The Roll of Honour records the number of Australian deaths during the First World War as 61,514. This includes deaths until the formal disbandment of the
Australia lost 34,000 service personnel during World War II. Total battle casualties were 72,814.
Australian Casualties
According to the First World War page on the Australian War Memorial website from a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 men enlisted, of which over 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner.
Some 8,700 Australians lost their lives and some 18,000 were wounded during the campaign.
For Australia, the First World War remains the costliest conflict in terms of deaths and casualties. From a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 men enlisted, of whom more than 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner.
Emma Campbell. Who was the last Australian to die in the First World War? It's a beguilingly simple question, and one the Memorial's historians anticipate will be asked often as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the Great War.
After both sides had suffered heavy casualties, the Allied forces were evacuated. It is estimated that 8,700 Australian and 2,700 New Zealanders were killed.
Arriving at Gallipoli in early September 1915, he served in Wire Gully and Courtney's Post among other places. He is thought to be the youngest Australian known to have served and died in the war. Jim's story of service is one of youth and determination.
More than 39,000 Australians died during the Second World War. 18 Australians are known to have been killed on D-Day, including Australian airmen killed on the night of 5–6 June.
The first to die: ABLE SEAMAN WILLIAMS
Able Seaman William “Billy” Williams, the first Australian serviceman to be killed by the enemy in WWI was a happy-go-lucky 28-year-old from Northcote in Melbourne who worked in the engine room of the city's electricity generation plant.
The German army suffered the highest number of military losses, totaling at more than two million men. Turkey had the highest civilian death count, largely due to the mass extermination of Armenians, as well as Greeks and Assyrians.
About 4000 Australian service men and merchant navy men were captured as prisoners of war (POWs) by German or Ottoman forces during the war.
From the time of the arrival of the first members of the Team in 1962 over 60,000 Australians, including ground troops and air force and navy personnel, served in Vietnam; 523 died as a result of the war and almost 2,400 were wounded.
Of the 17,000 Australians who served in Korea, casualties numbered more than 1,500, of whom 339 were killed.
Two Australian service personnel died in the conflict in Iraq between 16 July 2003 and 31 July 2009.
On 28 June 1915, young James Martin sailed from Melbourne aboard the troopship Berrima - bound, ultimately, for Gallipoli. He was just fourteen years old. "Soldier Boy" is Jim's extraordinary true story, the story of a young and enthusiastic school boy who became Australia's youngest known Anzac.
How many Australians died at Gallipoli? The estimate provided by the Australian War Memorial is 8,141 but, as is the case with virtually all casualty figures, this number has varied somewhat over the years and slightly different figures are cited in other sources.
It is estimated that 1,000 to 1,300 Indigenous soldiers served in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, of whom around 250 to 300 made the ultimate sacrifice. That's out of an estimated Indigenous population at the time of 80,000. The research is still ongoing and still produces new stories.
Many people enlisted out of a sense of duty to the British Empire, which they saw as standing against German militarism. Australia was experiencing a period of high unemployment, and the soldiers' pay of a minimum of six shillings a day was an incentive to enlist. Others enlisted early from a sense of adventure.
To this day, Australia also marks the events of 25 April. Among the dead were 2779 New Zealanders, about one in six of those who served on Gallipoli.
Alec William Campbell; the last Anzac. The last entry in the roll of honour for Gallipoli was finally made on Thursday, 16th May 2002, when Alec Campbell, the last Anzac and last surviving participant of the Gallipoli campaign, died of pneumonia, aged 103.
The German soldiers feared and respected the skills of the Australians. In a letter captured and translated by the 7th Australian Infantry Brigade in May 1918, a German soldier wrote to his mother: We are here near ALBERT, I am in the foremost line, about 200 metres opposite the British.
Western Front – the beginning
The AIF suffered its greatest losses on the Western Front during 1916-1918. Of the more than 295,000 Australians who served in that theatre, some 46,000 were killed in action or died from other causes.
Some were accused of committing heinous acts, such as murder and rape. In our research on these soldiers, we found that, in total, 115 Australians were court-martialled during WWI and sentenced to death for serious military crimes – primarily desertion.