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70 percent

Recent analysis of ground combat deaths in various wars has shown that, for WW2, military wounds and deaths were caused primarily by four sources:

Small Arms fire: 5-10% of wounds, <1% of deaths

Mortars, Grenades, Mines, and other lightweight explosive devices: 40-50% of wounds, 20-40% deaths

Artillery (primarily blast and direct fragmentation): 30-50% of wounds, 50-60% of deaths

Bombs: 5-10% of wounds, < 5% of deaths

The amounts varied heavily by the particular battle, as locale terrain plays a huge roll in determining both what weapons are prevalent, and the effectiveness of each. For instance, artillery had a very low impact on deaths in the various Pacific island campaigns, where the vast majority of casualties were from mortars, grenades, and mines, followed by small arms. However, in the various Western Desert campaigns, artillery had an even higher total (due to the open terrain and hard rocks, which amplified artillery's effectiveness).

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14y ago

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