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Lifeline: A British Casualty Clearing Station on the Western Front, 1918
On March 21, 1918, the 29th and 3rd Casualty Clearing Stations RAMC were encamped at Grévillers, just behind the front line, when Germany launched its final, massive offensive. These Field Hospitals were the lifeline to the rear for the unabated deluge of wounded which soon overwhelmed both units. All wards were full and operating theaters were working round the clock to deal with the endless queues for amputations and major surgery. In the words of Major-General von Bertele in his "that casualty care should be managed on such a scale and at such a pace leaves the reader open mouthed." Lifeline is a touching record of the care provided by an often exhausted but dedicated medical and nursing staff and the bravery and spirit of their patients as the hospitals, always under intense pressure, moved back and forth with the changing positions of the line during the last months of the war.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published February 28, 2013
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February 6, 2014
3.5 starts. For me, Lifeline started with a bang but sort of fizzled as it went on.
I was drawn right in with the detailed description of a massive influx of casualties to CCS 29 in 1918--they took in some 1000 wounded in the course of a day, processing the men in, dressing wounds, performing the most necessary surgeries, and shipping the men out via hospital train in a frantic rotation. When the CCS was ordered to evacuate due to advancing enemy, the exhausted staff packed it up and disappeared in a flash.
I have done quite a bit of searching to get a feel for the whole Casualty Clearing Station environment. This was by far the best account I have come across. And it accomplished that in the first 60 pages.
The book follows the path of Lt. Col. J.C. G Carmichael, RAMC, the commanding officer of CCS 29. Included are some of his personal correspondence with his wife, a synopsis of his time serving in Malta, but mostly his journey as commanding officer of medical facilities from 1918 through the end of the war. Unfortunately the vivid description of activity at CCS eventually lapsed more into generalizations of the whole CCS process, but often detailing specifics about numbers of wounded admitted, movement of troops, etc. It became less story and more statistics--which may be just what some are looking for.
Another aspect of the book that may be of noteworthy interest to those doing research is the outstanding detailed documentation the book provides:
-Lists of supplies allotted to a typical 200 bed CCS
-A list of abbreviations common to British Army (I will photocopy this as often I find online accounts that use the abbreviations, and I am clueless as to what they stand for.)
-Good diagrams of CCS layout (of tents) and maps of CCS locations.
-Often patients are referred to by name, specific ailments noted, and nationalities. (Details, details, details!)
-Some good photos
-Extensive numerical data: chart of buried casualties by nationality, a list of medical care units (hospitals, CCS, field ambulance, mobile xray labs, dental units, etc.), year by year statistical analysis of casualties (# wounded, # sick, # killed in action, # taken prisoner, etc), year by year analysis of admissions by diseases ( pneumonia, mumps, measles, smallpox, etc), Dental work, and several more charts in the appendix. If you are looking for numbers of any kind relating to medical service, look here first.
-Includes index
Although I gleaned a lot from the beginning of this book, the last half was anti-climactic.
Another book I found immensely helpful in understanding the British medical care machine during WW1 was Wounded: A New History of the Western Front.
I was drawn right in with the detailed description of a massive influx of casualties to CCS 29 in 1918--they took in some 1000 wounded in the course of a day, processing the men in, dressing wounds, performing the most necessary surgeries, and shipping the men out via hospital train in a frantic rotation. When the CCS was ordered to evacuate due to advancing enemy, the exhausted staff packed it up and disappeared in a flash.
I have done quite a bit of searching to get a feel for the whole Casualty Clearing Station environment. This was by far the best account I have come across. And it accomplished that in the first 60 pages.
The book follows the path of Lt. Col. J.C. G Carmichael, RAMC, the commanding officer of CCS 29. Included are some of his personal correspondence with his wife, a synopsis of his time serving in Malta, but mostly his journey as commanding officer of medical facilities from 1918 through the end of the war. Unfortunately the vivid description of activity at CCS eventually lapsed more into generalizations of the whole CCS process, but often detailing specifics about numbers of wounded admitted, movement of troops, etc. It became less story and more statistics--which may be just what some are looking for.
Another aspect of the book that may be of noteworthy interest to those doing research is the outstanding detailed documentation the book provides:
-Lists of supplies allotted to a typical 200 bed CCS
-A list of abbreviations common to British Army (I will photocopy this as often I find online accounts that use the abbreviations, and I am clueless as to what they stand for.)
-Good diagrams of CCS layout (of tents) and maps of CCS locations.
-Often patients are referred to by name, specific ailments noted, and nationalities. (Details, details, details!)
-Some good photos
-Extensive numerical data: chart of buried casualties by nationality, a list of medical care units (hospitals, CCS, field ambulance, mobile xray labs, dental units, etc.), year by year statistical analysis of casualties (# wounded, # sick, # killed in action, # taken prisoner, etc), year by year analysis of admissions by diseases ( pneumonia, mumps, measles, smallpox, etc), Dental work, and several more charts in the appendix. If you are looking for numbers of any kind relating to medical service, look here first.
-Includes index
Although I gleaned a lot from the beginning of this book, the last half was anti-climactic.
Another book I found immensely helpful in understanding the British medical care machine during WW1 was Wounded: A New History of the Western Front.
Displaying 1 of 1 review