WWII by the Numbers

WWII by the Numbers
Charting and Graphing D-Day and WWII Data

A Lesson from

the Education Department

The National WWII Museum

945 Magazine Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

(504) 528-1944

www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education

© The National WWII Museum

WWII by the Numbers 2 © The National WWII Museum

WWII by the Numbers
Charting and Graphing D-Day and WWII Data

Organizing and interpreting data is an important skill when analyzing historical events. Raw data are the
building blocks for interpreting what happened in the past, what is going on in the present, and what may
occur in the future. The following lesson plan asks students to create three types of graphs using
statistics from D-Day and World War II and then analyze their results by answering interpretive questions.

OBJECTIVE: Students analyze the size and scope of World War II and D-Day by charting and
graphing statistics and interpreting their findings.

GRADE LEVEL: 7-12

STANDARDS: History Thinking Standard 2—the student will engage in historical analysis and
interpretation while utilizing visual and mathematical data.

Content Era 8 (1929-1945), Standard 3B—the student understands World War II
and how the Allies prevailed.

TIME REQUIREMENT: One class period.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Copy and pass out the worksheets and have students use the given data to create a line graph, a pie
chart, and a bar graph, then answer the questions that follow. This activity can be an individual or
group activity depending on your specific needs in the classroom.

2. Use the statistical data from the three activities to lead a short discussion of the size and scope of
World War II and D-Day.

ASSESSMENT: Components for assessment include the completed worksheet and class
discussion.

ENRICHMENT: Have students collect data (such as poll numbers, statistics, or forecasts) about
any current event from the newspaper, magazines, or the Internet and organize
that data in a graph, which includes a short essay explaining their source, their
data, and their analysis.
WWII by the Numbers 3 © The National WWII Museum

WWII by the Numbers
Charting and Graphing D-Day and WWII Data

1. On a line graph below, fill in both axes and plot and label the growth of each branch of the U.S.
military during World War II. Use the type of lines shown for each branch. Then answer the questions
below.

U.S. Active Military Personnel (1939-1945)

Year Army Navy Marines Total

1939 189,839

125,202

19,432

334,473

1940 269,023

160,997

28,345

458,365

1941 1,462,315

284,427

54,359

1,801,101

1942 3,075,608

40,570 142,613

858,791 1943 6,994,472

1,741,750

308,523

9,044,745

1944 7,994,750

2,981,365

475,604

11,451,719

1945 8,267,958

3,380,817

474,680

12,123,445

Number of Soldiers, Sailors and Marines

Year Army Navy Marines A. What was the trend in the size of the U.S. military between 1939 and 1945? B. What year saw the largest increase of military personnel and what event(s) brought about this increase? C. From the data in this graph, what branch of service do you predict had the highest casualty rate during World War II?
WWII by the Numbers 4 © The National WWII Museum

2. Use these statistics from June 6, 1944—D-Day—to fill in and label the percentages of each country’s
military force in Normandy on the pie chart. Then answer the questions below.

D-Day Combatants

Country Number of Soldiers on

D-Day

Percentage

*United States 95,000

34%

*Great Britain 60,000

21%

*Canada 20,000

Germany 105,000

38%

*Allies

A. What country had the most troops in Normandy on D-Day?

B. What percentage of the troops at D-Day were Allied troops?

C. Why did the Allied commanders think it was necessary to attack with such a large number of
soldiers?

WWII by the Numbers 5 © The National WWII Museum

3. Use the following statistics of WWII deaths to complete a bar graph. Label both axes. Use one bar
per country and be sure to separate the number of military and civilian deaths for each country, as
shown below. Answer the questions that follow.

Casualties of World War II

Country Total Deaths % of Pre-war

Population

Military Deaths Civilian Deaths

USSR 24,000,000

% 8,800,000

-10,700,000 13,300,000

-15,200,000 Germany 6,600,000

-8,800,000 8

-10.5% 5,533,000

1,067,000

-3,267,000 France 567,600

.35% 217,600

350,000

United States 418,500

32% 416,

800 1

,700 Great Britain 450,700

.94% 383,600

67,100

Number of Casualties

Soviet Union

Germany

France

Uni

ted States Great Britain

civilian

military

A. Which countries had more civilian deaths than military deaths?

B. What does this chart tell you about the consequences of war and the decisions by leaders to go to
war?

WWII by the Numbers 6 © The National WWII Museum

WWII by the Numbers
Charting and graphing D-Day and WWII Data

Answers to Activity Questions

Number of Soldiers, Sailors and Marines

Year 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945

Army Navy Marines

5,000,000

10,000,000

34%

21%

Germany

38%

Canada
WWII by the Numbers 7 © The National WWII Museum

24,000,000 8,800,000

20,000,000

17,000,000

15,000,000 15,200,000

13,000,000

10,000,000 5,533,000

8,000,000

5,000,000

3,000,000 3,267,000

1,000,000

600,000 217,600

400,000 350,000 416,800 383,600

200,000 1700 67,100

Soviet Union Germany France

United

States

Great

Britain

civilian

military



WWII by the Numbers

PDF file: http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-teachers/lesson-plans/pdfs/by-the-numbers.pdf