German military doctors administering first aid on the front line during the First World War – Prior to the nineteenth century, armed forces medical services deployed on the battlefield were not entitled to any form of legal protection. Doctors and nurses, just like the soldiers they cared for, were the direct targets of attack. It was not until 1864, when the first Geneva Convention was signed, that a universal protective emblem – a red cross on a white background – came into use. The Convention established the neutrality of the armed forces medical services and prohibited attacks against them or any soldier in their care who could no longer fight.