What Was The Biggest Naval Battle In History?

19FortyFive ^ | 2/3/2021 | Peter Suicu

[freedomjusticeruleoflaw]

You need a life.

[Reily]

Try these

Salamis, September 480 BC. A fleet of 371 Greek ships defeated 600–900 Persian ships in this decisive battle off the coast of Athens. Greek triremes typically had crews of about 200 men, and the smaller penteconters were each crewed by 50 oarsmen, yet the total number of personnel involved in the battle is uncertain.

Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC. One of Ancient Rome’s first major naval victories over its rival, the city of Carthage, during the First Punic War, the battle involved around 680 ships and 300,000 personnel from both sides. Total casualties were about 40,000–50,000, of which roughly 10,000 were on the Roman side and the rest from the Carthaginian side.

Battle of Actium, September 31 BC. This was the crucial battle of the final war of the Roman Republic, between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian, and one of the most decisive naval battles in history. Somewhere between 780 and 800 ships were involved; Antony had 350 quinqueremes (larger galleys) and 30–50 transports, while Octavian had at least 400 ships, a combination of smaller biremes and triremes. Octavian’s fleet won the battle, after which he was established as the first Roman emperor, Augustus.

[Osage Orange]

Do ever comment?

Do help out FR with MONEY?

[Osage Orange]

When you mention a Freeper...you need to ping them

Just custom here..

FWIW-

[datura]

Then go to his blog. There is no reason for Jim to essentially host his site here. He posts the articles from his blog and never replies to anyone or anything.

[humblegunner]

You need a life.

I don't practice human sacrifice.

You shouldn't be taking any lives either.

It's rude.

[Vermont Lt]

We have so much You Tube conspiracy garbage getting posted and no one complains. This guy posts some things that are actually worth reading...and you lose your mind.

This place has become a nest of vipers.

[Bratch]

Ask any armchair historian to name the largest naval battle in history and a typical response is the “Battle of Leyte Gulf,” fought in October 1944 off the coast of the Philippines. It involved hundreds of ships, had nearly 200,000 participants and it spanned some 100,000 square miles. Battleships, Aircraft Carriers, and Cruisers all duking it out–oh my.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf also involved the United States’ Third and Seventh Fleets, which comprised some eight large aircraft carriers, another eight light carriers as well as 18 escort carriers and a dozen battleships. The Allied forces won a decisive victory over the Japanese forces, which lost a fleet carrier, three light carriers and three battleships.

The U.S. Navy light aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) burning soon after she was hit by a Japanese bomb while operating off the Philippines on 24 October 1944. This view, taken from the battleship USS South Dakota (BB-57) at about 1001 hrs., shows the large smoke column aft following a heavy explosion in the carrier’s hangar bay.

In terms of sheer numbers, it is easy to see why Leyte Gulf should have the distinction of being the largest naval battle in history. But some historians will argue it really was a combination of four major subsidiary battles that happened to take place at the same time. Moreover, Leyte Gulf didn’t have the largest number of participants or even ships that were engaged in one battle.

There are several other notable battles that have also been called the largest or greatest naval battle in history. Check out the below and make your own mind.

Battle of Lepanto

On the shortlist of greatest battles in naval history is the Battle of Lepanto, which was fought between the Holy League, which included the forces of the Spanish Empire, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice and other Italian states; and the Ottoman Empire on October 7, 1571. It didn’t involve quite as many men as Leyte Gulf – the Holy League mustered around 40,000 sailors and another 20,000 soldiers while the Ottoman Empire had some 84,000 men including 37,000 slaves who acted as oarsmen.

However, the Battle of Lepanto involved some 500 warships, mostly galleys, and in the end, nearly a third of the Ottoman force was killed, over half its warship sunk and a substantial number captured. It marked a major turning point for Europe and has been hailed as the greatest naval battle of the late Middle Ages.

Battle of Yamen

Fought in March 1279, the Battle of Yamen took place in the South China Sea between the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. It could go down as the most one-sided naval battle as well – and with an outcome that on paper seems improbable.

The Song had more than 1,000 ships, which were carrying around 200,000 people while the Yuan had just 50 warships and only around 20,000 soldiers. A closer look at the numbers tells another story. Most of the Song vessels were transports, carrying court officials and servants/slaves. The actual fighting capacity was just a fraction of the total strength.

To make matters worse, the Song commander Zhang Shijie ordered his fleet to be chained together – to prevent any from feeling. While prepared for a skirmish and not a full-blown battle, Zhang Shijie quickly was overwhelmed and lost seven ships and most of his best fighters. Unable to support the middle or retreat, a slaughter ensued. At least 100,000 Song were killed, and for days after the battle thousands of corpses floated to the surface. Those included the boy emperor Zhao Shi. Within a year the Song Dynasty, which had ruled China for nearly three centuries, came to an end.

Battle of Salamis

Described as one of the most decisive military engagements of all time, the Battle of Salamis took place near Athens in 480 B.C.E. during the Greco-Persian Wars. It was another battle where on paper it seemed to be one sided affair – upwards of 1,200 Persian galleys (other estimates claim just 800) against 370 Greek triremes.

However, the Greek commander successfully drew the Persian fleet into the small Saronic Gulf. Without room to maneuver, the Persian fleet was overwhelmed by the more agile Greek ships. The Persians lost some 300 ships while the Greeks lost just 40.

Battle of the Red Cliffs

A millennia before Salamis, another decisive naval battle took place in China. It was the Battle of Red Cliffs or Battle of Chibi. Fought not on open water, it was actually an amphibious battle fought along the Yangtze River. It involved some 800,000 troops under the forces of northern warlord Cao Cao, against 50,000 troops under the allied forces of the southern warlords Sun Quan, Liu Bei and Liu Qi.

Yet again the numbers would suggest a very one-sided affair, but the southern forces had better ships and knew how to best navigate the river. The allied forces then set many of their boats on fire and rammed Cao’s fleet, destroying much of his invasion force. He was unable to conquer the lands south of the Yangtze River. It has become famous as an example of Chinese history where the smaller and weaker successfully defeated a larger and stronger force.

[OldGoatCPO]

Trafalgar was one of the most decisive naval engagements in history, but in terms of numbers and tonnage it would probably not be considered a major engagement, but nearly 18,000 sailors died in the battle and it ended any hope of invading England. Same with the battle of the Nile decisive sea battle that crippled Napoleon but minimal number of ships involved. Nearly 1000 French sailors died when the Orient exploded at the Nile.

Seems odd Jutland was not added, but it was not really that decisive as it ended in a continued stalemate. Nobody really gained an advantage from the battle. I guess if the list was compiled to reflect numbers and tonnage some decisive battles would not be included. But it would be historically fun to analyze what the world would like had the Greeks lost or the Brits fail at Trafalgar and Napoleon invaded England. Would there have been a Waterloo? If France won the Napoleonic wars, would there have been WWI? No WWI means no WWII. If no WWI would the USA have remained a regional power but not a global power. Would we have become the worlds 911 force? Fun to think about.

[Flash Bazbeaux]

Or feeling like fleeing.

[Bratch]

The Naval Battle of Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa was the largest and deadliest battle of the Pacific campaign. But the terrible battle on the island was only part of the fight, as the ships of the Navy faced an onslaught of Kamikaze attacks.

The History Guy recalls the many desperate actions to save the ships of the Okinawa armada.

[datura]

When we post articles we stick around and reply to others. We don’t just post and run.

19forty5 was also very early in asserting that Biden won. The OP for them joined in November- right after the election.

If you want the distraction from current events, that’s great - then go to his blog and participate there. As I said above, why should this site host this blog? I donate monthly here and have for many years.

Comparing blog pimping to posting You Tube videos is less than an accurate analogy - those are random in here - this blog is posted daily in its entirety - not as a conversation tool, but as ghost hosting for the Robinson family.

If the guy needs hits, great! He should advertise.

[ZULU]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Ecnomus

[BunnySlippers]

Naval or Navel?

[central_va]

The Battle of the Atlantic has been called the “longest, largest, and most complex” naval battle in history.[10] The campaign started immediately after the European War began, during the so-called “Phoney War”, and lasted more than five years, until the German surrender in May 1945. It involved thousands of ships in more than 100 convoy battles and perhaps 1,000 single-ship encounters, in a theatre covering millions of square miles of ocean. The situation changed constantly, with one side or the other gaining advantage, as participating countries surrendered, joined and even changed sides in the war, and as new weapons, tactics, counter-measures and equipment were developed by both sides. The Allies gradually gained the upper hand, overcoming German surface-raiders by the end of 1942 and defeating the U-boats by mid-1943, though losses due to U-boats continued until the war’s end. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill later wrote “The only thing that really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril. I was even more anxious about this battle than I had been about the glorious air fight called the ‘Battle of Britain’.”[11]

[humblegunner]

this blog is posted daily in its entirety

Hell no it isn't. Explain this:

(Excerpt) Read more at 19fortyfive.com ..

[Vermont Lt]

If Jim wants him off the site, he will go.

That’s not your job.

Stop trying to censor people. And if you insist, how about getting the lunatic “Trump is still going to be President” conspiracy videos tossed.

We can’t have Zero Hedge—But Alex Jones and God Like Productions are OK?

Again, I reiterate—this site used to be a great place for different news stories about a bunch of things. Now it is a mean spirited cesspool of fringe thought, with pit bulls attacking anything that YOU disagree with.

It is no wonder it takes months to get funding where it used to take weeks. There is time to recover, but that time is running out.

If you don’t like what is posted, move on. No one elected you guardian.

[PAR35]

1) DD is a US designation. There weren’t any US ships at the battle of Jutland.
2) There were no Destroyer Escorts in World War I. The closest designation would be Frigate.
3) In World War I, the designation for what evolved into Destroyers was “Torpedo Boat Destroyer” originally intended to defend larger ships from torpedo boats, later evolving to ASW and air defense.
4) The German ocean going torpedo boats were much larger than a US PT boat or a British MTB which post date World War I. (British and American craft were under 100’ long, the German boats were over 250’ long with a 3” gun.)

So, in conclusion, read the British Torpedo Boat Destroyers and the German Torpedo Boats as Destroyers if you wish to use that classification.

[PAR35]

The Battle of Leyte Gulf also involved the United States’ Third and Seventh Fleets,

"Where IS the Third Fleet? The World wonders." Admiral Nimitz certainly did. In any event, not taking part in the crucial battle.

[PAR35]

A valid point.