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HISTORY

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War

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Largest Battles by Number of Personnel

This list features the reputedly largest battles in history by the number of personnel involved.

RANK

BATTLE

YEAR

PERSONNEL

1

Battle of the Somme

1916

3,000,000

2

Battle of Verdun

1916

2,500,000

3

Battle of Moscow

1941-1942

2,250,000

4

Battle of Kursk

1943

2,000,000

5

Battle of Stalingrad

1942-1943

2,000,000

6

Battle of the Marne (First)

1914

2,000,000

7

Battle of the Bulge

1944-1945

1,200,000

8

Battle of the Red Cliffs

208

850,000

9

Battle of Leipzig

1813

560,000

10

Battle of Normandy

1944

402,050

11

Siege of Baghdad

1258

350,000


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References

Norfolk, National Army Museum. (n.d.). Battle of the Somme. Available at: https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-somme[Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Wikipedia. (n.d.). Battle of the Somme. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme#:~:text=More%20than%20three%20million%20men,in%20all%20of%20human%20history[Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Britannica. (n.d.). Battle of Kursk. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Kursk [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Waron the Rocks. (2017). The Motherland Calls: The Battle of Stalingrad 75 Years Later. Available at: https://warontherocks.com/2017/08/the-motherland-calls-the-battle-of-stalingrad-75-years-later/ [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Wikipedia. (n.d.). First Battle of the Marne. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Marne#:~:text=At%20the%20beginning%20of%20the,time%20of%20the%20Marne%20Battle[Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Ducksters. (n.d.). First Battle of the Marne. Available at: https://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_i/first_battle_of_the_marne.php [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Simple Wikipedia. (n.d.). Battle of Verdun. Available at: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verdun [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. New World Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Battle of Moscow. Available at: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_Moscow [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Wikipedia. (n.d.). Battle of Moscow. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Moscow [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Association of the United States Army. (n.d.). The Battle of the Bulge: Takes a Heavy Toll on Allied Forces, Seemed Unprepared for the German Ardennes Offensive. Available at: https://www.ausa.org/articles/battle-bulge-takes-heavy-toll-allied-forces-seemed-unprepared-german-ardennes-offensive [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Wikipedia. (n.d.). Battle of the Bulge. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. USNI News. (2023). Flaming Ships at Red Cliffs. Available at: https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2023/february/flaming-ships-red-cliffs [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. YouTube. (n.d.). History LA. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/@HistoryLA [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Wikipedia. (n.d.). Battle of Leipzig. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leipzig#:~:text=The%20battle%20was%20the%20culmination,prior%20to%20World%20War%20I[Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Wikipedia. (n.d.). Siege of Baghdad. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Baghdad [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Wikipedia. (n.d.). Normandy landings. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. The D-Day Story. (n.d.). What is D-Day?. Available at: https://theddaystory.com/discover/what-is-d-day/#:~:text=On%20D%2DDay%2C%20the%20Allies,Beach%2C%20and%207%2C900%20airborne%20troops[Accessed: 1 December 2025]. D-Day Overlord. (n.d.). D-Day Figures. Available at: https://www.dday-overlord.com/en/d-day/figures [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. Norwich University Online. (n.d.). Largest Naval Sea Battles in Military History. Available at: https://online.norwich.edu/online/about/resource-library/largest-naval-sea-battles-military-history [Accessed: 1 December 2025]. International Relations Careers. (n.d.). Largest Naval Battles in History. Available at: https://internationalrelationscareers.com/issues/largest-naval-battles-in-history/ [Accessed: 1 December 2025].
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