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World War I. The war to end all wars. By The Numbers. Mobilized Dead Wounded Missing/PoW Russia 12,000,000 1,700,000 4,950,000 2,500,000 Germany 11,000,000 1,773,700 4,216,058 1,152,800
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World War I The war to end all wars
MobilizedDeadWoundedMissing/PoW Russia 12,000,000 1,700,000 4,950,000 2,500,000 Germany 11,000,000 1,773,700 4,216,058 1,152,800 Great Britain 8,904,467 908,371 2,090,212 191,652 France 8,410,000 1,375,800 3,266,000 537,000 Austria-Hungary 7,800,000 1,200,000 3,620,000 2,200,000 Italy 5,615,000 650,000 947,000 600,000 US 4,355,000 126,000 234,300 4,526 Turkey 2,850,000 325,000 400,000 250,000 Bulgaria 1,200,000 87,500 152,390 27,029 Japan 800,000 300 907 3 Romania 750,000 335,706 120,000 80,000 Serbia 707,343 45,000 133,148 152,958 Belgium 267,000 13,716 44,686 34,659 Greece 230,000 5,000 21,000 1,000 Portugal 100,000 7,222 13,751 12,318 Montenegro 50,000 3,000 10,000 7,000
Looking out from the entrance of a captured Pill-Box on to the shell ravaged battlefield.
The three main types used were - chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas. Chlorine- a greenish, yellow heavier than air gas which in its pure form is an oxidizing agent. This means that it will react in the presence of water to cause a chemical burning effect on organic matter. Mucus tissues of the human body are susceptible to such chemical reaction because of 1) their organic nature and , 2) they are always covered with a film of water. Symptoms of chlorine gas poisoning include vomiting, difficulty in breathing, a burning sensation in the lungs, eyes, nasal and mouth passages, watery eyes. In severe cases, cell damage in the lungs leads to fluid buildup in the lungs, loss of consciousness through suffocation, and death. Phosgene - a colourless, odorless, heavier than air gas formed by heating carbon tetrachloride. It is highly poisonous in that it will preferentially replace oxygen in the cells and quickly causes an oxygen debt within the body, unconsciousness and death. Mustard gas- a caustic gas with a distinctive mustard smell, it causes blistering and huge sores on any exposed tissue, internal or external. Probably the most used gas, with phosgene, in the war. A nasty piece of business.
Gas masks for man and horse demonstrated by American soldier
British Trench Diagrams Taken from the British reference manual on Trench Warfare, British Trench Warfare 1917-1918. The manual was originally prepared by the General Staff at the British War Office
Soldiers of the US 332 Infantry, 83rd Division in trenches with the Italians on the Piave
US 18th Infantry, 1st Division troops in front line trench, 20 Jan 1918
Dead French soldiers in the Argonne German remains at Verdun
German dead in frontline trench on the Somme, 1916 Russian soldier dead on the wire