The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles:
World War I Casualties

WW1 Cemetery

 

 

Euston Road Cemetery, Colincamps, France. These are British and Commonwealth casualties mostly from the Battle of the Somme, July 1916. Photo credit: www.flickr.com/photos/chill/121934767.

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There are many sources that list casualties figures from the Great War. One particularly good reference, with commentary and analysis, is: Michael Clodfelter, Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Reference to Casualty and Other Figures, 1618-1991 (London: McFarland & Company, 1992. 2 vols.). Because of the enormity of the numbers involved, in many cases the figures for the separate countries are often only best guesses or rough approximations. A contemporay calculation was done for Current History by Walter Littlefield, "War Casualties of All Nations" (February 1919) resulting in a total of about 36 million casualties (*.pdf file).

Casualties
Country Dead Wounded POW/MIA Total Mobilized
Austria-Hungary 922,500 3,620,000 - 4,542,500 7,800,000
Belgium 13,715 44,686 - 58,401 267,000
British Empire 908,371 2,090,212 270,117 3,268,700 8,904,467
Bulgaria 131,344 152,390 - 283,734 1,200,000
France 1,365,735 4,266,000 477,800 6,109,535 8,410,000
Germany 1,808,546 4,247,143 772,522 6,828,211 11,000,000
Greece 5,000 21,000 - 26,000 230,000
Italy 462,391 953,886 524,000 1,940,277 5,615,000
Japan (see note)
300 907 - 1,207 800,000
Montenegro 3,000 10,000 - 13,000 50,000
Portuguese Empire 167,222 13,751 6,895 187,868 -
Romania 335,706 120,000 - 455,706 750,000
Russia (official) 643,214 2,754,202 3,638,271 7,036,087 12,000,000
Russia (estimate) 1,700,000 4,950,000 - 6,650,000 12,000,000
Serbia 125,000 133,148 - 258,148 707,343
Turkey 325,000 400,000 - 725,000 2,850,000
US 116,608 204,002 - 320,610 4,743,826
           
TOTALS 7,333,652 14,576,327 5,689,605 27,599,584 65,327,636

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Another common set of figures is from the 1997 Information Please Almanac: Atlas & Yearbook (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1997).

Casualties
Country Dead Wounded POW/MIA Total Mobilized
Austria-Hungary 1,200,000 3,620,000 2,200,000 7,020,000 7,800,000
Belgium 13,716 44,686 34,659 93,061 267,000
British Empire 908,371 2,090,212 191,652 3,190,235 8,904,467
Bulgaria 87,500 152,390 27,029 266,919 1,200,000
France 1,357,800 4,266,000 537,000 6,160,800 8,410,000
Germany 1,773,700 4,216,058 1,152,800 7,142,558 11,000,000
Greece 5,000 21,000 1,000 27,000 230,000
Italy 650,000 947,000 600,000 2,197,000 5,615,000
Japan 300 907 3 1,210 800,000
Montenegro 3,000 10,000 7,000 20,000 50,000
Portugal 7,222 13,751 12,318 33,291 100,000
Romania 335,706 120,000 80,000 535,706 750,000
Russia 1,700,000 4,950,000 2,500,000 9,150,000 12,000,000
Serbia 45,000 133,148 152,958 331,106 707,343
Turkey 325,000 400,000 250,000 975,000 2,850,000
US 116,516 204,002 0 320,518 4,734,991
           
TOTALS 8,528,831 21,189,154 7,746,419 37,464,404 65,418,801