Reports of Military Observers Attached to the Armies in Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War. Part 2

摘要

The Russo-Japanese War illustrates how the normal evolution of modern warfare affects the medical branch of military service. This book presents a series of reports by U.S. Army Assistant Surgeon-Generals attached to the Russian Army as observers in the Russo-Japanese War. Special attention is given to changes that have occurred in military medicine over time and to changes in wounds caused by the weaponry of modern warfare. The observers record statistics of deaths casualties and scrutinize the increasing importance played by the relatively new Red Cross Societies. They also study how the climate and terrain affect soldiers' health and medical personnel's ability to evacuate and hospitalize the wounded. The book includes detailed descriptions of life in Russian Army hospitals, and photographs and descriptions of ambulances and wheeled litters used to transport the wounded. This volume, Part II, contains the observations of Colonel Valery Havard and Colonel John Van R. Hoff. Colonel Havard's observations focus on the following topics: the unique characteristics of the Russo-Japanese war; the Manchurian climate; winter quarters and heating; the effects of cold on soldiers; clothing, uniforms, and equipment; medical vehicles and tents; food and rations; the ambulant kitchens; casualties and deaths; casualties from artillery fire; bayonet and sword wounds; medical corps; hospital corps; organization of medical corps at the front; first aid; field hospitals; base hospitals; disinfection stations; hospital trains; projectile and gunshot wounds; wound infections; disease and hygiene; the history and development of the Russian Red Cross Society; and the Society's role in the Russo-Japanese war. Colonel Van R. Hoff's report focuses on the Russian Army's medical statistics; sanitation, medical, and veterinary departments; medical personnel; division lazarets; field hospitals; evacuation procedures; prevalence of disease; dysentery; and surgical suggestions.