World War II is by far the largest conflict that the world has ever known. Nations marshaled armies of millions that fought across Northern Africa, Europe, and the Pacific to decide the new world order. Tanks, aircraft, and naval vessels contributed to the Allied victory, but it was ultimately the troops and men that won this war. (These are World War II’s most armored American tanks.)
Here 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at some of the biggest battles of the conflict. To identify the major World War II battles with the most troops, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed WWII battles from World War 2 Facts, an online database of WWII battles. We ranked these battles based on the total troops involved whether Axis or Allied, and we only included battles where we could find definitive troop numbers so not all major battles may be listed. We included supplementary information regarding total casualties on the Axis and Allied sides. We also included the start date on which these battles took place. Some supplementary information was obtained from various other military and historical sources.
One of the biggest turning points in the war was the Battle of the Bulge primarily because it was the last major offensive that Germany launched on Western Europe. Allied Forces clashed with German Panzer tanks and other Axis Forces for more than a month in the Ardennes Forest.
More than 840,000 Allied troops put a stop to the advance of 500,000 Germans with each side suffering severe casualties in what was one of the largest battles fought by U.S. troops in the war. The battle raged between Dec. 16, 1944, and Jan. 28, 1945, and resulted in nearly a combined 160,000 soldiers missing, wounded, or killed.
To give some size and scope to this global conflict and the armies raised to fight it, nearly 15 million military personnel and 38 million civilians perished over the course of the war. More than 70 million people served in the armed forces during this time as well. (These are the World War II battles with the most casualties, and it’s not even close.)
Here is a look at major World War II battles with the most troops:
27. Battle of Wake Island
Source: arcticwarrior / Flickr
- Total troops: 3,022
- Allied troops: 522
- Axis troops: 2,500
- Total casualties: 7,200 (including sunk ships and downed aircraft)
- Allied casualties: 1,200
- Axis casualties: 6,000
- Date: December 1941
26. Operation Battleaxe
Source: United Kingdom Government/Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
- Total troops: 33,200
- Allied troops: 20,000
- Axis troops: 13,200
- Total casualties: 1,647
- Allied casualties: 969
- Axis casualties: 678
- Date: June 1941
25. Battle of Tarawa
Source: Three Lions / Getty Images
- Total troops: 38,000
- Allied troops: 35,000
- Axis troops: 3,000
- Total casualties: 8,504
- Allied casualties: 3,797
- Axis casualties: 4,707
- Date: November 1943
24. Battle of Peleliu
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Total troops: 39,484
- Allied troops: 28,484
- Axis troops: 11,000
- Total casualties: 20,701
- Allied casualties: 9,804
- Axis casualties: 10,897
- Date: September 1944
23. Battle of the Kasserine Pass
Source: MPI / Archive Photos via Getty Images
- Total troops: 52,000
- Allied troops: 30,000
- Axis troops: 22,000
- Total casualties: 12,000
- Allied casualties: 10,000
- Axis casualties: 2,000
- Date: November 1943
22. Battle of Crete
Source: Imperial War Museum London, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Total troops: 71,700
- Allied troops: 40,000
- Axis troops: 31,700
- Total casualties: 30,528
- Allied casualties: 23,830
- Axis casualties: 6,698
- Date: May 1941
21. Warsaw Uprising
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Total troops: 74,000
- Allied troops: 49,000
- Axis troops: 25,000
- Total casualties: 68,660
- Allied casualties: 36,000
- Axis casualties: 32,660
- Date: August 1944
20. Siege of Bastogne
Source: falcon_33 / Flickr
- Total troops: 76,800
- Allied troops: 22,800
- Axis troops: 54,000
- Total casualties: 3000 (at least)
- Allied casualties: 3,000
- Axis casualties: Unknown
- Date: December 1944
19. Battle of Corregidor
Source: ajw1970 / Flickr
- Total troops: 88,000
- Allied troops: 13,000
- Axis troops: 75,000
- Total casualties: 14,900
- Allied casualties: 12,800
- Axis casualties: 2,100
- Date: May 1942
18. Battle of Iwo Jima
Source: Hulton Archive / Archive Photos via Getty Images
- Total troops: 92,060
- Allied troops: 70,000
- Axis troops: 22,060
- Total casualties: 48,091
- Allied casualties: 26,031
- Axis casualties: 22,060
- Date: February 1945
17. Guadalcanal Campaign
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Total troops: 96,200
- Allied troops: 60,000
- Axis troops: 36,200
- Total casualties: 39,100
- Allied casualties: 7,100
- Axis casualties: 32,000
- Date: August 1942
16. Battle of Sajpan
Source: usmcarchives / Flickr
- Total troops: 102,000
- Allied troops: 71,000
- Axis troops: 31,000
- Total casualties: 38,234
- Allied casualties: 13,313
- Axis casualties: 24,921
- Date: June 1944
15. Battle of Singapore
Source: EOSdude / iStock via Getty Images
- Total troops: 121,000
- Allied troops: 85,000
- Axis troops: 36,000
- Total casualties: 89,485
- Allied casualties: 85,000
- Axis casualties: 4,485
- Date: February 1942
14. Operation Market Garden
Source: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com
- Total troops: 151,628
- Allied troops: 41,628
- Axis troops: 110,000
- Total casualties: 30,500
- Allied casualties: 17,200
- Axis casualties: 13,300
- Date: September 1944
13. Operation Torch
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Total troops: 167,000
- Allied troops: 107,000
- Axis troops: 60,000
- Total casualties: 4,542
- Allied casualties: 1,199
- Axis casualties: 3,343
- Date: November 1942
12. Battle of Anzio
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Total troops: 285,000
- Allied troops: 150,000
- Axis troops: 135,000
- Total casualties: 83,000
- Allied casualties: 43,000
- Axis casualties: 40,000
- Date: January 1944
11. Battle of Okinawa
Source: Keystone / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
- Total troops: 303,000
- Allied troops: 183,000
- Axis troops: 120,000
- Total casualties: 167,000
- Allied casualties: 50,000
- Axis casualties: 117,000
- Date: April 1945
10. First Battle of El Alamein
Source: ksr8s / Flickr
- Total troops: 311,000
- Allied troops: 195,000
- Axis troops: 116,000
- Total casualties: 44,102
- Allied casualties: 13,560
- Axis casualties: 30,542
- Date: July 1942
9. Battle of Sicily
Source: Hulton Archive / Archive Photos via Getty Images
- Total troops: 757,000
- Allied troops: 467,000
- Axis troops: 290,000
- Total casualties: 191,820
- Allied casualties: 24,820
- Axis casualties: 167,000
- Date: July 1943
8. Battle of Dunkirk
Source: ajw1970 / Flickr
- Total troops: 1,138,226
- Allied troops: 338,226
- Axis troops: 800,000
- Total casualties: 81,774
- Allied casualties: 61,774
- Axis casualties: 20,000
- Date: May 1940
7. Battle of the Bulge
Source: ajw1970 / Flickr
- Total troops: 1,340,000
- Allied troops: 840,000
- Axis troops: 500,000
- Total casualties: 158,100
- Allied casualties: 90,900
- Axis casualties: 67,200
- Date: December 1944
6. Siege of Leningrad
Source: wwhyte / Flickr
- Total troops: 1,655,000
- Allied troops: 930,000
- Axis troops: 725,000
- Total casualties: 3,936,066
- Allied casualties: 3,436,066
- Axis casualties: 500,000
- Date: September 1941
5. Battle of Normandy
Source: Keystone / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
- Total troops: 1,712,000
- Allied troops: 1,332,000
- Axis troops: 380,000
- Total casualties: 409,000
- Allied casualties: 209,000
- Axis casualties: 200,000
- Date: June 1944
4. Battle of Stalingrad
Source: Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images
- Total troops: 1,743,000
- Allied troops: 1,143,000
- Axis troops: 600,000
- Total casualties: 2,197,993
- Allied casualties: 1,129,619
- Axis casualties: 1,068,374
- Date: August 1942
3. Battle of Greece
Source: Topical Press Agency / Archive Photos via Getty Images
- Total troops: 1,937,612
- Allied troops: 692,612
- Axis troops: 1,245,000
- Total casualties: 200,989
- Allied casualties: 93,389
- Axis casualties: 107,600
- Date: April 1941
2. Operation Overlord
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Total troops: 2,692,299
- Allied troops: 2,052,299
- Axis troops: 640,000
- Total casualties: 676,386
- Allied casualties: 226,386
- Axis casualties: 450,000
- Date: June 1944
1. Battle of Berlin
Source: FPG / Archive Photos via Getty Images
- Total troops: 3,266,750
- Allied troops: 2,500,000
- Axis troops: 766,750
- Total casualties: 1,161,367
- Allied casualties: 361,367
- Axis casualties: 800,000
- Date: April 1945
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