All wars are bad and destructive, though some conflicts have etched their names in the history books as the bloodiest military encounters of all time. These deadliest battles ever have caused the deaths of tens of millions of people in total, with a majority of them being civilians and workers caught in the crossfire.
10. Siege Of Candia
Often called one of the longest sieges in history, the siege of Candia between 1645 and 1669 was also one of the deadliest battles in history. It was a part of the Cretan War between the Ottomans and Venetians, as Candia was an overseas colony of the Republic of Venice. Candia, located on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea, held strategic importance for both the Turks and Venetians, as its fortifications were considered some of the strongest in the world.
Throughout the siege, the Ottomans established a network of siege lines and cut off all supplies to the city. The Venetians sought help from European countries and the Pope, though these requests were declined due to other ongoing conflicts across the region. Despite numerous attempts to break it, the siege continued for about 21 years. By the end of it, close to 137,000 people had died on both sides, including about 70,000 Ottoman soldiers that died trying to climb the walls.
9. Battle Of Tenochtitlan
On August 13, 1521, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés – allied with other local tribes – marched into the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, marking the beginning of the end for the Aztec empire.
The Siege of Tenochtitlan – also called the Fall of Tenochtitlan – went on for 93 days, as the Spanish and their native allies launched multiple assaults against the Aztec defenders. While the attacking side was vastly outnumbered, the defenders were no match for the superior European firepower. Combined with a smallpox epidemic that was ravaging native communities throughout the region, the Aztecs were quickly worn down and defeated.
The victory on the battlefield was followed by the sack of the city and indiscriminate killing of its inhabitants – anywhere between 200,000 to 220,000 people died during the course of the entire battle, most of them native Aztecs.
8. Third Battle Of Nanking
The Third Battle of Nanking refers to a decisive engagement of the Taiping Rebellion, fought between March and July 1864. The rebellion was led by one Hong Xiuquan and gained some initial successes, though by 1864, the majority of rebels were trapped within their own captured capital of Nanjing. The battle involved about one million combatants – making it one of the largest military engagements in history – and resulted in a devastating defeat for the rebels.
As the siege intensified, the defenders dug tunnels to counter the loyalist forces, though to little success. Starvation was rampant across Nanjing throughout this time, and continuous bombardment from the European-supplied artillery further weakened the city’s defenses.
The city fell in July, and the invading force proceeded to sack the city and murder its inhabitants, resulting in the deaths of over 200,000 people according to one estimate. While their leader was captured and executed, many of the rebels chose to fight and die instead of surrendering.
7. Battle Of Okinawa
On April 1, 1945, more than 1,600 warships and 350,000 personnel belonging to the US and UK navies landed on the Okinawa beach in southern Japan. It would be the largest amphibious assault force of the Second World War, aimed at securing the island and eliminating the last military obstacle between allied forces and mainland Japan.
The Allies faced little opposition in the beginning, though that wouldn’t last, as they’d soon encounter the first line of Japanese defenses. The defenders fought fiercely, using kamikaze attacks and rocket-powered Ohka flying bombs to slow down the approaching army. The battle would soon turn into a large-scale engagement involving land, sea, and air forces, with heavy rains and rugged terrain complicating the allied advance.
While it was won in the end – as we all know how WW2 ended – the human cost of the battle was staggering. More than 250,000 people lost their lives during the invasion, which includes around 90,000 Japanese soldiers and 150,000 civilians.
6. Easter Offensive
The Easter Offensive was one of the largest offensives of the Vietnam War, lasting from March to October 1972. Led by Le Duan and assisted by Vo Nguyen Giap, it was an attempt to break through the Demilitarized Zone and attack south-Vietnamese forces – or ARVN – while also launching secondary offensives in other regions like Saigon.
The offensive began when the People’s Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) forces, supported by 200 tanks, crossed the DMZ and directly targetted the southern ARVN troops. Additional divisions and armored regiments attacked from Laos, while PAVN troops from Cambodia advanced south into the Binh Long Province.
While the ARVN, supported by massive US airpower, fiercely defended certain positions and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, they failed to hold on to key locations and bases across the front line, and were ultimately forced to withdraw. The Easter Offensive resulted in heavy casualties – according to some estimates, there were around 300,000 military deaths on both sides throughout the engagement.
5. Battle Of Verdun
Verdun in France was the site of one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the First World War, beginning in February 1916 and lasting until December of the same year. The Germans chose Verdun as their target due to its strategic location on the Western Front and its historical military significance, as the city was a symbol of French resistance during the Franco-Prussian War.
The first bombardment of the battle began on February 21, when German artillery began attacking French defenses and pushing them back. Despite initial setbacks, the French forces regrouped and launched multiple counterattacks, though the battle would ultimately turn into a stalemate with both sides suffering heavy casualties by the end of it.
Thanks to support from other allies and parallel offensives like the Brusilov Offensive on the Eastern Front, the tide gradually turned in French favor, and by December 1916, they had successfully regained all of their lost forts and pushed the Germans back to their original positions. The battle would exact a heavy toll on both sides, however, with over 300,000 soldiers killed and about 400,000 more wounded.
4. Battle Of Wuhan
The Battle of Wuhan was a part of the Second Sino-Japanese War, lasting from June to October, 1938. Wuhan, as the capital city of the Hubei Province in China, was a critical defensive objective for the Chinese and other allies in their fight against Imperial Japan, as it was a strategic hub for the movement of industrial and military goods.
The battle began with aerial attacks by the Japanese, followed by a full-fledged ground invasion. Chinese defenses included around one million soldiers, 200 aircraft, and 30 naval vessels, they were ultimately no match for the Japanese war machine.
Despite some early victories for the Chinese, the Japanese forces successfully encircled Wuhan – along with Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang – by October. The Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek made the decision to withdraw and preserve his forces’ strength, though the battle would still result in heavy losses for the Chinese side. While the Japanese suffered heavily at around 140,000 casualties, the Chinese lost a staggering 400,000 people to the battle.
3. Battle Of Passchendaele
The Third Battle Of Ypres – also called the Battle of Passchendaele – was a major military engagement of the First World War. Beginning in July 1917, it was the third battle of the war to be fought in the Belgian city of Ypres, and is still remembered for its harsh conditions and senseless slaughter. Although it was an Allied victory, it came at an immense cost, especially for a territory that would again be abandoned the following year.
The battle was marked by some of the most horrendous conditions of the war, with nearly-non-stop rain and shellfire making it difficult to even walk. After weeks of fierce fighting, the Allies succeeded in routing the German forces by mid-November. The Battle of Passchendaele resulted in massive losses for both sides, with an estimated 275,000 British and 220,000 German casualties.
2. Battle Of Kursk
Also known as the largest tank battle ever fought, the Battle of Kursk between Nazi Germany and USSR started on July 5, 1943. It was planned by the Germans, as they aimed to attack a Soviet salient that had formed on the frontline called the Kursk salient. They wouldn’t succeed, however, as the Soviet generals had prior knowledge of the attack and withdrew much of their forces back to strategically-defensive points.
During their attack, German forces – made up of nearly 50 divisions and 900,000 troops – immediately encountered stiff resistance, mostly in the forms of dense anti-tank batteries and minefields. Soviet forces launched a counter-attack on July 12, and shortly went on to regain control of the settlements of Orel and Kharkov.
The Battle of Kursk saw some heavy losses on both sides, with about 200,000 Soviet and 50,000 German casualties in just the first ten days of fighting. The decisive Soviet victory marked an end to the German offensive in the East, and set the stage for the Soviet offensives of 1944-45. By the end of it, Soviet forces had suffered around 800,000 casualties, compared to about 200,000 on the German side.
1. Siege Of Leningrad
It’s difficult to underestimate the scale of destruction left in the wake of the Siege of Leningrad, lasting from September, 1941 to January 1944. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, a coalition of German and Finnish forces had quickly moved to surround and besiege the city on three sides. Leningrad’s population of over three million people, including 200,000 Red Army soldiers, mobilized to construct fortifications and defend the city.
Despite these preparations, however, the city was nearly completely encircled by early November, with most of its vital supply lines cut off. The resulting German blockade and constant bombardment caused the deaths of about 650,000 citizens in 1942 alone, mostly due to starvation, disease, or shelling.
Despite the severe scarcity of supplies, however, the city’s arms factories continued operating. The residents resorted to extreme measures, like consuming pets and even cannibalism to stay alive. The tide would turn in January 1944, when Soviet offensives breached the encirclement and drove the Nazi forces back. By one estimate, the Siege of Leningrad would cost the lives of over one million inhabitants of the city, along with about 500,000 military deaths.