Penicillin was discovered to have antibacterial applications in the late 1930's. During WWII, it was a "miracle drug". If men wounded in combat could make it out to a field hospital, the likelihood of survival was high due to the use of Penicillin in treating for infection. In 1945, Sir Alexander Fleming, Ernst Chain, Sir Howard Florey were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases.”
Source: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/sites/default/files/2017-07/thanks-to-penicillin-lesson.pdf
Source: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/sites/default/files/2017-07/thanks-to-penicillin-lesson.pdf