Looking at just combatant deaths:

Conflict	Country / Side	Years Active	Total Military Deaths	Duration (Days)	Deaths per Day (Avg.)	Approx. Troops Engaged	Deaths per 1,000 Troops (Full War)	Relative Intensity (U.S. in Vietnam = 1×)
WWII – European Theater	USSR (Red Army)	1941–1945	~8,700,000	~1,410	≈6,170/day	~34,000,000	~255	≈310×
WWII – European Theater	Germany (Wehrmacht)	1941–1945	~4,300,000	~1,410	≈3,050/day	~17,000,000	~250	≈150×
Vietnam War	North Vietnam (PAVN + VC)	1965–1975	~600,000–800,000	~3,650	≈165–220/day	~3,000,000	~230	≈8–11×
Vietnam War	South Vietnam (ARVN)	1965–1975	~250,000–313,000	~3,650	≈70–85/day	~850,000–1,000,000	~280	≈4×
Vietnam War	United States	1965–1973	58,220	~2,920	≈19.9/day	~2,700,000	~21	1× (baseline)
Soviet–Afghan War	USSR	1979–1989	14,453	~3,330	≈4.3/day	~620,000	~23	0.2×
Soviet–Afghan War	Afghan Mujahideen	1979–1989	~75,000–90,000	~3,330	≈23–27/day	~250,000–300,000	~300	≈1–1.3×
U.S.–Afghan War	United States	2001–2021	2,461	~7,270	≈0.34/day	~775,000 (rotated)	~3	0.017×
U.S.–Afghan War	Afghan National Forces	2001–2021	~66,000	~7,270	≈9/day	~300,000	~220	≈0.45×
U.S.–Afghan War	Taliban & Insurgents	2001–2021	~52,000–60,000	~7,270	≈7–8/day	~200,000–250,000	~250	≈0.35×

Now look at combatants and civilians:

Conflict	Country / Side	Years Active	Military Deaths	Civilian Deaths	Duration (Days)	Total Deaths/Day (Avg.)	Approx. Troops / Population Affected	Relative Intensity (U.S. in Vietnam = 1×)
WWII – European Theater	USSR (Red Army + Civilians)	1941–1945	~8,700,000	~15,000,000	~1,410	≈16,900/day	~34M troops / 110M pop	≈850×
WWII – European Theater	Germany (Wehrmacht + Civilians)	1941–1945	~4,300,000	~3,800,000	~1,410	≈5,750/day	~17M troops / 70M pop	≈290×
Vietnam War	North Vietnam (PAVN + VC + Civilians)	1965–1975	~600,000–800,000	~1,000,000	~3,650	≈440–500/day	~3M troops / 17M pop	≈22–25×
Vietnam War	South Vietnam (ARVN + Civilians)	1965–1975	~250,000–313,000	~1,000,000	~3,650	≈340–360/day	~1M troops / 18M pop	≈17×
Vietnam War	United States	1965–1973	58,220	N/A	~2,920	≈19.9/day	~2.7M troops	1× (baseline)
Soviet–Afghan War	USSR	1979–1989	14,453	N/A	~3,330	≈4.3/day	~620,000	0.2×
Soviet–Afghan War	Afghan Mujahideen + Civilians	1979–1989	~75,000–90,000	~850,000–1,000,000	~3,330	≈280–330/day	~15–17M pop	≈14–17×
U.S.–Afghan War	United States	2001–2021	2,461	N/A	~7,270	≈0.34/day	~775,000	0.017×
U.S.–Afghan War	Afghan National Forces + Civilians	2001–2021	~66,000	~46,000	~7,270	≈15/day	~35M pop	≈0.7×
U.S.–Afghan War	Taliban & Insurgents	2001–2021	~52,000–60,000	–	~7,270	≈7–8/day	~200,000–250,000	≈0.35×

So now let’s look at the Vietnam war and military expenditure for each side:

Country / Side	Years Active	Estimated Military Expenditure (1965–1975)	Approx. 2025 USD (Inflation-Adjusted)	Military Deaths	Combatant Deaths per $1B (2025 USD)	Notes
United States	1965–1973	~$141 billion (nominal)	≈$1.3 trillion (2025 USD)	58,220	≈45 deaths per $1B	Includes DoD + support spending; excludes veterans’ costs
North Vietnam (PAVN + VC)	1965–1975	~$4.6 billion (nominal, incl. Soviet/Chinese aid)	≈$43 billion (2025 USD)	~700,000	≈16,000 deaths per $1B	Relied heavily on foreign aid and low-cost mobilization

Metric	Result	Meaning
Expenditure ratio (U.S. ÷ N. Vietnam)	≈30×	U.S. spent ~30× more than North Vietnam
Combat deaths ratio (N. Vietnam ÷ U.S.)	≈12×	North Vietnam suffered ~12× more combat deaths
Cost-per-death ratio (U.S. ÷ N. Vietnam)	≈350×	U.S. spent ~350× more dollars per soldier killed

Interpretation:

• North Vietnam traded manpower for resources, accepting high losses.
• The U.S. used capital- and technology-intensive warfare.
• Despite enormous expenditure, asymmetric strategy and morale offset the imbalance.

Tie it all together… in total war against a near peer, casualty rates are significantly higher. 50x for the Red Army in WWII, 17x for the Wehrmacht.

In asymmetric war, casualty rates are lower overall. And total GDP expenditure is significantly lower.

I don’t want to ignore the human cost here. But we’re talking about specific quantifiable metrics here, not the emotional trauma