Tri-Service

Between Flesh And Steel: Surgery During The Napoleonic Wars

Warning: The following reconstruction contains graphic images showing leg amputations and surgery of a 19th century standard.

Before anaesthesia was available, military medicine and the horrors of amputation could only be imagined, until now.

Sometimes, sawing off damaged arms or legs sometimes was the only way to save a soldier's life.

This film above was created to demonstrate how battlefield surgery was conducted between 1799 and 1815 during the time of the Napoleonic wars.

The fictional story begins with Corporal Eeles, who has been shot in the knee by a French soldier.

If the knee joint is damaged, his leg may have to be amputated.

A detailed examination will decide...

The film was provided by His Majesty's 33rd Regiment of Foot re-enactment group.

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