Despite intensive research by historians there is no - and there will never be - a definitive list of the casualties inflicted during World War One. Where detailed record-keeping was attempted the demands of battle undermined it, as the destructive nature of the war, a conflict where soldiers could be wholly obliterated or instantly buried, destroyed both the records themselves and the memories of those who knew the fates of their comrades.
For many countries the figures only vary within the hundreds, even tens, of thousands, but those of others - particularly France - can be over a million apart. Consequently, the numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand (Japan is an exception, given the low number) and the figures in this, and almost every other list, will differ; however, the proportions should remain similar and it is these (represented here as percentages) which allow the greatest insight.
In addition, there is no convention as to whether the dead and wounded of the British Empire are listed under this umbrella title or by individual nation (and there is certainly no convention for those regions which have since divided). I have decided to recognise as many of the constituent countries as possible.
Casualties of the First World War
Country
Mobilized
Killed
Wounded
Total
Casualties
Africa1
55,000
10,000
unknown
unknown
-
Australia
330,000
59,000
152,000
211,000
64%
Austria-Hungary*
6,500,000
1,200,000
3,620,000
4,820,000
74%
Belgium*
207,000
13,000
44,000
57,000
28%
Bulgaria*
400,000
101,000
153,000
254,000
64%
Canada
620,000
67,000
173,000
241,000
39%
The Caribbean2
21,000
1,000
3,000
4,000
19%
French Empire*
7,500,000
1,385,000
4,266,000
5,651,000
75%
Germany*
11,000,000
1,718,000
4,234,000
5,952,000
54%
Great Britain*
5,397,000
703,000
1,663,000
2,367,000
44%
Greece*
230,000
5,000
21,000
26,000
11%
India3
1,500,000
43,000
65,000
108,000
7%
Italy*
5,500,000
460,000
947,000
1,407,000
26%
Japan*
800,000
250
1,000
1,250
0.2%
Montenegro*
50,000
3,000
10,000
13,000
26%
New Zealand
110,000
18,000
55,000
73,000
66%
Portugal*
100,000
7,000
15,000
22,000
22%
Romania*
750,000
200,000
120,000
320,000
43%
Russia*
12,000,000
1,700,000
4,950,000
6,650,000
55%
Serbia*
707,000
128,000
133,000
261,000
37%
South Africa
149,000
7,000
12,000
19,000
13%
Turkey*
1,600,000
336,000
400,000
736,000
46%
USA*
4,272,500
117,000
204,000
321,000
8%
*. Statistics cited from The Longman Companion to the First World War (Colin Nicholson, Longman 2001, pg. 248); they have been rounded to the nearest thousand. All percentages are my own; they refer to the % of the total mobilized. 1. The figure of 55,000 refers to soldiers who saw combat; the number of Africans involved as auxiliaries or otherwise is likely to include several hundred thousand. Troops were drawn from Nigeria, Gambia, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Nyasaland/Malawi, Kenya and the Gold Coast. Figures for South Africa are given separately. 2. The British West Indies regiment drew men from across the Caribbean, including Barbados, Bahamas, Honduras, Grenada, Guyana, Leeward Islands, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago; the bulk came from Jamaica.
Citation And Footnotes:
Title: Casualties of the First World War
Author: Robert Wilde
Date: 2003
| 