List of most lethal American battles - wikipedia List of most lethal American battles Arlington House also known as the Robert E. Lee Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. Section 32 of the cemetery is in the foreground. The United States military has existed for over two centuries. It was birthed out of necessity during fighting with its ruler, Great Britain, for independence ( 1775 -- 83 ). It continued through the bloody American Civil War ( 1861 -- 65 ) and, after collaborating in triumph during both World War I ( 1917 - 1918 ) and World War II ( 1941 -- 45 ). Since WWII the United States military has been constantly at war in such notable conflicts as the Korean War ( 1950 - 1953 ), Vietnam War ( 1955 - 1975 ) and the present day ongoing conflicts in the Middleast and War in Afghanistan ( 2001 -- present ). For most of its existence, America has been involved in one or another military conflict. The term Casualty in warfare can often be confusing. It often does not refer to those that are killed on the battlefield rather it refers to those who can no longer fight. This can include disabled by injuries, disabled by psychological trauma, captured, deserted, or missing. A casualty is just a soldier who is no longer available for the immediate battle or campaign, the major consideration in combat ; 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 in the American Civil War ( June 25 to July 1, 1862 ) there were 5,228 killed, 23,824 wounded and 7,007 missing or taken prisoner for a total of 36,059 casualties. The word casualty has been used in a military context since at least 1513. In this article the numbers killed refer to those killed in action, killed by disease or someone who died from their wounds. The following is a list of the most lethal battles fought by the military of the United States of America. This list shows battles where the number of Americans killed was higher than 1000. The battles that reached that number of deaths in the field are so far limited to the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War and one battle during the Vietnam War the Tet Offensive ( January 30 to September 23, 1968 ). The bloodiest battle with the most American soldiers killed was and still is the Battle of Normandy ( June 6 to August 30, 1944 ) where 29,198 soldiers were killed trying to gain a foothold in Nazi - occupied France. The bloodiest single day, of the Battle of Normandy, with the most Americans killed was the first day, D - day ( June 6, 1944 ) with 2,499 killed. The bloodiest single day in American military history was during the Battle of Antietam when 3,654 soldiers were killed on September 17, 1862. Battle, Siege, or Offensive Conflict Date Estimated Number killed References Battle of Normandy / Northern France World War II 1944 -- 06 - 06 ! June 6 to September 14, 1944 34,137 killed Meuse - Argonne Offensive World War I 1918 -- 09 - 26 ! September 26 to November 11, 1918 26377 ! 26,277 killed Battle of Okinawa World War II 1945 -- 04 - 01 ! April 1 to June 21, 1945 20195 ! 20,195 killed Battle of the Bulge World War II 1944 -- 12 - 16 ! December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945 19276 ! 19,276 killed Battle of Hürtgen Forest World War II 1944 -- 09 - 19 ! September 19, 1944, to February 10, 1945 Over 12,000 killed Battle of Luzon World War II 1945 -- 01 - 09 ! January 9 to August 15, 1945 10640 ! 10,640 killed Battle of Guadalcanal World War II 1942 -- 08 - 07 ! August 7, 1942, to February 9, 1943 7100 ! 7,100 killed Battle of Gettysburg American Civil War 1863 -- 07 - 06 ! July 1 to July 3, 1863 7,058 killed Operation Nordwind World War II 1944 -- 12 - 31 ! December 31, 1944, to January 25, 1945 7,000 killed Battle of Iwo Jima World War II 1945 -- 02 - 16 ! February 16 to March 26, 1945 6,821 killed Lorraine Campaign World War II 1944 -- 09 - 01 ! September 1 to December 18, 1944 6,657 killed Battle of Anzio World War II 1944 -- 01 - 22 ! January 22 to June 5, 1944 5,538 killed Seven Days Battles American Civil War 1862 -- 06 - 25 ! June 25 to July 1, 1862 5,228 killed Battle of Pusan Perimeter Korean War 1950 -- 08 - 04 ! August 4 to September 18, 1950 4,599 killed Chinese Second Phase Offensive in North Korea Korean War 1950 -- 11 - 25 ! November 25 to December 15, 1950 4,538 killed Battle of Spotsylvania American Civil War 1864 -- 05 - 08 ! May 8 to May 21, 1864 4,240 killed Battle of Chickamauga American Civil War 1863 -- 09 - 19 ! September 19 to September 20, 1863 3,968 killed Battle of the Wilderness American Civil War 1864 -- 05 - 05 ! May 5 to May 7, 1864 3,741 killed Battle of Antietam American Civil War 1862 -- 09 - 17 ! September 17, 1862 3,654 killed Battle of Leyte World War II 1944 -- 10 - 17 ! October 17 - December 26, 1944 3,593 killed Operation Diadem World War II 1944 -- 05 - 11 ! May 11 -- 18, 1944 3,145 killed Battle of Leyte Gulf World War II 1944 -- 10 - 23 ! October 23 -- 25, 1944 2,800 killed Battle of Shiloh American Civil War 1862 -- 04 - 06 ! April 6 to April 7, 1862 3,482 killed Battle of Saipan World War II 1944 -- 06 - 15 ! June 15 to July 9, 1944 3,426 killed Battle of Chancellorsville American Civil War 1863 -- 04 - 30 ! April 30 to May 6, 1863 3,330 killed Tet Offensive Vietnam War 1968 -- 01 - 30 ! January 30 to September 23, 1968 3,178 Killed Battle of Stones River American Civil War 1862 -- 12 - 31 ! December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863 3,024 killed Battle of Second Manassas American Civil War 1862 -- 08 - 26 ! August 26 to August 30, 1862 3,052 killed Battle of Chosin Reservoir Korean War 1950 -- 11 - 27 ! November 27 to December 13, 1950 2,840 ~ killed Battle of Sicily World War II 1943 -- 07 - 09 ! July 9 to August 17, 1943 2,811 killed Battle of Cold Harbor American Civil War 1864 -- 05 - 21 ! May 21 to June 12, 1864 2,632 killed D - day ( first day of Operation Overlord ) World War II 1944 -- 06 - 06 ! June 6, 1944 2,499 killed Pearl Harbor Attack World War II 1941 -- 12 - 07 ! December 7, 1941 2,403 killed Battle of Peleliu World War II 1944 -- 09 - 15 ! September 15 to November 25, 1944 2,336 killed Battle of Franklin American Civil War 1864 -- 11 - 30 ! November 30, 1864 1,939 killed Second Battle of the Marne World War I 1918 -- 07 - 15 ! July 15 to August 6, 1918 1,926 killed Battle of Fredericksburg American Civil War 1862 -- 12 - 11 ! December 11 to December 15, 1862 1,892 killed Battle of Guam World War II 1944 -- 07 - 21 ! July 21 to August 10, 1944 1,777 killed Battle of Salerno World War II 1943 -- 09 - 03 ! September 3 -- 16, 1943 1,635 ~ killed Battle of Seven Pines American Civil War 1862 -- 05 - 31 ! May 31 to June 1, 1862 1,770 killed Battle of Tarawa World War II 1943 -- 11 - 20 ! November 20 to November 23, 1943 1,759 killed Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River Korean War 1950 -- 11 - 25 ! November 25 to December 2, 1950 1,489 killed Task Force Faith Korean War 1950 -- 11 - 27 ! November 27 to December 2, 1950 1,450 ~ killed Battle of Perryville American Civil War 1862 -- 10 - 08 ! October 8, 1862 1,422 killed Battle of Chattanooga American Civil War 1863 -- 09 - 21 ! September 21 to November 25, 1863 1,114 killed Battle of Belleau Wood World War I 1918 -- 06 - 01 ! June 1 to June 26, 1918 1,062 killed Battle for Manila World War II 1945 -- 02 - 03 ! February 3 to March 3, 1945 1,010 killed Annotations Jump up ^ Union and Confederate numbers added together Jump up ^ Union and Confederate numbers added together Jump up ^ Source adds Battle of Normandy ( June 6 - July 24, 1944 ) and `` Northern France ( July 25 - September 14, 1944 ) Normandy KIA 13,959 + Northern France 15,239 = 29,198 Total deaths Normandy June 6 - July 24, 1944 16,293 + Northern France July 25 - September 14, 1944 17,844 = 34,137 Jump up ^ 50,410 Americans died in the Rhineland from September 1944 - March 21, 1945 Jump up ^ 3,155 Union and 3,903 Confederate Jump up ^ 1,734 Union and 3,494 Confederacy Jump up ^ U.S. Army KIA + Army POW died + Army MIA died + Marine KIA + Navy KIA 1183 + 1167 + 1410 + 763 + 15 = 4,538 Jump up ^ 2,725 Union and 1,515 Confederacy Jump up ^ 1,656 Union and 2,312 Confederacy Jump up ^ 2,246 Union and 1,495 Confederacy Jump up ^ 2,108 Union and 1,546 Confederacy Jump up ^ 16,233 died in Leyete, Luson, and Southern Philippines during October 17, 1944 - July 4, 1945 Jump up ^ 1,754 Union and 1,728 Confederacy Jump up ^ 1,606 Union and 1,724 Confederacy Jump up ^ 16,592 American died in 1968 Jump up ^ 1,730 Union and 1,294 Confederacy Jump up ^ 1,747 Union and 1,305 Confederacy Jump up ^ 836 Marines killed + 2,000 US Army killed Jump up ^ 1,844 Union and 788 Confederacy Jump up ^ 2,008 Navy KIA + 109 Marines + 218 Army + 68 civilians 2008 + 109 + 218 + 68 Jump up ^ 189 Union and 1,750 Confederacy Jump up ^ 12,000 casualities including KIA, WIA, POW Jump up ^ 1,284 Union and 608 Confederacy Jump up ^ 5th Army 788 killed + US Navy 296 killed + 551 missing presumed drowned Jump up ^ 790 Union and 980 Confederacy Jump up ^ 984 Marines + 88 MIA + 687 Navy 984 + 88 + 687 Jump up ^ 676 killed + 813 Missing presumed dead Jump up ^ Of the 2,500 soldiers in Task Force Faith only 1,050 made it back. Of those only 385 were able - bodied Jump up ^ 890 Union and 532 Confederacy Jump up ^ 753 Union and 361 Confederacy Bibliography Notes Jump up ^ Kelly 2017 ^ Jump up to : Tucker 2013, p. 892 Jump up ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed gives a 1513 reference for military casualty, and an 1844 reference for civilian use ^ Jump up to : Statistical and accounting branch office of the adjutant general 1953, p. 93 ^ Jump up to : D - Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery 2017 Jump up ^ Tucker 2013, p. 903 Jump up ^ History.com 2017 ^ Jump up to : Statistical and accounting branch office of the adjutant general 1953, p. 92 Jump up ^ Brown 2013, p. 191 Jump up ^ Traynor 2017 Jump up ^ Graham 2007, p. 159 Jump up ^ Willmott 2005, p. 22 Jump up ^ Tucker 2014, p. 213 Jump up ^ Burke & Roth 2014, p. 7 ^ Jump up to : Corson 1995 Jump up ^ Smith 2009, p. II Jump up ^ Zabecki 1999, p. 1560 Jump up ^ Varhola 2000, p. 6 Jump up ^ Ecker 2005, p. 62 ^ Jump up to : Allen 2017 Jump up ^ Statistical and accounting branch office of the adjutant general 1953, p. 94 Jump up ^ Fisher 2014, p. 222 Jump up ^ Tucker 2013, p. 1668 Jump up ^ Hearn 2007, p. 88 Jump up ^ United States 2010 ^ Jump up to : Hickman 2017 Jump up ^ Hart 2015, p. 627 ^ Jump up to : Alison 2016 Jump up ^ Stamford Historical Society 2009 ^ Jump up to : Eicher 2002, p. 774 ^ Jump up to : United States War Department 1886, p. 344 Jump up ^ Sondhaus 2011, p. 413 Jump up ^ Surgeon General 1920, pp. 43 -- 44 ^ Jump up to : Tucker 2013, p. 919 Jump up ^ Ramirez 2017 ^ Jump up to : Konstam 2007, p. 157 ^ Jump up to : Sears 2014, pp. 146 -- 147 ^ Jump up to : Tucker 2013, p. 888 ^ Jump up to : Tucker 2013, p. 1605 Jump up ^ Ecker 2005, p. 62. ^ Jump up to : Daily 1999, p. 68 ^ Jump up to : United States War Department 1886, pp. 1033 -- 1036 ^ Jump up to : United States War Department 1886, p. 1112 ^ Jump up to : Tucker 2013, p. 966 Jump up ^ Tucker 2013, p. 1323 Jump up ^ Tucker 2009, p. 370 References Alison ( Jun 14, 2016 ). `` The Count of Pearl Harbor Deaths ''. VisitPearlHarbor.org. Retrieved November 7, 2017. Allen, Jonathan R. ( 2017 ). `` How Many Died in the Civil War ? ''. nellaware.com. Retrieved November 6, 2017. Brown, Meredith Mason ( 2013 ). Touching America 's History : From the Pequot War Through World War II. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253008336. - Total pages : 271 Burke, Patrick ; Roth, Jack ( 2014 ). Ghost Soldiers of Gettysburg : Searching for Spirits on America 's Most Famous Battlefield. Llewellyn Worldwide. ISBN 9780738741352. - Total pages : 264 Corson, Captain William quoting Danny S. Parker 's article ' War 's Last Eruption ' is Military History Magazine : Great Battles, September 1992, pp. 42 -- 9. 3 ( June 1995 ). Captured in Hatten : Captain William Corson 's speech ( Speech ). Retrieved November 13, 2017. Daily, Edward L. ( 1999 ). MacArthur 's X Corps in Korea : Inchon to the Yalu, 1950. Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 9781563114397. - Total pages : 152 D - Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery ( 2017 ). `` D - Day and the Battle of Normandy : Your Questions Answered ''. D - Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery. Retrieved November 8, 2017. Ecker, Richard E. ( 2005 ). Korean Battle Chronology : Unit - by - unit United States Casualty Figures and Medal of Honor Citations. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786419807. - Total pages : 207 Eicher, David J ( 2002 ). The Longest Night : A Military History of the Civil War. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743218467. - Total pages : 992 Fisher, Ernest F. Jr. ( 2014 ). United States Army in WWII - the Mediterranean - Cassino to the Alps : ( Illustrated Edition ). Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN 9781782894117. - Total pages : 602 Graham, Roger D ; Colonel, USAF - Retired ( 2007 ). The Nimrods. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781467830966. - Total pages : 248 Hart, B.H. Liddell ( 2015 ). A History of the Second World War. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 9781447209676. - Total pages : 848 Hearn, Chester G. ( 2007 ). Marines : An Illustrated History : the U.S. Marine Corps from 1775 to the 21st Century. Zenith Press. ISBN 9780760332115. - Total pages : 192 Hickman, Kennedy ( April 28, 2017 ). `` Korean War : Battle of Chosin Reservoir ''. Thoughtco. Retrieved November 7, 2017. History.com ( 2017 ). `` The Battle of Antietam ''. History.com. Retrieved November 8, 2017. Kelly, Martin ( April 4, 2017 ). `` American Involvement in Wars from Colonial Times to the Present ''. Thoughtco. Retrieved November 8, 2017. Konstam, Angus ( 2007 ). Salerno 1943 : The Allied Invasion of Italy. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781844155170. - Total pages : 192 Ramirez, Fernando ( August 9, 2017 ). `` Historic WWII photos show gritty U.S. Marine struggle over Guam ''. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 8, 2017. Sears, Stephen W. ( 2014 ). To the Gates of Richmond : The Peninsula Campaign. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780547527550. - Total pages : 512 Smith, Larry ( 2009 ). Iwo Jima : World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393285635. - Total pages : 384 Sondhaus, Lawrence ( 2011 ). World War One : The Global Revolution. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107782501. Stamford Historical Society ( 2009 ). `` The Stamford Historical Society Presents ''. Stamford Historical Society. Retrieved November 8, 2017. Statistical and accounting branch office of the adjutant general ( 1953 ). Army battle casualties and nonbattle deaths in World War II. Federal government of the United States. OCLC 220594130. - Total pages : 121 Surgeon General ( 1920 ). `` Report of the Office of the Surgeon General ''. War Department Annual Reports. 1920 ( 1 ) : 1106. Retrieved November 7, 2017. Traynor, John & Lisa Early, Clare Horrie ( 2017 ). `` Background : Find out more about the events leading up to Truman 's decision to drop the bomb ''. The National Archives ( United Kingdom ). Retrieved November 6, 2017. Tucker, Spencer C. ( 2009 ). The Encyclopedia of the Spanish - American and Philippine - American Wars : A Political, Social, and Military History, Volume 1. ABC - CLIO. ISBN 9781851099511. - Total pages : 370 Tucker, Spencer C. ( 2013 ). Almanac of American Military History, Volume 1. ABC - CLIO. ISBN 9781598845303. - Total pages : 2524 Tucker, Spencer C. ( 2014 ). Battles That Changed American History : 100 of the Greatest Victories and Defeats. ABC - CLIO. ISBN 9781440828621. - Total pages : 355 United States, Government ( 2010 ). `` Statistical information about casualties of the Vietnam War ''. National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010. United States War Department, John Sheldon Moody, Calvin Duvall Cowles, Frederick Caryton Ainsworth, Robert N. Scott, Henry Martyn Lazelle, George Breckenridge Davis, Leslie J. Perry, Joseph William Kirkley ( 1886 ). The war of the rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies. ; Series 1 - Volume 16 ( Part I ). United States Government Publishing Office. Varhola, Michael O. Varhola ( 2000 ). Fire And Ice : The Korean War, 1950 - 53. Da Capo Press. ISBN 9781882810437. - Total pages : 317 Willmott, H.P. ( 2005 ). The Battle of Leyte Gulf : The Last Fleet Action. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253003515. - Total pages : 416 Zabecki, David T. Zabecki ( 1999 ). World War Two in Europe. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780824070298. - Total pages : 1920 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_most_lethal_American_battles&oldid=810155980 '' Categories : Lists of battles United States military - related lists Battles involving Korea War casualties American Civil War - related lists Battles of the American Civil War Talk About Wikipedia 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 13 November 2017, at 17 : 20. About Wikipedia

Question: which battle lost the most soldiers in ww2
Answer: Battle of Normandy / Northern France