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The Injured
Though the death toll in the Great War was horrific, the number of wounded – and
the nature of their injuries – was even more devastating. It is estimated
that the number of wounded was more than double the number of troops killed.
In some cases, and Canada is a good example, the number of wounded was nearly
triple the number of men killed. (Canada had about 59,544 dead and 172,950 wounded.)
In previous wars, a lack of medical knowledge and personnel meant most wounded
men succumbed to their injuries. But in the Great War, for the first time, medical
advances and better battlefield care meant more soldiers survived their horrific
injuries, only to suffer through the rest of their lives with crippling disabilities,
lost limbs, terrible facial disfigurements, weakened lungs and mental illness.
The injuries suffered by soldiers in the war prompted the development of surgical
reconstructive techniques that would blossom into modern plastic surgery. Craftsmen
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