Started By
Message

The Top 10 Deadliest Battles in U.S. Military History

Posted on 2/4/23 at 4:44 pm
Posted by RollTide1987
Augusta, GA
Member since Nov 2009
65147 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 4:44 pm
I doubt very seriously we will ever see ten battles on this tragic and deadly of a scale for a very long time. Number one on the list is definitely one you don't hear about too often.

quote:

1. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive (World War I) - 26,277 U.S. fatalities
2. The Battle of the Bulge (World War II) - 19,276 U.S. fatalities
3. The Battle of Okinawa (World War II) - 12,513 U.S. fatalities
4. The Battle of Hurtgen Forest (World War II) - 8,157 U.S. fatalities
5. The Battle of Gettysburg (Civil War) - 7,863 U.S. fatalities [Union & Confederate]
6. The Battle of Guadalcanal (World War II) - 7,099 U.S. fatalities
7. The Battle of Iwo Jima (World War II) - 6,821 U.S. fatalities
8. The Battle of Pusan Perimeter (Korean War) - 4,599 U.S. fatalities
9. The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (Civil War) - 4,192 U.S. fatalities [Union & Confederate]
10. The Battle of Chickamauga (Civil War) - 3,969 U.S. fatalities [Union & Confederate]
Posted by MugMan
Member since Dec 2022
442 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 4:46 pm to
Uh, no Antietam?
Posted by crispyUGA
Upstate SC
Member since Feb 2011
15919 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 4:49 pm to
As far as KIA, Antietam only had ~3,500. A ton of wounded, though.
Posted by jmarto1
Houma, LA/ Las Vegas, NV
Member since Mar 2008
34065 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 4:49 pm to
I think Antietam would be top 3
Posted by ThatMakesSense
Fort Lauderdale
Member since Aug 2015
14832 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 4:50 pm to
quote:

I think Antietam would be top 3


Even with the list provided? Are you retarded?
Posted by Them
People's Republic of Bozeman
Member since Nov 2008
11138 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 4:50 pm to
quote:

I think Antietam would be top 3


Casualties, not fatalities
Posted by lsufan9193969700
3 miles from B.R.
Member since Sep 2003
55138 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 4:50 pm to
The numbers blow my mind. It's hard to wrap your mind around them. #10 for example, is nearly 4k. I might have known 1000 names of Marines and Sailors while I was active and only know of 7 actual brothers who perished in the middle east since 2001. 1000 and 7 seem like huge numbers to me. 4k casualties? 26k casualties? That is mind blowing. Hell, Camp Lejuene might have only had 30-35k active Marines on base when I was stationed there.
This post was edited on 2/4/23 at 4:51 pm
Posted by RogerTheShrubber
Juneau, AK
Member since Jan 2009
261678 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 4:53 pm to
quote:

1. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive (World War I) - 26,277 U.S. fatalities
2. The Battle of the Bulge (World War II) - 19,276 U.S. fatalities


Seems NE France and Belgium are not friendly territories for the fighting man..
Posted by kciDAtaE
Member since Apr 2017
15868 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 4:54 pm to
And crazy to think the Antietam was just one day where as the Argonne offensive was over a month and a half.
Posted by RogerTheShrubber
Juneau, AK
Member since Jan 2009
261678 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:04 pm to
quote:

The numbers blow my mind. It's hard to wrap your mind around them. #10 for example, is nearly 4k. I might have known 1000 names of Marines and Sailors while I was active and only know of 7 actual brothers who perished in the middle east since 2001. 1000 and 7 seem like huge numbers to me. 4k casualties? 26k casualties? That is mind blowing. Hell, Camp Lejuene might have only had 30-35k active Marines on base when I was stationed there.


July 1, 1916 the Brits had 20,000 fatalities, most within a two hour period on the first day of the Somme battle. They ended up with 57,000 casualties on that one day, on a line roughly 15 miles long. All for 3 sq. miles of territory.

The aftermath must have been awful.
Posted by RollTide1987
Augusta, GA
Member since Nov 2009
65147 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:09 pm to
quote:

July 1, 1916 the Brits had 20,000 fatalities, most within a two hour period on the first day of the Somme battle.


And the French lost over 27,000 men killed on August 22, 1914 when they launched Plan XVII into Germany. At that point in the war they were wearing brightly colored uniforms and marching in linear formations. They got mowed down by machine gun and artillery fire.
Posted by sledgehammer
SWLA
Member since Oct 2020
3407 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:14 pm to
Off shoot of this topic, but the deadliest place and time in history has to be Tokyo, Japan on the night of March 9 during the B-29 firebombings. Greater than 100k deaths and thousands more casualties in one night! It really puts those battle fatalities in perspective.
This post was edited on 2/4/23 at 5:21 pm
Posted by Huey Lewis
BR
Member since Oct 2013
4663 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:16 pm to
I can't take your little list very seriously when you've got Gettysburg at #5 but don't even mention the Battle of Schrute Farms at all
Posted by doublecutter
Hear & Their
Member since Oct 2003
6597 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:19 pm to
quote:

Uh, no Antietam?


Sharpsburg
Posted by NWLATigerFan12
Louisiana
Member since Aug 2011
11794 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:20 pm to
The difference between these is that most of the World War 1/2 battles took place over the course of weeks or even months.

Those Civil War battles were mostly 1-2 days, granted that both sides fatalities are both counted in those.
Posted by geauxtigers87
Louisiana
Member since Mar 2011
25231 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:23 pm to
quote:

4. The Battle of Hurtgen Forest (World War II) - 8,157 U.S. fatalities



Doesnt get enough press. patton got our riflemen chewed up and spit out. big reason why we had such a manpower shortage during the bulge
Posted by Oklahomey
Bucksnort, TN
Member since Mar 2013
5041 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:29 pm to
My grandfather was in The Battle of the Bulge, Operation Varsity. I have several Nazi uniform regalia and two daggers my grandfather took from SS soldiers.



Posted by iwantacooler
Member since Aug 2017
2191 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:31 pm to
If the confederates seceded, why are they counted as US casualties?
Posted by Dr RC
The Money Pit
Member since Aug 2011
58128 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:36 pm to
quote:

26k casualties? That is mind blowing.


For whatever reason I always think of stuff like this in terms of people at a stadium. I guess it's the only way I can conceptualize such large amounts of people.

26k is the same amount as the average for Troy, Air Force, Colorado State, UTSA, Washington State, and Memphis home football games last year.

Posted by tigahbruh
Louisiana
Member since Jun 2014
2858 posts
Posted on 2/4/23 at 5:36 pm to
The one issue I have with this list is that it doesnt distinguish between battles, which last 1 to a few days, and campaigns, which can last months. And as far as campaigns go, Normandy would have to be up there.
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 5Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookTwitterInstagram