THE PRICE OF WAR 273
NEPALTHAILANDBURMAPHILIPPINESKOREAJAPANMALAYAD
UT
CH(^) EAST INDIE
S
ETHIOPIA
SOUTH
AFRICA
IRAQ IRAN
BR
AZ
IL
MEXICO
INDIA
NEW ZEALAND
MONGOLIA
USA CHINA
AUSTRALIA
CANADA
USSR
Auckland
Stalingrad
Leningrad
Tokyo
Osaka
Nagasaki
Hiroshima
Hudson
Bay
Gulf of
Mexico
Up to
10,000,000
300,000
500,000
300,000
100,000
164,000
250,000
Over
7,000,000^33
2.4
5
7.4
1 1.49
PA
C
IF
I
C
O
CE
A
N
INDIAN
OCEAN
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Caribbean
Sea
Caroline
Sea
Coral
Sea
THE BOMBING OF CITIES 1939–1945
Mass population centers were targeted
directly for the first time in history in World
War II. Beginning with the London Blitz in 1940,
thousands of civilians died in such attacks. In
Germany, up to 350,000 people were killed during
the Allied bombing campaigns in 1940–1945.
These statistics are similar to the estimated
300,000 killed when atomic bombs were dropped
on two Japanese cities.
Heavily bombed cities
1 MILITARY CASUALTIES 1939–1945
Germany and the USSR were the most deeply affected
by military losses: nearly a quarter of Germany’s mobilized
troops were killed, with slightly more for the Soviets. Many
were killed on the Eastern Front, where around 9.5 million
Soviet soldiers, including 3 million prisoners of war, perished.
Japan lost a fifth of her troops, some fighting to the death
because they believed surrender was dishonorable.
MILITARY DEAD
LARGEST ARMIES
MOBILIZED (MILLIONS)
<1,000
1,000–10,000
10,000–50,000
50,000–100,000
100,000–500,000
500,000–1 million
1–2 million
<14 million
Largest armies
mobilized (in millions)
Nov 1944–Aug 1945
Around 300,000
Japanese civilians
die after Tokyo,
Osaka, Nagasaki, and
Hiroshima are bombed.
1943–1945 Around
25,000 Brazilians join
the Allied forces in
the Mediterranean.
1939–1945 Around
10,000 South Africans die
in campaigns in East and
North Africa and Italy.
1939–1945 Around
200,000 Korean
women are forced
into prostitution as
“comfort women” for
the Japanese military;
many thousands die.
See panel
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 1939–1945
Many civilians were accidental victims of the war,
but many more died in deliberate acts. In the
USSR, around 1 million died in Stalin’s own labor
camps, and millions more died when they were
prevented from evacuating besieged cities. Six
million Jews and other minority groups were
killed in the Nazi Holocaust. In Korea, China, the
Philippines, and the East Indies, thousands died
working as slave laborers for Japan’s army.
2
Aug 1942– Feb 1943
Around 1.5 million total
casualties occur in the
bloodiest battle of the
war at Stalingrad.
Sep 1941–Jan 1944
Around 1million civilians die
in the Siege of Leningrad.
Sep 1940–May 1941 20,000
Londoners die in the “Blitz”;
Coventry, Birmingham,
Southampton, Bristol, and
Plymouth are also bombed.
1939–1945 One million
Australians serve among
Britain’s imperial forces.
1939–1945 The Nazis kill
3 million Jewish Poles
and 2 million non-Jewish
Poles in occupied Poland.
Civilian dead
Civilian dead
Large groups of
civilian internees
Heavily bombed
cities
France 5.6
Italy 4.5
Germany 10.6
UK 4.6
Yugoslavia 3.7
Large groups of
civilian internees
3
KEY
BELGIUM
DENMARK
GREECE
NETHERLANDS
UNITED
KINGDOM POLAND
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
ROMANIA
ITALY
YUGOSLAVIA
FRANCE
SPAIN ALBANIA
AUSTRIA
BULGARIA
GERMANY
HUNGARY
LUXEMBOURG
London
Hamburg Berlin
Dresden
260,000
236,300
310,000
2,300,000
465,000
15,000
1,000,000
155,300
5,778,200
17,400
as Allies
75,000
60,595
173,260
10,000
145,000
US_272-273_Price_of_war.indd 273 20/03/19 3:56 PM