[The Austrian Red Cross and Austrian bacteriologists in the Balkan wars 1912/13 - Centenary of the first application of the bacteriology in theatres of war].

When Austria joined the Geneva Convention the "Patriotischer Hilfsverein" (Patriotic Aid Society) which was founded for the concerns of wounded soldiers, was named "Austrian Society of the Red Cross". It had to stand its first big test in 1912 in the first Balkan war; military surgeons and bacteriologists were deployed to all warring states. The cholera dominated under the infectious diseases among the various forces and the civilian populations. Upon request of the Bulgarian king renowned bacteriologists of the University of Vienna were dispatched. Their work presented the first action of bacteriology for disease control on theatres of war. The great success of the surgical and hygienic measures initiated in 1912 a reform of the Austrian Red Cross. In 1913 Austria made a detailed application to the International Committee of the Red Cross in order to extend the Geneva Convention to war epidemics. The Committee forwarded and recommended this application to all member states, however, the outbreak of the First World War then prevented its resolution.