The 18 Deadliest Battles in American Military History

HistoryCollection.com ^ | October 27, 2018 | Larry Holzwarth

[LuciusDomitiusAutelian]

Here are the bloodiest battles, as measured by the grim count of dead American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, in United States history.

[LuciusDomitiusAutelian]

“The unparalleled perseverance of the armies of the United States, through almost every possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years, was little short of a standing miracle.”

- General (and future President) George Washington, 1783, in his farewell orders to the Continental Army.

Thanks to those that gave everything.

[Kartographer]

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.” ― George S. Patton Jr.

[lurked_for_a_decade]

My father was at three of these battles. Okinawa, the Pusan perimeter, and the first Chinese offensive.

[Artemis Webb]

Apparently the authors never heard of the civil war.

[mad_as_he$$]

Welcome to FR.

[Dan in Wichita]

I was just getting ready to mention that. Civil war battles would have dominated this list had they been included in the count.

[Captain Walker]

Actually, the Civil War was mentioned in the first sentence of the article:

It should be no surprise that the deadliest battles fought on American soil came about during the American Civil War, where the battlefields of Gettysburg, Shiloh, Stones River and so many others yielded staggering casualty lists.

(But what fun would FR be if we started reading articles before commenting on them?)

[Artemis Webb]

This is a LIST driven article. The headline advertises itself as such. Mentioning Civil War battles in the first paragraph then omitting them from the list on the grounds that the battles were not long campaigns is simply a feeble attempt to talk about some battles, particularly WWI battles, that the readers might not be familiar with.

But omitting Civil War battles from the list makes the article inaccurate.

[Captain Walker]

You didn’t read the article and you rushed in with a comment on it; case closed.

[TruthWillWin]

Most were WWII.

7. Huertgen Forest, seem to recall......

[LuciusDomitiusAutelian]

Thanks Cap. I don’t bother with bureaucrats, nit pickers, trolls, grammar NAZIs and people that don’t bother to read the first sentence of a post. lol. Circular firing squads in perfect form. I appreciate your support, but don’t tangle with these folks. It will lower your IQ. It seems there are more people interested in faulting others than reading the article and taking away something useful. Of course The Civil War was the bloodiest war in our history. But it was a dark time in our nation’s history; American’s killing Americans. An ugly part of our history but I honor both sides on Memorial Day as well. But I don’t glorify (nor is their much glory) in civil war.

[DesertRhino]

Guess they’ve never heard of the civil war.

[LuciusDomitiusAutelian]

Wow, Okinawa was one of the worst in our nation’s history. Your father did a lot for our Republic.

[OKSooner]

Would you mind posting the whole thing here, please?

TIA

[LuciusDomitiusAutelian]

Guess you didn’t read the first sentence of the article. There I go breaking my own rules. Forget I posted this. Please see post 11.

[LuciusDomitiusAutelian]

Not sure we are allowed to do that.

[DesertRhino]

He gives no legitimate reason for skipping the civil war battles. But interesting article even if not really the top 18.

[LuciusDomitiusAutelian]

Thank you!

[PIF]

18. The Battle of Saint-Mihiel, France, 1918
17. The Chinese Offensive in Korea, November-December 1950
16. The Pusan Perimeter, Korea, August-September, 1950
15. Anzio, Italy, January-June, 1944
14. Lorraine, France, September – December 1944
13. Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, February-March, 1945
12. Alsace, France, November 1944 – February, 1945
11. Battle of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, August 1942 – February 1943
10. Operation Dragoon, Southern France, August-September, 1944
9. The Gothic Line, North Apennines, Italy, September 1944 – April 1945
8. Luzon, the Philippines, January-August, 1945
7. Huertgen Forest, Germany, September-December, 1944
6. Okinawa, the Pacific, April – June, 1945
5. Western Germany, March – May, 1945
4. Normandy, France, June – July 1944
3. The Battle for France, 1944
2. The Battle of the Bulge, Northern Europe, December 1944 – January 1945
1. Meuse-Argonne Offensive, France, September – November 1918 (The Lost Battalion)

[katana]

Fascinating. I had expected to see one or two Civil War battles listed. My eldest brother died on July 21, 1950 on the retreat to the Pusan Perimeter.