This WWII Battle Had the Most Soldiers, and It’s Not Even Close

World War II is by far the largest conflict that the world has ever known. National marshaled armies of millions that fought across the continents of Europe, Northern Africa, 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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