Battlefield Wounded 1915

[blackburnian]

Could anyone please provide me with the protocols which might have been followed in recovery of wounded soldiers from the

battlefield?

I'm assuming it could have been possible for a wounded soldier to lay on the field for some time before he was removed from the

conflict.

Would those wounded have been removed initially to a Casualty Clearing Station situated behind the Front Lines and then on to

a Hospital in France before being repatriated in England?

Blackburnian

[centurion]

Try this old thread as a starter

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=190171#entry1857425

[blackburnian]

Many thanks Centurion

[KevinBattle]

I think "protocols" is far too grandiose to apply in most WW1 situations.

Both sides would be expected to shoot at anything visible, that could be an enemy soldier.

How to distinguish between a soldier waiting for a lull in the firing to lob a grenade at you from a dead or wounded one?

After an action, collecting any wounded would only be possible with extreme caution or reckless disregard for personal safety. There are many accounts of men "hanging on the wire", often for days as they simply couldn't be reached. No officer would willingly incur further casualties in recovering the dead, and even wounded men crying for aid might be an enemy trap, so only when "safe from enemy action" would recovering the wounded and dead be possible.

It's likely that many who fell in trenches held or regained by the enemy would be treated and made PoW or buried by them as soon as practical, and by that time any wounded in No Mans Land may well have either succumbed to their wounds or made it back to their own lines if not collected by one side or the other.

Often actions would be followed up by bombardments by both sides so anyone out in the open could be killed by the artillery if not by bullet.

For wounded men who were retrieved, then the link provided by Centurion should answer most of your question.

What prompted the question?

[centurion]

Although Kevin's bleak picture is true for some of the time there were instances of temporary unofficial localised truces to recover the wounded. Also many assaults did lead to some gain of ground so that some wounded would be in recently captured territory which even though still subjected to enemy harassment was easier to clear - say at night. It was all very ad hoc and depending on circumstances

[blackburnian]

Thank you KevinBattle.

My grandfather was wounded in action at the attack on Pietre on 25 September 1915. I have full history of his service, but wondered about his repatriation.

Blackburnian