Fighting always leads to losses. A person, wounded or sick, can no longer perform his tasks in full. But they had to be returned to duty. For this purpose, medical institutions were created throughout the advancement of troops. Temporary, in the immediate vicinity of military 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 quickest recovery of schools and sanatoriums, university audiences and hotel rooms became medical chambers. They tried to create better conditions for the soldiers. Cities of deep rear turned into shelters for thousands of soldiers during the illness.
In cities far from battle sites, hospitals were stationed during World War II. Their list is huge, they covered the entire space from north to south, Siberia and further east. Yekaterinburg and Tyumen, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk, Irkutsk and Omsk met dear guests. For example, in a city remote from the front, like Irkutsk, there were twenty hospitals. Each reception point of soldiers with the front line was ready for the necessary medical procedures, the organization of proper nutrition and care.
The path from injury to healing
The soldier wounded during the battle did not immediately find himself in the hospital. The first care was placed on her fragile, but such strong female shoulders by the nurse. "Sisters" in soldier uniforms rushed under heavy enemy fire to pull their "little brothers" out of fire.
The red cross sewn on a sleeve or scarf was given out to hospitals during the Great Patriotic War. The photo or image of this symbol is clear to everyone without words. The cross warns that man is not a warrior. The fascists at the sight of this distinctive sign simply brutalized. They were annoyed by the presence of little nurses on the battlefield. And the way they managed to drag hefty soldiers in full uniform under aimed fire simply infuriated them.
Indeed, in the Wehrmacht army, the most healthy and strongest soldiers did this work. Therefore, they opened a real hunt for little heroines. Only a girl’s silhouette with a red cross flashed, and many enemy trunks were aimed at him. Therefore, death at the frontline nurses was very frequent. Leaving the battlefield, the wounded received first aid and went to the sorting places. These were the so-called distribution evacuation points. The wounded, shell-shocked and sick from the nearest fronts were brought here. One point served from three to five areas of military operations. Here the soldiers were assigned according to their main injury or illness. A major contribution to the restoration of the combat strength of the army was played by the military sanitary trains.
VSP could simultaneously transport a large number of wounded. No other ambulance could compete with these locomotives for quick medical care. From the sorting points, the wounded were sent to the internal regions of the country to specialized Soviet hospitals during the Great Patriotic War.
The main directions of hospitals
Among the hospitals, several profiles stood out. The most common injuries were injuries to the abdominal cavity. They were especially grave. Shrapnel into the chest or abdomen caused damage to the diaphragm. As a result, the chest 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 to the limbs, a femoral-articular profile was created. Hands and feet were injured and frostbite. Doctors in every imaginable way tried to prevent amputation.
A man without an arm or leg could no longer return to duty. And the doctors were tasked with restoring combat power.
Neurosurgical and infectious diseases, therapeutic and neuropsychiatric departments, surgery (purulent and vascular) threw all their strength into their front against the diseases of the Red Army soldiers.
Staff
Doctors of various orientations and experience became at the service of the Fatherland. Experienced doctors and young nurses came to hospitals during the Great Patriotic War. Here they worked for days. Among the doctors were often hungry fainting. But this did not happen due to lack of nutrition. Both patients and doctors tried to feed well. Doctors often did not have enough time to distract from their main work and eat. Every minute counted. While dinner was going on, it was possible to help some kind of miserable man and save his life.
In addition to providing medical assistance, it was necessary to cook food, feed the soldiers, change the bandages, clean the wards, and wash. All this was performed by numerous staff. They tried to somehow distract the wounded from bitter thoughts. It so happened that there were not enough hands. Then unexpected helpers appeared.
Medical assistants
The detachments of October and the pioneers, separate 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-sisters somewhere at home. Touching a peaceful life after the bloodshed of terrible everyday life at the front became an incentive for recovery. Famous artists with concerts came to military hospitals during World War II. They waited for their arrival, they turned into a holiday. The call for a courageous overcoming of pain, faith in recovery, optimism of performances had a beneficial effect on patients. Amateur pioneers came. They put on scenes where the Nazis were ridiculed. They sang songs, recited poems about an imminent victory over the enemy. The wounded were looking forward to such concerts.
Work difficulties
The hospitals created during the Great Patriotic War functioned with difficulty. In the first months of the war, a sufficient supply of medicines, equipment, and specialists was not organized. Not enough elementary - cotton wool and bandages. I had to wash them, boil them. Doctors could not change a dressing gown in time. After just 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 in the occupied territory. In such cases, the lives of the soldiers were at risk. Everyone who could take up arms stood up to protect the rest. Medical staff at this time tried to organize the evacuation of seriously wounded and shell-shocked.
It was possible to establish work on an unsuitable place after going through trials. Only the dedication of doctors allowed to equip the premises to provide the necessary medical care. Gradually, medical facilities stopped experiencing a shortage of drugs and equipment. The work became more organized, was under control and guardianship.
Achievements and omissions
Hospitals were able to reduce the mortality rate of patients during the Great Patriotic War. Up to 90 percent returned to life. Without attracting new knowledge, this was not possible. Doctors had to check the latest discoveries in medicine immediately in practice. Their courage gave many soldiers the chance to survive, and not only just stay alive, but also continue to defend their homeland.
Deceased patients were buried in mass graves. Usually, a wooden plaque with a name or number was installed on the grave. Operating hospitals during the Great Patriotic War, the list of which in Astrakhan, for example, includes 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 give such an opportunity. Therefore, it is now so difficult to find the burial sites of those who died from wounds. There are still missing soldiers.