Combat Losses, a real life example

[dragoon500ly]

Had a recent PM exchange about the losses suffered by the various units in T2K, I thought this real world example would be of interest…

Drawn from “The Armies of U.S. Grant” by James Arnold

The 57th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia was organized in 1863 in Fitchberg, Massachusetts.. Its initial strength of 1,038 officers and men were a typical cross-section of a Volunteer regiment. Less than 50% were native New Englanders. The remainder came from 18 states and 13 foreign countries. One in ten was a Canadian. One in five was Irish. The 57th was known as a “high-bounty” regiment, its men being paid a $100 bounty by the town of Fitchberg. Massachusetts paid a bounty of $325 and the Federal government added another $300 bounty, quite an attractive sum in 1863!

The 57th was also known as “Veteran Volunteer: regiment, composed of a number of experienced solders. In fact, only about 20% of its numbers were veterans and most of these were corporals or sergeants. Although the war had been ongoing for three years, the 57th practiced a drill little changed from that used in 1861. The School of the Soldier (squad drill) was practiced for ninety minutes every morning. The School of the Company was practiced for two hours every afternoon. They were taught how to stand at attention, dress ranks, salute and march in various directions. They learned the formal nine-movement method of loading their rifles as well as the more rapid four-movement method. They practiced firing while standing, kneeling or prone and they learned bayonet drill. Please note that the 57th never drilled as a regiment!

On 16 April, 1864 the men of the regiment received their bounties and the news that they would be leaving for the front in two day’s time. An enormous wave of desertion occurred led by bounty jumpers. During the two days, over 100 men deserted. The remainder traveled by rail and ship to Annapolis, Maryland, where they joined Burnsides IX Corps.

On the 23rd of April, the IX Corps marched for the front. The 57th suffered heavily from stragglers and desertions as well as ever increasing numbers of sick. On the 6th of May, the 57th joined the fighting in the Battle of the Wilderness. On this day, 548 men were present for duty when the 57th received its order to advance into the tangled undergrowth. Here, they were slaughtered.

In roughly one hour, the 57th Massachusetts lost 262 men. This included 54 men killed, 136 wounded, 20 wounded and captured, 10 missing and another 12 unwounded men who were captured.

On the 12th of May, the regiment, now reduced to a strength of 333 men delivered a spirited charge at Spotsylvania Court House. Here, they lost 12 killed, 5 mortally wounded, 56 wounded, 1 missing and 4 men captured.

On the 18th of May, the 57th, now at a strength of 250 men took part in another assault on the Confederate defensive line. Here they lost 3 killed, 6 mortally wounded, 13 wounded and 1 captured.

In twelve days, the 57th Massachusetts had lost two-thirds of its strength.

The regiment would fight again on the North Anna River with 237 men and losing 38 of them. It would take 184 survivors into an assault on Petersburg on 17 June and would lose 52 more. Reduced to a strength of 98 men, the 57th would take part in the Battle of the Crater, losing 51 men. 45 survivors would fight again at Weldon Railroad where 15 would become casualties. Reinforced to a strength of 93 men, the 57th would lose 9 men at Poplar Grove Church on 30 September. On the same field, eight days later, the regiment would send in 90 men and suffer 14 casualties.

Reinforce to a strength of 212 men for the 1865 campaign, the regiment fought at Fort Stedman on March 25th where 93 men would become casualties. By the end of the Civil War, the 57th Massachusetts would only have 11 men who had fought in all of the regiment’s actions.

[Mohoender]

Very interesting and relevant as the civil war had been the first modern war.

[atiff]

For a more modern example (I picked one at random from an Official History):

During the Greek Campaign, 18 Battalion, 2nd NZ Division, was on the ground from 6 April to 27 April.

It entered the campaign with (as far as I can determine) 738 men all ranks. It was never engaged in a "major" battle, but had a number of skirmishes (large and small) as well as being attacked several times from the air.

(The KIA, etc, below are the ones mentioned in the text on that day - there were of course others)

13 April - attacked from the air
14 April - attacked from the air
15 April - attacked from the air, and shelled, and two companies engaged in moderate on-going infantry battles at Servia throughout the day - 1 KIA (Battalion's first KIA)
16 April - some shelling
17 April - preparing withdrawal, some shelling - 4 KIA
night 17 April - withdrawal - 1 KIA, 5 POW - also engineers "suffered heavy casualties" when rearguard party cut off by German tanks
18 April - attacked from the air - 3 KIA, 20 WIA
19 April, 20 April, 21 April - quiet days
22 April - withdrawal
23 April - in position as rearguard at Kriekouki (no action)
24 April, 25 April - still in rearguard position
26 April - preparing withdrawal
27 April - withdrawal through Athens, and then attacked from the air
night 27 April - evacuated by sea

Overall the battalion lost 23 dead, 42 wounded, and 117 captured (including 60 in a party of reinforcements). Taking out these 60 (assume not in the original complement), gives 122 lost out of 738, or about 1/6, in only two weeks of relatively(?) light action.

Andrew

[atiff]

For the same Battalion, it's 1941-45 tally, through Greece, Crete, Libya, Egypt, and Italy:

Killed or died of wounds: 319
Wounded: 747
POW: 350 (plus 21 died while POW)
Other deaths in active service: 8

Total: 1,445 or about 200% of establishment.

Andrew

[James Langham]

Somewhere I have the % loss rate per day for US units undertaking various activities in WW2. I will try and find it.

[dragoon500ly]

Keep in mind that a US infantry Division in WWII, without any attachments, numbered 14,105 men, these are the losses suffered by the infantry divisions (source is Stanton's WWII OOB).

European Theater of Operations
1st Infantry Division: 4,280k; 15,208w
2nd ID: 3,488k; 12,785w
3rd ID: 5,558k; 18,766w
4th ID: 4,854k; 17,371w
5th ID: 2,656k; 9,549w
8th ID: 2,820k; 10,057w
9th ID: 4,504k; 17,416w
26th ID: 2,112k; 7,886w
28th ID: 2,683k; 9,609w
29th ID: 4,786k; 15,541w
30th ID: 3,516k; 13,376w
34th ID: 3,350k; 11,545w
35th ID: 2,947k; 11,526w
36th ID: 3,637k; 13,191w
42nd ID: 638k; 2,212w
44th ID: 1,206k; 4,209w
45th ID: 4,080k; 14,441w
63rd ID: 974k; 3,326w
65th ID: 260k; 927w
66th ID: 800k; 636w
69th ID: 383k; 1,146w
70th ID: 834k; 2,713w
71st ID: 278k; 843w
75th ID: 928k; 3,314w
76th ID: 523k; 1,811w
78th ID: 1,625k; 6,103w
79th ID: 2,943k; 10,971w
80th ID: 3,480k; 12,484w
83rd ID: 3,620k; 11,807w
84th ID: 1,438k; 5,098w
85th ID: 1,736; 6,314w
86th ID: 161k; 618w
87th ID: 1,295k; 4,342w
88th ID: 2,556k; 9,225w
89th ID: 325k; 692w
90th ID: 3,930k; 14,386w
91st ID: 1,575k; 6,748w
92nd ID: 616k; 2,187w
94th ID: 1,156k; 4,789w
95th ID: 1,372k; 4,945w
97th ID: 214k; 721w
99th ID: 1,134k; 4,177w
100th ID: 984k; 3,539w
102nd ID: 1,077k; 3,668w
103rd ID: 821k; 3,329w
104th ID: 1,114k; 3,657w
106th ID: 470k; 1,278w

Pacific Theater of Operations
6th ID: 514k; 1,957w
7th ID: 2,334k; 7,258w
24th ID: 1,689k; 5,621w
25th ID: 1,497k; 4,190w
27th ID: 1,844k; 4,980w
31st ID: 414k; 1,392w
32nd ID: 1,985k; 5,627w
33rd ID: 524k; 2,024w
37th ID: 1,344k; 4,861
38th ID: 784k; 2,814w
40th ID: 748k; 2,407w
41st ID: 960k; 3,504w
43rd ID: 1,406k; 4,887w
77th ID: 1,850k; 5,935w
81st ID: 515k; 1,942w
93rd ID: 17k; 121w
96th ID: 2,036k; 7,181w
Americal Division: 1,157k; 3,052w

[Legbreaker]

Moving on to Vietnam, this from Wiki:

More than 60,000 Australian personnel were involved during the course of the war, of which 521 were killed and more than 3,000 wounded. Approximately 3,000 New Zealanders served in Vietnam, losing 37 killed and 187 wounded.

This included the Battle of Long Tan

2,500 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese attacked 108 Australian troops. It is unclear how many Vietnamese were killed but records suggest 240-1,000 Vietnamese were killed, while Australian forces lost only 18.

Casualties really depends on the intensity of the conflict and the training standard of the troops involved, as well as a healthy sprinkling of chance.

[dragoon500ly]

And from an early Vietnam War...source is the "Last Valley."

One of the strongpoints of the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu was codenamed Beatrice. Consisting of four smaller company sized stronpoints Beatrice was defended by III/13 DBLE, a Foreign Legion unit. On the night of March 13/14, 1954, the battalion had a ration strength of 517 men but had only 450 men defending Beatrice. 80 men were deatched to the main camp of DBP, either serving as HQ guards or in hospital.

Beatrice was attacked by two regiments of Vietminh, an estimated 8,300 soldiers would attack the strongpoint. Between 615pm, 13 March and 115am, 14 March, the Foreign Legionnaries defended their positions in bloody hand-to-hand combat.

III/13 DBLE was, needless to say, destroyed as a unit in the fighting. Of the strongpoint's garrison, 111 men were able to escape and evade back to the nearby Dominique strongpoints. The Vietminh returned 15 legionnaires too badly wounded to be transported. Answering roll, later that day, III/13 DBLE had 194 personnel (including the 80 that were in the main camp), in seven hours of combat, 63% of the battalion were killed or captured.