Contribution of Italian Nurses During the First World War

During the First World War hospitals in the rear and elsewhere were receiving nurses committed to providing assistance and relief to wounded soldiers and veterans who survived terrible moments in trenches. According to some calculations, in 1917 there were around ten thousand volunteers of the Red Cross, to whom we must add many belonging to other associations. During the First World War more than 7,000 volunteer nurses were present in 204 field hospitals of the Red Cross, managing a total of 30,000 beds. Despite early difficulties of being included in the field, the military, predominantly male volunteer nurses in the thirties were in Ethiopia, Somalia, Abyssinia, Libya and Eritrea, as well as during the Spanish Civil War. Later the role of aid in all the theatres of World War II was crucial, especially on hospital ships (among which we can mention the steamers Tuscany and Aquileia). Eighteen Red Cross nurses lost their lives in armed conflict, including two in a concentration camp and two shot by the Wehrmacht.