Top 10 Bloodiest Battles in American History
#10: D-Day, Normandy
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June 6, 1944 D-Day, a.k.a. The Battle of Normandy, was the first battle of Operation Overlord, the military campaign that sent Allied forces into German-occupied territory during World War II. The American sector was tasked, alongside its allies, with landing on Utah and Omaha beach during the assault. Both battles were won by the Allies, but the American forces did not escape this day without severe casualties and deaths. U.S. losses totaled somewhere between forty-five and fifty-five hundred, with the Omaha Beach battalions winning footholds of territory, while Utah Beach forces secured a beachhead at Cherbourg, although facilities located on the latter were heavily damaged by the German military, and made non-operational until early Autumn.
#9: Battle of the Pusan Perimeter
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August 4 - September 18, 1950 The Korean War may be colloquially known as “The Forgotten War,” but we can rest assured knowing that nobody involved with The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter would forget these days for the rest of their lives. This is because there were over four thousand American deaths during this conflict, combined with twelve thousand injured, plus more that were missing and captured. Pusan was one of the first major battles of the war, and the United Nations Command, including American troops, would successfully defend the relentless push of The Korean People’s Army. Although the latter would gain significant ground on this day, they would never again see this much success, as UN forces continued to hold them at bay.
#8: The Battle of Saint-Mihiel
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September 12-15, 1918 This combined military effort from French and American forces, no matter how you look at it, was a bloody and costly affair during the First World War. The United States Army staged their first major offensive of “The Great War” at Saint-Mihiel, and significantly impressed their French and British counterparts, primarily thanks to artillery success gained against a retreating German army. Still, over forty-five hundred Allies were killed in battle, with another twenty-five hundred wounded, as wet weather led to muddy, miserable conditions, making the Saint-Mihiel offensive a dreary and physically exhausting affair for all involved.
#7: The Battle of Anzio
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January 22-June 5, 1944 Although historians quantify The Battle of Anzio as one part of the overarching Italian Campaign of World War II, its length almost certainly feeds into how devastating it was for American forces stationed in this part of the world. Operation Shingle was America’s introduction to The Battle of Anzio, an amphibious assault that successfully utilized the element of surprise in achieving their initial objective of position with relative ease. Still, the totality of Anzio was costly for the United States, with seven thousand reported as dead by the battle’s end. What’s even more troubling is the massive amounts of missing soldiers from The Battle of Anzio, with that number reaching an astonishing thirty-six thousand.
#6: The Battle of Iwo Jima
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February 19-March 26, 1945 We move from the Italian Campaign to the Pacific Theatre for our next entry, the comparatively well-known Battle of Iwo Jima. The conflict is one of the more prominently researched battles from the Second World War, and featured American forces comprising both the Marines and Navy taking Iwo Jima Island from the Imperial Japanese Army. The aerial assault at Iwo Jima was a key point for American victory, while artillery on the ground helped gain ground against the fiercely defended and majorly fortified Japanese opposition. Still, around seven thousand marines and navy men were killed at Iwo Jima, including Private Ralph “Iggy” Ignatowski, a soldier present at the famous Mount Suribachi site, who was captured, tortured and killed by Japanese combatants.
#5: The Battle of Côte d'Azur
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August 15-September 14, 1944 The Battle of Côte d'Azur refers to the initial landing of Allied forces upon the beaches of Southern France during World War II. It served as the opening salvo to Operation Dragoon, an offensive that, at first, was intended to occur alongside the more famous June invasion of Normandy, but was ultimately delayed until August. The United States and its allies were successful in capturing and holding important ports in the region, although over seven thousand soldiers died by the end of conflict. A further ten thousand casualties were also on the books at Côte d'Azur, making this a costly success.
#4: The Battle of Luzon
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January 9-August 15, 1945 The Second World War was marching towards an end by the time American and Filipino forces combined military strengths to free the island of Luzon in 1945. The Filipino Island had been occupied by Japanese forces, but the latter had seen their presence become severely compromised, to the point where only a comparatively small resistance was intact to defend against the combined allies. This decisive victory was not without cost, as The Battle of Luzon was one of the deadliest from this late period of the war. Over eight thousand Americans were killed, while Japan lost over two hundred and seventeen thousand men to disease and starvation. Meanwhile, Filipino civilians were massacred by the thousands by Japanese troops during the concurrent Battle of Manila.
#3: The Battle of Okinawa
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April 1-June 22, 1945 Another late entry into the battle cycle of World War II was The Battle of Okinawa, also known by the codename Operation Iceberg. The United States Army and Navy successfully took Okinawa from the Imperial Japanese Army, but the loss of life here during the conflict was nothing if not historic. Between fourteen and twenty thousand Americans died, with twelve thousand reportedly killed in action. The fighting was notably fierce on both sides, with Japanese kamikaze attacks and pummeling Allied artillery fire making The Battle of Okinawa a nightmare for everyone on the ground.
#2: The Battle of the Bulge
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December 16, 1944 - January 25, 1945 Germany pushed its forces to the Western Front during the winter of 1945, in an attempt to divide, surround and conquer the Allied forces stationed in Belgium and Luxembourg. This was initially successful, thanks to a surprise attack early on in the conflict, but America and her allies eventually staved off the German advance, forcing the latter to retreat back to their defensive line. Still, over nineteen thousand Americans were killed during the vicious fighting and a further eighty-nine thousand casualties. This made the Battle of the Bulge infamous as the bloodiest battle U.S. forces ever fought during World War II, and one of the deadliest in the country’s history.
#1: The Battle of Gettysburg
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July 1-3, 1863 This multi-day battle was one of the most studied and well-known of the American Civil War. It contained many iconic figures of the war, including General Meade’s Army of the Potomac and Robert E. Lee’s forces from Northern Virginia, although it would eventually become known more for the defeat of the latter, and a turning point for a Union victory. Outcome aside, The Battle of Gettysburg was the site of massive American casualties and deaths, over forty thousand in number, and a true testament to the bitterness and tragedy that defined this conflict. Lee’s retreat in particular saw the Confederacy take huge losses, and, although Meade’s Union won the battle, the truth is that nobody won this war.
