World War II was the greatest conflict and war the world has ever known. It started in 1939 and ended in 1945. The war started in Europe and it saw around 60 million people die. The destruction was unbelievable. No war has ever been this bloody. The First World War killed around 35 million people. This list talks about ten of the bloodiest battles fought during the Second World War. The spots are based on the number of casualties.
10. BATTLE OF MONTE CASSINO
The Allies fought the Germans and Italian troops. It was one of the hardest battles in the Second World War. The Allies wanted to break through to the German Gustav Line. They wanted to gain control of Rome. Monte Cassino is a monastery that stood in the center of German defense. Rome was finally captured and both the sides lost around 125,000 men. The battle started on the 17th January and ended on the 18th May in 1944. The battle saw 185,000 casualties.
9. BATTLE OF THE BULGE
This battle was the last major offense from the Germans on the Western Front. The objective was to split the Allies into a group of two and capture Antwerp during followed with the destruction of Allied forces. The battle did not go as planned at all. The battle went against the Germans. This battle saw around 840,000 troops from the States. It was the largest army they used in the Second World War. The battle started on the 16th December in 1944 and ended on 25th January next year. The battle killed around 186,369 men.
8. SECOND BATTLE OF KHARKOV
Kharkov was of strategic importance. It is a city in Ukraine. Germans had captured the city in 1941. The next year, the Red Army launched a massive attack to take the city back. The Germans defeated the Red Army killing nearly 280,000 men and destroying around 650 tanks. Got to hand it to the Germans. They took the attack full-on when they were not expecting it. This battle killed around 300,000 soldiers and was a short battle. It started on twelfth May and ended on the twenty eighty in 1942.
7. BATTLE OF LUZON
Luzon is the largest island in Philippines and it was of strategic importance to the States. Japanese took over the island though and then came the States to take it back. Both the sides suffered great losses; Japanese in particular. The fighting was intense and fierce mostly because of the Japanese kamikaze pilots. Come 11th February and the States captured Manila. Japanese resistance was heavy and they took the States for a while until the battle ended on the 15th August 1945 rendering almost 332,330 to 345,330 people dead. The battle started on the 9th January 1945.
6. BATTLE OF KURSK
It was major victory for the Soviets. It was perhaps the biggest clash of armored tanks in the history. Germans wanted to eliminate the Kursk ‘bulge’. It was created after the Germans were defeated in Stalingrad. The Red Army was ready for the Nazis. The Germans are said to have lost around 550,000 men (death, imprisonment, injuries). This battle was a major turning point in the war and the Soviets ended up freeing most of Ukraine. The battle started on the 5th July and ended on the 23rd August in 1942. Around 388,000 men lost their lives.
5. BATTLE OF FRANCE
The Battle of France saw the Germans invade France. The numbers of soldiers on either side were almost similar but somehow the Germans managed to overpower the French. Germans had the edge on training and communication. The Germans never attacked from the heavily fortified border, they attacked through Belgium and Holland. It was a complete misread on the Germans. The battle started on the 10th May and ended on the 25 June 1940. 469,000 people were left dead after the battle.
4. BATTLE OF NARVA
A battle between the Red Army and Germans happened in Narva. It was a valuable territory for both the sides. The fight was the most intense in all of the Second World War. Russians suffered more at the hands of Germans and both the sides lost countless men. Hitler evacuated his troops from the country. After the war ended though, the country was occupied by Soviet Union. The Battle of Narva began on the 2nd February and ended on the 10th August 1944. It rendered 550,000 people dead.
3. BATTLE OF MOSCOW
Russia successfully defended the capital from the Germans. Hitler believed that if Moscow fell, the spirit of the Red Army would die with it. The winter was terrible with temperatures reaching below 30 degree Celsius. Both the sides suffered great losses and the Germans are said to have lost around 155,000 men. This was a major defeat for the Germans. The plan was good, the Russian defense was better. The battle started on the 2nd October in 1941 and ended on the 7th of January next year. The battle killed 1,000,000 people.
2. BATTLE OF BERLIN
This was one of the last major wars in Europe and saw to the fall of Germany Army and the suicide of Hitler. The Russians advanced 25 miles every day and they stopped 35 miles away from Berlin. The Russians attacked the capital from the east, south and north. They took the Reichstag on the 30th April and that pretty much marked the conclusion of the war. The Battle of Berlin started on the 16th April and ended on 2nd May in 1945. There were 1,298,745 casualties.
1. BATTLE OF STALINGRAD
Hitler pushed on the Eastern Front and that bred the Battle of Stalingrad. Both the sides faced tremendous losses. The Russians suffered a million wounded men. Until this moment, the Germans were doing pretty well in the War. They were successful in North Africa and Europe. But the brutality of this war crippled the Germans. The Romanians and Italians had been eliminated and Germans were surrounded in Stalingrad. This happens to be one of the bloodiest battles of all time. The battle began on the 23rd August 1942 and ended on the 2nd February in the following year. There were 1,250,000 to 1,798,619 casualties.