Civilian casualty ratio
Some 7 million combatants on both sides are estimated to have died during World War I, along with an estimated 10 million non-combatants, including 6.6 million civilians. The civilian casualty ratio in this estimate would be about 59%. Boris Urlanis notes a lack of data on civilian losses in the Ottoman Empire, but estimates 8.6 million military killed and dead and 6 million civilians killed and dead in the other warring countries. The civilian casualty ratio in this estimate would be about 42%. Most of the civilian fatalities were due to famine, typhus, or Spanish flu rather than combat action. The relatively low ratio of civilian casualties in this war is due to the fact that the front lines on the main battlefront, the Western Front, were static for most of the war, so that civilians were able to avoid the combat zones.
County Wexford (1914–23)
During World War I, a large number of men from Co. Wexford fought and died on the Continent. The local newspapers of the period are full of the obituaries of those who died. Throughout the War Ireland remained under British rule. At least 504 men from Co. Wexford, enlisted in the British Army, died fighting in the land war. German U-boats were very active off Wexford's southern coast during the War. Royal Naval Air Service airships were based at Johnstown Castle, and were primarily used to deal with the U-boat threat – but with limited success. However, later, from 25 February 1918, American seaplanes operating out of United States Naval Air Station Wexford cleared the shipping lanes of U-boats in a short period of time. One famous U-boat that operated off Wexford's coasts was , commanded by Walther Schwieger (d. 1917). On 6 May 1915 it torpedoed and sunk SS "Centurion" off the south Wexford coast, but Schwieger allowed the 44-man crew to escape to safety. Later that same day he also sunk SS "Candidate", but its crew was rescued by a friendly ship. The next day, this same U-boat infamously torpedoed and sunk , a large passenger liner, off the Old Head of Kinsale, Co. Cork, killing 1,198 of the 1,959 people on board – including many Americans, which partially influenced their entry into the War. The was torpedoed and sunk by a different U-boat 17 March 1917 off the south Wexford coast, with the loss of 55 persons. The main shipping route between Britain (primarily to the port of Liverpool) and America passed through Wexford coastal waters. Britain was incredibly dependent on this route for supplies for its War effort. A huge number of ships were sunk off Wexford's coasts during the War – 1915 and 1917 being the worst years. The area of sea around Tuskar Rock came to be referred to as "The Graveyard" – the graveyard of Allied ships. A number of German U-boats were also sunk in Wexford coastal waters. One of these was , sunk off the Hook Peninsula on 4 August 1917 by a mine. The only survivor was the commander, Kurt Tebbenjohanns, who escaped as he was in the conning tower at the time. The rest of the crew – 28 men – died. They had been tricked by false reports from the British that the minefield had been cleared. Another U-boat sunk off the Wexford coast was . It was sunk by a British patrol boat off Tuskar Rock in St George's Channel, 26 September 1917. Only one man, who turned out to be the commander, Alfred Arnold, was rescued. The other 27 members of the crew died. was also sunk further off the south Wexford coast, 25 April 1918 – 41 men died and 1 survived.