The Great War in Numbers

The First World War was a war unlike any other. It was a war of numbers.

Men, ammunition, guns, ships, aircraft; quantity made the difference between victory and defeat. For the first time in history, everything was recorded in exacting detail. Sixty-five million men were mobilized to fight, they died at a rate of 6,000 a day.

1.2 billion artillery shells produced, 1.1 million machine guns, and 50 billion bullets fired. A war of numbers fought by calculating generals for whom no cost was too high.