Casualties in Russia
While it is certain that the casualties in Russia are enormous, the estimates forthcoming from various sources must be regarded as mainly conjecture. The Russian High Command last week put the German losses in killed, wounded and prisoners in the first two months of the war at 2,000,000, and their own at 700p00. The latter figure is almost certainly an underestimate, the former pure guesswork. The retreating army knows its own losses, but can only form a conjecture as to those of its opponent. The German reports multiply the Russian losses by seven or eight. The only sound considera- tions which may balance our judgement are the wasteful tactics of the German infantry-attack and the fact that they have been held by Russian infantry, artillery and tanks. In the early stages of the campaign the Russians may have lost more heavily. Since then it is scarcely possible that the tables have not been turned. The Russians, however, have certainly lost more prisoners. Mr. Churchill, on Sunday night, said that " certainly a million and a half, perhaps two millions, of Nazi cannon- fodder have bitten the dust." If they have lost only a million in killed and wounded, this would still be an enormous figure, and the gross Russian casualties would be higher. That German losses in• tanks exceed the Russian, as the Russians claim, is improbable, for it is the retreating army's tanks and guns that are the more likely to be captured. The German air-losses may or may not be heavier than the Russian. It would be unwise to accept the Russian assertion that they are.
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