List of battles by casualties

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The following is a list of the death toll of battles in world history. The list includes both sieges (not technically battles but usually yielding similar combat-related deaths) and civilian casualties during the battles.

Large battle casualty counts are almost impossible to calculate precisely. Many of these figures are estimates. Figures display numbers of all types of casualties when available (killed, wounded, missing, disease, etc.) but may only include number killed. This list does not include most bombing runs or missile strikes (such as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki), which despite potentially massive casualties are not typically classified as "battles," since they are usually one-sided engagements. Tactical or strategic strikes, however, may form part of larger engagements which are themselves battles.

Contents

[edit] Classical formation battles

These refer to battles in which armies met on a single field of battle and fought, generally for one to several days. With more advanced weapons, military formations lost their impact and this type of battle died out in favor of grander military operations. Many of these battles are ancient, and in many cases, the few historical records differ, sometimes wildly, on casualties.

Battle Conflict Casualties Year
Battle of Salsu Goguryeo-Sui Wars 0,097,000 ~302,300 casualties [mostly from drowning][1] #0612
Battle of Cannae Punic Wars (Second Punic War) 0,092,000 92,000+ casualties[2] !9783 216 BC
Battle of Arausio Germanic Wars (Cimbrian War) 0,080,000 84,000+ killed[3][4][5] !9894 105 BC
Battle of Plataea Greco-Persian Wars 0,037,000 77,000 killed[6] to 257,000 killed[7] !9520 479 BC
Battle of Wagram Napoleonic Wars 0,079,000 79,000 casualties[8] #1809
Battle of Ullais Muslim conquest of Persia 0,071,000 71,000+ killed[9] #0633
Battle of Yarmouk Muslim conquest of Syria, Byzantine-Arab Wars 0,120,000 70,000+ killed[10][11] #0636
Battle of Walaja Muslim conquest of Persia 0,055,000 55,000+ killed[9] #0633
Battle of Firaz Muslim conquest of Persia, Byzantine-Arab Wars 0,055,000 55,000+ killed[12] #0634
Battle of Waterloo Napoleonic Wars 0,047,000 47,000+ casualties[13] #1815
Battle of Thermopylae Greco-Persian Wars 0,022,300 22,300 casualties[7] !9519 480 BC
Battle of Antietam American Civil War 0,026,193 26,193[14] #1862
Battle of Fredericksburg American Civil War 0,017,962 17,962[15] #1862

[edit] Sieges and urban combat

This list includes sieges, as well as modern battles that were fought almost exclusively in urban areas. Such battles were often very bloody, resulting in high loss of life. Battles that involved sieges or attacks on cities as secondary to the main operation are listed under "operations".

This list is sortable. Click the box next to a column heading to sort by that criterion.

Siege Conflict Casualties Year
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] Major operations

This list includes major operations, i.e. prolonged battles or offensive operations fought over a large area.


Operation Conflict Casualties Year
Battle of Shiloh American Civil War 0,020,000 20,000+ Casualties[16] #1862
Peninsula Campaign American Civil War 0,036,463 36,463[17] #1862
Battle of Chancellorsville American Civil War 0,030,000 ~30,000[18] #1863
Battle of Gettysburg American Civil War 0,051,000 ~51,000[19] #1863
Battle of Chickamauga American Civil War 0,034,000 ~34,000 Casualties[20] #1863
Overland Campaign American Civil War 0,087,000 87,000[21] #1864
Battle of Tannenberg Eastern Front (World War I) 0,145,000 145,000 killed, wounded, and captured[22] #1914
First Battle of the Marne World War I 0,513,000 513,000[23] #1914
Battle of Lodz World War I 0,130,000 130,000[24] #1914
Second Battle of Ypres World War I 0,104,208 104,208[25] #1915
Battle of Gallipoli World War I 0,503,000 503,000[25] #1915
Second Battle of Artois World War I 0,186,000 186,000[25] #1915
Second Battle of Champagne/Third Battle of Artois World War I 0,440,000 440,000[25] #1915
Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive World War I 0,300,000 300,000[25] #1915
Battle of Verdun World War I 0,976,000 976,000[25] #1916
Battle of Asiago World War I 0,250,000 250,000[25] #1916
Brusilov Offensive World War I 1,600,000 1,600,000[25] #1916
Battle of the Somme World War I 1,215,000 1,215,000[25] #1916
Romanian Campaign World War I 0,240,000 240,000[25] #1916
Battle of Messines World War I 0,042,000 42,000[26] #1917
Tenth Battle of the Isonzo World War I 0,200,000 200,000[27] #1917
Third Battle of Ypres World War I 0,585,000 Over 585,000[28] #1917
Operation Michael World War I 1,046,000 1,046,000+[29] #1917
Operation Bagration World War II 1,430,000 Up to 1,430,000[30] #1944

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Book of Sui, Vol. 60.
  2. ^ Leonard Cottrell (1965). Enemy of Rome. Evans Bros. ISBN 0-237-44320-1.
  3. ^ Valerius Antias (1st century BC). Manubiae.
  4. ^ Albert A. Howard (1906). "Valerius Antias and Livy", Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 17, p. 161-182.
  5. ^ Canon Rawlinson (1877). "On the Ethnography of the Cimbri", The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 6, p. 150-158.
  6. ^ Ctesias (4th century BC). Persica.
  7. ^ a b Herodotus (440 BC). Histories.
  8. ^ Castle, I. Aspern/Wagram (1809), Osprey (1990)
  9. ^ a b A. I. Akram (1970). The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns. National Publishing House, Rawalpindi. ISBN 0-71010-104-X.
  10. ^ Ibn Ishaq (Tabari, Vol. 3, p. 75): 70,000 killed.
  11. ^ Baladhuri (p. 141)
  12. ^ Campaigns in Western Iraq, "Khalifa Abu Bakr", Companion of the Prophet. Virtual library of Witness-Pioneer.
  13. ^ Barbero, pp 419-420 Barbero, Alessandro (2005). The Battle: A New History of Waterloo. Atlantic Books. ISBN 1-84354-310-9
  14. ^ Brewer, p. 36
  15. ^ Brewer, p. 38
  16. ^ Brewer, p. 28.
  17. ^ Brewer, p. 33
  18. ^ Brewer, p. 42
  19. ^ Brewer, p. 46
  20. ^ Brewer, p. 48
  21. ^ Brewer, p. 53
  22. ^ Brewer, p. 99
  23. ^ Brewer, p. 100.
  24. ^ Brewer, p. 110.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Brown, p. 142.
  26. ^ Brown, p. 150
  27. ^ Brown, p. 151
  28. ^ Brown, p. 152
  29. ^ Brown, p. 159
  30. ^ Brown, p. 306
  • Brewer, Paul. The Chronicle of War: A Year-by-Year Account of Conflict from 1854 to the Present Day. London: Carlton Books, 2007
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