24 OCTOBER 1941, Page 4

The statement made by Mr. George Hicks, Parliamentary Secretary to

the Minister of Works and Buildings, in a week- end speech, that German casualties on the Russian front amount, " on a conservative estimate," to 4,000,000, is startling, even though the same figure has since been quoted in Russian quarters. It does not, of course, follow that it is inaccurate. for there has never been fighting on this scale in the world's history before. In four and a quarter years of the last war Germany's total casualties on all fronts were 1,808,545 dead. and 4,247,143 wounded, or 6,055,688 in all. The suggestion that two-thirds of that total has been reached in four months on a single front lays some strain on credulity. But do do many statements that turn out true in the end.

JANrs.