WW1 facts and numbers: Remembering how many died, WW1 soldiers and the mind-blowing scale of the war this Armistice Day

This Remembrance Sunday, we take a look back at the numbers behind the Great War and remember all those who lost their lives
Tom Herbert11 November 2018

A hundred years ago, one of the deadliest conflicts in human history came to an end after four horrifying years.

World War One was unlike any other war seen before or since and it would leave a lasting mark on society and warfare.

Families were torn apart, generations of people were slaughtered and towns and cities across Europe were destroyed.

This year marks the centenary of the end of this brutal conflict, and Remembrance Day will commemorate the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918.

So with Remembrance Sunday today, the Standard takes a look at the numbers behind "The Great War".

The ruins of the medieval Cloth Hall in Ypres, Belgium, at the end of the First World War.
PA Wire/PA Images

When did WW1 start and end?

WW1 lasted for four years, from July 28 1914 until the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918.

More than 70 million military personnel were reportedly mobilised to fight during the four years of WW1, including 60 million Europeans.

Around five million Brits served between 1914 and 1918, according to the BBC.

How many died in WW1?

British stretcher bearers (Daily Herald Archive / Science & Society Picture Library)
Daily Herald Archive / Science & Society Picture Library

The Encyclopaedia Britannica records that around 8.5 million soldiers are believed to have been killed in WW1.

Exact figures are hard to come by, and some estimates have put the total death toll of military personnel at anywhere up to 15 million.

The Triple Entente, consisting of the allied powers of France, Russia and Britain, is thought to have lost around six million troops.

Around four million troops were lost from the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. These numbers include both combat deaths and those missing in action.

How many soldiers were wounded in WW1?

A total of more than 21 million troops were wounded, and it is thought that around 1.5 million of these were British.

The total number of military and civilian casualties from WW1, including the wounded, is a mind-blowing 40 million people, that's more than half the number of all those who fought.

Disease is thought to have killed around two million troops.

Men from the Royal Irish Rifles in a communication trench on the first day of the Battle of the Somme
Alamy

The first day of the Battle of the Somme remains the worst day in British military history, with British forces suffering around 57,000 casualties in just one day of fighting.

During the Battle of Amiens in August 1918 there were 27,000 casualties, while the Gallipoli campaign saw nearly 400,000 casualties and Brusilov Offensive in 1916 resulted in more than two million casualties.

There were around 857,000 casualties during the Battle of Passchendaele from July 31 to November 10, 1917.

How many countries fought in WW1?

Around 32 countries fought across a number of different theatres of war.

The Allies, otherwise known as the Triple Entente, included Britain, France, Italy, Russia and the USA. They fought the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

While it is known as a world war, fighting was usually consigned to just five theatres of war - the Western Front, the Eastern Front, the Italian Front, Gallipoli and The War at Sea.

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