British Expeditionary Force (World War I) - Aftermath

Aftermath

Further information: History of the British Army, Inter-War period (1919-1939)

The British Army during World War I was the largest military force that Britain had put into the field up to that point. On the Western Front, the BEF ended the war as the strongest fighting force, more experienced and bigger than the American Army and with better morale than the French Army.

The cost of victory was high. The official "final and corrected" casualty figures for the British Army, including the Territorial Force, were issued on 10 March 1921. The losses for the period between 4 August 1914, and 30 September 1919, included 573,507 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes" and 254,176 missing (minus 154,308 released prisoners), for a net total of 673,375 dead and missing. Casualty figures also indicated that there were 1,643,469 wounded.