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WWII Living History / Militaria / Research
Field Hospitals and Casualty Evacuation
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FIELD HOSPITAL MAKEUP
A Field Hospital comprises one Headquarters Unit and three Hospitalization units, each capable of dealing with 100 patients. The Hospitalization Units were able to set up autonomously, allowing the hospital to move in stages. This enabled recovering patients to remain until they were stable enough to be moved, offering a continuous level of service. Field Hospitals were set up as close as possible to the front line, but out of artillery range. Ideally this meant approximately 10 miles from the front, although a rapidly changing situation could result in a hospital being much closer or further away. On arrival, casualties were stabilized, and given emergency surgery if necessary.
TREATMENT OF CASUALTIES
1. After preliminary first aid by Medics, casualties were sent back to a Battalion Aid Station. From there, they went to a Collecting Company and were triaged at a Clearing Station.
2. Non transportable casualties were transferred to the Field Hospital for immediate attention. In the Field Hospital, wounded soldiers received were stabilized and sorted according to the severity of their injuries. If indicated, emergency surgical care was provided. Casualties treated in the Field Hospital remained there to recover for up to ten days, after which they were transferred to the Forward Evacuation Hospital.
3. Transportable casualties were taken directly to the Forward Evacuation Hospital, where the surgery was performed.
4. After a period of recovery and therapy, casualties were transferred from the Forward Evacuation Hospital to either a Special Treatment Centre if their injuries warranted it, or to a General Hospital or a Station Hospital, depending on further therapy necessary.
5. The final stage was a Convalescent Hospital for rehabilitation before returning to duty or being invalided out of the service.
Air evacuation from Europe was more comfortable as well as much faster and safer than going to England by sea. World-wide, only 46 of the 1,176,048 patients air-evacuated throughout the war died en-route.
Over 85% of the soldiers who underwent emergency operations in a Field Hospital or Forward Evacuation Hospital survived. 99% of those evacuated from Normandy to England recovered.
AMBULANCES
Each Field Hospital had six ambulances – the reliable and relatively comfortable Dodge WC54 3/4-ton ambulance. Each ambulance had a driver and assistant driver, both trained in first aid. It’s four-wheel drive, superb ground clearance, low gear ratio and deep fording capabilities allowed casualty evacuation over the roughest of ground conditions.
It was also versatile, being able to carry either seven walking wounded (seated on longitudinal bench seats folding down from the side of the ambulance) or four patients on litters (two litters on the floor, two litters hooked onto side of ambulance and partially from the roof)
Nearly 23,000 of these sturdy WC54s were produced by the end of the war, and sixty years on they are still as reliable and rugged as ever. Certainly up to ten years ago they were still in use by the Norwegian Army.
As well as these ambulances, each Field Hospital had four 1/4 ton trucks (jeeps) and 2 1/2 ton trucks (deuce and a half; GMC) one 3/4 ton trailer and one 250 gallon water bowser. Other vehicles were used for transportation of casualties, often with litter brackets attached. Commonly used for this were halftracks and additional jeeps.
TO&E
Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E)
This lists the number of personnel by job and grade, and equipment carried by a unit.
According to this TO, an entire Field Hospital comprises 223 persons, including 22 No Officers, 18 No Nurses and 182 No Enlisted personnel.
Each Hospitalization Unit has 6 No Officers, 5 Nurses and 52 Enlisted personnel, although HQ personnel could be temporarily seconded to one of the Hospitalazation units as required.
Some people had more than one job, e.g. Mail Clerk / Bugler.
Apart from the care personnel, the Field Hospital had personnel with other essential trades such as barber and carpenter.
Field Hospitals were later designated as Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals or MASH units in the Korean War.
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