Chapter 765 German-Soviet War (79)

Compared to the Soviet underground medical treatment station in Smolensk, the German field hospital outside the city was larger, with more complete facilities, a larger medical team, and naturally more medicines. In short, it was far ahead of the Soviets in all aspects.

A wounded soldier was sent to a field hospital. The unfortunate soldier stepped on a landmine, and his entire right calf was blown off, and his left leg was also bloody; he was immediately sent to the operating room.

Because he was injected with morphine after being injured, the wounded did not scream in pain, but grabbed the doctor's arm and begged. "Doctor, please save my left leg, I don't want to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life!"

The doctor patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry! We will do our best."

Then the wounded inhaled anesthetics, and the wounded fell into a coma after a few seconds. Compared with the hacksaws used by Soviet doctors, the German hospital used disposable wire saws, which were more convenient and hygienic. While cutting the wounded's injured leg, the doctor asked the nurse who was cleaning the wound on his left leg. "Is the injury serious?"

The nurse shook her head. "It's not serious, just a few pieces of broken pieces embedded in it."

"That's good, otherwise he would really have to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of his life."

The operation went smoothly, and there was indeed nothing wrong with the left leg. After removing a few pieces of broken pieces and suturing the wound, the wounded man who was still in a coma was pushed out of the operating room and pushed into a ward not far away.

This is a four-person ward. Several strong medical staff carefully placed the wounded on an empty bed. The doctor who came over looked at the patient who was reading a book in the bed next to him and asked casually. "How is it, Mr. Lieutenant, is it still painful?"

The lieutenant put down the book in his hand and smiled bitterly. "Of course it hurts, it hurts so much that I can't sleep at night. The painkillers you prescribed for me have little effect. Why don't you give me some morphine, which is very effective."

The doctor shook his head and said very seriously. "Mr. Lieutenant, I told you that morphine is addictive."

Morphine was extracted from opium by German chemists in 1806. It began to replace opium as a better painkiller and was soon put into the battlefield. With its strong analgesic and tranquilizing effect, it promoted the return of wounded soldiers to the front line.

Morphine was used as an analgesic by military doctors in various countries during World War II. The United States was more radical. Medical soldiers could directly inject controlled amounts of morphine to wounded soldiers on the front line. On the battlefield, as long as the soldiers were not killed on the spot, no matter how many injuries they suffered, as long as they still had a breath, a shot of morphine could save their lives. After that, they could only see whether the field hospital could save the wounded soldier. It can be said that morphine brought good news to the wounded front-line soldiers.

But no matter what, its essence is still a drug. Although it should be fine to take it in moderation, it is feared that some people will not be able to bear it and become addicted, because there have indeed been many soldiers who have difficulty returning to the team after recovering from injuries because of morphine addiction. Although their lives are back, they may be ruined. In order to prevent similar incidents, scientists have found that the best dose of morphine is 5mg at a time, and the maximum injection dose is 60mg; therefore, the German army explicitly requires soldiers to use it strictly according to the prescribed dose.

"Mr. Lieutenant, you don't want to fall from a respected combat hero to a shameful drug addict, do you?"

The lieutenant smiled awkwardly. "Of course not, then I can only bear it."

At this time, the nurse came in with a medical cart, and the doctor gave the wounded an intravenous infusion and added a penicillin.

Penicillin, this is definitely a good thing. You must know that before it was discovered, people were helpless against bacterial infections, and patients infected with bacteria were facing death at any time. Before World War II, many soldiers were not killed on the spot by bullets, but died of bacterial infections after rescue. In the era without antibiotics, even flesh wounds are likely to lead to death.

And now the advent of penicillin, its biggest advantage is that it can kill bacteria without damaging human cells. Because bacteria have cell walls, while human cells do not, penicillin destroys the cell walls of bacteria to achieve the purpose of destroying bacteria. This magical drug has saved the lives of countless German soldiers and caused the German army's losses to plummet.

In order to import this precious drug, other European countries are willing to use a lot of political inclinations in exchange. Such drug diplomacy is simply invincible. After boxes of penicillin were transported to Eastern Belarus and Eastern Ukraine, saving thousands of lives there, the locals' impression of the Germans jumped from "liberators" to "liberators sent by God." After all, the Soviet rule brought too much death and oppression to these areas. When the Germans came, they brought vitality and hope to the Belarusians, and it was clear who was close and who was distant. Many Belarusian civilians were eager to join the army, hoping to "fight for the country."

At this time, two soldiers in military uniforms appeared at the door of the ward, and a young man who looked like an adjutant asked softly. "Excuse me, does Lieutenant Judit live here?"

"It's me." The lieutenant raised his hand.

Two soldiers walked into the ward, the other one was a colonel, and the lieutenant had guessed that they were here to give him a war medal.

Distributing war medals is a very important thing. Soldiers who are wounded need rewards, and this medal is a proof of honor. Distributing war medals to soldiers is equivalent to acknowledging that they were wounded in battle and fighting bravely, which is a recognition of their efforts. Therefore, the rank of the officer responsible for issuing the medals should be several levels higher than the recipient, to show solemnity.

"Lieutenant Judit." Walking to the hospital bed, the colonel saluted him, took out a letter of commendation from the regiment headquarters, took an exquisite medal box from the adjutant's hand, and handed it to him. Lieutenant Judit.

The name of the German war wound medal is very straightforward, it is called the Wounded Medal Verwundetenabzeichen. But it is not the same as the Purple Heart Medal in the United States. It is divided into three grades: iron, silver and gold.

The Iron Wounded Medal was still of some value in the early days. It could only be obtained by being injured twice by enemy attacks (including air strikes) or suffering from frostbite due to the climate of the station. However, by the end of World War II, Allied air raids were too frequent. Moreover, after 1943, the German army stipulated that civilians engaged in military production could also receive medals for bombing injuries, which suddenly made this product worthless. After the war, a considerable number of civilians had these medals.

The Silver Wounded Medal must be awarded to those who have been injured 3-4 times, or seriously injured, such as amputation or blindness.

To get the Golden Wounded Medal, you have to be injured more than 5 times, or be paraplegic or have a brain injury (such as dementia). What’s a little funny is that the Germans also specifically stated that you can also get the Golden Wounded Medal if you lose your balls. Sometimes you have to admire the Germans. Brain circuits.

Lieutenant Judit returned the gift and carefully took the commendation letter and medal box.