In many of the photos and films taken in the European Theater of Operations, we find medical personnel and vehicles marked with Geneva Convention Red Crosses. The medics found that, generally, the Germans followed the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of personnel and equipment marked as non-combatants. For this, the Army had the brassards as […]
Geneva Convention Red Cross markings Read More »
After being wounded, a casualty received first aid (Part I). Emergency medical treatment was then started by a company aid man (Part II). Now it was time to get the casualty away from the front as quickly as possible. This evacuation followed the links of the Evacuation Chain. In this part, I will take a
Medical Evacuation and Treatment Series. Part 3: First echelon evacuation. Read More »
How do you train men to prepare them for war? How do you train them when you have to expend your armed forces roughly one hundredfold? And how do you do this when you have to do it while you are fighting a global conflict? I believe the answer inevitably will contain “compromises” and even
Medical Evacuation and Treatment Series. Part 2: company aid man. Read More »
“MEDIC!”… I think we have all seen scenes in war movies or Tv-series where one of the portrayed soldiers is wounded in battle: Men are running. There are disorienting loud noises: the rattling of machinegun fire, the “pings” of M-1 Garand clips ejecting. There are explosions. Orders are shouted. Then there is that scream: “MEDIC!”.
Medical Evacuation and Treatment Series. Part I: First Aid Read More »
Let’s talk about the logistics of the medical service. From complete medical chests and bottles of whole blood to every first-aid kit and can of foot powder ever used, all the medical items needed to be brought towards the front before any medic could use them to treat casualties. So having a medical supply system
Logistics Series. Part III: Medical supplies and the 46th Armored Medical Battalion Read More »
“My men can eat their belts, but my tanks got to have gas” – General George S. Patton Jr. Patton spoke these words on 2 September 1944. With the breakout of Normandy and the race across France during August 1944, the allied armies had outrun the transport capabilities of their logistical support. The quote shows
Logistics Series. Part II: Fuel Read More »
“Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics”. There are several variations of this quote (do amateurs talk strategy or tactics? And do professionals talk or study logistics?) It is also attributed to more than one man. Whoever may have spoken (a variation of) these words, he understood a key point in military operations: without a solid
Logistics Series. Part I: Basic logistics in an armored division. Read More »
To understand the story of the medical service of the 4th Armored Division it can be very helpful to have a brief overview of the division’s actions. I will present you with a timeline, showing the main dates of interest in the division’s history. I would like to start, however, by giving you an idea
4th Armored Division “By their deeds alone”: a brief overview of the division’s actions. Read More »
One of the things I love about doing historical research is the excitement of receiving new documents. Every time I have received or found new documents I felt like I am going on a treasure hunt! And just like a real treasure hunt, sometimes you find things that are not all that exciting. But then
Part of the results of my research are bundled into the timeline documents I have created for the companies of the 46th Armored Medical Battalion (AMB). They can be a great source when you want to understand the stories of the men that served in the medical service of the 4th AD. Here I would like to provide you with a guide on how to read them.
Guide to the timeline documents. Read More »