or abdomen resulted in damage to the chart. As a result, the thoracic and abdominal cavities are without a natural border, which could lead to the death of soldiers. To cure them, special thoracoabdominal hospitals were created. Among such wounded, the survival rate was low.

To treat wounds of the limbs, a femoral-articular profile was created. Hands and feet suffered from injuries and frostbite. Doctors in all conceivable ways tried to prevent amputation.

A man without an arm or a leg could no longer return to the system. And before the doctors set the task of restoring combat power.

Neurosurgical and infectious focus, therapeutic and neuropsychiatric departments, surgery (purulent and vascular) have thrown all their forces on their front against the diseases of Red Army soldiers.

Staff

To the service of the Fatherland were doctors of different orientations and experience. Experienced doctors and young nurses came to hospitals during the Great Patriotic War. Here they worked for days.

Among the doctors were often hungry faints. But this was not due to lack of nutrition. To feed tried well both patients, and physicians. Doctors often did not have time to digress from their basic work and eat. Every minute counted. While the dinner was going on, it was possible to help some miserable person and save his life.

In addition to providing medical assistance, it was necessary to cook food, feed soldiers, change dressings, clean up in wards, and wash. All this was done by a large number of staff. They tried to somehow distract the wounded from bitter thoughts. It happened that the hands were not enough. Then unexpected assistants appeared.

Physician assistants

Detachments of Octobrists and pioneers, individual classes rendered feasible 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 a daughter, sons, or sibling brothers somewhere at home. Touching a peaceful life after the bloodshed of terrible everyday life on the front became an incentive for recovery.

Famous artists with concerts came to military hospitals during the Great Patriotic War. Their arrival was waiting, they turned into a holiday. The appeal to brave overcoming pain, belief in recovery, optimism of performances beneficially influenced patients. Pioneers came with amateur performances. They put skits where they ridiculed the fascists. They sang songs, told poems about a quick victory over the enemy. Such concerts the wounded waited impatiently.

Difficulties of work

The created hospitals during the Great Patriotic War functioned with difficulty. In the first months of the war, there was no sufficient supply of medicines, equipment, or specialists. The elementary - cotton wool and bandages was not enough. I had to wash them, boil them. The doctors could not change the dressing gown in time. After a few operations, he turned into a red cloth from fresh blood. The retreat of the Red Army could lead to the fact that the hospital was on the occupied territory. In such cases, the life of the soldiers was endangered. All who could take weapons in their hands rose up to protect the rest. Medical personnel at this time tried to organize the evacuation of seriously wounded and shell-shocked.

It was possible to adjust work in an unsuitable place, having passed through tests. Only the dedication of doctors allowed to equip the premises to provide necessary medical assistance.

Gradually, medical institutions stopped experiencing a shortage of drugs and equipment. The work became more organized, under control and guardianship.

Achievements and omissions

The hospitals were able to achieve a reduction in the death rate of patients during the Great Patriotic War. Up to 90 percent came back to life. Without attracting new knowledge, this was not possible. Physicians had to check the latest discoveries in medicine immediately in practice. Their courage gave a chance to survive to many soldiers, and not only to stay alive, but also to continue to defend the Motherland.

The dead patients were buried in mass graves. Usually a wooden sign with a name or number was placed on the grave. Working hospitals during the Great Patriotic War, whose list in Astrakhan, for example, counts several dozen, was created during major battles. Basically it is evakogospitaly, such as № 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 give such an opportunity. Therefore now it is so difficult to find the burial places of the dead from wounds. Until now, there are still missing soldiers.