|
|
||
 |
||
|
War Casualties and The Cost of World War 1
|
| Total mobilized forces | Killed / Died | Wounded | Prisoners / Missing | Total | % of mobilized forces in casualties | |
| Countries | ||||||
| Allied and Associated Powers: | ||||||
| Russia | 12,000,000 | 1,700,000 | 4,950,000 | 2,500,000 | 9,150,000 | 76.3 |
| France | 8,410,000 | 1,357,800 | 4,266,000 | 537,000 | 6,160,800 | 73.3 |
| British Empire | 8,904,467 | 908,371 | 2,090,212 | 191,652 | 3,190,235 | 35.8 |
| Italy | 5,615,000 | 650,000 | 947,000 | 600,000 | 2,197,000 | 39.1 |
| United States | 4,355,000 | 126,000 | 234,300 | 4,500 | 364,800 | 8.2 |
| Japan | 800,000 | 300 | 907 | 3 | 1,210 | 0.2 |
| Rumania | 750,000 | 335,706 | 120,000 | 80,000 | 535,706 | 71.4 |
| Serbia | 707,343 | 45,000 | 133,148 | 152,958 | 331,106 | 46.8 |
| Belgium | 267,000 | 13,716 | 44,686 | 34,659 | 93,061 | 34.9 |
| Greece | 230,000 | 5,000 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 27,000 | 11.7 |
| Portugal | 100,000 | 7,222 | 13,751 | 12,318 | 33,291 | 33.3 |
| Montenegro | 50,000 | 3,000 | 10,000 | 7,000 | 20,000 | 40 |
| Total | 42,188,810 | 5,152,115 | 12,831,004 | 4,121,090 | 22,104,209 | 52.3 |
| Central Powers: | ||||||
| Germany | 11,000,000 | 1,773,700 | 4,216,058 | 1,152,800 | 7,142,558 | 64.9 |
| Austria-Hungary | 7,800,000 | 1,200,000 | 3,620,000 | 2,200,000 | 7,020,000 | 90 |
| Turkey | 2,850,000 | 325,000 | 400,000 | 250,000 | 975,000 | 34.2 |
| Bulgaria | 1,200,000 | 87,500 | 152,390 | 27,029 | 266,919 | 22.2 |
| Total | 22,850,000 | 3,386,200 | 8,388,448 | 3,629,829 | 15,404,477 | 67.4 |
| Grand total | 65,038,810 | 8,538,315 | 21,219,452 | 7,750,919 | 37,508,686 | 57.6 |
Monetary Cost of World War 1:
War costs are of two kinds-direct and indirect. Direct
costs embrace all expenditures made by belligerents in carrying on hostilities.
Indirect costs include the economic losses resulting from deaths attributable
directly or indirectly to the war, the value of property damaged or
destroyed, the loss of production arising from the transfer of men from
civilian to military pursuits, expenditures for war relief work, the
cost of war to neutral nations, and the like. The direct costs of World
War I, based on the most reliable statistics, were $186,333,637,000;
the indirect costs have been estimated at $151,646,942,560, making the
total war bill $337,980,579,560. It has been possible to appraise the
direct costs fairly accurately, but the indirect costs can only be estimated,
for there is no unit of measurement by which they may be definitely
fixed. Notwithstanding the many figures purporting to show how much
money was spent to carry on the war, however, the fact is that it was
fought mainly on credit, since the gold available at the outbreak of
hostilities was not sufficient to have kept it going for more than 40
or 50 days. During the first three years of the war the average daily
cost was $123 million, and in 1918 it rose to $224 million.
Direct War Costs. The table below shows the net direct cost of the war to the belligerents. It allows credit for territory, shipping, and other material gains by the victors and assumes full repayment of loans and collection of indemnities.
DIRECT COSTS OF THE WAR
Allied and Associated Powers:
United States : $ 22,625,253,000
Great Britain 35,334,012,000
British Dominions and Colonies:
Canada 1,665,576,000
Australia 1,423,208,000
New Zealand 378,750,000
India 601,279,000
Union of South Africa 300,000,000
Colonies 125,000,000
France 24,265,583,000
Russia 22,593,950,000
Italy : 12,413,998,000
Belgium : 1,154,468,000
Rumania 1,600,000,000
Japan 40,000,000
Serbia : 399,400,000
Greece 270,000,000
Other Allied countries 500,000,000
Total : $125,690,477,000
Central Powers:
Germany $ 37,775,000,000
Austria-Hungary 20,622,960,000
Turkey 1,430,000,000
Bulgaria :815,200,000
Total $ 60,643,160,000
Grand Total $186,333,637,000
PROPERTY LOSSES ON LAND
Countries or areas Value
Belgium : $ 7,000,000,000
France 10,000,000,000
Russia (except for the Ukraine) 1,250,000,000
Poland 1,500,000,000
Serbia, Albania, and Montenegro 2,000,000,000
East Prussia, Austria, and the Ukraine 1,000,000,000
Italy 2,710,000,000.
Rumania 1,000,000,000
British Empire : 1,750,000,000
Germany (except for East Prussia) 1,750,000,000
Total $29,960,000,000
LOSSES OF SEAGOING MERCHANT VESSELS
(In gross tons)
Lost by Countries of registry enemy action
Allies and Neutrals:
United States 394,658
Great Britain 7,756,659
Norway 1,177,001
Italy 846,333
France 888,783
Denmark 240,860
Sweden 200;829
Greece 345,516
Russia 182,933
Netherlands 203,190
Spain 167,865
Portugal 93,136
Belgium 83,819
Japan 120,176
Brazil 25,464
Argentina 4,275
Uruguay 6,027
Peru 1,419
Rumania 3,973
Persia (Iran) 758
Total ...: 12,743,674
Central Powers:
Germany 187,340
Austria-Hungary 15,166
Turkey 61,470Total 263,976 106,698
Total, all countries 13,007,650 2,390,742
Total, all sinkings 15,398,392
Loss in Production.-One of the major indirect costs
of World War I was the loss in production arising from the withdrawal
of millions of men from commercial pursuits for service in the armed
forces. In 1917 there were 38 million men under arms, and it is estimated
that an average of 20 million men served in the armed forces during
each of the four and one-half years of the war. If we ascribe to these
men an average earning capacity of $500 annually, the estimated loss
in production is $45 billion.
War Relief Costs.-The relief work made necessary by the war is estimated to have cost $1 billion, all of which was raised by voluntary subscriptions.
WAR RELIEF EXPENDITURES
Countries Contributions
United States : $ 625,015,028
British Empire:
Great Britain $87,112,000
Canada 91,750,000
New Zealand 17,585,000
Australia 36,000,000
South Africa 10,000,000
Newfoundland 3,000,000
India 3,600,000
249,047,000 Other countries 125,937,972
Total : $1,000,000,000
Cost of War to Neutral Nations.-The estimated cost of World War I to
the neutral nations is $1.75 billion, which represents the sums that
they expended in guarding their frontiers and in otherwise maintaining
their neutrality.
COST OF WAR TO NEUTRAL NATIONS
Countries and Expenditures
Netherlands $ 672,000,000
Switzerland 250,000,000
Sweden 429,800,000
Norway 130,000,000
Denmark 90,000,000
Other neutral nations 178,200,000
Total : : $1,750,000,000
TOTAL MONETARY COSTS OF WORLD WAR 1
In summary, the total of the direct costs and the various
types of indirect costs of World War I is as follows:
Value of property lost 36,760,000,000
Loss in production 45,000,000,000
War relief costs 1,000,000,000
Cost to neutral nations 1,750,000,000
Total, indirect costs $151,646,942,560
Direct costs 186,333,637,000
Grand total $337,980,579,560
War Loans.-During the war the United States and Great Britain made substantial loans to their allies, as shown below. In addition, France advanced $1,547,200,000 to her allies, of which Belgium received $434,125,090; and Japan loaned $333,000,000 to Russia.
ADVANCES TO ALLIES BY THE UNITED STATES
Countries and Loan Amounts:
Great Britain $4,316,000,000
France 2,852,000,000
Italy 1,591,000,000
Russia 187,000,000
Belgium 341,000,000
Serbia 27,000,000
Czechoslovakia 50,000,000
Greece 43,000,000
Rumania 30,000,000
Cuba 10,000,000
Liberia 5,000,000
Total $9,452,000,000
ADVANCES TO ALLIES BY GREAT BRITAIN
Countries and Loan Amounts:
France $2,170,000,000
Italy 2,065,000,000
Russia 2,840,000,000
Belgium 435,000,000
Serbia 90,000,000
Other Allied countries 240,000,000
British Dominions 855,000,000
Total : $8,695,000,000
The statistics given on this page were taken from "Direct and Indirect Costs of the Great World War" 2d ed. (Washington 1920) by Ernest L. Bogart. A scholarly work published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.