The Franco-Prussian War

239,000

estimated total dead

Each dot below represents 1,000 human lives. Scroll to watch the scale unfold.

Military Dead

182,000 soldiers killed in combat, from wounds, or from disease. Each = 1,000 lives.

France (Second Empire / Third Republic) — 138,000 military dead

German States (Prussia and Allies) — 44,000 military dead

Civilian Dead

57,000 civilians killed — from violence, famine, disease, and displacement. Wars are not fought only by soldiers.

Civilian dead — 57,000

Deadliest Engagements

Siege of Paris (131 days)67,000

incl. 47,000 civilians

Battle of Sedan38,000

Battle of Gravelotte–St. Privat32,000

Siege of Metz (70 days)32,000

incl. 2,000 civilians

Paris Commune — Bloody Week30,000

incl. 25,000 civilians

Battle of Wörth20,000

For Perspective

How Franco-Prussian War's dead compare to other conflicts and events.

Franco-Prussian War — total dead239,000

Franco-Prussian War Total257,000

Crimean War500,000

American Civil War620,000

Austro-Prussian War 186645,000

World War I (annual avg)2,000,000

Milestones of Loss

44,000 dead

44,000 — total German military dead; a fraction of French losses, reflecting German tactical dominance

138,000 dead

138,000 — French military dead; 316,000 more captured in the two great surrenders at Sedan and Metz

180,000 dead

180,000 — total war dead; the France–Germany border this created would cost 10 million lives forty-four years later

All figures are historical estimates and vary across sources. The true human cost of war is impossible to fully quantify — these numbers represent the best scholarly consensus. Each number was a person with a name, a family, and a life unlived.