35132 DIE WACHT AM RHEIN

During World War II (1939-1945), the German army tried to attach the greatest possible role to providing medical care to its wounded soldiers, continuing in some way the traditions of the Great War. For example, in a German infantry division there were two medical companies (sometimes motorized), two ambulance platoons (motorized) and one field hospital. The motorized infantry division had the same medical services as that of the infantry division, but the number of ambulance platoons was increased to three. Interestingly, the armored division had 2 medical companies and 3 ambulance platoons - they were fully motorized and most often used armored vehicles. In the event of a more serious wound, a German soldier was evacuated to, for example, a battalion medical care point (German: Verwundetennetz), the so-called ambulance station (German Wagenhatleplatz), field medical care point (German Hauptverbandplatz) or division field hospital (German Feldlazaret). It is worth adding that while in Verwundetennetz, first of all, more advanced first aid was performed, in Hauptverbandplatz it was possible to perform more advanced surgeries or blood transfusions. In the case of seriously injured people, efforts were made to stabilize them before they were taken to Feldlazaret. It is also worth adding that every soldier of the German armed forces had a personal dressing.Panzergrenadier is a German term for a formation of panzer grenadiers, i.e. infantry units trained to fight in close cooperation with their own tanks. This term was officially used in 1942, when infantry divisions were renamed grenadier divisions and motorized infantry divisions into panzer grenadier divisions. It is worth adding that in the years 1937-1942, the Schützen Regiment was used to describe the infantry regiments serving in armored units. Theoretically, the basic equipment of armored grenadier divisions was to be armored half-tracked transporters, especially Sd.Kfz.251, but due to insufficient production, these infantry were often transported by trucks. As a standard, an armored grenadier division consisted of three infantry regiments, two battalions in each regiment and numerous support units, including anti-tank, anti-aircraft, sapper and communication units. Self-propelled guns, such as the StuG III, were often used in these formations. It is worth adding that the armored grenadier divisions were formed not only in the Wehrmacht, but also in the Waffen SS - for example the Totenkopf Division or the Hohenstaufen Division.