Deadliest single days of World War I explained

World War I was fought on many fronts around the world from the battlefields of Europe to the far-flung colonies in the Pacific and Africa. While it is most famous for the trench warfare stalemate that existed on Europe's Western Front, in other theatres of combat the fighting was mobile and often involved set-piece battles and cavalry charges. The Eastern Front often took thousands of casualties a day during the major offensive pushes, but it was the west that saw the most concentrated slaughter. It was in the west that the newly industrialized world powers could focus their end products of the military–industrial complex. The deadliest day of the war was during the opening days of the conflict. The Imperial German war council had initiated the Schlieffen Plan which involved multiple armies flooding through the borders of Belgium and France. On August 22, 1914, during the Battle of the Frontiers, five separate French armies engaged the German invaders independently of each other. Across all those battlefields, on that single day, 27,000 French soldiers lost their lives protecting their country.

The term casualty in warfare is often misunderstood. It often refers not to those who are killed on the battlefield but to those who can no longer fight. That can include disabled by injuries, disabled by psychological trauma, captured, deserted, or missing. A casualty is, by definition, a soldier who is no longer available for the immediate battle or campaign, the major consideration in combat. The number of casualties is simply the number of members of a unit who are not available for duty. For example, on March 21, 1918, during the opening day of the German spring offensive, the Germans casualties are broken down into 10,851 killed, 28,778 wounded, 300 POW or taken prisoner for a total of 39,929 casualties. The word casualty has been used in a military context since at least 1513.[1] In this article, the numbers killed refer to those killed in action, killed by disease, or killed by their wounds.

Western Front

See main article: Western Front (World War I).

CountryBattle, siege, or offensiveDatedata-sort-type="number"Number killed on this daydata-sort-type="number"Total killed during WWIdata-sort-type="number"% of total killedReferences
FranceBattle of the Frontiers27,0001,357,0002%
Battle of the Somme19,240744,0003%
Kaiserschlacht10,8512,037,0000.53%
CanadaBattle of Vimy Ridge2,41456,6394%
AustraliaBattle of Broodseinde1,28261,5272%
New ZealandFirst Battle of Passchendaele84718,1665%
BelgiumMassacre at Dinant67438,1702%
Battle of the Lys500~7,2227%
United StatesBattle of the Argonne Forest418116,5160.36%
Battle at Beaumont-Hamel (Somme)3101,20426%
Battle of Delville Wood2537,1214%
Russian Empire (until 1917)1,700,000
Thailand SEF (from 1918)Base Hospital No. 572 19 11%

Eastern Front

See main article: Eastern Front (World War I).

CountryBattle, Siege, or OffensiveDatedata-sort-type="number"Number killed on this day data-sort-type="number"Total killed during WWIdata-sort-type="number"% of total killedReferences
1,700,000
2,037,000
335,706
101,229
1,200,000
325,000

Naval battles

See main article: Naval warfare of World War I.

CountryBattle, siege, or offensiveDatedata-sort-type="number"Number killed on this daydata-sort-type="number"Total killed during WWIdata-sort-type="number"% of total killedReferences
Battle of Jutland6,094744,0001%
Battle of Jutland2,5512,037,0000.13%
SS Principe Umberto1,926460,0000.48%
FranceSS Gallia1,3381,357,0000.1%
SS Linz6971,200,0000.06%
Pallada5971,700,0000.04%
Kawachi500–7004,66113%
United StatesUSS Cyclops309116,5160.3%
258325,0000.07%
CanadaHMHS Llandovery Castle23456,6390.4%

Gallipoli campaign

See main article: Gallipoli campaign.

CountryBattle, siege, or offensiveDatedata-sort-type="number"Number killed on this daydata-sort-type="number"Total killed during WWIdata-sort-type="number"% of total killedReferences
Third attack on Anzac Cove5,000~325,0002%
FranceFirst Battle of Krithia1,0011,357,000
Battle of Scimitar Hill1,497744,0000.2%
AustraliaANZAC Cove, 75561,5271.2%
New ZealandBattle of Sari Bair50718,1663%
IndiaThird Battle of Krithia20742,4480.5%

Italian Front

See main article: Italian Front (World War I).

CountryBattle, Siege, or OffensiveDatedata-sort-type="number"Number killed on this day data-sort-type="number"Total killed during WWIdata-sort-type="number"% of total killedReferences
460,000
1,357,000
744,000
2,037,000
1,200,000

Macedonian front

See main article: Macedonian front.

CountryBattle, Siege, or OffensiveDatedata-sort-type="number"Number killed on this day data-sort-type="number"Total killed during WWIdata-sort-type="number"% of total killedReferences
6,000~
127,535
460,000
1,357,000
744,000
1,700,000
2,037,000
101,229
1,200,000
325,000

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. gives a 1513 reference for military casualty, and an 1844 reference for civilian use.

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