The War in Numbers

1. The total cost of the First World War has been estimated at $185 billion.
2. Over fifteen million soldiers and civilians died in the war.
3. In addition to that, a further twenty million were wounded.
4. The percentage of soldiers fighting who died was twice as high as that of the Second World War.
5. The largest army of the war belonged to Russia, who mobilized more than twelve million troops. More than three quarters of them were wounded, killed or went missing in action.
6. A total of sixty-five million men fought in the war, almost four per cent of the world’s entire population.
7. Approximately 2% of all soldiers who fought during the war suffered from shell shock (which we now call post-traumatic stress disorder); however this figure is based on official estimates from high command and the true number is thought by some to be even greater.
8. Over the course of the war, twenty-five million tons of goods were shipped to allied troops on the Western front.
9. 346 British soldiers were shot by their own side for desertion.
10. 16,000 British men refused to fight for moral or ethical reasons, becoming known as conscientious objectors. Many were imprisoned whilst others were given non-combat roles.

A Periscope Rifle Being Used in Gallipoli in 1915