Chapter 54 Doctor Bethune and Field Ambulance

Wounded soldiers used to be a major problem for the anti-Japanese army.Fighting against the Japanese army with powerful artillery fire, the number of wounded soldiers was very large.The Anti-Japanese War took place in the 20th century, but China's medical industry and social organizations were far behind the 20th century, unable to effectively provide rehabilitation guarantees for a large number of wounded. At that time, regular physicians and surgeons seldom joined the army because the wages in the army were very low and the working environment was difficult and dangerous.The best hope for a wounded soldier is to be taken from the battlefield to a stretcher by his comrades and carried to the hospital for treatment.

During the Battle of Wuhan, the Japanese army suffered from disease and casualties in the process of advancing westward on both sides of the Yangtze River. The disease and casualties far exceeded the casualties and casualties in the war.In fact, the Chinese army was also harmed by diseases, so that a British female writer, Ateli, who was investigating in the Yangtze River Basin, saw a large number of officers and soldiers in the Chinese army suffering from diseases, and exclaimed, "Maybe malaria will send Hankou to China." ", "The lack of quinine cream and medical care is the general description of China's terrible neglect of wounded soldiers".

At that time, everyone was proud that China had 40 million people. Since there was no shortage of soldiers, the fate of wounded soldiers was easily overlooked. In fact, the issue of wounded soldiers was related to the morale of the entire army.Chinese soldiers need as many doctors as Lin Kesheng, Ke Tihua, and Bethune who are highly skilled and full of love.When they appeared on the battlefield, they not only rescued the injured soldiers, but also brought great warmth and comfort to the soldiers who might be injured at any time.At a time when officers and soldiers are required to sacrifice their most precious lives on the front line, it is impossible to solve their worries after being injured. This is a terrible and sad picture.When the officers and soldiers fighting for the country shed blood on the battlefield, but did not receive the minimum care and concern, and saw no hope of improvement, their moods naturally became depressed and angry, so that the wounded soldiers who did not obey the order It has become a social problem that "turned pale" in many places after the all-out Anti-Japanese War.The wounded soldiers vented their anger even beyond the scope of permission, endangering social order. Local officials and the public were often unable to persuade or stop them because of their guilt.The Eighth Route Army, like other Chinese armies, faced a severe lack of medical equipment and suffered heavy casualties.The China Defense Alliance led by Song Qingling sent the collected medical supplies to the base areas, and later set up the first international peace hospital in Mount Wutai in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area.

Song Qingling also introduced Canadian doctor Bethune, Indian doctor Edward, Kotnis, Basuhua and German doctor Miller to provide medical services in the Eighth Route Army.Bethune is a member of the Canadian Communist Party and a highly skilled thoracic surgeon.He traveled thousands of miles to China, and when he arrived in the Jinchaji Border Region, he was welcomed by officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army and commander Nie Rongzhen.Bethune worked hard to establish an effective medical care team for the Eighth Route Army and treated a large number of Eighth Route Army soldiers.He saw that the sick and wounded had to rely on stretchers to carry them for a week or even longer when they went to the rear hospital for treatment, causing the wounds of the wounded to change from mild to severe due to infection. He established a mobile medical team and used several A mule carried medical equipment to a place very close to the battlefield for surgery and bandaging.Sometimes, as soon as his medical team withdrew from one side of the village, Japanese troops broke in from the other side.

In 1939, Bethune cut his finger while rescuing the wounded, and unfortunately died of wound infection.After the death of Dr. Bethune, the Indian National Congress sent a medical team. These doctors arrived at Mount Wutai. Dr. Kotnis took over the post of president of the International Peace Hospital until his death in 1944 due to illness.