(Comprising three separate groups: Societe Francaise de Secours aux blesses militaires [founded in 1864], Association des Dames Francaises [1879], Union des Femmes de France [1881].) German Red Cross (headquarters Berlin), reorganized in 1921. (Incorporated in the German Red Cross are the following societies which previously had a separate existence: Baden Red Cross founded in 1866.
Bavarian Red Cross founded in 1868.
Hessian Red Cross founded in 1864.
Prussian Red Cross founded in Saxon Red Cross founded in 1866.
Wurttemberg Red Cross founded in 5863.) Greek Red Cross (headquarters Athens) founded in 1877. Guatemalan Red Cross (headquarters Guatemala) founded in 1923. Hungarian Red Cross (headquarters Budapest) founded in 1879. Icelandic Red Cross (headquarters Reykjavik) founded in 1924. Italian Red Cross (headquarters Rome) founded in 1864. Japanese Red Cross (headquarters Tokyo) founded in 1877. Latvian Red Cross (headquarters Riga) founded in 1918. Lithuanian Red Cross (headquarters Kaunas) founded in 1918. Luxemburg Red Cross (headquarters Luxemburg) founded in Mexican Red Cross (headquarters Mexico) founded in 1907. Netherlands Red Cross (headquarters The Hague) founded in 1867. (The Red Cross of the Netherlands East Indies is a branch of the Netherlands Red Cross society, whose activities are confined to the Dutch islands of the East Indian archipelago. The society has, however, at the request of the Netherlands Red Cross, been admitted to independent membership in the League of Red Cross societies.) Norwegian Red Cross (headquarters Oslo) founded in 1865. Paraguayan Red Cross (headquarters Asuncion) founded in 1919. Peruvian Red Cross (headquarters Lima) founded in 1879.
Persian Red Lion and Sun (headquarters Teheran) founded in 1923. Polish Red Cross (headquarters Warsaw) founded in 1919. Portuguese Red Cross (headquarters Lisbon) founded in 1865. Rumanian Red Cross (headquarters Bucharest) founded in 1876. Serb-Croat and Slovene Red Cross (headquarters Belgrade) founded in 1876.
Salvadorian Red Cross (headquarters San Salvador) founded in 1885.
Siamese Red Cross (headquarters Bangkok) founded in 1893.
South African Red Cross (headquarters Johannesburg) founded in 1913.
Swedish Red Cross (headquarters Stockholm) founded in 1865.
Swiss Red Cross (headquarters Berne) founded in 1866. Turkish Red Crescent (headquarters Angora) founded in 1868. U.S.S.R., Alliance of Red Cross societies and Red Crescent societies of, (headquarters Moscow) founded in 1925.
(This alliance was recognized as succeeding to the rights and responsibilities of the Russian Red Cross which was eclipsed by the Russian revolution. It comprises the following constituent societies: Armenian Red Cross [headquarters Erivan] founded in 192o. Azerbaijan Red Crescent [headquarters Baku] founded in 1923. Georgian Red Cross [headquarters Tiflis] founded in 1918. Russian Red Cross [headquarters Moscow] founded in 1867, re organized 1918.
White Russian Red Cross [headquarters Minsk] founded in 1921. Turkmenistan Red Crescent [headquarters Poltoratzk] founded in 1926.
Ukrainian Red Cross [headquarters Kharkov] founded in 1918. Uzbekistan Red Crescent [headquarters Samarkand] founded in 1925.) Uruguayan Red Cross (headquarters Montevideo) founded in 1897. Venezuelan Red Cross (headquarters Caracas) founded in 1895.
In the course of years, a few societies have dropped out of existence, others have revised their constitutions, and others again have federated into a single society, following political changes. The membership of certain societies is very large. In 1927, the American Red Cross had three million senior and six million junior members; the Japanese Red Cross two and a half million seniors and a million juniors; adult members of the German Red Cross numbered 1,252,000 ; and the membership of the Red Cross societies of the British empire 500,000 persons of all ages. War Work.—The discharge by national societies of their primary duty as auxiliaries to the Army medical service began very early. The first opportunity for the relief of the wounded by Red Cross societies occurred in the Dano-Prussian War of 1864. In the Austro-German War of i866, the Franco-German War of 1870, the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 and the Balkan Wars of 1912, the Red Cross societies of the belligerent countries pro vided ambulances, hospitals and medical and nursing personnel to the combatant forces.