K.I.A.

Militaries use the term killed in action (KIA) as a casualty classification. They generally use it to describe the homicides of their own forces by other hostile forces while in combat. Someone killed in action dies on the bat

Militaries use the term killed in action (KIA) as a casualty classification. They generally use it to describe the homicides of their own forces by other hostile forces while in combat. Someone killed in action dies on the battlefield whereas someone who died of wounds (DOW) survived to reach a medical treatment facility.

Common sense indicates that the side with the most KIA loses the conflict. However, cases exist where the opposite happens. The American Civil War provides one example of where the victorious side had more KIA than the losing side. Abraham Lincoln's and the U.S. government's policy to reunite the country provided one major reason the victors had more battle dead in the American Civil War.