Surgeon with the Kaiser's Army

Surgeon with the Kaiser's Army
Author: Stephen Kurt Westmann
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2014-10-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473821703

The Author gave up his medical studies at Freiburg University in 1914 to enlist in the German Army. He was soon involved in bloody hand-to-hand fighting against the French before moving to the Russian front.??Promoted to medical officer, despite being unqualified and barely into his twenties he is given command of an ambulance train on the Western Front. He treats and operates on wounded of all nationalities and ranks and rescues British and German soldiers after gas attacks on the trenches of the Somme. As medical officer to the German Air Force (von Richthofen Circus) Westmann sees the dangers and effects of aerial combat at first hand. He witnesses the British tank attacks at Cambrai.??His writing graphically illustrates life and death in the front line, the carnage and humour that sustained soldiers of all nationalities. Westmann's insights into the social, political, religious, economic and medical aspects of war time life are particularly revealing.??The text is enhanced by contemporary photographs.

Surgeon with the Kaiser's Army

Surgeon with the Kaiser's Army
Author: Stephen Kurt Westmann
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2014-10-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473842999

The Author gave up his medical studies at Freiburg University in 1914 to enlist in the German Army. He was soon involved in bloody hand-to-hand fighting against the French before moving to the Russian front.Promoted to medical officer, despite being unqualified and barely into his twenties he is given command of an ambulance train on the Western Front. He treats and operates on wounded of all nationalities and ranks and rescues British and German soldiers after gas attacks on the trenches of the Somme. As medical officer to the German Air Force (von Richthofen Circus) Westmann sees the dangers and effects of aerial combat at first hand. He witnesses the British tank attacks at Cambrai.His writing graphically illustrates life and death in the front line, the carnage and humour that sustained soldiers of all nationalities. Westmann's insights into the social, political, religious, economic and medical aspects of war time life are particularly revealing.The text is enhanced by contemporary photographs.

Medicine and Victory

Medicine and Victory
Author: Mark Harrison
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2004-07-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0191514969

Medicine and Victory is the first comprehensive account of British military medicine in the Second World War since the publication of the official history in the early 1950s. Drawing on a wide range of official and non-official sources, the book examines medical work in all the main theatres of the war, from the front line to the base hospital. All aspects of medical work are covered, including the prevention of disease, and the disposal and treatment of casualties. Harrison argues that the medical services played a major role in the Allied victory enabling the British Army to keep a higher proportion of troops in the field than its opponents. Assuming no previous knowledge of either medical or military history, Medicine and Victory provides an accessible introduction to a vitally important, yet too often neglected aspect of the Second World War.

With the Kaiser's Army in 1914

With the Kaiser's Army in 1914
Author: Sven Hedin
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 519
Release: 2014-05-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 178346318X

In 1914 Swedish professor, writer, illustrator and adventurer Sven Hedin was granted a car and escort and given a comprehensive tour of the German Armies fighting in Belgium and France during September and October 1914. Hedin was given unfettered access to German armies and leadership. The resulting book, With the German Armies in the West, was quickly finished and published, originally in Swedish, in 1914 then swiftly translated and printed in early 1915 by John Lane of The Bodley Head Press, London, at a time when the events described in the book were still fresh.??During his battle-front tour, Hedin took the opportunity to roam around the Army's rear areas and to visit the frontline trench network. In the process he conducted many interviews, ranging from ordinary German privates to the most senior commanders and also with British and French POWs. He was an artist of great skill and was allowed to sketch many scenes depicting German infantry, cavalry, logistics and artillery batteries. He also documented the condition of post-August 1914 Belgium and described the situation in a very different light to the febrile tones of most neutral sources.??This invaluable study of the Kaiser's Army in the early stages of the First World War is a great addition to the literature of the Great War providing a rare glimpse into the German Army of 1914.

Doctors in the Great War

Doctors in the Great War
Author: Ian R. Whitehead
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2013-11-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473831504

Doctors played a bigger role in the First World War than in any other previous conflict. This reflected not only the War's unprecedented scale but a growing recognition of the need for proper medical cover. The RAMC had to be expanded to meet the needs of Britain's citizen army. As a result by 1918 some 13,000 doctors were on active service over half the nation's doctors.Strangely, historians have largely neglected the work of doctors during the War. Doctors in the Great War brings to light the thoughts and motivations of doctors who served in 1914-1918, by drawing on a wealth of personal experience documentation, as well as official military sources and the medical press. The author examines the impact of the War upon the medical profession and the Army. He looks at the contribution of medical students, and the extent to which new professional opportunities became available to women doctors.An insight into the breadth of responsibilities undertaken by Medical Officers is given through analysis of the work of various medical units on the Western Front, demonstrating the important role played by doctors in the maintenance of the Army's physical and mental well-being. The differences between civilian and military medicine are discussed with a consideration of the arrangements for the training of doctors, and an assessment of the difficulties faced by doctors in adapting to military priorities and dealing with new challenges such as gas poisoning, infected wounds and shell shock.Doctors in the Great War will undoubtedly appeal to general readers, students and specialists in the history of war and society, as well as to those with an interest in the medical profession.As featured in the Derby Telegraph, Dover Express and Kent & Sussex Courier

The Germans at Arras

The Germans at Arras
Author: David Bilton
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2009-03-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1783038888

"During the Great War a German publisher produced a number of photographic books that are of considerable interest to the modern-day reader. These were based on the photographs taken by the German regiments that found themselves stationed there during the War. This, the first book, covers the Battle of Arras in 1917, one of the largest in the War.In addition to the introduction giving the historical context there are 350 photographs of the villages and towns, trenches, troop movements, cemeteries and dealing with civilians. These photos vividly convey what the areas of Lens, Arras, Bullecourt, Havrincourt, Cambrai, Douai were like under German occupation. This book is not just a memory-rich diary for the thousands of soldiers who fought there but also a valuable record of the period."

Lethality in Combat

Lethality in Combat
Author: Doctor Tom Lewis
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2012-02-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1921941391

Lethality in Combat shines a blazing light on the three most controversial aspects of military combat: the necessity of killing; the taking, or not, of prisoners; and the targeting of civilians. This book argues that when a nation-state sends its soldiers to fight, the state must accept the full implications of this, uncomfortable as they may be. Drawing on seven conflicts - the Boer War, World Wars I and II, and the wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands and Iraq - the author considers these ethical issues.