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This WWII Battle Claimed Nearly 4 Million Lives

Photo of Vaseline VaselineAugust 24, 2024
0 8 minutes read
This WWII Battle Claimed Nearly 4 Million Lives

24/7 Wall St. Insights

  • 24/7 Wall St. reviewed WWII battles from “World War 2 Facts” to identify the major World War II battles with the most casualties.
  • The Battle of the Bulge is known as one of the biggest turning points in the war.
  • The Siege of Leningrad was the deadliest WWII battle.
  • Also: Discover “The Next NVIDIA”

World War II was the deadliest war and the Siege of Leningrad was the deadliest WWII battle with close to four million casualties. It was particularly tragic for the Allied side who suffered a total of 3,436,066 casualties, while the Axis casualties totaled 500,000. This tragic siege lasted an astonishing 872 days and cost many civilians their lives due to cold and starvation. The people of Leningrad bravely outlasted the Nazi blockade and in the end, the siege was lifted. (Also see the WWII battle with the most soldiers.)

To identify the major World War II battles with the most casualties, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed WWII battles from World War 2 Facts, an online database of WWII battles. We ranked these battles based on the total military casualties: killed, missing, captured, or wounded. We included supplementary information regarding total casualties on the Axis and Allied sides as well as the troops and military assets on both sides. We also included the start date on which these battles took place. Some supplementary information was obtained from various other military and historical sources.

In WWII, battles were fought on many different fields, oceans, and skies, from France to the Philippines, from Japan to the Soviet Union, and many places in between. Battles fought during this war were often of great importance, turning the tide for one side or the other. For example, the Battle of the Bulge was one of the biggest turning points in the war primarily because it was the last major offensive that Germany launched on Western Europe. During this battle, Allied Forces clashed with German Panzer tanks and other Axis Forces for over a month in the Ardennes Forest. More than 840,000 Allied troops put a stop to the advance of 500,000 Germans with each side suffering severe casualties in what was one of the largest battles fought by U.S. troops in the war. The battle raged between Dec. 16, 1944, and Jan. 28, 1945, and resulted in nearly a combined 160,000 soldiers missing, wounded, or killed. (These are the tanks, vehicles, and artillery that fought the Battle of the Bulge.)

Why Are We Writing About World War II Battles?

This WWII Battle Claimed Nearly 4 Million Lives

World War II affected the entire globe. Many were sent from their homes to fight on battlefields in foreign lands. Many at home were asked to sacrifice comforts to build up the war. All economies were rerouted during this time, all to fund the war effort. Rationing was implemented, reusing and recycling materials became vogue, and plain “going without” was a way of life. Factories boomed to life to make the machines and weapons used to fight battles. Women went to work in jobs they had never been asked to perform before. The war economy is very real, and these battles were the result.

Here is a look at the major World War II battles with the most casualties.

36. Battle of Savo Island

  • Total casualties: 1,135
  • Allied casualties: 1,077
  • Axis casualties: 58
  • Allied powers present: 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 15 destroyers
  • Axis powers present: 5 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 1 destroyer
  • Date: August 1942
  • Location: Savo Island

35. Operation Battleaxe

  • Total casualties: 1,647
  • Allied casualties: 969
  • Axis casualties: 678
  • Allied powers present: 20,000+ men, 220 tanks, 203 aircraft
  • Axis powers present: 13,200 men, 194 tanks, 214 aircraft
  • Date: June 1941
  • Location: Cyrenaica, Libya

34. Battle of the Coral Sea

  • Total casualties: 1,656
  • Allied casualties: 656
  • Axis casualties: 1,000
  • Allied powers present: 2 fleet carriers, 9 cruisers, 13 destroyers, 128 carrier aircraft
  • Axis powers present: 2 fleet carriers, 1 light carrier, 9 cruisers, 15 destroyers, 127 carrier aircraft
  • Date: May 1942
  • Location: Coral Sea

33. Siege of Bastogne

  • Total casualties: 3000 (at least)
  • Allied casualties: 3,000
  • Axis casualties: Unknown
  • Allied powers present: 22,800 men, 101st Airborne division, CCB 10th armored division, 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion
  • Axis powers present: 54,000 men, 7 German Divisions
  • Date: December 1944
  • Location: Bastogne, Belgium

32. Battle of the Philippine Sea

  • Total casualties: 3,096
  • Allied casualties: 109
  • Axis casualties: 2,987
  • Allied powers present: 7 fleet carriers, 8 light carriers, 7 battleships, 28 submarines, 956 aircraft, 99,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 5 fleet carriers, 4 light carriers, 5 battleships, 24 submarines, 450 carrier-based aircraft, 300 land-based aircraft
  • Date: September 1944
  • Location: Philippine Sea

31. Battle of Midway

  • Total casualties: 3,364
  • Allied casualties: 307
  • Axis casualties: 3,057
  • Allied powers present: 3 aircraft carriers, 25 support ships, 233 carrier aircraft, 127 land-based aircraft
  • Axis powers present: 4 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 15 support ships (cruisers and destroyers), 248 carrier aircraft
  • Date: June 1942
  • Location: Midway Atoll

30. Battle of Pearl Harbor

  • Total casualties: 3,714
  • Allied casualties: 3,649
  • Axis casualties: 65
  • Allied powers present: 8 battleships, 8 cruisers, 30 destroyers, 4 submarines, 390 aircraft
  • Axis powers present: 6 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 9 destroyers, 28 submarines, 414 aircraft
  • Date: December 1941
  • Location: Oahu, United States

29. Operation Torch

  • Total casualties: 4,542
  • Allied casualties: 1,199
  • Axis casualties: 3,343
  • Allied powers present: 107,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 60,000 men
  • Date: November 1942
  • Location: Northwest Africa

28. Battle of Britain

  • Total casualties: 5,269
  • Allied casualties: 966
  • Axis casualties: 4,303
  • Allied powers present: 1,963 serviceable aircraft
  • Axis powers present: 2,550 serviceable aircraft
  • Date: July 1940
  • Location: English Channel

27. Battle of Wake Island

Battle+of+Wake+Island | 20160605-F-BC061-172

  • Total casualties: 7,200
  • Allied casualties: 1,200
  • Axis casualties: 6,000
  • Allied powers present: 449 USMC personnel, 6 artillery, 12 aircraft, 68 Navy personnel, 5 Army personnel
  • Axis powers present: 3 light cruisers, 8 destroyers, 3 submarines, heavy cruisers, 2 aircraft carriers, 2,500 infantry
  • Date: December 1941
  • Location: Wake Island, U.S. territory

26. Battle of Tarawa

  • Total casualties: 8,504
  • Allied casualties: 3,797
  • Axis casualties: 4,707
  • Allied powers present: 35,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 3,000 men
  • Date: November 1943
  • Location: Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands

25. Battle of the Kasserine Pass

  • Total casualties: 12,000
  • Allied casualties: 10,000
  • Axis casualties: 2,000
  • Allied powers present: 30,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 22,000 men
  • Date: November 1943
  • Location: Kasserine, Tunisia

24. Battle of Leyte Gulf

  • Total casualties: 13,500
  • Allied casualties: 3,000
  • Axis casualties: 10,500
  • Allied powers present: 8 fleet carriers, 8 light carriers, 18 escort carriers, 12 battleships, 24 cruisers, 141 destroyers, 1,500 aircraft
  • Axis powers present: 1 fleet carrier, 3 light carriers, 9 battleships, 14 heavy cruisers, 6 light cruisers, 35 destroyers, 300 aircraft
  • Date: October 1944
  • Location: Leyte Gulf, Philippines

23. Battle of Corregidor

  • Total casualties: 14,900
  • Allied casualties: 12,800
  • Axis casualties: 2,100
  • Allied powers present: 13,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 75,000 men
  • Date: May 1942
  • Location: Corregidor Island, Philippines

22. Battle of Peleliu

Battle+of+Peleliu | The CO of USS Peleliu casts a wreath overboard as part of a commemoration of the Battle of Midway.

  • Total casualties: 20,701
  • Allied casualties: 9,804
  • Axis casualties: 10,897
  • Allied powers present: 28,484 men
  • Axis powers present: 11,000 men
  • Date: September 1944
  • Location: Peleliu, Palau Islands

21. Operation Market Garden

  • Total casualties: 30,500
  • Allied casualties: 17,200
  • Axis casualties: 13,300
  • Allied powers present: 41,628 airborne troops, 1 armored division, 2 infantry divisions, 1 armored brigade
  • Axis powers present: 110,000 men, 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions
  • Date: September 1944
  • Location: Eindhoven-Nijmegen-Arnhem corridor, Netherlands

20. Battle of Crete

  • Total casualties: 30,528
  • Allied casualties: 23,830
  • Axis casualties: 6,698
  • Allied powers present: 40,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 31,700 men, 500 transports, 610 aircraft
  • Date: May 1941
  • Location: Crete, Greece

19. Battle of Saipan

  • Total casualties: 38,234
  • Allied casualties: 13,313
  • Axis casualties: 24,921
  • Allied powers present: 71,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 31,000 men
  • Date: June 1944
  • Location: Saipan, Mariana Islands

18. Guadalcanal Campaign

  • Total casualties: 39,100
  • Allied casualties: 7,100
  • Axis casualties: 32,000
  • Allied powers present: 60,000 men, 1 aircraft carrier, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 12 destroyers
  • Axis powers present: 36,200 men, 2 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers, 16 destroyers
  • Date: August 1942
  • Location: Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands

17. First Battle of El Alamein

  • Total casualties: 44,102
  • Allied casualties: 13,560
  • Axis casualties: 30,542
  • Allied powers present: 195,000 men, 1,029 tanks, 730-750 aircraft, 892-908 artillery pieces
  • Axis powers present: 116,000 men, 547 tanks, 770-900 aircraft, 552 artillery pieces
  • Date: July 1942
  • Location: El Alamein, Egypt

16. Battle of Iwo Jima

  • Total casualties: 48,091
  • Allied casualties: 26,031
  • Axis casualties: 22,060
  • Allied powers present: 70,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 22,060 men
  • Date: February 1945
  • Location: Iwo Jima, Japan

15. Siege of Tobruk

  • Total casualties: 50,272
  • Allied casualties: 5,929
  • Axis casualties: 44,343
  • Allied powers present: 9th, 18th, 20th, 24th Australian Brigades; 2 Australian Imperial Force, 7th, Australian Division; British 70th Infantry Division; Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade
  • Axis powers present: Afrika Korps (German), Italian Army
  • Date: April 1941
  • Location: Tobruk, Libya

14. Warsaw Uprising

  • Total casualties: 68,660
  • Allied casualties: 36,000
  • Axis casualties: 32,660
  • Allied powers present: 49,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 25,000 men
  • Date: August 1944
  • Location: Warsaw, Poland

13. Battle of Monte Cassino

  • Total casualties: 75,000
  • Allied casualties: 55,000
  • Axis casualties: 20,000
  • Allied powers present: US 5th Army, British 8th Army, 1,900 tanks, 4,000 aircraft
  • Axis powers present: German 10th Army
  • Date: January 1944
  • Location: Monte Cassino, Italy

12. Battle of Dunkirk

  • Total casualties: 81,774
  • Allied casualties: 61,774
  • Axis casualties: 20,000
  • Allied powers present: 338,226 men, 850 transports
  • Axis powers present: 800,000 men
  • Date: May 1940
  • Location: Dunkirk, France

11. Battle of Anzio

  • Total casualties: 83,000
  • Allied casualties: 43,000
  • Axis casualties: 40,000
  • Allied powers present: 150,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 135,000 men
  • Date: January 1944
  • Location: Anzio and Nettuno, Italy

10. Battle of Singapore

Close Up Single Re-enactor Dressed As German Wehrmacht Infantry Soldier In World War II Walking In Patrol Through Autumn Forest. WWII WW2 Times. Photo In Black And White Colors.
  • Total casualties: 89,485
  • Allied casualties: 85,000
  • Axis casualties: 4,485
  • Allied powers present: 85,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 36,000 men
  • Date: February 1942
  • Location: Singapore

9. Battle of the Bulge

  • Total casualties: 158,100
  • Allied casualties: 90,900
  • Axis casualties: 67,200
  • Allied powers present: 840,000 men, 1,300 tanks, 394 artillery
  • Axis powers present: 500,000 men, 1,800 tanks, 1,900 artillery
  • Date: December 1944
  • Location: The Ardennes Forest (Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany)

8. Battle of Okinawa

  • Total casualties: 167,000
  • Allied casualties: 50,000
  • Axis casualties: 117,000
  • Allied powers present: 183,000 men, 1,300 ships (including 40 aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers and submarines), 12,000 aircraft
  • Axis powers present: 120,000 men, 1,500 ships (including battleships, cruisers, destroyers and submarines), 2,000 aircraft
  • Date: April 1945
  • Location: Okinawa Island, Japan

7. Battle of Sicily

  • Total casualties: 191,820
  • Allied casualties: 24,820
  • Axis casualties: 167,000
  • Allied powers present: 467,000 men, 600 tanks, 14,000 vehicles
  • Axis powers present: 290,000 men, 260 tanks, 1,400 aircraft
  • Date: July 1943
  • Location: Sicily, Italy

6. Battle of Greece

  • Total casualties: 200,989
  • Allied casualties: 93,389
  • Axis casualties: 107,600
  • Allied powers present: 692,612 men, 120 tanks, 200-300 aircraft
  • Axis powers present: 1,245,000 men, 1363 tanks, 700 aircraft
  • Date: April 1941
  • Location: Greece

5. Battle of Normandy

  • Total casualties: 409,000
  • Allied casualties: 209,000
  • Axis casualties: 200,000
  • Allied powers present: 1,332,000 men
  • Axis powers present: 380,000 men
  • Date: June 1944
  • Location: Normandy, France

4. Operation Overlord

  • Total casualties: 676,386
  • Allied casualties: 226,386
  • Axis casualties: 450,000
  • Allied powers present: 2,052,299 men
  • Axis powers present: 640,000 men
  • Date: June 1944
  • Location: Northern France

3. Battle of Berlin

  • Total casualties: 1,161,367
  • Allied casualties: 361,367
  • Axis casualties: 800,000
  • Allied powers present: 2,500,000 men, 6,250 tanks, 7,500 aircraft, 41,600 artillery
  • Axis powers present: 766,750 men, 2,224 aircraft, 9,303 artillery
  • Date: April 1945
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

2. Battle of Stalingrad

  • Total casualties: 2,197,993
  • Allied casualties: 1,129,619
  • Axis casualties: 1,068,374
  • Allied powers present: 1,143,000 men, 13,451 artillery pieces, 894 tanks, 1,115 aircraft
  • Axis powers present: 600,000 men, 640 tanks, 732 aircraft
  • Date: August 1942
  • Location: Stalingrad, Soviet Union

1. Siege of Leningrad

  • Total casualties: 3,936,066
  • Allied casualties: 3,436,066
  • Axis casualties: 500,000
  • Allied powers present: 930,000 men in initial force
  • Axis powers present: 725,000 men in initial force
  • Date: September 1941
  • Location: Leningrad, Soviet Union

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The post This WWII Battle Claimed Nearly 4 Million Lives appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Photo of Vaseline VaselineAugust 24, 2024
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