Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

Chapter 240 236. The Western Front Battlefield
Since the start of the battle, the Bohemia battlefield on the northern front, which should not have erupted first in history, took the lead in fighting.

However, the war did not develop as the commanders of the two armies imagined, and various variables appeared from the very beginning.

Prussia did not expect the Austrian army to gather so quickly, nor did it expect the Austrian army to attack so decisively.Austria did not expect that Prussia had already crossed the mountainous area north of Bohemia and crossed the border, nor did it expect that Prussia's firepower would be so fierce.

So after the two armies fought hand-to-hand once here, the rhythm eased down on the third day.

There were still sporadic battles, but none of them were as fierce as they were on the morning of the 26th.

The activities of the two armies here are like a pot of hot water being heated, the bottom is already covered with small bubbles, and it only needs to add more firewood to boil.But the firewood under the pot was always out of breath, and the water temperature was kept at the same level, which made people very uncomfortable.

But for Kavey who is at the back, this happens to be a good opportunity to summarize.

He could take advantage of the rare free time in the General Hospital to report to the Military Medical Office, the Northern Front Commander and the King, and at the same time improve the previous "Military Doctor's Handbook".Especially the parts of craniocerebral and cardiothoracic trauma, it is necessary to fill in the gaps of the 19th century as soon as possible.

The time has come to October, and Carvey still needs to deal with the discharge inspection of the wounded.

These include severe limb injuries, serious medical diseases, mental disorders, fractures that require long-term recuperation, and other diseases that need to be identified.He not only needs to prevent those soldiers from pretending to be sick, but also needs to find soldiers with diseases in time to prevent them from dying after returning to the battlefield.

In addition, the 2000-bed Fortress General Hospital also needs to strictly guard against the plague that may arise at any time.

In early October, the weather in Bohemia is getting cooler, malaria is almost invisible, and the chance of cholera is not high, but typhus, which has little to do with temperature, and typhus, which is common in autumn and winter, are still fatal.

The former is infected by Rickettsia transmitted by lice, and the latter is an intestinal infectious disease caused by Salmonella transmitted by fecal-oral transmission.

No matter which one it is, once it develops into a severe disease, it will be fatal, and the environment of the battlefield, especially the frontline battlefield, has become a breeding ground for them to breed and spread.

European wars continued, and firearms seemed to cause huge casualties, but in fact, before World War I, such proportions were not high.In contrast, the large and small plagues that accompany wars are the culprits of soldiers' deaths, and can even determine the outcome of a war.

"Water sanitation must pay attention!"

I don’t know how many times Caveti has warned me, Hills has heard callouses in his ears: “You have said this matter countless times, and I have been followed up by people, don’t worry. The water in the entrance Boiled, but they actually prefer lighter wines."

"What about personal hygiene?"

"It is stipulated in the ward to take a bath on average once a week. Although it is just soaking in the big bucket in the ward and then scrubbing it with soap, it is still cleaner than in their home." Hills said with a smile, "Many people refuse to take a bath. , or we forced it into the wooden barrel."

"The weather is too cold, it's really difficult to take a bath in cold water."

"It's not too cold, the spa in the nursing home is much colder than here." Hills didn't think there was anything wrong with the low temperature, "If there were mountain springs here in Olmitz, I would like to pull them all before winter comes Go take a dip in the past."

"It's just a shower, not that many tricks."

"No, no, the mineral water in the spa is much more valuable." Hills seems to be very concerned about all kinds of things in the nursing home, "The couple who came here from Canada, their nursing home has a bottle of fresh Alpine mineral spring Water can be sold for 3 crowns."

Carvey has also heard about this: "I remember that the water pipes in Vienna also have water from the Alps."

"That's different. The minerals in mineral water are much better than city water." Hills explained, "Dr. A glass of mineral water."【2】

Carvey sighed.

Whether mountain spring water and mineral water are really beneficial to the human body is irrelevant at this moment, and he has no time or need to correct this thing.And compared to the familiar mineral water, other installations in Jenny and Cecilia's nursing home are more eerie.

"Do you want to use a hydrotherapy device?" Hills thought of some soldiers with wounds and festering on their bodies. to some effect.”【2】

"Farewell. The military medical office has limited funds." Carvey stopped his whimsy in time, "Just ensure that the wounded drink enough water every day and take a bath every week."

Hills nodded: "It's true, it's only been a week, and the spare supplies in the hospital have been almost exhausted."

"The logistics transport convoy is just on the road." Ignatz said aside, "I just don't know how long it can last."

"It should be able to last for a week. The Karachi pharmaceutical factory is already working overtime to replenish the warehouse." Carvey rubbed his eyes and brought the topic back to the ward. "How many patients with high fever are there in the ward now?"

Hills himself doesn't like to take care of these trivial matters, and he is not interested in medical statistics, but he has to admit that his meticulous work attitude can really do the job well: "It was counted this morning that some people with a body temperature over 38.5 degrees 379 people, 37 people were between 38.5-653, and 1000 of these more than 747 people were postoperative."

"What about the rest?"

"Basically, they are soldiers sent from the frontline Yodek Fortress." Hills said, "According to your previous request, these patients who have not undergone surgery have their own wards."

"They are all soldiers from the front line, and maybe there are some plagues that may spread." Carvey said to him, "The key symptom is the rash, and those patients with typhus and typhus often have rashes."

"I understand that," Hills said. "Dr. Fatolad is managing those patients, and nothing will happen."

Even if Carvey became the dean of the Fortress General Hospital, he must abide by the treatment rules brought about by the gap between internal medicine and surgery.A medical student who has not studied in a systematic medical school may be familiar with human anatomy and perform various operations because of his father and his own talent, but he is absolutely not qualified to participate in medical treatment.

Fatolad's treatment consisted of cooling down and pills laced with heavy metals, herbs, and earth, and it was up to the soldiers to carry the infection on their own.

Carvey does not have antibiotics against Rickettsia and Salmonella in his hand, and methylene blue is not strong against infection. Even if he is really involved, there is no good way. What can be done now is to prevent these two kinds of bacteria as much as possible. serious infectious disease.

"How about the results of the rodent control?"

Herman opened his notes: "There are basically no mice in the ward, and the mice that die outside the hospital will be buried and disposed of as soon as possible."

"As long as personal hygiene is ensured and rodent control is ensured, typhus is unlikely to be contagious. If the water quality is kept clean, typhus can also be avoided." Carvey was relieved to see that the prevention work was progressing steadily, "You guys keep following up, Oh, by the way, send a copy of what I did here to Locard." [3]

"He is a top student in the assessment, so he should understand these things, otherwise he would not have been appointed as the doctor of the third army."

"Not enough, this thing can't be used proficiently by simple learning." Carvey tapped the table lightly with a pen, "It needs to be reminded repeatedly to deepen the impression."

"Okay, I'll write him a letter." Hills wrote down the matter, "Do you want him to write a report on the situation of Yordek Fortress?"

"Who's the Army Physician over there?" Carvey asked, looking up.

"An internist at Graze Hospital," Hills recalls.

"Forget it, just urge him in the letter. If there is any difficulty, let him write back and explain, and I will think about it."

Carvey had just finished arranging the next series of tasks when there was a knock at the door.A surgical assistant entered the door, holding a telegram message just received in his hand: "Dean, this is a telegram from Grand Duke Brecht, please read it."

"The Grand Duke is looking for me?" Kavi took the letter paper and scanned it briefly, his face became very ugly. 【4】

"what happened?"

"The battles on the western and northwestern fronts are tight, and the two central hospitals there are already full." Carvey briefly stated the content of the letter, "I was asked to bring at least two medical teams to support."

"Two? How many people?"

"At least 4 surgeons and 12 assistants have to be dispatched, and maybe a dozen nurses have to take away," Carvey said.

"Then what about Olmitz?" Hills knew that he would be under the pressure of the dean once Carvey left, "We were the first to fight here, but it is not stable now, and we still send it every day." Many wounded soldiers."

Carvey shook his head: "This is a military order, and I can't help it."

"But."

"Execute the order." Carvey patted the table, got up and pointed to the desk and chair and said, "I'll leave it to you here."

While the situation between Olmitz and Granseny is relatively stable, the western front is much more lively these days.

The first was the war in the South German Confederation. The main force of Prussia was a bulldozer in front of the armies of those states, presenting a completely one-sided situation.

On September 9, the Royal Army of Hanover, which was attacked by the first wave of the Prussian army, left Göttingen and fled to Langensalza in the north of Thuringia to rest.They considered that the Prussian army was not advancing fast, and there was the Bavarian Kingdom Army in the south, so they could build a line of defense here and wait for the friendly forces in the south to join them.

Historically, the Royal Bavarian Army did not do this, and it still does not do so now, and still adopts a passive attitude of sitting idly by.

The Kingdom of Hanover's army was weak in logistics, food, grass and ammunition were all problematic, and they were unable to fight at all, and were soon surrounded by the army led by General Falkenstein.

Prussia's goal was Austria, so Lieutenant General Alvinsleben was sent as a special envoy to negotiate with the blind King Georg V of Hanover.It is hoped that the Hanover Kingdom Army will give up resistance and surrender immediately.

At 9 am on September 29, negotiations broke down, and the blind king led the remaining 10 soldiers to refuse to surrender.

On September 9th, from the time when General Fulix of Prussia led the leading troops to attack the Hannover position until October 30nd when Georg V announced his surrender, the highly morale Hanoverian Kingdom Army repelled a total of three rounds of Prussian attacks.

Finally, under the pressure of the three-party encirclement, the king, who was out of ammunition and food, had to declare his surrender, and the Kingdom of Hanover was annexed by Prussia.

Georg V took the royal family into exile in Austria.

Just as the fierce battle on the western front was in full swing, the Prussian First Army led by Prince Frederick Karl in the northwest also began to actively move forward.In Old Moltke's offensive strategy, his position required an active offensive to provide opportunities for invasion on the northern front.

After the war on the northern front on the 26th, Lao Maoqi immediately sent an urgent telegram to the First Army. 【5】

On the 27th, Prince Karl dispatched Lieutenant General Horn and his 8th Division to advance towards the two crossings of the Isar River in Podir and Turnau.

In the early morning of the 28th, Lieutenant General Horn's troops met the outpost troops of the Austrian First Army in Libenau (now Chodkovice nad Moherka in the Czech Republic).

The two sides launched a fierce artillery battle, and Austria retreated into the hilly area after being out of firepower.Lieutenant General Horn immediately used his cavalry to launch a fierce pursuit of the retreating Austrian infantry, but the effect was not good.

At 4:30 in the afternoon, Baron Leopold von Edlersheim, general of the Austrian cavalry, suddenly appeared on the flank of the Prussian army with his cavalry.With the sudden attack of the cavalry battery, Baron Leopold caused Prussia considerable trouble, but that was all.

In the end, Prussia still took the ferry of the Isar River strongly, but the bridge here has been destroyed.

On September 9, after avoiding this attack, Archduke Brecht sent two infantry divisions of the First Army to sneak across the Isar River via Muchengraz.I never thought that after crossing the river on the night of October 30, I would directly face the 10th Division of the Prussian First Army.

This encounter was abruptly turned into a positional battle, which lasted for a day, and the infantry on both sides launched a tragic confrontation.

Frontal confrontation relies on equipment and firepower. Even if the military strength is not equal, Prussia still wins the battle.

In this battle, the Austrian line infantry and hunters bayoneted the rifles in their hands after several rounds of volleys, trying to disperse the opposing Prussian infantry with a charge.However, with the breech-loading needle gun in their hands, the Prussian army caused heavy casualties to the attacking Austrian army with precise and uninterrupted fierce firepower.

However, even if Prussia drove the Austrian army back to Muchen Graz, it suffered many casualties.

On October 10, the Austrian army attacked the other side of the Isar River again. Under the command of Colonel Bogo, they fought against the Prussian army with two full divisions.The bloody battle took place in a small town along the river, and the small houses and streets on the streets were torn apart by shells.

In the sky full of flames and billowing smoke, although the Austrian army repeatedly launched charges and resisted desperately, they were still defeated by the deadly firepower woven by the Prussian firing needle rifles and shrapnel shells, and the entire camp was defeated.

So far, the Austrian army has suffered more than 2300 casualties along the entire western front, and 1000 Austrian soldiers were lost in the two battles on the Isar River alone.
But the war continues, with no sign of stopping.

(End of this chapter)