World War II was the most destructive war in history. Estimates of those killed vary from 35 million to 60 million. The total for Europe alone was 15 million to 20 million—more than twice as many as in World War I.
World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history.
Unlike World War I, which resulted in mostly military casualties, World War II saw civilian deaths outnumber soldier deaths three to one, reflecting the rise of aerial warfare that made it possible to bomb faraway cities and towns.
World War II (1938-1945) – With a death toll between 40 and 85 million, the Second World War was the deadliest and worst war in history. Experts estimate with such a high death toll, about three percent of the world's population in 1940 died.
World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China.
Also called The Great War, World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and set the stage for another world war just 20 years later. It was known as “The Great War”—a land, air and sea conflict so terrible, it left over 8 million military personnel and 6.6 million civilians dead.
If Germany had won on the Western Front, it would have acquired some French territory and maybe Belgium. The Germans probably wouldn't have been able to enjoy their victory for long. Britain would have retained its independence, protected by its navy that might have continued the hunger blockade against Germany.
Approximately 13 million Germans served in the military during the Great War; 2 million were killed, that is, roughly 15 percent.
The world goes to war
Cities were destroyed by air raids, the atom bomb was dropped on Japan and six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Over 50 million soldiers and civilians died. However, the war that consumed half the world started with a peace agreement.
The loss of life was greater than in any previous war in history, in part because militaries were using new technologies, including tanks, airplanes, submarines, machine guns, modern artillery, flamethrowers, and poison gas.
World War I, also known as the Great War, began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. His murder catapulted into a war across Europe that lasted until 1918.
The German Red Cross reported in 2005 that the records of the military search service WAS list total Wehrmacht losses at 4.3 million men (3.1 million dead and 1.2 million missing) in World War II. Their figures include Austria and conscripted ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe.
Germany lacked the necessary raw materials to make cordite (the vital propellant for bullets and shells) and explosives. Austria-Hungary was hampered by a lack of rail transport and rail infrastructure. Britain had a manpower shortage and a paucity of acetone, the key component for making cordite.
One line of interpretation, promoted by German historian Fritz Fischer in the 1960s, argues that Germany had long desired to dominate Europe politically and economically, and seized the opportunity that unexpectedly opened in July 1914, making Germany guilty of starting the war.
Although most of the dead in World War One were soldiers, the war claimed millions of civilian victims: through malnutrition and famine, forced resettlement, herding into camps, epidemics, forced labour, and aerial bombing.
World War II was, arguably, the most significant and influential event of the twentieth century.
On March 1, 1917, the American public learned about a German proposal to ally with Mexico if the United States entered the war.
The First World War changed the nature of warfare. Technology became an essential element in the art of war with airplanes, submarines, tanks all playing important new roles. Mass production techniques developed during the war for the building of armaments revolutionised other industries in the post-war years.
On the 18th June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, who was the heir to the throne for the Austria-Hungarian empire. He was shot by a Serbian man, who believed that Serbia should have control over Bosnia, not Austria. As a result, Austra-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
You must be wondering how close did Germany come to winning WW2 if it didn't surrender. Was there even the slightest possibility of Germany winning the war? The answer is no. By the time Germany surrendered, Soviet forces had already invaded the majority of the country.
WW1 had more brutal combat due to gas, more hand to hand fighting and constant bombardment. WW2 was more brutal towards civilians and POWs because of death camps, aerial bombardment of cities and cannibalism. Originally Answered: Which war was more brutal, World War 1 or World War 2?
In German schools, students must learn about the Holocaust and World War II. Most students visit concentration camps, Holocaust memorials, battlefields, war cemeteries, or museums as part of their educational experience.
Outside Europe, Germany lost all its colonies. In sum, Germany forfeited 13 percent of its European territory (more than 27,000 square miles) and one-tenth of its population (between 6.5 and 7 million people).
The Treaty of Versailles (signed in 1919) and the 1921 London Schedule of Payments required Germany to pay 132 billion gold marks (US$33 billion at the time) in reparations to cover civilian damage caused during the war. This figure was divided into three categories of bonds: A, B, and C.