Friday, February 27, 2015

Ten Statistics from the Great War


The Spoils of War: Captured German Artillery on Display in Paris

1) 1 . . . . . . Still unexploded mine on the Western Front (at least — see note below)

2) 12 . .  . Air aces of all nations with more than 50 aircraft downed

3) 75 . . . . . . . . … .  Distance fired in miles by German  Paris Guns

4) 324 . . . . . . . . . . . . .British tanks  in service at Battle of Cambrai

5) 466 . . . . .  . .  . . . Length of Western Front in miles October 1914

6) 4,278 . . . Trains required to mobilize French Army in August 1914

7) 7,000,000 . . . . . . Estimated combatants maimed for life, all nations

8) 8,300,000 . . . . . . .  . . . . Estimated combatants killed, all nations

9) 32,000,000 . .Estimated artillery shells fired in Battle of Verdun

10) 61,526,000. . Soldiers mobilized by all belligerents in Great War

______________
There are many different sources of World War I statistics, so these numbers can vary wildly depending on the source.  I attempted take the most conservative credible figures in each case. For instance one archeological report suggested there could be as many as 5 fully charged, unexploded mines underneath Messines Ridge.  I decided, however, to stay with the traditional numbers of one cited by most sources, which indeed, refers to a mine on Messines Ridge in Flanders. MH

5 comments:

  1. bill o'neillFebruary 27, 2015 at 9:40 AM

    Amazing what cold figures say of the end of so many young lives, the amount of shells fired.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2015 at 9:46 AM

    You are going to have to re-think the first one I think Mike. Three at the Bird Cage ( 78,000 lbs of amatol), one under Petit Douve Farm, under one of the barns (50,000 lb), Peckham, under the farm house, (20,000lbs). And those are just the unfired Messines mines!

    For more information on the underground legacy on the Western Front see: http://durandgroup.org.uk/index.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2015 at 9:52 AM

    This is fascinating--sad, but fascinating. Thank you! David B.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Steve DouglasFebruary 27, 2015 at 10:42 AM

    There are 4 just south of Messines and at least 2, maybe 3, at Vimy Ridge. One man, (Mike Watson?) was killed making them safe in 1998 (I think) He removed wires and detonators but the charges are still there. A tunnel collapsed on him.

    ReplyDelete
  5. David John HastieMarch 15, 2015 at 2:01 AM

    In 1955 while visiting the battlefields of Verdun, there were signs up cautioning visitors to stay on the paths because there were still pockets of deadly gas. This was ten years AFTER WWII!

    ReplyDelete