[1][3] Simon was a volunteer nurse during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and was present in the aftermath of the Battle of Königgrätz, where over 900 wounded soldiers had been left in the field without medical care.

Carola personally appointed Simon to the board of directors, where she was tasked with supervision over the nurses – referred to as "Albertines" – and management of treatment for the poor.

[1] Present at the Siege of Metz and the Battle of Sedan, she then proceeded to Nancy, a major rail depot which had the largest military hospital in the entire German network.

Largely at her own expense, she established a sanatorium for disabled soldiers – which was also used as a training facility for nurses – in Loschwitz in 1872, as well as a polyclinic in Neustadt [de].

[4][5] Her grave, which was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II, was restored in May 2023 with financial support from the German Red Cross and the local government.

[1][4] The German Red Cross considers Simon to be "a pioneer of modern nursing" who played a key role in establishing the organization in Saxony, while contemporary physician Ludwig Mayer [de] eulogized her as the "Saxon Florence Nightingale".