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StrategyPage has a post on Casualty Rates for various wars.
Wars aren't as lethal as they used to be. World War II killed some hundred million people (troops and civilians). Nothing since then has even come close, and the casualty count, for all wars, has declined every decade since the 1940s. This has been particularly true with the United States. During World War II, over 200 American troops were killed in combat every day of the war. During the Korean war, about 30 American troops died each day of the war. During the Vietnam war, it was about 14 a day. For the war in Iraq, it's about two a day. For the war in Afghanistan, it's less than one a week. The reasons are pretty simple. American troops are better protected, better trained, have better medical care and more firepower. The result is that the enemy doesn’t get many opportunities to get an accurate shot in, and while they are trying to do that, U.S. soldiers are firing back more frequently and accurately. Thus in Iraq, about 15 enemy troops die for each American. War is still dangerous, even for American troops. But the grandfathers of today’s soldiers and marines can only imagine how much easier it would have been for them during World War II if they had the advantages their combat ready grandchildren have.Posted by Ted at May 30, 2005 8:59 AM