The Bloodiest Battles in History

How this list is ranked

The bloodiest battle in history is usually given as Stalingrad, where estimates approach two million killed, wounded, captured or missing. The list below is ordered roughly by total casualties on both sides, and every figure is an estimate: modern battles are counted in different ways by different armies, and ancient numbers come from writers who rarely saw the field. Four things stand out. The twentieth century dominates because industrial armies could keep millions in the line for months. Sieges such as Leningrad killed more civilians than soldiers. Length matters as much as intensity, so Verdun and the Somme lasted most of a year. And a few older battles, Cannae above all, still rank on the death toll of a single day.