World War I casualties

World War I casualties

The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I, was around 40 million. There were 20 million deaths and 21 million wounded. The total number of deaths includes 9.7 million military personnel and about 10 million civilians. The Entente Powers (also known as the Allies) lost about 5.7 million soldiers while the Central Powers lost about 4 million.

Classification of casualty statistics

Estimates of casualty numbers for World War I vary to a great extent

Military casualty statistics listed here include combat related deaths as well as military deaths caused by accidents, disease and deaths while prisoners of war. Most of the casualties during WWI are due to war related famine and disease. Civilian deaths due to the Spanish flu have been excluded from these figures, whenever possible. Moreover, civilian deaths include the Armenian Genocide.

REPERES ? module 1-0 - explanatory notes ? World War I casualties ? EN Author & ? : Nad?ge Mougel, CVCE, 2011, 2011 English translation: Julie Gratz, Centre europ?en Robert Schuman

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Deaths by alliance and military/civilian

REPERES ? module 1-0 - explanatory notes ? World War I casualties ? EN Author & ? : Nad?ge Mougel, CVCE, 2011, 2011 English translation: Julie Gratz, Centre europ?en Robert Schuman

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Deaths of the Allied powers.

REPERES ? module 1-0 - explanatory notes ? World War I casualties ? EN Author & ? : Nad?ge Mougel, CVCE, 2011, 2011 English translation: Julie Gratz, Centre europ?en Robert Schuman

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Deaths of the Central powers.

REPERES ? module 1-0 - explanatory notes ? World War I casualties ? EN Author & ? : Nad?ge Mougel, CVCE, 2011, 2011 English translation: Julie Gratz, Centre europ?en Robert Schuman

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Allies of World Population

War I

(millions)

Australia b Canada d

Indian Empire g

New Zealand

l

4.5 7.2 315.1

1.1

Military deaths 61,928 64,944 74,187

18,050

Civilian deaths

2,000

Total deaths

Deaths as % of population

61,928 1.38%

66,944 0.92%

Military wounded

152,171 149,732

74,187 0.02% 69,214

18,050 1.64% 41,317

Newfoundland m South Africa r United

Kingdom s Sub-total for British Imperial Forces

East Africaa

Belgium c France e Greece f Italy h Empire of Japan i

Luxembourg j

Montenegro k Portugal n Romania o Russian Empire p Serbia q United States

t

Total (Entente Powers)

0.2

1,204

6.0

9,463

1,204 9,463

45.4 885,138 109,000 994,138

0.6% 0.16%

2,314 12,029

2.19% 1,663,435

- 1,114,914 111,000 1,225,914

7.4 58,637 39.6 1,397,800 4.8 26,000 35.6 651,000

62,000 300,000 150,000 589,000

See footnote 120,637

1,697,800 176,000

1,240,000

53.6

415

415

0.3

See footnote

0.5

3,000

3,000

6.0

7,222 82,000 89,222

7.5 250,000 430,000 680,000

175.1 1,811,000 1,500,000 3,311,000

4.5 275,000 450,000 725,000

92.0 116,708

757 117,465

806.0 5,711,696 3,674,757 9,386,453

- 2,090,212

1.63% 4.29% 3.67% 3.48%

44,686 4,266,000

21,000 953,886

0%

907

0.6% 1.49% 9.07%

10,000 13,751 120,000

1.89% 4,950,000

16.11% 133,148

0.13% 205,690

1.19% 12,809,280

REPERES ? module 1-0 - explanatory notes ? World War I casualties ? EN Author & ? : Nad?ge Mougel, CVCE, 2011, 2011 English translation: Julie Gratz, Centre europ?en Robert Schuman

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Central Powers

AustriaHungary u

Bulgaria v

German Empire w

Ottoman Empire x Total (Central Powers)

Neutral nations Denmark y Norway z Sweden z

Grand total

Population (millions)

51.4 5.5 64.9

21.3

143.1

2.7 2.4 5.6 960.0

Military deaths

1,100,000 87,500

2,050,897 771,844

4,010,241

9,721,937

Civilian deaths

Total deaths

Deaths as % of population

Military wounded

467,000 1,567,000 3.05% 3,620,000

100,000 187,500 3.41% 152,390

426,000 2,476,897 3.82% 4,247,143

2,150,000 2,921,844 13.72% 400,000

3,143,000 7,153,241

5% 8,419,533

722

722

1,892

1,892

877

877

6,821,248 16,543,185

0.03% 0.08% 0.02% 1.75% 21,228,813

REPERES ? module 1-0 - explanatory notes ? World War I casualties ? EN Author & ? : Nad?ge Mougel, CVCE, 2011, 2011 English translation: Julie Gratz, Centre europ?en Robert Schuman

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Table sources

The main sources used for military and civilian deaths (unless stated otherwise in the footnotes below) are as follows:

(en) The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Annual Report 2007? 2008 is the source of the military dead for the British Empire. The war dead totals listed in the report are based on the research by the CWGC to identify and commemorate Commonwealth war dead. The statistics tabulated by The Commonwealth War Graves Commission are representative of the number of names commemorated for all servicemen/women of the Armed Forces of the Commonwealth and former UK Dependencies, whose death was attributable to their war service. Some auxiliary and civilian organizations are also accorded war grave status if death occurred under certain specified conditions.

(en) Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914? 1920, The War Office March 1922 This official report lists 908,371 'soldiers' killed in action, died of wounds, died as prisoners of war and were missing in action in World War I. Figures for total Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force war dead were not given in the War Office report. The losses of Bulgaria and Portugal were also listed in the War Office report. (In: (Dans : Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914-1920', p.352-354.).

(en) Casualties and Medical Statistics, 1931, the final volume of the Official Medical

History of the War, gives British Empire Army losses by cause of death. Total losses in

combat theaters from 1914?1918 were 876,084, which included 418,361 killed, 167,172

died of wounds, 113,173 died of disease or injury, 161,046 missing and presumed dead

and 16,332 prisoner of war deaths. These losses were not broken out for the UK and each

Dominion. (In: Mitchell, p.12.).

(fr) Huber, Michel La Population de la France pendant la guerre, Paris 1931. This study published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace lists official data for war-related military deaths and missing of France and its colonies.

(it) Mortara, Giorgo La Salute pubblica in Italia durante e dopo la Guerra, New Haven: Yale University Press 1925. 20 The official government Italian statistics on war dead are listed here. A brief summary of data from this report can be found online.Vol 13, No. 15

(en) Urlanis, Boris Wars and Population, Moscow, 1971. Lists the military dead of Russia, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro. (In : Urlanis, p.209.).

(de) Heeres-Sanit?tsinspektion im Reichskriegsministeriums, Sanit?tsbericht ?ber das deutsche Heer, (Deutsches Feld- und Besatzungsheer), im Weltkriege 1914-1918, Volume 3, Sec. 1, Berlin 1934. The official German Army medical war history listed German losses.

REPERES ? module 1-0 - explanatory notes ? World War I casualties ? EN Author & ? : Nad?ge Mougel, CVCE, 2011, 2011 English translation: Julie Gratz, Centre europ?en Robert Schuman

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 (en) Grebler, Leo and Winkler, Wilhelm The Cost of the World War to Germany and Austria-Hungary, Yale University Press, 1940. This study published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace details the losses of Austria-Hungary and Germany in the war.

(en) Erickson, Edward J. Ordered to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood 2001, (ISBN 0313315167).

(fr) Hersch, Liebmann, La mortalit? caus?e par la guerre mondiale, Metron- The International Review of Statistics, 1927, Vol 7. No 1. This study published in an academic journal detailed the demographic impact of the war on France, the UK, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Serbia, Romania and Greece.

(en) Tucker, Spencer C. ed. The European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia. This is the source for military wounded, unless stated otherwise.

The source of population data is:

(en) Haythornthwaite, Philip J., The World War One Source Book Arms and Armour, 1993, 412 pages, (ISBN 1854091026).

Footnotes

1. Australia Included in total are 54,000 killed or missing in action and died of wounds. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Annual Report 2007?2008 is the source of the total 61,928 military dead. Their 'Debt of Honour Register' lists the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the two world wars. The 1922 War Office report listed 59,330 Army war dead.

2. Belgium The total Includes 35,000 killed or missing in action and died of wounds. Official Belgian government figures for military losses in Europe were 26,338 killed, died of wounds or accidents and 14,029 died of disease or missing. The total in Europe is 40,367. In Africa: 2,620 soldiers killed and 15,560 porter deaths, for a total in the African campaign of 18,270. The combined total for Europe and Africa is 58,637. Another estimate (by the UK War Office in 1922) was 13,716 killed and 24,456 missing up until November 11, 1918. "These figures are approximate only, the records being incomplete." The U.S. War Department in 1924 estimated 13,716 killed and died. Civilian deaths exceeded the prewar level by 92,000. 62,000 were caused by food shortages and German reprisals, and 30,000 by the Spanish Flu. Prof. John Horne estimated that 6,500 Belgian and French civilians were killed in German reprisals.

3. Canada The total includes 53,000 killed or missing in action and died of wounds. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Annual Report 2007?2008 gives a total 64,944 military dead. The Canadian Virtual War Memorial contains a registry of information about the graves and memorials of Canadians and Newfoundlanders who served valiantly and gave their lives for their country. The losses for Newfoundland are listed separately on this table because it was not part of Canada at that time, but are included in the CVWM registry. The 1922 War Office report listed 56,639 Army war dead. Civilian deaths were due to the Halifax Explosion.

REPERES ? module 1-0 - explanatory notes ? World War I casualties ? EN Author & ? : Nad?ge Mougel, CVCE, 2011, 2011 English translation: Julie Gratz, Centre europ?en Robert Schuman

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