Special Report

World War II's Biggest Battles

John Harrington

Published: December 14, 2023 11:52 am

World War II began on September 1, 1939, and lasted six years, ending on September 2, 1945, although the United States didn’t officially enter the war until the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurred on December 7, 1941. It has been more than three-quarters of a century since the end of World War II and no conflict since then has come close to the magnitude of death and destruction wrought. During the six years of battle, over 80 million people, soldiers and civilians, lost their lives.

Some of the deadliest battles in human history took place during this war. Many of the battles on the list are conflicts between the Soviet Union, one of the Allied powers, and Nazi Germany, the main Axis power. These battles were characterized by the size of military resources and significant civilian population loss. There were countless battles fought on multiple continents – Asia, Europe, and Africa – and many of the most intense battles took place on the water.  

24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of World War II’s biggest battles based on the number of casualties, which includes deaths and wounded. When available, we included civilian casualties. To create our list, we reviewed material from sources such as the Imperial War Museum in London, World War II battle database, and more. However, The fog of war always complicates exact casualty totals. The estimates result from historians patching together primary documents over many years. 

Here are World War II’s Biggest Battles

18. Battle of Monte Cassino

Source: Keystone / Getty Images

• Estimated total casualties: 75,000
• Date: January 17 to May 18, 1944
• Combatants: Western Allies and Nazi Germany

17. Battle of the Rhineland

Source: Siegman / Getty Images

• Estimated total casualties: 113,000
• Date: February 8, 1944 to January 25, 1945
• Combatants: Western Allies and Nazi Germany

16. Battle of the Bulge

Source: Fred Ramage / Getty Images

• Estimated total casualties: 195,000
• Date: December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945
• Combatants: Western Allies and Nazi Germany

15. Invasion of Poland

Source: Keystone / Getty Images

• Estimated total casualties: 250,000
• Date: September 1 to October 6, 1939
• Combatants: Nazi Germany and Poland

14. Second Battle of Kharkov

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-078-3073-23A, Russland, Kursk, Artillerie (CC BY-SA 3.0 DE) by Pincornelly

• Estimated total casualties: 300,000
• Date: May 12 to May 28, 1942
• Combatants: Soviet Union and Nazi Germany

13. The Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Estimated total casualties: 356,000
• Date: May 15 to September 4, 1942
• Combatants: China and Japanese Empire

12. Battle of Luzon

Source: U.S. Army / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

• Estimated total casualties: 370,000
• Date: January 9 to March, 1945
• Combatants: United States and Japanese Empire

11. Battle of France

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Estimated total casualties: 517,000
• Date: May 10 to June 22, 1940
• Combatants: Western Allies and Nazi Germany

10. Battle of Narva

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Estimated total casualties: 550,000
• Date: February 2 to August 10, 1944
• Combatants: Soviet Union and Nazi Germany

9. Operation Overlord

Source: Keystone / Getty Images

• Estimated total casualties: 625,000
• Date: June 6 to August 30, 1944
• Combatants: Western Allies and Nazi Germany

8. Battle of Smolensk

Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

• Estimated total casualties: 700,000
• Date: August 7 to October 2, 1943
• Combatants: Soviet Union and Nazi Germany

7. Battle of Berlin

Source: Public Domain/wikimedia commons

• Estimated total casualties: 820,000
• Date: April 16 to May 8, 1945
• Combatants: Soviet Union and Nazi Germany

6. Battle of Kiev

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B12190, Kiew, Brand in der Hauptstrau00dfe (CC BY-SA 3.0 DE) by Kraagranger

• Estimated total casualties: 822,000
• Date: August 23 to September, 1941
• Combatants: Soviet Union and Nazi Germany

5. Battle of Kursk

Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

• Estimated total casualties: 1,000,000
• Date: July 5 to August 23, 1943
• Combatants: Soviet Union and Nazi Germany

4. Operation Bagration

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Estimated total casualties: 1,080,000
• Date: June 23 to August 19, 1944
• Combatants: Soviet Union and Nazi Germany

3. Battle of Moscow

Source: Photo by Hulton Archive / Getty Images

• Estimated total casualties: 1,300,000
• Date: October 2, 1941 to January 7, 1944
• Combatants: Soviet Union and Nazi Germany

2. Dnieper-Carpathian Campaign

Source: Red Army / Wikimedia Commons

• Estimated total casualties: 1,442,956
• Date: December 24, 1943 to April 14, 1944
• Combatants: Soviet Union and Nazi Germany

1. Battle of Stalingrad

Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

• Estimated total casualties: 2,000,000
• Date: July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943
• Combatants: Soviet Union and Nazi Germany