How Many Americans Died in WW2? Here Is A Breakdown

How Many Americans Died in WW2?

World War II has been the bloodiest war in human history, killing over 60 million people. This means that around 3 percent of the entire 1939 world population died in the war. Although most battles were fought in Europe, America was very active in the war, also suffering great losses. Here we answer the question “How Many Americans Died in WW2?”.

“The Causes of World War 2”

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How Many Americans Died in WW2? – Estimates

Nobody has exact figures, but it is estimated that around the U.S. counted around 407,000 military deaths and around 12,000 civilian deaths (due to crimes of war and military activity such as bombings.) The total death count for all Americans amounted up to 420,000.

According to Britannica.com, an estimated 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 people died during World War II. Among the Allied powers, the U.S.S.R. suffered the greatest total number of dead: perhaps 18,000,000. An estimated 5,800,000 Poles died, which was 20 percent of Poland’s prewar population. About 298,000 Americans died. Among the Axis powers, there were about 4,200,000 German deaths and about 1,972,000 Japanese deaths.

How Many Americans Died in WW2? For historical reference, World War One was one of the deadliest conflicts in the history of the human race, in which over 16 million people died. By way of comparison, far more lives were lost in the Second World War than in the First (more than 60 million. Moving beyond soldier deaths, the total number of both civilian and military casualties during World War One is estimated at around 37 million people.

The final stage of World War II in the European Theatre commenced with the Western Allied invasion of Germany. It began with the crossing of the River Rhine in March 1945, with forces fanning out and overrunning all of Western Germany until their final surrender on May 8, 1945.

General Patton knew his entrance into German-occupied territory was of monumental historical importance. So he decided to imitate William the Conqueror’s entrance into England before leading Norman forces in their heroic conquest of the entire island in 1066.

This article on “How Many Americans Died in WW2?” is part of our larger educational resource on World War Two. For a comprehensive list of World War 2 facts, including the primary actors in the war, causes, a comprehensive timeline, and bibliography, click here.