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Those statistics say that there were 11,568,000 German casualties out of 18,200,000 total. And while blowing off a leg isn't quite the same thing as killing th
by sillysaurus2 13y ago
Those statistics say that there were 11,568,000 German casualties out of 18,200,000 total. And while blowing off a leg isn't quite the same thing as killing them, it has the same effect for the purposes of war. The stats show about 1 in 3 Germans killed and 1 in 4 Japanese killed vs 1 in 50 Americans killed and 1 in 25 British killed. The focus of modern war is causing physical harm to the enemy troops, not merely destroying their capability for making war.
- lotharbot 13y ago"Wounded" does not necessarily mean "out of action permanently". My grandfather was wounded November 19, 1943 and was back in action before the new year. The focus of modern warfare is destroying capability for making war -- which usually includes wounding or killing enemy troops, but also destroying equipment, engaging in misdirection to get enemy troops to commit to the wrong place, etc. It's much more sophisticated than you make it sound.
- EliRivers 13y agoThe focus of modern war is causing physical harm to the enemy troops That's just so untrue. The focus of modern war is removing the enemy's will and ability to fight. One way, amongst many, to do that is to cause physical harm to people; it's an inefficient and difficult way that is massively dwarfed by far more competent and effective ways to wage a modern war. The focus of modern war is causing physical harm to the enemy troops, not merely destroying their capability for making war. You've got that the wrong way round. The focus of modern war is destroying their capability (and will) to fight.