Background Article

10. 2008 Statistics of World Wars I & II, and Korean War

War is a terrible blight upon humankind but unfortunately, it has been with us forever. It appears that Mother Nature, in support of her survival-of-the-fittest dictum, may not recognize war as anything more than just another grueling test of our continued existence or eventual extinction.  To the victors go the gene pool and the future. Natural selection in general, is just not very kind it seems.  Nature can be overwhelmingly beautiful and so mysterious and complex and often quite giving but never forget that life needs defending and taking if it is to endure.  We see it under the oceans, in the skies and on land, everywhere, everyday with endless types of life forms competing for survival.  As part of this mosaic of aggressive life and death competition here on planet earth we find ourselves; the humans.  In our DNA, we carry the imprint of a million years of struggle to eat, shelter, procreate and dominate just like every other creature within nature.  Unfortunately, these very traits that honed our intelligence and skills as a species and allowed us to survive and indeed prosper have also drawn us into conflict with and among ourselves. At times, we humans have become our own worst enemy and as a result, history teaches that those who lose their ability or desire to be ever vigilant in protecting what they hold near and dear, risk losing everything.

Many past wars have been caused by weakness and many potential wars have been prevented through strength; that's why our national anthem proclaims, Canada "we stand on guard for thee".  We would all agree that warfare should never be glorified but it most certainly requires remembering.  The 20th century was one of the bloodiest centuries in history and its so very important for us to never forget the costs as well as the causes and effects of these not-so-long-ago conflagrations.  If we are to ever rid ourselves of this scourge, we must be constantly reminded of the hell it represents.  Additionally, as a nation, we must never forget the sacrifice and dedication of the men and women who were called upon to defend us and our way of life against those who waged war upon us.  Thank God that such people dwell amongst us otherwise where would we be today?  For our part, we remember below, the hellish cost in deaths that came from World War I and II, and Korea.  May the 21st century bring with it, less of this kind of hell.

World War I was fought mainly in Europe and Russia and the North Atlantic with some
fighting taking place in other parts of the globe.  Approximately 10.7 million military deaths and over 10 million civilian deaths occurred with an additional 21 million people being wounded in this war.  The Entente (Allies) lost about 5 million troops and the Central Powers lost about 4 million military personnel). In addition the Spanish Influenza pandemic began in the trenches on the Western Front in March 1918 and lasted until June 1920. It spread to all areas of the world and in 27 months killed anywhere from 20 to 100 million people.  No one really knows for sure how many died. Joseph Stalin, who came to power as a result of the effects of WW I, killed approximately 20 million of his own people during his purges and a self-induced famine in the 1930's and Mao Zedong of China caused the death of over 40 million of his own people via famine caused from his Great Leap Forward campaign in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Again this man and what he represented came to power as a result of WW II.  In addition, the Korean conflict was spawned as well, by the direct effects of WW II.

WORLD WAR I STATISTICS

World War II was a global conflict involving most of the world’s nations organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers.  The war led to the  mobilization of over 100 million military personnel world wide, making it the most widespread war ever.  In addition over 70 million people, most of them civilians, were killed making it the deadliest conflict in human history.

WORLD WAR II STATISTICS

KOREAN WAR STATISTICS

27,000 Canadian military served in Korea of which 516 were killed.  The total number of United Nations troops killed was 16,532 with several thousands of troops still listed as missing.  Total dead is estimated to be over 2 million including civilians.  North Korea lost an estimated 520,000 combatants, the Chinese lost approximately 900,000 troops, and South Korea suffered over 415,000 military deaths.

WORLD'S FIRST GLOBAL CONFLICT

The first truly global war in history was the Seven Years War which was fought from 1755 to 1763 between Great Britain, Prussia and Hanover against France, Austria, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and Spain.  Over 600,000 military and 700,000 civilian deaths occurred from this global conflict.  The war was fought in North America, Europe, India, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the Philippines and in Africa.  It was during this war of course, when Britain defeated France for sole control of what became Canada and India and made Britain the dominant power in the world for the next 150 years.

Mickey Moulder

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