With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

French historian: Front-line casualties in WWI severely underestimated

A French professor says he believes the number of casualties on the front line in the First World War may have been severely underestimated. Professor Antoine Prost from the University of Paris believes at least another million may have been killed. VoR's Tim Ecott discussed his theory with Professor Edgar Jones, from King's College London and asked whether Professor Prost's findings struck a chord.

Professor Prost says the numbers of men suffering psychological symptoms is also probably low - partly due to the stigma attached to mental illness at the time.

Professor Jones told VoR: "Record keeping in the First World War was haphazard, given the very scale of the conflict. The Royal Army Medical corps was unprepared for the volume of physical and mental casualties. when it went to war in 1914."...

Read entire article at Voice of Russia