Attending the Austrian Army

Just a couple of years after dealing with vampirism, Gerard van Swieten published a book on the most frequent diseases found among the troops in the field: Kurze Beschreibung und Heilungsart der Krankheiten welche am öftesten in dem Fedlager beobachtet werden was published in 1758, i.e. during the Seven Years' War, and deals with both major and minor afflictions among soldiers, diarrhea, fever, epistaxis, venereal diseases, they are all here with a description of remedies.

The book is not aimed at experienced doctors, but rather at all those people who attended on the numerous ill soldiers, but required more knowledge to identify ailments and diseases and know how to remedy them.

Van Swieten also supplies advice on hygiene like cleanliness and how to act in circumstances like e.g. rainy weather, when it is necessary to avoid the rain from entering the tents.

In The Austrian Army 1740-80: Specialist Troops (1995), Philip Haythornthwaite writes of the Austrian medical services:

'Although in general the Austrian soldier received better medical care than his contemporaries in many other armies, Austria did not possess a military medical academy until the 'Josephinium' was established in Vienna in 1785. The medical establishment was reorganizaed in 1746, and although a military surgical school was not created until 1781 (at the military hospital at Gumpendorf), from 1750-1751 the only medical personnel appointed to army positions were those who had been proved medically comptetent. This eliminated the half-trained amateur and those insufficiently skilled to practise medicine in a civilian capacity; both could be found in the medical services of other armies. (---) Above the staff surgeons and at the head of the medical department was the Protomedicus, who was responsible not only for the appointment of competent medical personnel but also for the organization of and medicinal supplies for the army's medical service. In consequence of putting conscientious individuals at the head of the medical organization, by the start of the Seven Years' War the Austrian wounded and sick probably received better treatment than those in any other army, though the constraints imposed by contemporary medical practice still rendered the plight of the wounded pitiable indeed.'

Grenze Troops

In an earlier post I quoted from a standard work on the Austrian army, but a number of other books are dedicated to this subject, e.g. a few of the books in the well-known series Men-at-arms published by Osprey. Shown above is the cover of number 413 on troops serving on the frontier zone between the Habsburg Empire and the Turks. On the right is a pandur from the Karlstadt Generalcy:

'Already active in the Turkish wars, which had concluded in 1739 with the Peace of Belgrade, these bands of local troops first appear in variations of local civilian costume. The headgear was usually a red Mütze (small round cap), recorded among the Warasdin troops in 1741, or a taller felt/sheepskin tubular hat, the Klobuk. This also often appeared outside the existing Districts as the Czakelhaube, which had a plain or sometimes decorated tail. The men wore white or blue shirts, pulled together by a wide natural leather belt, which supported pistols and knives, usually of local manufacture, and a black leather cartridge box. On top they wore a simple brown or black Gunjac jacket; sometimes sleeveless and with just a low collar, this garment was secured by cords linking the buttons on each side. The trousers, again usually white or blue, were loose-fitting in the thigh although often tight below the knee. Most preferred the local Opanken leather footwear (similar to moccasins). These reached just above the ankle, with long leather thongs securing them around the calves over thick white socks usually decorated in various colours. The more affluent wore the Hungarian Tschismen calf-length boots. Few men wore beards, but most sported a wide, thin moustache and often plaited sidelocks. Armed with Turkish muskets and long Balkan knives and, from about 1742, universally attired in the famous red cloak (the Abba-Mantel), they struck fear into European armies and civilian populations alike.'

The other two soldiers are a Hussar from the Karlstadt regiment (on the left), and a corporal from the Siebenburgen regiment, i.e. from Transylvania (in the middle).

Von Gottes Gnaden

Interestingly, you have to turn to page 667 in Ottenfeld and Teuber's book on Austrian military between 1700 and 1867, Die Österreichischeer Armee von 1700 bis 1867, to read this on the medical aspect of military life in the early 18th century:

"Es ist in diesen Blättern beinahe noch gar nicht über die Pflege der Verwundeten und erkrankten Soldaten geschrieben worden; sehr erklärlich, weil eine solche organisatorisch gar nicht bestand; zwar waren jedem Truppenkörper Aerzte zugewiesen und wurden auch Spitäler errichtet, auch seit Alters her für Invaliden schlecht und recht gesorgt, hiemit war aber Alles geschehen. Stand die Armee im Lager, so konnten in den benachbarten Ortschaften Marodenhäuser errichtet werden, wenn man es nicht vorzog, Schwererkrankte und Verwundete den zunächstliegenden Gemeinden einfach zu überlassen; im Gefechte standen hinter dem ersten und zweiten Treffen requirite Bauernwagen, welche die Verwundeten abschoben; die Soldatenweiber, leichter Verwundete, Marschmarode und Officiersdiener bildeten sodann die Sanitätsmannschaft, der man allenfalls einige Unterofficiere und Soldaten der Truppe unter einem Invaliden-Officier vorsetzte, und so fungierte ein Feldspital – wie man sieht – von Gottes Gnaden."

So, obviously the medical standards of the Feldscherer, no doubt including those who examined the corpses of suspected vampires in Serbia, did not impress Teuber.