Death Tolls for the Man-made Megadeaths of the 20th Century

Pieces of Wars

List of Recurring Sources

Alphabetical Index

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Bloodiest Battles of the 20th Century

By the beginning of the 20th Century, the concept of battle had gotten extremely vague. The idea that armies would bloodlessly maneuver into position before engaging in a brief, concentrated clash of arms was a thing of the past. Twentieth Century wars were continuous in both time and space. They were fought day and night, winter and summer, over weeks and months at a time. Major battlefronts often spanned entire countries, and even minor battlefields could easily be fifty mile wide and fifty miles deep. Obviously any attempt to isolate individual battles in this continuity is not going to be easy; however, the events listed here have been labelled battles at one time or another.

(Most of this list would not be allowed under the narrow, 19th Century definition of "battle". A purist would probably count only a few naval engagements (Midway, Jutland, etc.) and a few geographically restricted operations (Berlin, D-Day, etc.) -- especially those confined to single islands (Okinawa, Iwo Jima, etc.) -- as proper battles. Unfortunately for the purist, common usage has already expanded the term to include larger events such as the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Atlantic, all of which would be called "campaigns" in Napoleonic or American Civil War usage. My definition is typically loose, and I have counted a "battle" as any military operation that is usually discussed and analysed by historians as a single event.)

These battles are ranked by the number of military deaths only. I have not counted civilian deaths because then we would drift off into the realm of massacres. If we decide that Okinawa and Leningrad deserve a higher ranking because of associated civilian losses, then we'd have to consider counting Hiroshima and Nanjing, and that's just a different category altogether. For the same reason, I haven't counted POWs that were escorted safely away from the battlefield, only to die later in captivity.

One of the difficulties in compiling this list is that many writers don't realize that casualties, deaths and losses are not the same thing, so they count "losses" as killed, and call the dead "casualties". I've preferred taking numbers from sources that demonstrate that they know the difference. If I have found a source where the killed are differentiated from the wounded on one side but not the other, I generally have applied the same ratio to all sides. Otherwise, I just make do with the standard 3:1 ratio of wounded to killed.

One comment: The unprecedented scale of the two world wars becomes apparent when we realize that even small pieces of them killed more than most of the other complete wars of the Century. Even more horrific, World War II's Russian Front produced 13 of the century's 15 bloodiest battles all by itself. (The siege of Leningrad alone could rank as the 20th Century's 12th worst atrocity once civilian deaths are added in.) In fact, part of why this list so long is that I wanted to get far enough down to show some other wars as well. To help you keep these straight, I've color-coded the principle wars: World War I, World War II in Russia and World War II elsewhere.

Here then is a very debatable and incomplete list of contenders for the title of the 20th Century's bloodiest battles. My own estimate of total military deaths in each is in bold following the name and date. All my sources are listed, so if it's not immediately apparent where I got it, consider it as just a rough guess.

  1. Leningrad, World War II (8 Sept. 1941-27 Jan. 1944) 850 000 [make link]
  2. Stalingrad, World War II (Sept. 1942-31 Jan. 1943): 750 000 k. [make link]
  3. Moscow, World War II (Sept. 1941-Jan. 1942): 719 000 [make link]
  4. Kiev, World War II (7 July-26 Sept. 1941): 678 000 [make link]
  5. 1st Smolensk, World War II (10 July-10 Sept. 1941): 535 000 [make link]
  6. Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad, World War II (28 June-24 July 1942): 371 000+
  7. 1st Belorussia, World War II (22 June-9 July 1941): 375 000
  8. Operation Bagration or 2nd Belorussia, World War II (23 June-29 Aug. 1944): 350 000 [make link]
  9. Kursk, World War II (4-22 July 1943): 325 000 [make link]
  10. Somme, World War I (1 July-18 Nov. 1916): 306 000 [make link]
  11. Verdun, World War I (21 Feb.-16 Dec. 1916): 305 000 [make link]
  12. Rzhev-Vyazma, World War II (8 Jan.-20 Apr. 1942): 272 000+
  13. 2nd West Ukraine, World War II (24 Dec.-17 Apr. 1944): 270 000+
  14. North Caucasus, World War II (25 July-20 Apr. 1942): 262 000+
  15. Berlin, World War II (16 April-7 May 1945): 250 000 [make link]
  16. 1st West Ukraine, World War II (22 June-6 July 1941): 189 000
  17. Battle of France, World War II (10 May-22 June, 1940): 185 000 [make link]
  18. Lower Dnieper, World War II (26 Sept.-20 Dec.1943): 173 000+
  19. Königsberg, World War II (13 Jan.-9 April 1945): 168 000
  20. Donbass-Rostov, World War II (29 Sept.-16 Nov. 1941): 157 000
  21. Passchendaele or 3rd Ypres, World War I (31 July-12 Nov. 1917): 150 000 [make link]
  22. Okinawa, World War II (1 April-21 June 1945): 148 000 [make link]
  23. Normandy, World War II (6 June-19 Aug. 1944): 132 000 [make link]
  24. Gallipoli, World War I (19 Feb. 1915-9 Jan. 1916): 130 000 [make link]
  25. Budapest, World War II (late Oct. 1944-mid Feb. 1945): 130 000
  26. Lemberg, World War I (Aug.-Sept. 1914): 125 000 [make link]
  27. Battle of the Frontiers, World War I (Aug. 1914): 115 000 [make link]
  28. 2nd Smolensk, World War II (7 Aug.-2 Oct. 1943): 108 000+
  29. Chernikov-Poltava, World War II (26 Aug.-30 Sept. 1943): 103 000+
  30. Manchuria, World War II (9-17 Aug. 1945): 92 000 [make link]
  31. 2nd Aisne, World War I (April-May 1917): 86 000
  32. 2nd Somme or Lys, World War I (March-April 1918): 80 000
  33. 2nd Marne, World War I (July-Aug. 1918): 80 000
  34. 1st Baltic, World War II (22 June-9 July 1941): 83 000
  35. Polyarnoe-Karelia, World War II (29 June-10 Oct. 1941): 74 000
  36. Battle of the Atlantic, World War II (3 Sept. 1939-24 May 1943): 73 000 [make link]
  37. Leyte, World War II (20 Oct. 1944-12 Jan. 1945) 69 000 [make link]
  38. Donbass, World War II (13 Aug.-22 Sept. 1943): 66 000+
  39. Basra, Iran-Iraq War (1986-87): 65 000+
  40. Lvov-Sandomir, World War II (13 July-29 Aug. 1944): 65 000+
  41. 3rd Aisne, World War I (May-June 1918): 64 000
  42. 2nd Artois, World War I (May-June 1915): 62 000
  43. 2nd Baltic, World War II (14 Sept.-24 Nov. 1944): 61 000+
  44. Monte Casino, World War II (1943-18 May 1944): 60 000 [make link]
  45. 2nd Arras or Vimy Ridge, World War I (8 April-16 May 1917): 60 000 [make link]
  46. 1st Ypres, World War I (Oct.-Nov. 1914): 60 000 [make link]
  47. 2nd Champagne, World War I (Sept.-Oct. 1915): 57 000
  48. Tet Offensive, Vietnam War (29 Jan.- mid-Feb 1968): 56 000 [make link]
  49. Korsun Pocket, World War II (24 Jan. 1944-17 Feb. 1944): 55 000+
  50. Voronezh-Kharkov, World War II (13 Jan.-3 March 1943): 55 000+
  51. Meuse-Argonne, World War I (26 Sept.-11 Nov. 1918): 50 000
  52. 11th Isonzo, World War I (Aug.-Sept. 1917): 50 000
  53. Hsuchow, Chinese Civil War (1927): 50 000
  54. Kharkov, World War II (4-25 March 1943): 45 000+
  55. Crimea, World War II (8 April-12 May 1944): 45 000
  56. 10th Isonzo, World War I (May-June 1917): 43 000
  57. Seelow Heights, World War II (16-18 April 1945): 42 000
  58. Imphal, World War II (8 March-13 July 1944) 40 000
  59. Battle of the Bulge or Ardennes Offensive, World War II (16-29 Dec. 1944): 38 000
  60. Ebro, Spanish Civil War (24 July-18 Nov. 1938): 37 000
  61. Tannenburg & Masurian Lakes, World War I (Aug.-Sept. 1914): 37 000
  62. Mukden, Russo-Japanese War (20 Feb.-10 March 1905): 36 000
  63. Taierhchüang, Sino-Japanese War (24 Mar-8 Apr 1938): 31 000
  64. Saipan, World War II (1944) 30 000
  65. 3rd Isonzo, World War I (March 1916): 29 000
  66. Iwo Jima, World War II (19 Feb.-9 April 1945) 28 000
  67. Chosin Reservoir, Korean War (27 Nov.-11 Dec. 1950): 28 000
  68. Suomossalmi, Russo-Finnish War (11 Dec. 1939-6 Jan. 1940): 28 000
  69. Guadalcanal, World War II (1942-1943): 27 000
  70. Operation Kheiber, Iran-Iraq War (Feb-March 1984): 26 000
  71. Warsaw, Russo-Polish War (13-25 Aug. 1920): 25 000
  72. Changsha or Hengyang, Sino-Japanese War (June-Aug. 1944): huh?
  73. 1st Marne, World War I (Sept. 1914): 20 000+
  74. Guam, World War II (21 July-10 August 1943): 20 000
  75. Port Arthur, Russo-Japanese War (1 June 1904-2 Jan. 1905): 20 000
  76. Manila, World War II (3 Feb.-4 March 1945): 18 000
  77. Market-Garden, World War II (17-25 Sept. 1944): 16 000
  78. Halhin Gol, or Nomonhan, Soviet-Japanese War (20-31 Aug. 1939): 15 000
  79. Caporetto, World War I (24 Oct-10 Nov 1916): 14 000
  80. Leyte Gulf, World War II (23-26 Oct. 1944): 13 000
  81. Peleliu, World War II (15 Sept.-25 Nov. 1944): 12 000
  82. Dien Bien Phu, French Indochina War (13 March-7 May 1954): 10 000
  83. Kuwait, Gulf War (24-27 Feb. 1991): 10 000
  84. Anzio, World War II (22 Jan.-23 May 1944): 10 000
  85. Celaya, Mexican Revolution (6-15 April 1915): 10 000
  86. Kwajalein, World War II (1944) 9 000
  87. Jutland, World War I (31 May 1916): 9 000
  88. 1st El Alamein, World War II (1-27 July 1942): 7 000
  89. Tarawa, World War II (21-24 Nov. 1943) 6 000
  90. 2nd El Alamein, World War II (23 Oct.-3 Nov. 1942): 5 000
  91. Belleau Wood, World War I (1-26 June 1918): 4 000
  92. Tsushima, Russo-Japanese War (10 Aug. 1904): 4 000
  93. Midway, World War II (4 June 1942): 4 000
  94. Battle of Britain, World War II (10 July-31 Oct. 1940): 2 000

Worst Massacres of the 20th Century

(Well, one more list for people to yell at me about...)

Here are some of the major episodes in which huge numbers of non-combatants were killed at more or less a single place over a relatively limited time. The traditional definition of massacre would require that all the killing be done deliberately and face-to-face over the course of a day or two, but I've loosened up that part in order to compare numbers from a variety of concentrated mass killings.

I'm not saying that all of these events are morally equal. International law usually allows the destruction of the war-making abilities of the enemy, including their industrial infrastructure, transportation network and (unfortunately) their workforce; however, once a civilian population or collection of prisoners comes under the control of a conquering army, they are no longer a threat, and they are supposed to be treated with basic human decency. It all depends on whether the victims constitute an immediate threat, an eventual threat, or no threat at all. You're allowed to kill sleeping enemy soldiers in an armed camp in a war zone, but not sleeping enemy soldiers in one of your POW camps. A merchant ship sailing in an armed enemy convoy may be torpedoed without warning, but an unarmed merchant ship sailing alone on the high seas should be challenged and allowed to evacuate passengers and crew first.

Just to belabor an obvious point, these are individual events at single points on the map - usually a city, prison or town. Most of the killing at Treblinka, for example, occurred inside a .1345 or .21 square kilometer camp. The Rwanda massacres, on the other hand, were many events spread out across the 26,338 square kilometers of an entire country, so I don't count those. In borderline cases such as Katyn (three related massacres) and Kolyma (a large complex of labor camps operating for many years), I've leaned toward inclusion because these are smaller parts of a larger whole. Total death tolls for multiple events considered collectively can be found using the main index.

For the purists among you, I've starred (*) the events that are usually considered to fit into the narrowest definition of massacre: the deliberate, face-to-face and immediate killing of helpless victims. Also, I've used brown font to label events of the Holocaust.

  1. Auschwitz, Poland (German death camp: Jan. 1942-Jan. 1945): 1 200 000 [make link]
  2. Treblinka, Poland (German death camp: July 1942-Fall 1943): 800 000 [make link]
  3. Leningrad, USSR (urban siege: 8 Sept. 1941-27 Jan. 1944) 641 000
  4. Belzec, Poland (German death camp: March 1942-July 1943): 600 000 [make link]
  5. Kolyma, USSR (Soviet GULAG: 1930-mid 1950s): 500 000 [make link]
  6. Majdanek, Poland (German death camp: Oct. 1942-Nov. 1943): 360 000 [make link]
  7. Chelmno, Poland (German death camp: 8 Dec. 1941-April 1943): 320 000 [make link]
  8. * Nanjing, China (massacre of civilians and POWs by Japanese: 13 Dec. 1937-Feb. 38): 260 000
  9. Sobibor, Poland (German death camp: 1 March 1942-Oct. 1943): 250 000
  10. * Bykivnia, near Kiev, USSR (Stalinist burial site, 1930s): 200 000 [make link]
  11. Warsaw, Poland (urban uprising: 1 Aug.-2 Oct. 1944): 200 000 [make link]
  12. * Kuropaty, near Minsk, USSR (Stalinist massacre site: 1938-39): 150 000 [make link]
  13. Stalingrad, USSR (urban battle: Sept. 1942-31 Jan. 1943): 140 000 civilians
  14. Hiroshima, Japan (nuclear strike by US: 6 Aug. 1945): 122 000
  15. Changchun, China (urban siege: May-Sept. 1948) 120 000
  16. Berlin, Germany (urban battle: 16 April-7 May 1945): 100 000
  17. Vorkuta, USSR (Soviet GULAG: 1932-62): 100 000 [make link]
  18. * Manila, Philippines (massacre of civilians by Japanese: Nov. 1944-Feb. 1945): 100 000
  19. Tokyo, Japan (air raid by US: 9 March 1945): 84 000
  20. Jasenovac, Yugoslavia (Croatian concentration camp: 1941-1945): 77 000
  21. Mauthausen, Austria (German concentration camp: 1938-1945): 70 000
  22. Buchenwald, Germany (German concentration camp: 1937-1945): 65 000
  23. Stutthof, Danzig (German concentration camp: Sept.1939-May 1945): 60 000
  24. Kryzwolka, Poland (death of Soviet POWs at German hands: 194-): 46 000
  25. Nagasaki, Japan (nuclear strike by US: 9 Aug. 1945): 45 000
  26. Hamburg, Germany (air raid by UK: 28-29 July 1943): 42 000
  27. Komorowo, Poland (death of Soviet POWs at German hands: 194-): 42 000
  28. * Ponary, near Vilna, Lithuania (massacre of Jews by Germans: 1st wave, July-Dec. 1941): 40 000
  29. Stalingrad, USSR (German air raid: 23 Aug 1942): 40 000
  30. Gross-Rosen, Germany (German concentration camp: 1941-Feb. 1945): 40 000
  31. Breslau, Germany (urban battle: 1945): 40 000
  32. * Odessa, USSR (massacre of Jews by Romanians: 22-23 Oct. 1941): 36 000
  33. Dresden, Germany (air raid by UK & US: 13-14 Feb. 1945): 35 000
  34. * Babi Yar, near Kiev, USSR (massacre of Jews by Germans: Sept. 1941): 33 000
  35. Flossenburg (German concentration camp: 1940s): 30 000
  36. * Rumbula Forest, outside Riga, Latvia (massacre of Jews by Germans: Nov-Dec 1941): 27 000
  37. Berlin, Germany (air raid by US: 3 Feb. 1945): 25 000
  38. * Sook Ching Operation, Singapore (massacre of Chinese by Japanese: Feb-March 1942): 25 000
  39. Königsberg, Germany (urban battle: 9 April 1945): 25 000
  40. Guty, Poland (death of Soviet POWs at German hands: 194-): 24 000
  41. * Bataan, Philippines (abuse of POWs by Japanese: 9 April-May 1942): 23 000
  42. Herat, Afghanistan (Soviet air raids, March 1979): 20 000
  43. The Blitz, London, UK (German air raids: 7 Sept. 1940-May 1941): 20 000
  44. Pforzheim, Germany (air raid by UK: 23-24 Feb. 1945): 18 000
  45. * Trebizond, Turkey (massacre of Armenians by Turks: July 1915): 17 000
  46. Belgrade, Yugoslavia (German air raid: 6 April 1941): 17 000
  47. * Choeung Ek, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Khmer Rouge killing field: 1975-79): 16 000
  48. * Pinsk, Belorussia, USSR (massacre of Jews by Germans: 29 Oct. 1942): 16 000
  49. Bautzen, East Germany (Soviet concentration camp: 1945-50): 16 000
  50. * Bitlis, Turkey (massacre of Armenians by Turks: June 1915): 15 000
  51. * Kaunas (Kovna), Lithuania (massacre of Jews by Germans: Oct/Nov. 1941): 15 000
  52. * Katyn etc., USSR (massacre of Polish POWs by Soviets: April-May 1940): 15 000
  53. * Dneprpetrovsk, USSR (massacre of Jews by Germans: Oct. 1941): 11 000
  54. * Vinnitsa, Ukraine (Stalinist massacre, 1938): 10 000
  55. * Simferopol, Crimea, USSR (massacre of Jews by Germans: 30 Dec. 1941): 10 000
  56. Hama, Syria (urban uprising: Feb.1982): 10 000
  57. Buchenwald, East Germany (Soviet concentration camp: 1945-50): 10 000

NOTE: Before you ask, here are some massacres that fall below the 10,000 threshhold: Addis Ababa, Amritsar, Chahardara, Coventry, Dinant, Guernica, Hue, Cassinga, El Mozote, Halabja, Jedwabne, Kanto, Kishinev, Kislowodsk, Kwangju, Lidice, Lusitania, Malmedy, Mazar-e Sharif, My Lai, Nogun-ri, Nyarubuye, Oviedo, Puputan, Sabra, Satiru, Setif, Shanghai, Sharpeville, Shatila, Srebrenica, Taejon, Tamines, Tiananmen Square, Wilhelm Gustloff, Zanzibar.

Meanwhile, here are some massacres which may have passed 10,000 victims, but I haven't yet found reliable (or even common) estimates.


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Last updated April 2005

Copyright © 2004-05 Matthew White