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.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. gives a 1513 reference for military casualty, and an 1844 reference for civilian use. In this article, the numbers killed refer to those killed in action, killed by disease, or killed by their wounds.
Western Front
CountryBattle, siege, or offensiveDateNumber killed on this dayTotal killed during WWI% of total killedReferences Battle of the Frontiers 27,000 1,357,000 2% Battle of the Somme 19,240 744,000 3% Kaiserschlacht10,8512,037,0000.53% Battle of Vimy Ridge 2,414 56,639 4% Battle of Broodseinde 1,282 61,527 2% First Battle of Passchendaele84718,1665% Massacre at Dinant 674 38,170 2% Battle of the Lys500~7,2227% Battle of Saint-Mihiel 2,500~ 116,516 2.15% Battle at Beaumont-Hamel (Somme) 310 1,204 26% Battle of Delville Wood 253 7,121 4% Russian Empire (until 1917) 1,700,000 Thailand SEF (from 1918) Base Hospital No. 57 2 19 11%
Eastern Front
CountryBattle, Siege, or OffensiveDateNumber killed on this day Total killed during WWI% of total killedReferences 1,700,000 2,037,000 335,706 101,229 1,200,000 325,000
Naval battles
CountryBattle, siege, or offensiveDateNumber killed on this dayTotal killed during WWI% of total killedReferences Battle of Jutland 6,094 744,000 1% 2,551 2,037,000 0.13% SS Principe Umberto 1,926 460,000 0.48% SS Gallia 1,338 1,357,000 0.1% SS Linz 697 1,200,000 0.06% Pallada 597 1,700,000 0.04% Kawachi 500–700 4,661 13% USS Cyclops 309 116,516 0.3% Barbaros Hayreddin 258 325,000 0.07% HMHS Llandovery Castle 234 56,639 0.4%
Gallipoli campaign
CountryBattle, siege, or offensiveDateNumber killed on this dayTotal killed during WWI% of total killedReferences Third attack on Anzac Cove 5,000~ 325,000 2% First Battle of Krithia 1,001 1,357,000 0.7% Battle of Scimitar Hill 1,497 744,000 0.2% ANZAC Cove , 755 61,527 1.2% Battle of Sari Bair 507 18,166 3% India Third Battle of Krithia 207 42,448 0.5%
Italian Front
CountryBattle, Siege, or OffensiveDateNumber killed on this day Total killed during WWI% of total killedReferences 460,000 1,357,000 744,000 2,037,000 1,200,000
Macedonian front
CountryBattle, Siege, or OffensiveDateNumber killed on this day Total killed during WWI% 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 Surviving American units with the highest percentage of casualties per conflict List of maritime disasters in World War I World War I casualties List of battles with most United States military fatalities General Pershing WWI casualty list
Notes
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