The Pittsburgh Press (February 17, 1946)
10 million die in combat in global war
Toll is 2 million over 1914-18 figure
By Thomas R. Henry,
Science editor, North American Newspaper Alliance
WASHINGTON (Feb. 16) – Approximately 10 million soldiers and sailors were killed in combat in World War II.
This is about two million in excess of combat dead in World War I.
Such are the figures compiled nom many sources, some of them conflicting, by statisticians of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
Japs lose 1½ million
Axis losses are estimated at about 5,200,000, while the battle toll of the United Nations was about 4½ million.
Germany’s war-dead are stated as about 3,250,000, while Japan lost about 1½ million. Battle losses of the other Axis nations were relatively light: those for Italy being estimated at 200,000 while Rumania, Hungary and Finland together lost about 225,000.
Among the United Nations, Russia was by far the worst sufferer with a loss estimated somewhat in excess of three million or about two-thirds of the total combat-killed of the Allies.
British Empire second
The British Empire came second with combat deaths estimated at between 375,000 and 400,000. The U.S. was next in rank. Its final total, not yet fixed, was close to 325,000. Other European Allies lost about 400.000, without allowing for members of the underground who were executed.
Two-thirds of the British Empire’s combat dead came from the United Kingdom. Canada’s loss of about 25,000 was the next heaviest. Australia and New Zealand together lost about 35,000.
Losses among sailors and airmen accounted for a large part of the death toll among the Empire’s forces. The Bomber Command of the RAF alone lost more than 14,000.
U.S. losses six times as heavy
For the European Theater, battle losses in the two wars were about equal. American losses for World War II were about six times as heavy as for the first, and Russian losses appear to have been twice as great.
British Empire losses in the second war, however, were less than half of those in the earlier conflict, although naval losses were somewhat greater.
The losses by France in the second war were less than one-eighth of those she suffered between 1914 and 1918 – due to the quick defeat of her armies in 1940.