The first aid and treatment services in the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 in the eyes of Norwegian Doctor Hans Dae

Abstract

Ottoman State had the deficiency of medical personnel in the battlefronts due to the long wars in the 19th century. In order not to hinder the treatment of the casualties, the state resorted to bring doctors from abroad. In an effort to resolve the issue of doctor shortage in the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897, doctors were brought from abroad either by the state or by the communities such as Salib-i Ahmer and Hilal-i Ahmer, which were supplying aid at an international level. Hans Dae, who was serving in the Norwegian army, came to the Ottoman lands and when he returned back to his country, he wrote down the events that he had witnessed from beginning to end of the war in the paper called "1897 senesi Devlet-i Aliyye ye Yunan Muharebesi Hakkinda Hatirat ve Mulahazat (The Observations and Memoirs on the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897)". This article aims to inform on the conditions of Ottoman and Greek soldiers, hospitals, roads, casualties and evacuation of casualties through the report in question, and therefore the background of the war.