On executions of soldiers in WWI, the majority of British soldiers sentenced to death (over 2000?) were reprieved. Joseph O'Neill says that some 38,000 men were tried for desertion, and some men executed in 1917 had been AWOL 12 times ("Ancestors" January 2006, article "To Discourage the Others"). The penalty largely depended on the recommendation of the commanding officer, so the recent pardons by the British Government reflect the arbitrary application of the death penalty. Both France (600) and Italy (500?) executed more soldiers than Britain (306). No figures for Austria-Hungary seem to be available, and the website below says no Russian soldiers were executed which is doubtful. Florence Farmborough, a British nurse on the Russian front heard that a Russian soldier who went AWOL as his wife was dangerously ill was hanged. http://www.shotatdawn.org.uk/index.html Yours, John Wilson