List of battles by casualties
The following is a list of the casualties count in battles or offensives in world history. The list includes both sieges and civilian casualties during the battles.
Large battle casualty counts are usually impossible to calculate precisely, but few in this list may include somewhat precise numbers. Many of these figures, though, are estimates, and, where possible, a range of estimates is presented. Figures display numbers for all types of casualties when available but may only include number killed due to a lack of total data on the event. Where possible, the list specifies whether or not prisoners are included in the count.
This list does not include bombing campaigns/runs or massacres such as the Rape of Nanjing, which, despite potentially massive casualties, are not typically classified as "battles", since they are usually one-sided engagements or the nation attacked is not officially at war with the attackers. Tactical or strategic strikes, however, may form part of larger engagements which are themselves battles, small campaigns or offensives.
Sieges and urban combat
This list, sorted by year, includes sieges as well as modern battles fought primarily in urban areas. Major military operations that included city fighting are listed [|below] this.Major operations
This list includes major operations and prolonged battles or operations fought over a large area or for a long time. The durations of some operations, like the Battle of Moscow, are disputed, so casualty numbers may differ for that reason alone.| Operation | Year | Conflict | Casualties |
| Flanders and Rhine campaign | War of the Spanish Succession | ||
| Montenotte Campaign | War of the First Coalition | + | |
| Ulm Campaign | War of the Third Coalition | ||
| French invasion of Russia | Napoleonic Wars | –1,040,000 | |
| German Campaign | War of the Sixth Coalition | ||
| Six Days' Campaign | War of the Sixth Coalition | ||
| Hundred Days | War of the Seventh Coalition | ||
| Peninsula Campaign | American Civil War | ||
| Battle of Chancellorsville | American Civil War | –30,500 | |
| Overland Campaign | American Civil War | –92,000 | |
| Appomattox Campaign | American Civil War | ||
| Battle of Liaoyang | Russo-Japanese War | ||
| Battle of Shaho | Russo-Japanese War | ||
| Battle of Mukden | Russo-Japanese War | ||
| Battle of Sandepu | Russo-Japanese War | ||
| Battle of Lule Burgas | First Balkan War | + | |
| First Battle of Çatalca | First Balkan War | ||
| Battle of Bregalnica | Second Balkan War | ||
| Battle of Kilkis-Lachanas | Second Balkan War | ||
| Serbian campaign | –1915 | World War I | –1,587,000+ |
| Battle of the Frontiers | World War I | ||
| Battle of Tannenberg | World War I | –160,000 | |
| Battle of Galicia | World War I | –700,000 | |
| Battle of Cer | World War I | –65,500 | |
| First Battle of the Marne | World War I | ||
| First Battle of the Aisne | World War I | + | |
| Battle of the Yser | World War I | + | |
| First Battle of Ypres | World War I | ||
| Battle of Łódź | World War I | –390,000 | |
| Battle of the Drina | World War I | ||
| Battle of the Vistula River | World War I | ||
| Battle of Limanowa | World War I | ||
| First Battle of Champagne | –1915 | World War I | |
| Battle of Sarikamish | –1915 | World War I | —85,000 |
| Carpathian Front | World War I | ||
| Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes | World War I | ||
| Second Battle of Ypres | World War I | –107,000 | |
| Gallipoli Campaign | World War I | –552,000 | |
| Second Battle of Artois | World War I | ||
| Battle of Neuve Chapelle | World War I | ||
| Second Battle of Champagne–Third Battle of Artois | World War I | –440,000 | |
| Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive | World War I | –1,087,000 | |
| Great Retreat | World War I | + | |
| Serbian Campaign | World War I | including prisoners | |
| Erzurum offensive | World War I | —85,000 | |
| Battle of Erzincan | World War I | ||
| Battle of Mont Sorrel | World War I | ||
| Battle of Verdun | World War I | –976,000 | |
| Battle of Asiago | World War I | ||
| Brusilov offensive | World War I | –2,500,000 | |
| Battle of the Somme | World War I | –1,215,000 | |
| Monastir Offensive | World War I | ||
| Romanian Campaign | –1917 | World War I | –933,000, including prisoners |
| Nivelle Offensive | World War I | ||
| Second Battle of the Aisne | World War I | –463,000 | |
| Battle of Arras | World War I | –288,000 | |
| Battle of Messines | World War I | ||
| Tenth Battle of the Isonzo | World War I | ||
| Third Battle of Ypres | World War I | + | |
| Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo | World War I | ||
| Battle of Caporetto | World War I | ||
| Battle of Cambrai | World War I | ||
| German spring offensive | World War I | ||
| Battle of Amiens | World War I | ||
| Operation Michael | World War I | ||
| Battle of the Lys | World War I | –228,340 | |
| Third Battle of the Aisne | World War I | ||
| Second Battle of the Piave River | World War I | killed and wounded, 73,729 prisoners | |
| Second Battle of the Marne | World War I | ||
| Battle of Soissons | World War I | ||
| Battle of Saint-Mihiel | World War I | ||
| Hundred Days Offensive | World War I | ||
| Meuse–Argonne offensive | World War I | ||
| Battle of Warsaw | Polish–Soviet War | , approximately, not including prisoners | |
| Invasion of Manchuria | Second Sino-Japanese War | ||
| Asturias Offensive | Spanish Civil War | ||
| Battle of Jarama | Spanish Civil War | ||
| Battle of Guadalajara | Spanish Civil War | ||
| Aragon Offensive | –1938 | Spanish Civil War | , including prisoners |
| Battle of Teruel | –1938 | Spanish Civil War | |
| Levante Offensive | Spanish Civil War | ||
| Battle of the Ebro | Spanish Civil War | ||
| Battle of Xuzhou | Second Sino-Japanese War | ||
| 1938 Yellow River Flood | Second Sino-Japanese War | ||
| Battle of Wuhan | Second Sino-Japanese War | –700,000 | |
| Battles of Khalkhin Gol | Soviet–Japanese border conflicts | –75,000 | |
| Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang | Second Sino-Japanese War | ||
| Invasion of Poland | World War II | –914,000 | |
| Battle of the Bzura | World War II | –234,000 | |
| Winter Offensive | –1940 | World War II | + |
| Operation Weserübung | World War II | ||
| Battle of France | World War II | ||
| Battle of Britain | World War II | ||
| Hundred Regiments Offensive | Second Sino-Japanese War | ||
| Battle of Keren | World War II | + killed | |
| Battle of Greece | World War II | ||
| Battle of Shanggao | Second Sino-Japanese War | ||
| Battle of Crete | World War II | ||
| Operation Barbarossa | World War II | –8,050,000 | |
| Battle of Białystok–Minsk | World War II | including prisoners | |
| Battle of Smolensk | World War II | killed, captured, and missing 300,000 Soviet prisoners | |
| Battle of Uman | World War II | ||
| Battle of Kiev | World War II | killed, captured, and missing | |
| Battle of Bryansk | World War II | Soviet killed, captured and missing German casualties unknown. | |
| Battle of Moscow | World War II | ||
| Battle of Hong Kong | World War II | including prisoners | |
| Battle of Malaya/Battle of Singapore | –1942 | World War II | , and 60,000 prisoners |
| Battle of Bataan/Battle of Corregidor | World War II | killed | |
| Battle of Lyuban | World War II | ||
| Battle of the Kerch Peninsula | World War II | + | |
| Demyansk Pocket | World War II | ||
| Second Battle of Kharkov | World War II | ||
| Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign | Second Sino-Japanese War | ||
| Battle of Gazala | World War II | ||
| First Battle of El Alamein | World War II | ||
| Kokoda Track campaign | World War II | ||
| Case Blue | World War II | ||
| Battle of the Caucasus | –1942 | World War II | |
| Guadalcanal Campaign | –1943 | World War II | –31,100 |
| Battles of Rzhev | –1943 | World War II | –3,080,000 |
| Second Battle of El Alamein | World War II | –82,500 | |
| Operation Iskra | World War II | ||
| Battle of Kursk | World War II | –2,037,000 | |
| Operation Kutuzov | World War II | ||
| Allied invasion of Sicily | World War II | + killed, and over 100,000 Italian POWs | |
| Belgorod–Kharkov offensive operation | World War II | –280,634 | |
| Battle of Smolensk | World War II | ||
| Dnieper Campaign | World War II | –2,480,000 | |
| Operation Husky | World War II | ||
| Allied invasion of Italy | World War II | ||
| Bougainville Campaign | –1945 | World War II | killed, and 23,571 Japanese prisoners |
| Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive | –1944 | World War II | |
| Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive | World War II | ||
| Battle of Monte Cassino | World War II | ||
| Battle of Narva | World War II | all causes | |
| Battle of Anzio | World War II | killed | |
| First Jassy–Kishinev Offensive | World War II | ||
| Operation Ichi-Go | Second Sino-Japanese War | + | |
| Battle of Normandy | World War II | –795,400 | |
| Battle of Cherbourg | World War II | ||
| Battle for Caen | World War II | ||
| Operation Dragoon | World War II | ||
| Battle of Saipan | World War II | killed, including mass suicides | |
| Operation Bagration | World War II | ||
| Lvov–Sandomierz offensive | World War II | ||
| Falaise Pocket | World War II | ||
| Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive | World War II | , including prisoners | |
| Operation Market Garden | World War II | ||
| Moro River Campaign | World War II | ||
| Baltic offensive | World War II | Soviet casualties; German casualties unknown | |
| Battle of Aachen | World War II | ||
| Gothic Line offensive | -1945 | World War II | |
| Battle of Hürtgen Forest | –1945 | World War II | |
| Courland Pocket | –1945 | World War II | |
| Battle of Leyte Gulf | World War II | killed | |
| Battle of the Bulge | –1945 | World War II | –218,900 |
| Vistula–Oder Offensive | World War II | including prisoners | |
| Battle of Luzon | World War II | –345,330, including sick | |
| Battle of the Rhineland | World War II | and 250,000 prisoners | |
| Battle of Iwo Jima | World War II | –48,700 | |
| East Prussian Offensive | World War II | including prisoners | |
| Battle of Okinawa | World War II | –158,400 | |
| Burma campaigns | –1945 | World War II | |
| Battle of West Hunan | World War II | ||
| Second Guangxi campaign | World War II | ||
| Liaoshen campaign | Chinese Civil War | , including captured | |
| Huaihai campaign | Chinese Civil War | , including captured | |
| Pingjin campaign | –1949 | Chinese Civil War | , including captured |
| Shanghai Campaign | Chinese Civil War | ||
| Battle of Inchon | Korean War | ||
| UN offensive into North Korea | Korean War | ||
| Battle of Chosin Reservoir | Korean War | ||
| Battle of Dien Bien Phu | First Indochina War | , not including prisoners | |
| Tet Offensive | Vietnam War | ||
| Operation OAU | Nigerian Civil War | ||
| Easter Offensive | Vietnam War | ||
| Operation Dawn 5 | Iran–Iraq War | ||
| Battle of the Marshes | Iran–Iraq War | ||
| Russian invasion of Ukraine | –pres. | Russo-Ukrainian War | –500,000 |