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The Shocking Sizes Of Armies In World War II (Compared To Present Day)
World War II Armies By The Numbers
World War II was history’s bloodiest conflict. It consumed the world and led to millions of deaths. One of the reasons that the war was so horrible was due to the size of the militaries involved. World War II saw tens of millions of people serve in theaters around the world. Compared to military sizes today, the armies in World War II were absolutely massive. In fact, some of these numbers are shocking.
Here are the sizes of the armies involved in World War II compared to their modern counterparts.
Axis Armies
Compared to the Allied nations, the Axis nations were relatively small. They had smaller populations, smaller resource bases, and less territory overall. This was a major hindrance to their war effort in the long run. Despite the bottlenecks, the Axis nations managed to field some truly spectacular military forces. Germany’s armies in World War I and World War II were some of the largest and most formidable forces in history.
Nazi Germany
- World War II: 13.6 million
- Present Day: 182,000
At its peak, Nazi Germany had nearly 14 million people serving in the military. Germany’s army managed to bog down Allied armies in Normandy, Italy, and Russia for weeks despite being outmanned and outgunned in many situations. Germany deftly deployed troops to various theaters across Europe. Eventually, being outnumbered became too much for the Germans, who fell to a two-front war in 1945. By the end of the war, Germany lost 4.3 million soldiers, which accounted for roughly a third of all active duty personnel.
Today, Germany’s army only has 182,000 members. Europe has been queasy and uneasy about letting Germany’s army swell, and for good reason. Due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Germany has pledged to double its military spending and grow its army into a more formidable force.
Fascist Italy
- World War II: 2.5…
