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The Madison Daily Leader
Madison, Lake County, South Dakota
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In a Paris article, French General Percin calculates the cost of killing an enemy soldier in major wars: $21,000 in Franco-Prussian (1870-71), $15,000 in Russo-Turkish (1877-78), and $20,400 in Russo-Japanese (1905). He emphasizes disease's greater toll than combat.
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French Army Officer Estimates Amount Expended In Killing a Man.
Paris.-In a recent article General Percin of the French army writes:
"The cost of killing a man is obtained by dividing the total cost of a war to any of the belligerents by the number of men killed on the other side.
"In 1870-71 France spent $400,000,000 in the actual expenses of the war. Repairing materials and giving succor to the victims of the war, expenses that are justly to be added, cost another $200,000,000. France paid $1,000,000,000 as war indemnity, plus another $400,000,000 in interest on the sum, loss of revenue, forced contributions by the enemy and upkeep of the German army of occupation. This third category of expenses, not being inevitable in all wars, cannot properly be included.
"On a similar basis here are some facts about other wars:
"Russo-Turkish War (1877-78)- Turkey, $400,000,000.
"Russo-Japanese War (1905)-Russia, $1,200,000,000.
"The number of men killed or who died of wounds in these wars were:
"Franco-Prussian War - Germans, 28,600.
"Russo-Turkish War-Russians, 16,600.
"Russo-Japanese War-Japanese, 58,600.
"Whence it results that the cost of killing each man was as follows:
"In 1870-71, $21,000.
"In 1877-78, $15,000.
"In 1905, $20,400.
"What will kill the greatest number and reduce the effective force most will be not the rifle or cannon, but fatigue, typhus or cholera.
"In 1870 380,000 Germans entered the hospitals. Although they did not die of their illnesses, they were none the less made useless for a certain time.
In the Crimean war the allied armies lost four times as many men through disease as were killed in battle. This proportion was 3 to 1 among the Russians in 1877-78; it was only 1 to 2 among the Japanese in Manchuria, thanks to their excellent hygiene."
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Foreign News Details
Primary Location
Paris
Key Persons
Outcome
franco-prussian war (1870-71): germans killed 28,600, cost $21,000 per man; russo-turkish war (1877-78): russians killed 16,600, cost $15,000 per man; russo-japanese war (1905): japanese killed 58,600, cost $20,400 per man. disease caused greater losses than combat in various wars.
Event Details
General Percin estimates war costs by dividing total expenditures by enemy deaths, detailing French expenses in 1870-71 war ($400M direct, $200M repairs/succor, excluding indemnity), Turkish in 1877-78 ($400M), Russian in 1905 ($1.2B). He notes disease and fatigue as major force reducers, citing hospital admissions and loss ratios in Crimean, Russo-Turkish, and Russo-Japanese wars.