§ Mr. HUNTasked the Secretary of State for War if he will state what is the annual wastage, reckoned in percentages, of men enlisted in each year in the armies of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, and assessed under the following heads: died, invalided, discharged for misconduct, discharged as unlikely to become efficient soldiers, struck off as deserters?
§ Colonel SEELYThe figures are as follows:—
— Germany. France. United Kingdom.‡ Died .195* .38 .333 Discharged for misconduct No comparable figures available No information .805 Invalided 4.23* 2.95 .844. Discharged as not likely to become efficient No information .354 Net loss from desertion .14† .39 .578 The figures for Germany are for the year 1911, and refer only to troops serving in Germany; those for France are for 1910, and (desertions) for 1913; those for the United Kingdom are the average for the last five years. *Non-commissioned officers and men of German army, not including Bavaria. †Officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the whole German army. No separate statistics dealing with non-commissioned officers and men only are available. ‡If other heads of wastage were included (namely, discharged for false answer on attestation, misstatement of age on enlistment, services no longer required, etc.), the aggregate of this column would be raised from 2.914 to 3.319, and, if discharges by purchase, under three months by purchase, and free discharges were included, the aggregate would be 4.307.