List of battles with most United States military fatalities

This article contains a list of battles with most United States military fatalities, in terms of American deaths.

Arlington House in Arlington National Cemetery. Section 32 of the cemetery is in the foreground.

Introduction

This article lists battles and campaigns in which the number of U.S. soldiers killed was higher than 1,000. The battles and campaigns that reached that number of deaths in the field are so far limited to the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and one campaign during the Iraq War (the Anbar campaign from March 20 2003 to December 7, 2011). The campaign that resulted in the most US military deaths was the Siegfried Line campaign (28 August 1944 to March 21, 1945) in which 50,410 killed soldiers were killed fighting against Nazi Germany.^[a][1]

The bloodiest single day in the history of the United States military is either June 6, 1944, with 2,500 soldiers killed during the Invasion of Normandy on D-Day, or September 12, 1918, at the start of the Battle of Saint Mihiel, with over 2,500 dead (however, this exact figure is unverifiable because of poor documentation). The third-highest single-day toll was the Battle of Antietam, with 2,108 dead.

The deadliest single-day battle in American history, if all engaged armies are considered, is the Battle of Antietam with 3,675 killed, including both United States and Confederate soldiers (total casualties for both sides were 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing Union and Confederate soldiers September 17, 1862).^[2][b][3]

The origins of the U.S. military can be traced to the Americans' fight for independence from their former colonial power, Great Britain, in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). The three bloodiest conflicts have been American Civil War (1861–1865), World War I (1917–1918), and World War II (1941–1945 for declared American involvement). Other significant conflicts involving the United States ordered by casualties include the Korean War (1950–1953), the Vietnam War (1964–1973), the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), and various conflicts in the Middle East.

Scope and definitions

The definition of "battle" as a concept in military science has varied with the changes in the organization, employment, and technology of military forces. Before the 20th century, "battle" usually meant a military clash over a small area, lasting a few days at most and often just one day—such as the Battle of Waterloo, which began and ended on 18 June 1815 on a field a few kilometers across.

Especially in 20th-century conflicts, "battle" has meant "military campaign"—larger and longer military operations, on the operational or even strategic level—such as the Battle of the Atlantic, fought for several years (1939–1945) over about a fifth of the Earth's surface.

Since both types of "battles" are not usefully comparable in many ways, including casualty comparisons, this article is divided into two sections, one for battle in the older, more restricted sense and one for campaigns, many of which are also called battles.

There are actions at the margins that can be reasonably assigned to either list. For instance, the Battle of Spotsylvania lasted 14 days, but the main part was fought on a small field (less than three kilometers on a side), and in this way being more in the nature of a siege (a military action typically of long duration but in covering a relatively small area). Like the similar Battle of Cold Harbor, also part of the Overland Campaign, it is included in this article on the Battles list. The Battle of Saint-Mihiel, lasting only about four days, but on a larger field (roughly 12 kilometers by 25 kilometers), is also included on the Battles list.

The term casualty in warfare can often be confusing. It often does not refer to those who are killed on the battlefield; rather, it refers to those who can no longer fight. That can include disabled by injuries, disabled by psychological trauma, captured, deserted, or missing. A casualty is only a soldier who is no longer available for the immediate battle or campaign, the major consideration in combat, and the number of casualties is simply the number of members of a unit who are not available for duty. For example, during the Seven Days Battles during the American Civil War (June 25 to July 1, 1862) there were 5,228 killed, 23,824 wounded and 7,007 missing or taken prisoners for a total of 36,059 casualties.^[4][b] The word casualty has been used in a military context since at least 1513.^[5] In this article the numbers killed refer to those killed in action, killed by disease or someone who died from their wounds.

Battles

Battle or siege	Conflict	Date	Estimated number killed	Opposing force	References
Battle of Elsenborn Ridge (part of the Battle of the Bulge)	World War II	December 16 to 26, 1944	~5,000 killed	Germany	[6]
Battle of Saint-Mihiel	World War I	September 12 to 15, 1918	~4,500 killed	Germany	[7]
Battle of Gettysburg	American Civil War	July 1 to July 3, 1863	3,155 killed[c]	Confederate States of America	[8]
Battle of Saint-Lô	World War II	July 7 to 19, 1944	Over 3,000 killed	Germany	[9]
Operation Lüttich (Part of the Battle of Normandy)	World War II	August 7 to August 13, 1944	~3,000 killed[d]	Germany	[10]
Battle of Leyte Gulf	World War II	October 23 to 25, 1944	2,800 killed	Japan	[11]
Battle of Cherbourg	World War II	June 6 to July 27, 1944	2,800 killed	Germany	[12]
Battle of Spotsylvania	American Civil War	May 8 to May 21, 1864	2,725 killed[e]	Confederate States of America	[13]
D-Day (first day of Operation Overlord)	World War II	June 6, 1944	2,500 killed	Germany	[14]
Pearl Harbor Attack	World War II	December 7, 1941	2,335 killed[f]	Japan	[15]
Battle of the Wilderness	American Civil War	May 5 to May 7, 1864	2,246 killed[g]	Confederate States of America	[13]
Operation Thunderbolt (part of the Chinese Invasion of South Korea)	Korean War	January 25 to February 20, 1951	2,228 killed	China North Korea	[16]
Battle of Antietam	American Civil War	September 17, 1862	2,108 killed	Confederate States of America	[13]
Battle of Fismes and Fismette	World War I	August 3 to September 1, 1918	2,068 killed	Germany	[17]
Battle of Aachen (part of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest)	World War II	October 12 to October 21, 1944	2,000 killed	Germany	[18]
Battle of Cold Harbor	American Civil War	May 21 to June 12, 1864	1,844 killed[h]	Confederate States of America	[13]
Battle of Tarawa	World War II	November 20 to November 23, 1943	1,759 killed[i]	Japan	[19]
Battle of Shiloh	American Civil War	April 6 to April 7, 1862	1,754 killed[j]	Confederate States of America	[13]
Second Battle of Bull Run	American Civil War	August 26 to August 30, 1862	1,747 killed[k]	Confederate States of America	[13]
Seven Days Battles	American Civil War	June 25 to July 1, 1862	1,734 killed[l]	Confederate States of America	[4]
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal	World War II	November 12, 1942 to November 15, 1942	1,732 killed	Japan	[citation needed]
Battle of Stones River	American Civil War	December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863	1,730 killed[m]	Confederate States of America	[13]
Battle of Chickamauga	American Civil War	September 19 to September 20, 1863	1,656 killed[n]	Confederate States of America	[13]
Battle of Chancellorsville	American Civil War	April 30 to May 6, 1863	1,606 killed[o]	Confederate States of America	[13]
UN Counteroffensive from the Pusan Perimeter (including the Inchon Landings and the Second Battle of Seoul)	Korean War	September 15 to September 30, 1950	1,492 killed	North Korea	[20]
Task Force Faith	Korean War	November 27 to December 2, 1950	1,450~ killed[p]	China	[21]
Second Battle of Naktong Bulge (part of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter)	Korean War	September 1 to September 15, 1950	1,305 killed	North Korea	[22]
Battle of Fredericksburg	American Civil War	December 11 to December 15, 1862	1,284 killed[q]	Confederate States of America	[23]
Battle of Taejon	Korean War	July 14 to July 21, 1950	1,128 killed	North Korea	[24]
Battle of Savo Island (part of the Guadalcanal Campaign)	World War II	August 8, 1942 to August 9, 1942	1,077 killed	Japan	[citation needed]
Battle of Belleau Wood	World War I	June 1 to June 26, 1918	1,062 killed	Germany	[25]
Battle of Masan (part of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter)	Korean War	August 5 to September 19, 1950	1,057 killed	North Korea	[26]
Battle of Manila (part of the Battle of Luzon)	World War II	February 3 to March 3, 1945	1,010 killed	Japan	[27]

Campaigns

Campaign	Conflict	Date	Estimated number killed	Opposing force	References
Siegfried Line campaign	World War II	August 28 1944 to March 21, 1945	50,410 killed[r]	Germany	[1]
Italian campaign	World War II	July 9, 1943 to May 2, 1945	29,560 killed	Germany Italian Social Republic	[28]
Battle of Normandy	World War II	June 6 to August 25, 1944	29,204 killed	Germany	[s][29][30]
Meuse–Argonne Offensive	World War I	September 26 to November 11, 1918	26,277 killed	Germany	[31]
Philippines campaign (1944–1945)	World War II	October 20, 1944 to August 15, 1945	20,712 killed	Japan	[32][33][34]
Battle of the Bulge	World War II	December 16, 1944 to January 28, 1945	19,276 killed	Germany	[35]
Central Europe Campaign	World War II	March 22 to May 8, 1945	15,009 killed	Germany Hungary	[29]
38th Parallel Static Warfare Campaign	Korean War	July 11, 1951 to July 27, 1953	~13,800 killed	China	[36]
Philippines Campaign (1941-1942)	World War II	December 8, 1941 to May 6, 1942	~13,000 killed	Japan	[t]
Battle of Okinawa	World War II	April 1 to June 22, 1945	~12,500 killed	Japan	[37]
Battle of Hürtgen Forest	World War II	September 19, 1944 to February 17, 1945	~12,000 killed	Germany	[u]
Battle of Luzon	World War II	January 9 to August 15, 1945	10,310 killed	Japan	[39]
North Apennines Campaign	World War II	September 10, 1944 to April 4, 1945	8,486 killed	Germany	[29]
Chinese Invasion of South Korea	Korean War	December 31, 1950 to July 10, 1951	~8,000 killed	China	[40]
Operation Dragoon	World War II	August 15 to September 14, 1944	7,301 killed	Germany	[38]
Guadalcanal Campaign	World War II	August 7, 1942, to February 9, 1943	7,100 killed	Japan	[41]
Alsace Campaign	World War II	November 13, 1944 to February 19, 1945	7,000 killed	Germany	[42]
Battle of Iwo Jima	World War II	February 19 to March 26, 1945	6,821 killed	Japan	[43]
Lorraine Campaign	World War II	September 1 to December 18, 1944	6,657 killed	Germany	[44]
Naples–Foggia Campaign	World War II	September 9, 1943 to January 21, 1944	6,266 killed	Germany	[29]
Battle of Anzio	World War II	January 22 to June 5, 1944	5,538 killed	Germany Italian Social Republic	[29]
New Guinea campaign	World War II	January 23 1942 to 15 August, 1945	4,684 killed	Japan	[45]
Battle of Pusan Perimeter	Korean War	August 4 to September 18, 1950	4,599 killed	North Korea	[46]
Chinese Second Phase Offensive in North Korea	Korean War	November 25 to December 15, 1950	4,538 killed[v]	China	[47]
Chinese Spring Offensive and UN Counteroffensive (part of the Chinese Invasion of South Korea)	Korean War	April 22 to July 1, 1951	~3,600 killed	China North Korea	[48]
Battle of Leyte	World War II	October 17 to December 26, 1944	3,593 killed	Japan	[w]
Saar-Palatinate Offensive	World War II	March 8 to March 24, 1945	3,540 killed	Germany	[50]
Battle of Saipan	World War II	June 15 to July 9, 1944	3,426 killed	Japan	[51]
Tet Offensive	Vietnam War	January 30 to September 23, 1968	3,178 Killed	North Vietnam Viet Cong	[x]
North Korean Invasion of South Korea	Korean War	June 25 to August 3, 1950	3,108 killed	North Korea	[20]
Battle of Chosin Reservoir	Korean War	November 27 to December 13, 1950	~2,840 killed[y]	China	[53]
Tunisian Campaign	World War II	November 12, 1942 to May 13, 1943	2,838 killed	Germany Italy	[38]
Battle of Sicily	World War II	July 9 to August 17, 1943	2,811 killed	Italy Germany	[54]
Operation Enduring Freedom	War in Afghanistan	October 7, 2001 to December 28, 2014	2,380 killed	Taliban al-Qaeda	[55]
May Offensive	Vietnam War	April 29 to May 30, 1968	2,169 killed	North Vietnam Viet Cong	[56]
Dutch East Indies Campaign	World War II	December 8, 1941 to March 9, 1942	~2,000 killed	Japan	[z]
Second Battle of the Marne	World War I	July 15 to August 6, 1918	1,926 killed[aa]	Germany	[58]
Po Valley Offensive	World War II	April 5 to May 8, 1945	1,914 killed	Germany	[38]
Operation Toan Thang II	Vietnam War	June 1 1968 to February 16 1969	1,798 killed	North Vietnam Viet Cong	[59]: 31
Battle of Guam	World War II	July 21 to August 10, 1944	1,783 killed	Japan	[60]: 163
UN Invasion of North Korea	Korean War	September 30 to November 25, 1950	1,732 killed	North Korea China	[20]
Operation Lumberjack	World War II	March 1 to 25, 1945	1,700 killed	Germany	[61]
Operation Toan Thang III	Vietnam War	February 17 to October 31, 1969	1,533 killed	North Vietnam Viet Cong	[62]: A-17
Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River	Korean War	November 25 to December 2, 1950	1,489 killed[ab]	China	[63]
Battle of Peleliu	World War II	September 15 to November 25, 1944	1,460 killed	Japan	[64]: 327
Anbar campaign	Iraq War	March 20 2003 to 7, December 2011	1,335 killed	Iraq (until 9 April 2003) Iraqi insurgency (2003-2011)	[65]
Operation Grenade	World War II	February 23 to March 10, 1945	1,330 killed	Germany	[66]
Operation Grapeshot	World War II	April 6 to May 2, 1945	1,288 killed	Germany Italian Social Republic	[67]
New Georgia campaign	World War II	June 30 to October 7, 1943	1,195 killed	Japan	[68]
Battle of Mindanao	World War II	March 10 to August 15, 1945	1,041 killed[ac]	Japan	[69][70]
Burma campaign	World War II	December 14, 1941 to September 13, 1945	1,021 killed	Japan Thailand	[71]

See also

• Deadliest single days of World War I
• American units with the highest percentage of casualties per conflict

Notes

1. Between 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 only
2. Union and Confederate numbers added together
3. 7,058 Americans (North & South)
4. Estimates range from 2,000 to 3,000 killed
5. 2,725 Union^[13] and 1,515 Confederacy
6. 2,008 Navy KIA + 109 Marines + 218 Army (not included: 68 civilian deaths)^[15]
7. 2,246 Union^[13] and 1,495 Confederacy
8. 1,844 Union^[13] and 788 Confederacy
9. 984 Marines + 88 MIA + 687 Navy
   984+ 88+ 687^[19]
10. 1,754 Union^[13] and 1,728 Confederacy
11. 1,747 Union^[13] and 1,305 Confederacy
12. 1,734 Union and 3,494 Confederacy^[4]
13. 1,730 Union^[13] and 1,294 Confederacy
14. 1,656 Union^[13] and 2,312 Confederacy
15. 1,606 Union^[13] and 1,724 Confederacy
16. Of the 2,500 soldiers in Task Force Faith only 1,050 made it back. Of those only 385 were able-bodied^[21]
17. 1,284 Union and 608 Confederacy^[23]
18. Between 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 only
19. 20,668 among ground forces and 8,536 among the USAAF
20. Hard to get exact numbers because post-World War II history books about the 1941-42 Philippines campaign focus mostly on the Bataan Death March and brutality in POW camps and don't give exact numbers on the KIA during the actual Battle of Bataan. Usually ~10,000 U.S. forces killed is given for the KIA in the actual Battle of Bataan. On Corregidor there were ~1,000 KIA. There were thousands more sailors and airmen killed in action during the 1941-42 Philippines Campaign on sunken U.S. Navy ships and hundreds of destroyed USAAF airplanes from December 1941 to May 1942.
21. 50,410 Americans died in the Rhineland from September 1944 - March 21, 1945^[38]
22. U.S. Army KIA+Army POW died+Army MIA died+Marine KIA+Navy KIA
    1183+1167+1410+763+15 = 4,538
23. 16,233 died in Leyte, Luson, and Southern Philippines during October 17, 1944 - July 4, 1945^[49]
24. 16,592 American died in 1968^[52]
25. 836 Marines killed + 2,000 US Army killed^[53]
26. 10 U.S. Navy ships were sunk, resulting in 1,973 killed in action. 24 U.S. Army soldiers of the Lost Battalion were killed in action. Unknown number of USAAF airmen flying P-40 fighters were also killed during this campaign.
27. 12,000 casualties including KIA, WIA, POW^[57]
28. 676 killed + 813 Missing presumed dead
29. Operation VICTOR IV, the seizure of Mindanao's Zamboanga Peninsula occurred at the same time as Battle of Mindanao.
    221 killed and 665 wounded on Zamboanga Peninsula^[69]
    820 killed and 2,880 wounded on E. Mindanao^[70]