If casualties include wounded and dead, can someone explain this to me...

Say that in a war a soldier is wounded, he is nursed back to health, and goes back to the front line, only to be wounded again!

Would this count as two casualties because he was wounded and cared for twice?

I thought casualties were only soldiers that died. I didn't know wounded was classified as casualties. Maybe I'm wrong because I've been wrong before.

A casualty is one injured, killed, captured, or missing in action through engagement with an enemy.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

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Originally posted by MkStfnz:
If casualties include wounded and dead, can someone explain this to me...

Say that in a war a soldier is wounded, he is nursed back to health, and goes back to the front line, only to be wounded again!

Would this count as two casualties because he was wounded and cared for twice?

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Yes, of course. And if he was in the U.S Armed Forces he would be entitled to a second Purple Heart.

The point of listing casualties is to keep a count of those military who are killed or rendered useless for combat. A wounded soldier who is listed as a casualty is so listed because he is a loss to his army as surely as if he were killed.So men who are returned to battle are no longer listed as casualties. It is important to know numbers of both sorts of casualties because the wounded are a significant problem for the commander in the field as an encumbrance and a drain on resources which have to be allowed for. The enemy may even, oddly, benefit more from the maiming injuries he inflicts than from the deaths, for this reason.

Good point, Fred. That's how I always saw it, that a "casualty" is someone killed or lost, or injured too severely to be returned to battle.

I see. Thank you for your information, everyone!

quote:

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Originally posted by MkStfnz:
If casualties include wounded and dead, can someone explain this to me...

Say that in a war a soldier is wounded, he is nursed back to health, and goes back to the front line, only to be wounded again!

Would this count as two casualties because he was wounded and cared for twice?

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Yes. Also, He becomes a statistic twice for being an able bodied warrior as well.

The numbers will even out in the end. The numbers are useful for the Brass to know what is going on.

EXAMPLE. We have 100 men on the battlefield. 10 causalities (3 deaths, 7 injuries) We are reduced to 90 able bodies. 5 of the injured are healed and go back, that gives us 95 able bodies. 2 of them are injured again, that gives us 93.. So and and so forth.

War isn't personal when it comes to the statistics. They are just numbers, and a good number of the Higher Brass try to keep the numbers in mind and not the human equation - this makes it easier for them to order all out 'suicide' missions or attacks were statistically a percentage will die.

I can not imagine a man who would be willing or eager to order men off to die. The Words of Warfare, 'Casualties' 'Ordinance', et cetera are so impersonal to make it easier for the human beings who have to face the reality that war is blood and bones - Men who are sons, fathers, husbands, uncles, friends, co-workers, etc. that are being sent out to die.

Making it as impersonal, reducing it to a math problem makes it possible for many men and women to make war.

David.