BACKGROUND: Whilst modern care has revolutionised burn injury outcomes, burns were particularly devastating during the World Wars. Patients often perished due to fluid loss and severe shock, whilst those who survived were left with lifelong disfigurement and disability. Medical practice was different for each of the Allies and in this paper, we compare and contrast Britain and the Soviet Union’s burn management. METHOD: A literature search and examination of historical texts was completed using Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. RESULTS: Whilst both the USSR and Britain stressed the importance of shock management, there were differences in the surgical care of burn injuries. Sir Archibald McIndoe pushed Britain towards the use of saline baths and burn excision and grafting, while management of burns patients in the Red Army was largely guided by Dzhanelidze’s book ‘Burns and Their Treatment’. Tannic acid use, a method introduced in 1925, remained the dressing of choice in the Red Army. Britain saw changes that lead to the creation of specialised plastic and reconstructive surgery units, while the Soviet Union kept to more traditional methods, and eventually created a burn unit at the Institute of Emergency Medicine in Leningrad in 1946. CONCLUSION: The World Wars led to substantial experience in the treatment of burns, culminating in the formation of specialised burn centres that paved the way for modern burn management.