the Patriotic war of 1812 envelops romantic flair, created literature, painting and cinema. Behind it is often forgotten that it was the bloodiest armed conflict of the nineteenth century.
Then just do the first steps in the organization of medical care on the battlefield. Most gunshot wounds were accompanied by infection, and one of the main methods of treatment was amputation. Before the widespread introduction in the world of medical practice antiseptics remained nearly half a century, sanitary losses of the armies surpasses combat. Doctors whose names are generally unknown to the wider public, had to make Herculean efforts to save lives.
Shortly before the temporary closure of the Museum-panorama “Borodino battle” prepared. You can see it will be after the lifting of restrictions. And while the main exhibits of the exhibition can be viewed online due to the material mos.ru and the Agency “Moscow”.
One of the major inventions of the era in the field of military medicine — organization of the ambulance belongs to France. The chief surgeon of Napoleon’s army, Dominique Jean Larrey (1766-1842) created a system of “flying ambulance” — light two-wheeled carts, where the wounded were quickly evacuated from the battlefield. Before that, they were collected only after the battle was over, and shipping to the infirmary heavy trucks took less than a day. Larrey’s invention helped save many lives, and he still called the father of the ambulance.
the doctor also introduced the so-called triage (from the French triage, meaning “sorting”) — the triage depending on the severity of the damage. This gradation has been preserved to our days: patients requiring emergency, urgent, and finally not urgent. Prior to that, was primarily engaged in the officers and slightly wounded soldiers, that the latter could immediately return to battle.
Larry was not only a reformer of military medicine, but also a practicing surgeon. Only during the battle of Borodino he spent about 200 amputations in average spending on each a little more than seven minutes.
Faithful to the Hippocratic oath, he treated not only of the French. A case where after the entry of Napoleon’s army in Vitebsk, Larrey discovered in the town of about 350 Russian wounded and help them, without making any distinction.
the Basics of military field medicine in Russia was established by Jacob V. Willie (1768-1854), or James Wylie, as he was called in his native Scotland. In the Russian service, he was in 1790 and quickly made a fantastic career. Turning point it was the operation to remove the bullet from lumbar vertebra one of Suvorov’s adjutant during the Polish campaign of 1794-go.
Wiley, Willie reached all heights, which could dream of the doctor in Ross��and that time he was a court physician of three Russian emperors (Paul I, Alexander I and Nicholas I), the President of the Imperial medico-surgical Academy, the Director of the Medical Department of the war Ministry and the chief inspector of the army medical. As President of the Academy, which he conducted for three decades, Willie has made an enormous contribution to the development of Russian military surgical school. As the chief physician of the Ministry of war he developed a system of medical service in the army and achieved its implementation.
It was Willie determined the composition of the sets of surgical instruments, which are compulsorily equipped units of the Russian army. In a battalion set consisted of nine Essentials: needles in different configurations, forceps, Lancet, catheter, large and small saws and knives for amputations. In the regimental kit was already 24 tools, and the hull — 106.
Impossible to calculate how many lives have been saved by pocket “Counsel” Willie, which was applied not only to military medicine. Compact book gave recommendations on the implementation of technology 33 the most common at the time of the transactions, including obstetrics. It included sections for the treatment of wounds from firearms or bladed weapons, and this guide is considered to be the first domestic manual on military surgery. Willie was a publisher of medical periodicals — founded in 1823 the “Military-medical journal” still exists.
special mention deserves the Willie invented the hospital system, which during the Patriotic war of 1812 had no analogues in the world. First aid to the wounded was assisted in dressing stations, which were located in shelters on the perimeter of the battlefield. Then the orderlies, who were usually made by the militias, delivered those who could not go himself, in the three riding hospital (one in the center, two on the flanks). Here was performed emergency surgery and determined the fate of patients — they are distributed by the hospitals that are located in 10-15 kilometers from the battle site. In addition, in large towns had hospitals.
During the war only moving hospitals was arranged in the order of 70 pieces — three days of the battle of Borodino battlefield was taken 19.5 thousand wounded Russian army. The system consisted of three lines of hospitals. In the hospital the first line of the wounded were no more than a day, in the second line they were treated to a month, and the third were the most severely ill patients.
Willie was not only the organizer and theorist. Like his French colleague Larry, the head of the Russian medical services personally spent about 200 operations at Borodin. He was one of those who in the heat of battle examined the wounded Bagration. Willie opereroVal of many commanders: the battle of Kulm — the Marquis of Londonderry and Marshal Vendôme, near Leipzig, Germany — field Marshal Radetzky, under Tanau field Marshal Wrede, near Dresden — of General Moreau.
Another Russianized foreigner, the Prussian physician Justus Christian Loder, who in Russia, by Christian I., had contributed not only to the development of medicine, but in the Russian language. Thanks to him, appeared the word “quitter”.
In 1828, Dr. Loder, together with a companion opened on Ostozhenka institution of artificial mineral waters. The number of procedures propisyvaetsya his wealthy clients, was the Wellness walk. For ordinary people this pastime seemed empty fun, and when cabs awaiting their masters, asked why those hours of pacing in the Park, they replied: “the Lazy man chase”, mangling the simple lad of the name of the foreigner. And so it happened — idlers idlers idlers are called, often without even knowing the origin of the word and not knowing anything about the person because of whom it came from.
a friend of the poet Goethe and the famous geographer Humboldt, Loder arrived in Russia for a medical luminary. Before the war he was engaged in private practice, had the title of life-medic. With the beginning of the war, a knowledgeable foreigner entrusted Moscow hospital for six thousand officers and 30 thousand lower ranks. At the approach of the enemy he had to deal with the evacuation of the hospital and the organization of new hospitals in Kasimov, the Elatma Melenki and — Ryazan on the direction in which the retreating army of Kutuzov.
After the war the name of Loder continued to rattle. He gave in Moscow to the anatomical theatre where medical students conducted live surgeries on cadavers. Anatomical theater Lauder at one time was considered the best in Europe. Becoming an honorary member of Moscow University, the court physician was in a special position and is not reported to the University Council about your teaching. For example, he lectured exclusively in Latin, ignoring the requests of the Dean of the medical faculty to switch to more familiar to students in Moscow of the XIX century Russian. In 1826, the recalcitrant Loder introduced the draft faculty transformation device and was able to bring it to life. The teaching he left only in 1831-m because of poor health, giving the University its collection of products and tools.
Wounded commanders was often reflected in art. An example is the painting by Claude Gotra “Wound of Napoleon at Ratisbon”, later widespread in the form of made her lithographs. Ratisbon — French name for Bavarian Regensburg on taking that in April 1809, the Napoleon’s army spent five days. While Bonaparte was wounded by a bullet in the left leg.
the Time of dressing became a subject for paintings Gotra, only with the wounded foot of the Emperor, the artist made a mistake, depicting a bandaged right.
One of the defining episodes of the Borodino battle was the wounding of Prince Peter Bagration, whose troops long held the enemy at the Semenov flushes. This time came the famous painting by Peter von Hess “the Battle of Borodino”.
the Fact why severe, but not fatal shrapnel wound in the leg led to the death of the commander, still occupies historians. The prevailing view is that Bagration would have saved the amputation made in the first 48 hours after injury. However, the retreat of the Russian army made it impossible to conduct the operation without the risk of being captured, and precious time was lost.
Prince Peter Bagration died of gangrene after 17 days after the injury. From the amputation, he refused twice, and he had reason. If the French surgeons amputation was erected in the absolute, the Russian doctors sometimes did without it. Bagration knew that the doctors managed to save his right hand to Barclay de Tolly after being seriously wounded at Eylau in 1807. The commander then nursed 15 months, and from his wounded hands during this time, drew more than 40 bone fragments of different sizes.
However, conservative treatment in wounds of the limbs was more rare. Every great battle, especially with the notable participation of the artillery left behind many maimed indiscriminately of rank and title. Two of the exhibit remind us that the amputees were not uncommon even among the Russian generals.
the painting by an unknown artist of the nineteenth century depicted one of the heroes of that era, horse-drawn artillery Ivan Arnoldi, lost a leg in the battle of Leipzig in 1813. Description of his achievement in the Military encyclopedia of the early XX century touch of a man even with strong nerves.
After the necessary medical procedures he remained in the battle line for another 40 years, rising to General of artillery.
an Incredible career in the army was made by the founder of the famous military dynasty Ivan Skobelev, having passed a way from simple soldier to General of infantry. In battle with the poles under Minskom-Mazowiecki in 1831 he lost his left arm. This injury remained engraved on chromolithography: Lieutenant-General skobeleff sitting on the drum during amputation of the limb, shattered the enemy core. The splint can be seen that the right hand of the General was crippled in 1809 in the battle with the Swedes at the core of Kuortane he tore off two fingers and fractured a third.
Image courtesy of the Museum-panorama “Borodino battle”
