Italian Sanitary Service during the Ethiopian War.

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tigre
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Italian Sanitary Service during the Ethiopian War.

#1

Post by tigre » 27 Dec 2014, 13:59

Hello to all :D; a brief account on this subject...........................

ORGANIZATION OF ITALIAN SANITARY SERVICE AND PROTECTION OF COMBATANTS DURING THE ETHIOPIAN WAR (L'organisation du Service de Sante italien et la protection des effectifs pendant la guerre d'Ethiopie) Major Huard.

The balance sheet showing losses of soldiers and workers, whites and natives, during the Italian campaign in East Africa, is an astonishing record
of sanitary success. By March 1936, the strength of the Italian forces engaged in the campaign had reached 400,000 men, of whom 300,000 were on the northern front. The workmen under military sanitary control climbed from 30,000 in September 1935, to 90,000 or more in March 1936.

The losses from May 1935, to September 1936 were:

Killed in action 4,200 (1,500 white soldiers, 100 white workers, 2,500 ascaris).
Deaths from diseases (except ascaris) 4,300 (3,200 white soldiers, 1,100 white workers).
Wounded 8,000 (3,500 white soldiers, 4,500 ascaris).

Evacuated to Italy: 20,000 to 25,000 whites.

The sanitary fleet consisted of eight hospital ships having a capacity of 6,000 beds. This fleet saved many lives by taking individuals unfit for tropical service back to Europe to recuperate.

Besides the figures given above, several other Items are interesting: Of the killed, there was one officer for every five or six soldiers; and five Ascaris for every three whites, which was in proportion to the relative effective strength. In all, there was one killed out of each 100 men. Among the soldiers, from 1.75 to 2.0 percent were killed in action and died of disease; among the laborers, from 1.2 to 1.8 percent.

That the scourge of typhus, scurvy, and recurrent fever, which decimated the Abyssinians, was kept from hundreds of thousands of Italians, and that impaludism, dysentery, typhoid, never got out of control, are achievemenls which indicate excellent organization and rigorous sanitary discipline - well worth citing.

Source: Periodical Articles-Catalog. Militay Review. March, 1938.

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).

Feliz Año Nuevo - Happy New Year - Feliz Ano Novo - Gluckliches Neues Jahr - Bonne Année - Felice Anno Nuovo - Szczęśliwego nowego roku!!!. :thumbsup:

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Re: Italian Sanitary Service during the Ethiopian War.

#2

Post by tigre » 18 Apr 2015, 03:39

Hello to all :D; a little more...........................

Krieg in Ostafrika......

Source: Das Interessante Blatt. 12. März 1936.

Any idea on the organization and equipment of the sanitary units/elements in the Italian Army at that time? TIA. Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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Italian soldiers, WIA being carried to the rear...............................
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Re: Italian Sanitary Service during the Ethiopian War.

#3

Post by tigre » 31 Jul 2016, 18:16

Hello to all :D; a little more...........................

ORGANIZATION OF ITALIAN SANITARY SERVICE AND PROTECTION OF COMBATANTS DURING THE ETHIOPIAN WAR.

To deploy half a million men in a tropical area was not an easy thing, but the Italian government was aware that in a colonial war, the medical preparation was as important as the combat readiness and took appropriate measures to provide good health support for the troops during the campaign.

Hospitals.

1. Regio Esercito: during the war period it had 135 military base and field hospitals and each had a bacteriology laboratory and radiological cabinet.
55 mobile dispensaries.
13 surgical units.
15 radiological ambulances.
11 dental ambulances.
4 central laboratories.
12 sections of disinfection.
6 stations of recovery.
139 water treatment plants.
4 general stores of medical material.

2. Regia Marina: available 20 hospitals and infirmaries along the coast and eight well-equipped hospital ships.

3. Regia Aeronautica: 22 infirmaries available.

4. Colonial Medical Service: made available to the military health 30 hospitals, dispensaries and laboratories available in both colonies.

5. Motherland: the Direzione di Sanita del Regio Esercito (Tenente Generale Medic Franchi); the Direzione della Regia Marina (Tenente Generale Medic Falso); Ufficio di Sanita della Regia Aeronautica (Colonello Medic Monaco); the Direzione di Sanita della Milizia Nazionale (Luogotenente Generale Medic De Plato); the Direzione della Sanita Pubblica (Professor Petragnani) and the Istituto della Sanita Pubblica (Professor Marotta) effectively supported the colonial campaign.

Source: Organizzazione Sanitaria e Salute delle Truppe in A.O. Aldo Castellani. October 1936.
Das Interessante Blatt. 10 Oktober 1935.

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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The main problem of Italian high command, was the water supply to the troops, so it had its own task force whose mission was the search for the precious element ................ ........
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Re: Italian Sanitary Service during the Ethiopian War.

#4

Post by tigre » 13 Aug 2016, 20:15

Hello to all :D; a little more...........................

ORGANIZATION OF ITALIAN SANITARY SERVICE AND PROTECTION OF COMBATANTS DURING THE ETHIOPIAN WAR.

Sanitary personnel in East Africa.

The Chief of the Sanitary Service in Eritrea was Generale medic Ferdinando Martoglio; professional of great experience. In Somalia Colonnello medic Maurizio Bedei.

Doctors: in the theater of operations were 2,484 medical officers available as follows.......................

Regio Esercito: 1,889.
Regia Marina: 117
Regia Aeronautica: 42
Milizia: 316
Colonial: 120

By government order the vast majority of the medical staff of the Regio Esercito prior to being deployed must take a course in the Clinic of Tropical Diseases of Rome.

Pharmacists: in total there were 178 pharmacists officers of the Regio Esercito and 10 of the Regia Marina available.

Chaplains: although not part of the health service, collaborated effectively in the attention and care of the sick. In East Africa 276 Army chaplains and 10 were Navy.

Sisters of the Italian Red Cross (on board and on land): total 384.

Nurses and missionary sisters: 200.

Sanitary soldiers and NCOs: 15,500 in number. Good and brave, always ready to attend to the sick / injured. They also proved their worth in the construction of roads, fortifications and trenches.

Regia Marina sanitary NCOs (aboard hospital and war ships and land) in number of 639.

Source: Organizzazione Sanitaria e Salute delle Truppe in A.O. Aldo Castellani. October 1936.

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).

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Re: Italian Sanitary Service during the Ethiopian War.

#5

Post by JoyceBahoora » 08 Nov 2016, 04:50

Killed in action 4,200 (1,500 white soldiers, 100 white workers, 2,500 ascaris).
Deaths from diseases (except ascaris) 4,300 (3,200 white soldiers, 1,100 white workers).
Wounded 8,000 (3,500 white soldiers, 4,500 ascaris).
Please provide a reference here.

Thanks,

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Re: Italian Sanitary Service during the Ethiopian War.

#6

Post by tigre » 10 Nov 2016, 02:40

Hello JoyceBahoora :D; thanks for joining......................................
Please provide a reference here
L'organisation du Service de Sante italien et la protection des effectifs pendant la guerre d'Ethiopie. Major Huard. Military Review. March 1938.

But nevertheless in the work HYGIENIC MEASURES AND HOSPITAL ORGANISATION OF THE ITALIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES DURING THE ETHIOPIAN WAR 1935-1936. BY ALDO CASTELLANI you'll find these figures...........................

On the field or died from wounds. Deaths from disease.
Officers ... 119 --------------------- Officers ... 22
Men ... ... 980 ----------------------- Men ... ... 577
Total ... 1,099 ---------------------- Total ... 599

http://rcnarchive.rcn.org.uk/data/VOLUM ... il1938.pdf

However here you have more about Italian casualties in Ethiopia: Giancarlo Stella himself lists 1,229 names of deceased but he does not explain how to reconcile his list with Castellani's. There are, however, a number of other equally reputable reports, such as the one written by General Italo Gariboldi quoting 2,138 deaths. For the same period the Italian Central Statistics Office reported that the number of the fallen for the conquest of the empire was 1911. Through historical inference Angelo Del Boca and Alberto Sbacchi, in spite of sketchy sources, have each suggested that the more correct number of Italian casualties for the conquest of Ethiopia was about 4,000, thus opening the whole issue for discussion.

http://opensample.info/military-caduti- ... f-ethiopia

Cheers. Raúl M 8-)

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