The two great battles of the age, in point of loss, are Waterloo and Gettysburg. Between them there is a remarkable similarity, both in numbers engaged and extent of casualties. In short, the battles of Waterloo and Gettysburg were fought with from 70,000 to 82,000 men on each side, and the combatants lost about 23,000 men each. At Gettysburg, Meade's army sustained a greater loss with half the number engaged. It may be suggested that the Franco-Prussian war was, comparatively, of brief duration, and hence a comparison of the aggregate casualties cannot properly be made.
All historians agree that Borodino was the bloodiest battle since the introduction of gunpowder.
Allison gives the losses at Borodino in round numbers only, placing the French loss at 50,000, and the Russian at 45,000. The most credible statement is found in the Journal of The London Statistical Society, which places the number of killed and wounded in the French army at Borodino at 28,085, out of 133,000 troops present on the field. The Russian army numbered 132,000 at that battle, and there is nothing to show that its loss was greater than that of its antagonist. Although the number of killed and wounded at Borodino was greater, numerically, than at Waterloo and Gettysburg, the percentage of loss was very much less. The statements of the casualties as made by various historians are so conflicting, and are so loosely stated, that no definite idea of the loss can be obtained.