Statistics, Military

the branch of social statistics that studies both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of military affairs prior to, during, and after a war. The most important tasks of military statistics include the following: analysis of statistical data, which reveal the level of economic, moral, political, and military potential of the countries being studied and the countries’ degree of preparedness for war; determination of the combat and mobilization capabilities of a country and the military preparedness of the population; quantitative analysis of the armed forces of a state and the characteristics of organization, the relations between the armed forces as a whole and individual combat arms, and the availability of reserves; and study of various indexes important in strategy, operations, and tactics and vital to the development of operational-tactical norms, the preparation for and organization and conduct of battles and operations, and to military-historical research.

Military statistics in Russia originated with the publication of D. A. Miliutin’s major work, Preliminary Studies in MilitaryStatistics (books 1–2, 1847–8). Soviet military statistics originated during the Civil War of 1918–20. Relying on the Marxist dialectical method, military statistics supports all fields of military science and practice in the armed forces.