Just to take out of those "Commonwealth figures: at the start of World War One the total population of New Zealand in 1914 was just over one million.In all, 120,000 New Zealanders enlisted, of whom 103,000 served overseas. A total of 18,500 New Zealanders died in or because of the war, and nearly 50,000 more were wounded. Of the total number who died, over 2700 died at Gallipoli, and 12,500 died on the Western Front.

That represents a casualty rate of 66 per cent; huge given the size of the population. My understanding from my own family, or rather my wife's family, is that there was never any question of not going to serve "King and Country", but NZ paid dearly for it.

Everybody Calm Down
 

I am a bit dismayed we have people here fighting over facts, figures and who did what/when and best.

A huge number of guys - young and old - lost their lives, some of whom did not have the chance to further the family line.

The fact of the matter is, we should rememember them all, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, East or West

TN

WW1 Cemetries
 

Hi Folks & Merry Christmas to all,just discovered this thread.

Some years ago in the 80s I was doing a low level transit back to UK and remember clearly the Albert -Baupame Rd as a nav feature on my map and due to the low cloud base and rain I was using the road,it is straight and I had no idea of its significance.I wondered what the cream coloured blocks were scatterred around in amongst the trees,villages and terrain as we flashed over.It dawned on me as I asked the other guys when we arrived back in the UK. The WW1 cemetries.

In the mid 90s my pilgrimage began,I had no idea at all the extent to which all those brave souls endured for our freedom and I have returned many times now via trips to Paris with my airline and also across the channel by ferry when on leave over the years with mates or often alone.

Subsequently like many,I have family connections and friends who had relatives fight in this most dreadful conflict from all corners of the world.

Last year at Flat Iron Copse I noticed a recently deposited pile of soil by a headstone close to the entrance and within it were the clearly defined bones on an entire human foot. There were also several shells deposited at the corner of the cemetry.

I have read a great deal on WW1 now as a result of my chance encounter in the 80s and there is nothing quite as humbling and cleansing to the mind as to standing in the middle of a Commonwealth cemetry and surveying the headstones that surround you.Let us not forget the estimated 6 million horses that also perished in horrific circumstances.
Instant hayfever symptoms everytime,even in the winter in the rain it has for me been truly fascinating,illuminating and truly in awe of the dnagers this generation faced.
On the way back if you travel by ferry,there are a further 11,000 burials at Etaples which is where the wounded were taken,so many to "die of wounds".

Mindblowing to me.:cool:

"Everybody Calm Down "
 

I can assure you TN that I am calm! The post that listed some countries by name and lumped others into the generic" British Empire" didn't spell out the massive effect of the war on countries such as New Zealand, with very small populations. It is simply a statement of fact and not intended in any way to be a comparative figure.

Everybody Calm Down .............
 

OK. Understood, nothing personal.

Caz.....did the American's miss that war altogether?

We were very late to the war and were still shipping troops to Europe when the war ended.

Some more stats....

The Great War . Resources . WWI Casualties and Deaths | PBS

Operation Jericho
 

Inspector Clueless - You may be aware that same straight Roman Road, the D929, was also used as a nav feature many years before you by the Mosquito navigators of the famous 1944 Amiens Prison Raid aka Operation Jericho.