How many German Soldiers died in WW2?

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

Here is a German version by Jens Wehner, it is a bit different, e.g., he covers the birth years in more detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnzOp5-haLaKeLs

[@ondrejdobrota7344]

More important is the cause and dates. How many in each operation etc.

[@ondrejdobrota7344]

Great video, one of the best you ever made.

[@thelastaustralian7583]

Job well done ! Considering Russia had 36 Million Military. With all the other Allies combined .It seems the Krauts Leadership ,never were after Winning, from the beginning ?

[@Randohandle55748]

Hi Military History Visualized, could you please make a video explaining how political commissars function in communist nations and how Russia's imitation of a Military Political Department impacts their performance in the war?

[@JS6969tz]

Their aggressive tactics reaped a heavy toll on their troops. One German said they were never taught on withdrawal tactics and defences in retreat.

[@17cmmittlererminenwerfer81]

I had an encounter with a elderly woman whose brother never returned from the Ostfront. She never got a definitive answer about his fate. Her grief, decades later, was still enormous and very upsetting to observe. Just one soldier's sister. And then to think of millions of sisters, millions of families who lost their sons, brothers, fathers. Then that multiplied across the allies, everyone... the scope of the pain created by that war is unimaginable.

[@seanodwyer4322]

yeah here in 2024 ahh discover from Google how many O'Dwyer/ Dwyer died / serve in new zealand army and airforce in W,W.2. Only 1,400 000 humans in new zealand in W.W. 2. Found renently one died in Tunisia in 1943 and one att Monte cassinno 1944 Italy. - 4 died in airforce fighting Japs

[@Tam0de]

And fast forward to today: What have we learned as a result of all that pain & suffering? Absolutely NOTHING. NADA. ZERO.

[@Ian-vj5pv]

She was spared from the murderous stories of her bestial brother...

[@deutsche_lyrik]

​​@@Ian-vj5pvWas für ein komplett dämlicher Kommentar....so dermaßen dumm und unüberlegt...

[@deutsche_lyrik]

​@@Ian-vj5pvwas für ein komplett hohler Kommentar....so dermaßen unwissend und unüberlegt

[@henriklarssen1331]

Its pretty insane that the losses in 1944 are the same as 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942 and 1943 combined. Makes you wonder how different Germany would be today if the War ended in 1943 and over 3 million mostly young men still alive.

[@PatGilliland]

Germany, Russia, China, Israel....

[@aleksazunjic9672]

Well... there were some peace feelers during lull in the fighting in Spring of 1943, between Germany and USSR. Right after Stalingrad and 3rd battle of Kharkov. Basic idea was status quo ante bellum. Supposedly Hitler did not like the idea, i.e. he wanted one more military victory, to be able to negotiate with upper hand. This victory would be Zitadelle, but it turned out quite differently, and the rest is history as they say.

[@JRyan-lu5im]

@@aleksazunjic9672 Can you expand on that? I've never heard of such discussions ever happening, and they'd seem pretty unlikely given the alliances and the precedents made.

[@allangibson8494]

@@JRyan-lu5imThere were documented negotiations between the USSR and Germany in Stockholm early in 1943 behind the backs of the Western powers.

[@cptant7610]

They would probably try to perpetuate the same "stab in the back" myths that they did after WW1 if Germany wasn't defeated completely militarily.

[@didfet5496]

Looking at these numbers I wonder how my grandfather and his 4 brothers all made it alive… A true miracle.

[@lawLess-fs1qx]

Phenomenal luck/skill. uplifting story among the carnage.Thanks.

[@benjaminguilatcoiv]

​@@lawLess-fs1qx these things can only happen through God's will that they live through the hardest times where many have died

[@Digueirazz]

luck, while in your family the 4 brothers survived, there are other families where 2,3 or even 4 german brothers died.

[@byzantinehoney3384]

Well as the video states they had a 77% chance of surviving

[@greenockscatman]

@@byzantinehoney3384 77% sounds like good odds but if you have to roll those dice four times, it's only a 35% chance for all three to make it back alive.

[@ARNM55-l9v]

Older American here. Good data, graphics / icons / & easily understandable symbols. Well done.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

Thanks!

[@captainhurricane5705]

The scale of the slaughter in the last year of the war is almost beyond comprehension.

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

Look at the Soviet losses. Besides the fact that Stalin killed his Generals, they sent those poor bastards up against the Germans with no ammo and such and would execute troops for falling back and such.

[@joemamaobama6863]

@@jamesdellaneve9005 sure buddy

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

@@joemamaobama6863 Are you disagreeing? If so. Why? I am not denying that 5 million German soldiers died. However, 1 out of 7 Russians died on the Eastern front. Hence, why the Russians were so brutal to German captors.

[@erikgothberg8078]

@@jamesdellaneve90051 out of 3 Russians died and it was the same ratio for the Germans. But the chance to survive the entire war was a lot lower

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

@@erikgothberg8078 1 out of 3 Russian soldiers died? I believe that the ratio was 1 out of 7 for the entire population.

[@septembersurprise5178]

"All war must be just the killing of strangers against whom you feel no personal animosity; strangers whom, in other circumstances, you would help if you found them in trouble, and who would help you if you needed it." - Mark Twain

[@csjrogerson2377]

My next door neighbour in Dorset, UK was an ex paratrooper from Bavaria. Joined in 1940. Fought in Balkans, Greece, Crete, Stalingrad and was finally captured at Cherbourg. Was a POW in Dorset and stayed after the war. Married a local girl. You couldn't ask for a better friend. Made the best homemade wine ever. Never walked out of his house on Boxing Day, always staggered or crawled out. RIP German Joe Rolf, Iron Cross 1st Class.

[@johnwalker1553]

I don't think anyone far from home could have done him a greater honor than to call him a Bavarian. We Bavarian often don't like to be portrayed as just Germans.

[@tavish4699]

I have had heated debates with Americans that wouldn’t want to understand that Soldat means men off all branches not just the army So thanks for clarifying that from the start

[@billrich9722]

What a weird thing to have a heated debate over.

[@tavish4699]

@@billrich9722 exactly Especially when I even told them that I’m a native German speaker His reply was I only speak English but that doesn’t matter here 😂

[@billrich9722]

@@tavish4699 Well... Can't argue with that.

[@pandaprewmaster325]

Dude what sort of heated debate to be started on such topic were you guys yelling at each other "NO SOLDAT MEANS SERVICEMAN" "IT MEANS SOLDIER IN THE ARMY NOT SERVICEMAN" something like this??

[@Lagmaster33]

Americans... a big surprise there lol

[@stephencoleman3578]

My aunt's husband was a German Soldier stationed in The Netherlands. The soldiers learned they were soon to be sent to the eastern front. Many of these soldiers deserted and had to stay hidden to aviod being shot. My aunt hid him for the duration of the war. She was not popular with her family because she married a German deserter. He never returned to Germany and remained in the Netherlands. His wife (my aunt) lived to 100 years old.

[@justicartiberius8782]

So ironic. If she would have married a german non-deserter they would have judged her. Marrying a deserter they also judged her. Maybe it was more about him being german, not being a deserter.

[@КолтуновСерёга]

If all the men on planet Earth were deserters, would that be a good thing? Or would that be a bad thing?

[@dormandavis2767]

@@КолтуновСерёгаso your saying America should not fought after Pearl Harbor?

[@justicartiberius8782]

@@КолтуновСерёга In the context of military? A good thing because there wouldn't be any war. Even the men to force other men to fight would desert.

[@КолтуновСерёга]

@@dormandavis2767 "so your saying America should not fought after Pearl Harbor?" Pearl Harbor should not have happened because the Japanese pilots would not have returned from leave.

[@marcusott2973]

Much awaited, much appreciated looking forward to excellent insights as always from you.

[@Willindor]

Excellent work as always Bernhard

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@fancyultrafresh3264]

Really appreciate you crunching these numbers for us, very good broad perspective from you.

[@alexandersteffen7805]

by far this is the best ww2 related Channel.

[@DavidKutzler]

My first duty station as a US Air Force officer was in Wiesbaden, Germany. I befriended a German man who enjoyed traveling with Americans and acting as an informal tour guide. On one day trip, Werner took me to the village where he grew up. While there, he took the opportunity to visit the cemetery to pay respects at his parent's grave. German cemeteries are quite beautiful. On several of the graves, I noticed small stone plaques at the foot of some graves with a brief inscription. I asked Werner about these. He said that the markers were memorials to their sons who were lost in the war.

[@io_metre]

Such an excellent analysis. Thank you!

[@adiebland9220]

Your work is amazing and presents a clear picture of the progression of the war. Sir I salute you for your efforts.

[@grizwoldphantasia5005]

The losses in North Africa are a lot lower than I expected.

[@mikelesan3964]

The western allies took prisoners

[@l.a.wright6912]

​@@mikelesan3964I'd argue that it's more than that. I'd argue that the difference in tactics that came with normandy is what really crippled the loss ratio.

[@bl4ck5un9]

​@@mikelesan3964 I'd say a big reason for that was also the limited amount of Men that got send to Africa to begin with. If I remember right the entire Korps only consisted of 30-40k Men.

[@MrZauberelefant]

​@@l.a.wright6912Falaise crippled the loss ratio. That's 200.000 killed/taken prisoner.

[@noobster4779]

Two reason: 1) North Africa was an absolute sideshow by german standarts in WW2 and troop commitmeant. Germany generally commited a few quality divisions to the front, but no mass until literally Tunisia in 1943. 2) German casualties does not include the italians for obvious reasons. The main axis forced in North Africa were, against comman narratives, the italians. They were responsible for all the "non fancy stuff" of the africa corps like holding the frontline with infantery divisions so the mobile units could attack. Especially after El Alamein the italians suffered heavy loses, although more often in captured and less killed troops.

[@BernardoFagot]

What a horror! The suffering of war is unimaginable.

[@senseofthecommonman]

The only figure missing is percentage of front line soldiers lost. An army of 18 million has a very large percentage forming supply and logistics, so 5 million dead will represent a massive proportion of those actually on the front line.

[@johnfrench1239]

Absolutely fascinating - thank you

[@selfdo]

Luftwaffe included pilots and other aircrew, ground support personnel, and "Fallschirmjager" (Paratroopers). However, the bulk of LE casualties were in LW Field Divisions, including a PANZER division.

[@johnofdebar4071]

Excellent Analysis!

[@Panda-gs5lt]

I know it was a lot and included my uncle Hermann Hartlage, who was killed on 13 Dec 1943 outside Warwarovka … may they all rest in peace.

[@mpersad]

Another excellent video, with terrific analysis and graphics. I learnt a great deal, thank you.

[@bigsarge2085]

Interesting data and context. Thank you!

[@joaocabral3541]

Amazzing video, very informative. I was curious about this particular topic but never found a cohesive understandable investigation. Thanks

[@johnelliott7850]

An interesting breakdown of figures I have often wondered about.

[@MarkSmith-js2pu]

This was very interesting. Thank you.

[@greenockscatman]

I never thought I would have this kind of an emotional reaction to a lot of bar graphs. Outstanding research, and can only agree with the guy who said it was an atrocious waste of life.

[@MrSteve280]

The Union Army alone saw 3155 soldiers killed at Gettysburg over three days. The means the Germans experienced more than two Gettysburg every day for four years. The Russians more. That's hard to comprehend.

[@EroticOnion23]

US civil war was a picnic compared to a single day on the eastern front, don't understand why the Americans cry so much...😂

[@MrSteve280]

@@EroticOnion23 Something between a culture of entitlement and being the center of the universe.

[@historyisawesome6399]

@@EroticOnion23as a american i think in comes down to the us being rather unscaved by war through out its history our civil war is just like the avarge to russia or germany or france 620,000 dead for us is really high for france its a mere footnote you guys had ww2 ww1 the franco prussian war the napolonic wars the russo-japense war the crimean war all with death over 500,000 in like a 150 year span and there wayyyyy more then just that not to mention the possibility of a cold war gone hot in central europe we had 1 in our entire 250 year history

[@BruinHerr-bj7uk]

You should research the Battle of Antietam 1862.

[@MrSteve280]

@@BruinHerr-bj7uk The context is KIA sustained daily over many years. Antietam was only a single day. Gettysburg isn't much better but a more appropriate comparison.

[@andrewklang809]

1:25 What comprises "auxiliary forces"? Civilian air defense? Strategic logistics? Merchant marine? Or is that a reference to non-German (and non-SS) organizations like the Osttruppen?

[@MrZauberelefant]

That would be, not complete list: - Reichsbahn - Organisation Todt - technische Nothilfe - Reichspost And other people working for the Reich in a non military fashion. Basically: wears a uniform, but is not Wehrmacht/SS/Police

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Mostly civilian organizations working for the army.

[@holgernarrog962]

Usually the Organisation Todt, Deutsche Rote Kreuz, NSKK were labelled as "auxilliary forces" -The Organization Todt built bunkers, bridges, roads behind the front lines. In the Soviet Union some were armed to protect them from partisans. - Deutsche Rote Kreuz operated hospitals behind the front lines. - The NSKK operated transport bataillons.

[@fazole]

​The German Labor Force boys were also sent into combat sometimes when everyone was needed to fend off a Soviet attack.

[@holgernarrog962]

@@fazole Usually they were not sent to fight but quite often war came to them either by Partisans or when the Soviet forces moved faster than they retreated.

[@vladimpaler3498]

What is appalling is that if Hitler had negotiated a surrender once he was beaten a huge chuck of them would have lived.

[@HBD-tx1jm]

you are brain dead. he sent out 12 different peace proposals throughout the war.

[@WHITE-EUROPEANS-ARE-ISRAELITES]

Dunkirk beaches was his MERCY to the british. Well over 300,000 UNHOLY ALLIANCE ALL-LIES were spared to go home, stock up, and strike back even HARDER. HOW ABOMINABLY EVIL!!!!

[@billyosullivan3192]

​@@HBD-tx1jmhe never accepted unconditional surrender unlike Italy and Japan. Hitler's peace proposals were to powers he hadn't defeated demanding they recognise German victory

[@billyosullivan3192]

​@@WHITE-EUROPEANS-ARE-ISRAELITESwhy did the Germans bomb Dunkirk and cancel the halt order if they intended to let the BEF get away?

[@darklysm8345]

He tried. Its not like the germans never even tought about peace

[@Gozerthegozarian1984]

Soldiers who joined early were promoted. Soldiers joining later served as privates.

[@pRahvi0]

It would appear that part of the reason for the longer life span of earliest recruitees was simply because most of the deaths only happened several years later. Probably the experience gained during those years had an impact, but the death rate of late years was so staggering that it probably dominates the statistics.

[@jabo0553]

Would it be possible to make such a Video about the German Losses during World War One or Is it harder to get material there ?

[@Piece-Of-Time]

They are easy to find in internet, but it's probably hard to find documents that would prove it

[@mr.nobody6457]

Great video

[@marcusott2973]

I wonder what the survival rate of my grandfathers division ID44 was from the 1st to the last day of the war was. As the unit went "through" Stalingrad. Were would I be able to find sich data. He survived the war from day one to the end, I guess he was one of very few.

[@whiteheatherclub]

It is possibly impossible ever to find out but it would be very interesting to know, for example, what percentage of the troops who invaded France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 1940 were still alive at the end of the war. Or what percentage of the troops who invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 were still alive at the end of the war.

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

Surviving from wars start to finish is rare if the war lasts more than 3 months.

[@julianheaton9546]

It would be interesting to know, from a British perspective, how many of the 'few' involved as pilots in the Battle of Britain, managed to survive the whole war and how many of those were still in action as opposed to still alive but inactive due to wounds. War is a terrible thing.

[@GD_Spieler]

I am now dying to know the answer to this as well (in regards to those that took part in the 1940/41 campaigns and how many survived till the end). Try to get that comment seen and pinned to the top so it can hopefully be answered.

[@marcusott2973]

@GD_Spieler I know a couple of snippets. He was wounded in and flown out of Stalingrad. After his stay in a hospital for the wound and a sanatorium for the frostbite. He was part of the "Stammpersonal"when the division was reestablished in Belgium. So obviously, enough personnel survived Stalingrad for various reasons to form the nucleus of a new division.

[@NGBRADLEY1991]

Would love to see a version of this covering ww1 too

[@whiteheatherclub]

A video on civilian deaths in Germany during the Second World War would be interesing.

[@dermotrooney9584]

Nicely done. Thank you.

[@vmycode5142]

16:25 Soviet womble reference the same day he finally uploads

[@NUCATMID]

I served in Vietnam. The accepted wisdom was that, as a general rule, newbies were more likely to die in the first 30 days of a deployment because they didn’t know very much about the things that got you killed, despite the training you received before deploying. If you survived the first 30-days your chances dramatically improved. My unit did six-month tours instead of the usual 13-month tours. That way your training was more current since the guys who with units doing were more current in their tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP)s.

[@AddieHilton]

No more brother wars

[@cliffordterry2133]

Thank you for this information. It adds information that is vital to understanding the totality of the effects of war.

[@neilwilson5785]

The 1945 losses did shock me a bit. I thought Bagration+D-day would be the big one.

[@smokenfire]

D-day wasn't big in itself - its results in the months that followed were.

[@davidkavanagh189]

The Soviet steamroller made D-Day looks like a small skirmish. D-Day was clearly one of the significant points of the war but still quite small in comparison to an average day on the Eastern Front.

[@aleksazunjic9672]

East Prussian offensive and Soviet counterattack after failure of Operation Spring Awakening.

[@Warmaker01]

The 1945 losses came after the result of the German armed forces getting ripped apart in 1944. Think of all this as a gigantic "Snowball Effect." I had an excessively long reply in mind earlier, but it's simply all the bad things from earlier keep adding up to make the situation afterwards even worse.

[@nightshade4186]

It was total downfall in 45, shortage in ammo, fuel, tanks, shortage in everything, no air cover, no organization.

[@warwarneverchanges4937]

Im glad you icluded the navy losses as recovering from a sunken ship is a whole diffrent story than surviving a failed land operation

[@Danewcielo]

Excellent video. Would be interesting to see a similar video for civilian casualties

[@billd2635]

Thanx for your work. Well done. This validates much of my understanding about German casualties. Especially the U Boat crewmen. Only one in four ever came home. I wonder how many actually served from day one til the end of the war? Did any of them last the duration?

[@AmericanImperialMenswear]

The seasoned veteran crews were far more likely to survive. All the top U-Boat commanders up to #8 survived the war (Wolfgang Lüth, #2, only for a few days before taking his own life).

[@TheSmesi]

Soviets lost about 27 million individuals. The tragic part of it is 19 million civilians, including women, children and elderly, and 8.7 million were military losses.

[@300thNPC]

The amount of death is difficult to comprehend. Insanity.

[@EroticOnion23]

*In just 4 years. The 2nd highest, China, was through more than a decade from 1931 to 1945...

[@aishazaza23]

Krivosheev puts Soviet military deaths at 11.5 million. This includes 3 million POWs murdered by the Germans.

[@micheldriessen5081]

In a conversation with Churchill in Potsdam , July '45, Stalin boasted that he had lost over 5 million soldiers and thus had right to a larger share in the restoration payments of Germany ... He should not have underestimated the figures, like it is tangible cash, just like with the Holocaust. Now the figures are 20, 25 ... 40 million !

[@likeAG6likeAG6]

@@micheldriessen5081 He had no idea how many he had lost until much later, there were no time to do population census and also soviets never had metal tokens in army which more or less allow to figure out how many die in a battle, they had paper books instead. I'm not event talking about civilians, nobody was counting them. What is indicative is that soviet army had 4.2 millions in the beginning of the war, they lost all of it in 41, while only 300k of germans died. Soviet army until late 42 was completely incompetent, they learned on the battlefield.

[@EnigmaCodeCrusher]

Good presentation

[@petergunn-w2v]

Great stuff; thank you! Imagine how different Germany would be today if all those healthy, young men had not had to die. Victor Davis Hanson mentions that WW2 is unusual in comparison to most wars in that the losers killed far more than the winners. I still remember meeting you at Conneaut in 2019.

[@815thengineers8]

Thank you. Fascinating details.

[@TheHistoricalReview]

Bernhard understands this but for the comment section: deaths includes non-combat losses and even those died during the war years but not from war related causes. Rudiger Overmans is the ultimate source of the data and he went through German deaths cards, but he did not factor cause of death at all of so many have mistaken this as “killed by the allies” or “died from war related causes” though obviously few died from non-war related causes

[@bernhardbrendel5238]

Four of my ancestors served as German soldiers in WW2 and they all survived. One was a member of an airborne unit and at Crete as an occupation soldier for two years and he was wounded with shrapnells while serbian partisans attacked a train. His elder brother was a captain in the airforce and commander of an anti-aircraft-defense-unit in Finland. A younger brother served at the „Siegfried-Linie“ 1944 as a member of the „Reichsarbeitsdienst“ and he was almost killed by an assault from US-Lightnings against a railroad station, where were a lot of German troups ready for transportation. And a cousin from the three brothers was at last fighting as a member of an infantry unit in France 1944. He escaped from french prisoners camp and he reached his village in Germany, but the US-Soldiers catched ihm again and send him back to France for another two years.

[@magnusmcgraw]

I have to note that more German soldiers died in captivity after the end of the war in May 1945 than were killed by enemy action on all fronts during the entire war... think about that!

[@Hopeless_and_Forlorn]

You must be using Nazi math to arrive at that conclusion.

[@magnusmcgraw]

@ Nee meine Liebe ich sage da ganz einfach nur die Wahrheit, aber das kannst und wirst du auch nicht verstehen oder nachvollziehen können. Das ist deinem Minderbemittelten Wissen über die Geschichte und dem limitierten Erzählungen deines Landes oder deiner Regierung, was auch immer unverständlich für dich. Außer Nazi und Mathematik hast du auch nicht im kleinsten Sinne der Geschichte und dem was ich sage etwas zu wissen… und das ist reine Amerikanische Mathematik oder besser gesagt Bildungsstand.. Mfg Magnus

[@williamzk9083]

@@Hopeless_and_Forlorn Ive talked the Wehrmacht prisoners (Austrian ones) who were in captivity and the stories are true. Siegfried said the American Army guards (Polish in this case) would take pot shots into the captive soldiers who were standing in the cold at night killing several every night. That kind of thing went on and nothing was done. I met these survivors in Australia where they had migrated in the 1950s. -Its a war crime and should be prosecuted. It may assuage your soul to label or demonize them as nazis but that's how atrocities begin. Fabricated atrocity stories are then used to justify ones own atrocities. -The men I talked to did not go public and had nothing to gain. They weren't political. They just wanted to pay of their mortgage and retire. History is usually 70% bull.

[@russellnixon9981]

Informative

[@P4Tri0t420]

5 Millions lifes lost... im so glad my grand father made it out of stalingrad wounded and not dead

[@florinivan6907]

17 year old german circa 1942:I got drafted into the Navy. Dad:That's great news. 17 year old german:They said on subs. Dad:Bogus.

[@scottjuhnke6825]

Makes sense that those put in uniform in 45 had short life spans, as they were not trained, and placed in front of enemies who were far better equipped, and were, largely, more experienced.

[@klobiforpresident2254]

It should also be mentioned that later in the war the enemies were more numerous. This is not to invoke the myth of endless --Mongol-- Russian hordes. When one soldier firez upon an unfortunate conscript there may be time to find cover before being hit, perhaps one's comrades may even be able to eliminate the enemy themselves before our exemplary conscript dies. If there are two enemy soldiers my maths suggest that twice as many bullets are more likely to hit in time (and suppressing one opponent no longer suffices). While the Axis had a (relatively, it did decrease) constant 3.5M men in the east until 1944 the red army doubled in size between Barbarossa and Bagration.

[@mconrad8243]

If I hear this video correctly, even the early war recruits were mostly likely to die not in 1940-44, but in 1945.

[@godwrote01]

On top came that Hitler send in his HIGHLY indoctrinated youth (HitlerJugend) Boys and Girls (Girls mostly serving in the AA) not much older than 15 /16 Born 1928/29 That only new the Third Reich. They fought as Hitler wanted - until the last bullet and ran bravely into T34 tanks to destroy them with there last Panzerfaust. There is a movie - The Bridge showing 7 - 8 Hitler Youth Boys holding a Bridge against americans - they put some significcant losses - shot down a sherman but no one made it

[@barbsmart7373]

And nor did our side have old men or deluded boy fanatics in uniform.

[@gareththompson2708]

It makes perfect sense that men recruited in 1939 would survive longer on average than men recruited in 1945. First, because much of the time they spent in service was during the lower intensity years when Germany was doing relatively well, and second because men recruited early in the war would have been trained to a higher standard than men recruited later in the war. What surprised me was just how massive the difference was. I would not have guessed that the difference in how long a 1939 recruit would live vs how long a 1945 recruit would live would be a staggering factor of 48.

[@DirtyHairy1]

Just to clarify, if I understood correctly: In the statistic, Navy soldiers that died in infantry combat, are still counted towards the Navy losses, and not the Army? I ask because I was under the impression that Navy personnel which was reassigned to infantry, was also organizationally moved to the Army, and thus counted as Army losses.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

Yes, as Navy losses. They might fight under Army command, but were still navy personnel.

[@leewoehlke5099]

My grandfather was the only one from his class that survived ww2. He said when the war was over, every man over 16 was dead from his village.

[@ewok40k]

Note that 1939 losses were almost entirely in Polish campaign, reaching almost 20k in just one month. So it was as deadly as savage fighting of 1941... Battle of Norway and France in 1940 took less than 3 months for 80k dead. Overall, this means it was not difference in fight intensity, but ability to end campaigns quickly that made the difference.

[@MS-io6kl]

Also, the Soviet invasion of Poland did shorten the German Polish campaign considerably.

[@thomaskositzki9424]

You are right! I had the same thought some years ago when looking at the numbers for Poland.

[@voldemerjanuarij7340]

20.000 это почти средний уровень потерь РФ в Украине

[@Keckegenkai]

what were the polish losses?

[@ewok40k]

@@Keckegenkai according to Wiki, 66k kia, 133k wia, and 694k taken pow

[@leonidaslantz5249]

Very interesting data; thank you.

[@bradenatkinson4784]

Hey dose this tally include Russians force into German service or various political ss units that pulled from alternative manpower polls

[@aleksazunjic9672]

Unlikely, as they were not citizens of Reich.

[@brianlong2334]

​@aleksazunjic9672 From memory, just over 4.3 million Germans died, and 1 million non Germans in the German military. Surprisingly, the biggest ethnic minority of that 1 million were Russians, about 600k to 1.2 million red army troops fought for Germany in ww2, only about 60k changed back to fight for the USSR....

[@aleksazunjic9672]

@@brianlong2334 Non-Germans are Austrians and Volksdeutsche, which were citizens of Reich but not later West or East Germany. As for Russians, BS story, even if you include Ukrainians in that number. They had couple of not fully maned divisions late in the war (1944) and that is that. Germans as a rule did not want to arm Slavs.

[@brianlong2334]

@aleksazunjic9672 Austria was considered part of Germany and its people full Germans and citizens.... Also, 300,000 Germans Jews fought for Germany they just claimed not to be Jews anymore till the war was over, obviously, many had names made up and family history by the SS and other Germans organisations. Ww2 is not as black and white as it's made out. Germany, before any conquest / joining / unification population, was about 70 million after Austra and others were brought in its population, which was 86 million Germans according to the Nazis them selfs.... They were very good at keeping records.... You had a large number of Russians who fought for the Germans who did so in its military. The majority did actually die fighting for them. Slav weren't all viewed the same either. About 40 million ethnic Russians were going to be Germinised after the war, according to Hitler before ww2 started, so full Germans citizens... But as the war raged on he claimed that number could be about 80 million due to the high amount of Aryan blood within the Russian population, infact before ww2 started slavs were considered Aryans only when war started in 1941 did that change, but yes he basically planned to wipe out half of the Ukrainian population.

[@brianlong2334]

@aleksazunjic9672 You need to cheek your information, mate, that's totally wrong for a start, sorry. How did the Germany population go from 70 million to 86 million it wasn't babies.... Austrians were German's, along with many others, they classified as Germans look it up.... Also, 300k German Jews fought for Germany in ww2 they had their names and family history made up by the ss and other Germans' organisations at the time, ww2 not as black and white as it's made out. Also, you're talking about 150k USSR personnel, not 600k to 1.4 million yes half of that was for non-combatant roles but as mentioned hundreds of thousands were in the German military, you do know the Germans had many spies in the red army thats one of the reason Stalin had so many purges early on in the war and even in the middle. Slavs were originally claimed to be Aryans, only after oparation barbarossa did that change, and most of the USSR population was to be Germinised, and converted to be German citizens after the war so indoctrinated that is. Edit: they Germans had about 22 million men available between the ages of 11 and 65 of that 5 million were in the workforce, leaving 17 million for the military.

[@danielainger]

The sheer scale of WW2 is just mind boggling.

[@Nicolas-ol7jl]

With the sheer number of deaths youd wonder someone somewhere could have had the cure for cancer or unlimited power but had lost his life unnecessarily

[@jorgschimmer8213]

Jup. Mein Großvater ist als Österreicher geboren und als Deutscher vor grob 20 Jahren gestorben. Der war ein geborener Bergbauernsohn und hatte überhaupt kein Bestreben als „Held“ zu sterben. Kann die Ausführungen nur unterstützen:😎

[@peterfmodel]

Bei meinem Vater und einem meiner Onkel war es genauso. Mein anderer Onkel wollte kämpfen, hat es aber geschafft, den Krieg zu überleben, nachdem er im Osten und in Italien gekämpft hatte. Ich glaube, er hatte großes Glück. Mein Großvater hatte nicht so viel Glück.

[@Schizohandlers]

I am learning German these comments are fun to try and read. I learned Österreicher is Austrian from this, thanks.

[@jorgschimmer8213]

@@Schizohandlers . My grandfather was born as an austrian mountain farmer and died in Germany 20 years ago. He had absolutly no Intention to die as an hero. I can confirm the explanations .

[@Schizohandlers]

@@jorgschimmer8213 Danke!

[@get4084]

It is easy for us viewers to lose sight of the fact that each of this statistical points represent individual human beings, each of whom is a father, son, husband and loved ones to others. I felt a chill down my spine when I made that realisation.

[@CthulhuInc]

yes, but, how does this compare to the allied forces?

[@didymussumydid9726]

Nobody knows because Soviet numbers are garbage propaganda

[@samsonsoturian6013]

@@didymussumydid9726 The Soviets and Allies are considered separate and the casualty figures given after the war weren't altered.

[@aleksazunjic9672]

Around 10 million dead Soviet soldiers (15-17 million civilians) . US lost 400-500 000 in European theatre (including N Africa) . British slightly more.

[@JohnWayne22-b6w]

so obviously the soviets won the war. and there no reason for the US to get involved in this conflict at all.

[@didymussumydid9726]

@@JohnWayne22-b6wThe reason for the USA to get involved in the war is related to the political needs of FDR in the economic situation of the United States after 1938. Without a world war and without an American involvement in this war FDR would have been a political failure

[@installwebercarburetorsona6159]

Well done review

[@FritzKraut]

So i am very lucky to grew up with my both grandpas who where on duty the whole eastern campain. My mothers father as a frontline medic wounded two times. Fathers father who had been 41 years old had when it started on the northern part of the eastern front, served as Staff Oberleutnant of the east Prussian 122 Infanterie. Strange fact of that evil war. Without that hell of war my mother would not have run with her family from Nikolaiken in east Prussia to Hamburg where she met my father in 1954. Without that bloody war i would not exist. A bit strange and weird for me.

[@bloqk16]

Aside from the number of deaths, there's also those that survived the war but had chronic wounds, as well as other health issues related to being in the armed services, afflicting them for the rest of their lives. With such horrendous losses, it's remarkable how West Germany was rebuilt in less than two generations after the war.

[@Ish_Fire]

Thats horrifying to think about.

[@andthe4010]

1.5m in 1945 is crazy considering the war ended for them before the year was even half way over

[@njake19]

Another possibility for lower percentages for Austrian casualties is what were their jobs/positions while serving? I don’t know if they were giving support jobs over combat arms on purpose or that was the way the dice were rolled? Too many variables to have a clear and simple answer for. However, that would be interesting to see a possible video on the break down of casualties by what branch within the Heer, Luftwaffe, etc., and by the years, to help show how rushed training was. Food for thought.

[@acr08807]

Great video, as always. One correction: "tion" in Bagration is pronounced "tea own," not "shun."

[@micodiomicodio4420]

Such a tragic loss of human potential

[@utvara1]

They knocked on the wrong door.

[@strongback6550]

Well, it was either continuing existence as Weimar Germany and have to pay 5 promissary notes for one sheet of toilet paper or give everyone free meth see where that rabbit hole goes. Turns out that yea, that rabbit hole leads to Poland.

[@arclight8479]

Understatement of the century, and unfortunately true

[@ns_gefolgsmann6156]

​@@utvara1poland started it

[@billyosullivan3192]

​@@strongback6550Germany stopped paying all war reparations as of 1931 and officially in 1932.

[@tancreddehauteville764]

And many of those who survived came back to a destroyed or badly damaged home, or were not even allowed to return to it because it was now in Poland or the USSR.

[@deadlyknights1119]

A Soviet soldier died every 7 seconds during the war A German soldier died every 20 seconds What a tragic loss of life for now reason.

[@maximilianodelrio]

More like every 14 seconds

[@EroticOnion23]

'No reason' because Germany lost, if they won they'd be a global superpower...

[@deadlyknights1119]

@@EroticOnion23 War is never for any good reason, it’s when diplomacy fails, never look at any conflict as “we beat the bad guy”.

[@EroticOnion23]

@@deadlyknights1119 war is a good reason if you win lol...what are you 12?...😅

[@deadlyknights1119]

@@EroticOnion23 The issue with war is that the old people who cause it in the first place don’t actually fight the war themselves, they brainwash the young into thinking they are dying for some “noble cause” that most of the time has no actual barring on the situation at hand, and then they send those young out by the thousand’s-millions in droves believing they are dying for some high purposes. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have taken down Hitler, what I’m saying is we shouldn’t be proud that we had to do it in the first place, the entire situation was an accident, and all started at the end of a war that was truly meaningless, WW1.

[@philipklecan4872]

Best military ever put to the field. Overwhelmed by men and machines.

[@Hopeless_and_Forlorn]

Yeah, the Soldaten really showed what they could do at Babi Yar.

[@JohnSmith-ct5jd]

I am glad you mentioned that Stalin murdered perhaps as many as a million captured German soldiers, AFTER the war ended. This is a wartime atrocity seldom mentioned in our biased history. But, as has often been said, history is written by the victors.

[@novadhd]

Well they were POW. He wasn't going to let them walk back to germany

[@DusanRadanovic-g3m]

Germans kill almost all Soviet pow, common man.

[@phillipsmith4814]

Thank you, very interesting. Would you consider doing a video on losses due to being taken prisoner and compare those numbers to deaths and across the various theaters. Thanks.

[@joseph-sj7do]

When Red Army stopped Nazis outside Moscow in December 1941 Stalin was asked how he would defeat the Germans and he said "......we will bury them in Russian dead" , 17 Mil Russian Soldiers died

[@kindlingking]

He never said anything of the sort.

[@KornelTomaszewski]

For a reason which remains obscure to me, a German mutilating English (language) hurts less than an Englishman mutilating German. I am a Pole. WTF?

[@Amboss_d_Triumphator]

360.000 death in Soviet captivity sounds way too low.....

[@urlauburlaub2222]

I think, that only accounts to those, which actually got there, which means basically those, which gave up later, not those encircled.

[@artificialintelligence8328]

Surprising that the Bolsheviks actually care about human life, huh?

[@flarvin8945]

Based on a west German commission, a little over 1 million German POWs died in Soviet captivity, out of ~3 million POWs taken. About half died after the war. Compared to the ~3 million Soviet POWs that died in German captivity, out of ~6 million taken. Not a very good record for neither side.

[@ns_gefolgsmann6156]

He also forgets the rhine meadows

[@mufinsp0]

@@ns_gefolgsmann6156 Basically irellevant, a high estimate is 6000 deaths.

[@goetzliedtke]

My grandfather had retired as a Stabsfeldwebel from the Riechswehr in the mid 1930s and became a railroad inspector. Since he married my grandmother after submitting paperwork showing both of them were Aryan/not Jewish for three generations he was probably a member of some Nazi group. In 1939 or 1940, he signed up to go to war. He ended up in the Ostfront, was captured, and did not return until 1949. My grandmother divorced him because all he wanted to do was go live off his relatives in the Schwarzwald. I suppose this made him an outlier among his contemporaries, both in age and in survival.

[@durnham]

A true tragedy for the German Youth of ww2

[@geraldogeraldo1092]

Clip fantástic !

[@creatoruser736]

It's funny to me that even German speakers say army instead of Heer while saying the official names of the other branches. I guess it's because Heer sounds too dull compared to the other ones. Probably why others usually say Wehrmacht when they only mean to say army, it just sounds cooler.

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

Could ofcourse just be language change. Modern english say army instead of host, modern latvieši say armija rather than karapulks. People also say army instead of ground forces, armija instead of zemesspēki. In all languages Ive looked it up the word army is comming out on top.

[@looinrims]

It’s worth remembering the dead to wounded ratio tends to be 1-3, or maybe 1-4 For every 20,000 dead per month, it’s fair to assume 60-80 thousand were wounded, not all were irrecoverable though. History shows irrecoverable losses tend to be 50% of total casualties. Of course one man can be made a casualty multiple times

[@colmcc-ij3nn]

Millions of families shattered forever .On BOTH sides .😢

[@charlieturner5831]

Will you do a similar video on the on the British or Italian casualties?

[@angelperazzo9096]

No lo creo no viéndolo...!

[@angelperazzo9096]

Ni viéndolo ( perdón )

[@briannewman6216]

WW2 was a complete waste of life, time and resources.

[@didymussumydid9726]

That’s gambling.

[@surplusking2425]

We've learned that centrism isn't (both practically and morally) superior than extremism, with blood of the people. Unfortunately a lot of people forgot those facts today.

[@cptant7610]

At least it got rid of most of fascism.

[@yahya_elistinsary]

but the was the reason the jews got to have a state, so for them it was a win.

[@ronaldderooij1774]

@@cptant7610 ....for 80 years, at least.

[@patrickwentz8413]

Interesting that the older Soldiers who went into Soviet captivity had a higher death rate than the younger Soldiers. In the Philippines, it was precisely the opposite for American Soldiers. The older Soldiers tended to go in with a little bit of body fat and survived, while the younger Soldiers were skinnier and died quickly.

[@aleksazunjic9672]

Quite easy to explain: USSR suffered food shortage in 1941-43 , due to most arable land being captured by Germans. Thus, as German POWs were at the bottom of feeding chain, they suffered malnutrition and death. Later situation improved, and USSR actually wanted Germany as neutral buffer state (Stalin's idea) . Thus, German POWs, especially younger kids not serving in USSSR proper, did get more food.

[@usun_politics1033]

Good video

[@stechanina3631]

They shielded Western Europe from Bolshevism - rest in peace young braves ,thank you , from an old French .

[@Cheduepallottole]

A prayer to all those brave soldiers

[@KonfusedDude]

Consider how many children would have been born as offspring of the 5.3mm and how many descendants would be alive today? Realizing that only a percentage of these men would have produced children.

[@KonfusedDude]

So I ran this through AI and the answer lies between 66 million and 100million after accounting for mortality rates, average children born to men etc. These numbers are astonishing to me and represent the tragedy of wars.

[@bobjones-ey5gl]

Preußens Gloria