Karl Bleibtreu, the German military statistician, writing in Das Neue Europa of April 22, gives the German losses from Aug. 2, 1914, to Jan. 31, 1918, as 4,456,961 men. His figures deal exclusively with those killed in action or taken prisoner. They are official from Aug. 2, 1914, till July 31, 1917, and are then estimated to Jan. 31, 1918. His figures and comment read:

WESTERN FRONT

These figures give, on the western front, from Aug. 2, 1914, to July 31, 1917, an aggregate of 2,604,961 casualties.

This gives a total from Aug. 2, 1914, to July 31, 1917, of 1,484,550, and for the two fronts combined of 4,089,511.

From Aug. 1, 1917, to Jan. 31, 1918, Herr Bleibtreu estimates the total losses on both fronts at 367,450, making in all 4,456,961 men.

In adding those who died from illness or wounds, the losses resulting from the colonial and maritime fighting, as well as in the noncombatant and auxiliary services, not comprised in the preceding enumeration, the grand total considerably exceeds 5,000,000.

Estimates of German losses from Jan. 31, 1918, to May 20, 1918, range from 400,000 to 600,000. If the above figures are correct, the total German loss in the forty-six months of the war exceeds 5,600,000. The London Telegraph, in analyzing these figures, said:

With regard to the figures given by Herr Bleibtreu, it may be remarked that they are enormously in excess over those compiled in well-informed quarters from the official casualty lists published by the German Government, and issued periodically. Down to July 31, 1918, these lists had contained a grand total of 4,624,256 names, but did not include naval or Colonial troop losses. Of the above figure the following are the permanent losses:

These statistics are merely the names published down to July 31, 1917, and are not to be taken as the actual total casualties, as the lists are always at least several weeks behindhand. But even allowing for this fact, Bleibtreu's estimate for the killed in action and prisoners alone is considerably more than double those officially acknowledged by Berlin, and nearly equal to the total casualties admitted in the official lists from all causes. Of this remarkable discrepancy there can be only two possible explanations. Either the German Government has throughout the war systematically falsified its casualty lists—and there is good reason to believe that this is the case—or else Bleibtreu has been put up by the German Staff to publish a set of statistics intended deliberately to mislead the Allies.