Died of wounds

Died of wounds, usually abbreviated to d.o.w., denotes a casualty classification that describes a combatants death as a result of wounds/injuries usually received on the battlefield after reaching a medical treatment facility. The period of time where death occurred after receiving wounds differed greatly on several factors, of which the severity of the wound, the treatment given and the individual's capacity for recovery all came into play. If a wound was severe enough to the extent where recovery was not possible, the soldier usually died soon after arrival to the medical treatment facility. However, a soldier could live several months before dying from complications as a result of those initial wounds, in many cases at a hospital back in Blighty.

d.o.w. was a term used widely throughout the Great War along side k.i.a. (killed in action) and d. (died). All three were used exclusively in the 1921 War Office publication Soldiers Died in the Great War.