Special Report
This WWII Battle Had the Most Casualties, and It’s Not Even Close
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World War II was one of the bloodiest conflicts that this world has ever known, with nearly 15 million military personnel and 38 million civilians perishing over the course of the war. War raged from the fields of Europe to the waters of the Pacific between the Allied and Axis Powers, engulfing nations across the globe in this conflict. (These are World War II’s biggest battles.)
Throughout the war, there were pivotal battles that turned the tide for one side or the other but these all came at great cost. The military assets and casualties from WWII would ultimately shape the new world that would rise from the ashes for many decades to come.
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, including 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 present 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.
The Battle of the Bulge is largely considered one of the biggest turning points in the war primarily because it was the last major offensive that Germany launched on Western Europe. Allied Forces clashed with German Panzer tanks and other Axis Forces for more than 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.)
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