Deadliest Days In History for Combatants

[jackehammond]

Folks,

On October 7th 1571 the great naval battle of Lepanto took place between the Ottoman Turks and the navies of the Holy League (Spain, the Papal States and Venice). In four hours of the worst of worst ship to ship fighting between galleys 100 ships were destroyed and 40,000 men were killed (and many consider the number under estimated).

Question: What battle later in history had a worst one day death rate for combatants than the Battle of Lepanto?


Jack E. Hammond

NOTE> Does anyone know of a battle where the death rate for one day which was higher "before" Lepanto among combatants. I think the sacking and massacre the civilians after Baghdad surrendered by the Mongols was high. But they were not combatants?

.

[ThatHistoryDude]

Cannae 216 BC

Almost 50,000 Romans killed 15,000 captured and 5-8000 Carthaginians killed. All in a rather small area over the course of a single day must have been horrific.

[LineDoggie]

The Death Star destruction, At any given time, around 1.7 million Imperial personnel (excluding droids (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Droid)) were aboard the battlestation

Full-time crew members (342,953)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Officers (27,048)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Troops (607,360)
Pilots (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Pilot) (167,216)
Support and maintenance crew (285,675)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Stormtrooper (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper) (25,984; depending upon deployment)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Gunners (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gunner) (57,278)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Starship (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Starship) support staff (42,782)
Passengers (843,342)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I

Damn that Skywalker....

[Albatross]

The Death Star destruction,

Full-time crew members (342,953)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Officers (27,048)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Troops (607,360)
Pilots (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Pilot) (167,216)
Support and maintenance crew (285,675)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Stormtrooper (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper) (25,984; depending upon deployment)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Gunners (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gunner) (57,278)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Starship (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Starship) support staff (42,782)
Passengers (843,342)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I

Damn that Skywalker....

rip, win, and close this mofo down.

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

For Combatants...that eliminates the bombing of Hiroshima.

In that case, I believe the first day of the Battle of the Somme (July 1, 1916) wins:

Killed or wounded: 58,000 British, 8,000 Germans, 7,000 French.

[Valkyries]

Battle of *****sburg? wasnt it something like 40-60k killed?

[Calanen]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Ypres

Battle of Passchendaele or Third Battle of Ypres.
11 July (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_11) 1917 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1917) – 10 November (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_10) 1917 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1917)Locationhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Erioll_world.svg/18px-Erioll_world.svg.png50°54′1″N 3°1′16″E / 50.90028, (http://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Battle_of_Passchendaele&params=50_54_1_N_3_1_16_E_&title=Passendale)Passendale (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passendale), Belgium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium)ResultIndecisive


[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Ypres#cite_note-0)Belligerentshttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg) United Kingdom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Flag_of_Australia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Australia.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg) Australia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Australia_during_World_War_I)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Flag_of_Canada-1868-Red.svg/22px-Flag_of_Canada-1868-Red.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Canada-1868-Red.svg) Canada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_History_of_Canada_during_WWI)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg/22px-Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg) New Zealand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_New_Zealand_in_World_War_I)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/South_Africa_Red_Ensign.png/22px-South_Africa_Red_Ensign.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:South_Africa_Red_Ensign.png) South Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_Africa)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/22px-Flag_of_France.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg) France (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_France#Modern_period)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Flag_of_the_German_Empire.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_German_Empire.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_German_Empire.svg) German Empire

Allied Losses:
Casualties and losses 508,800 dead, wounded, missing, or captured

German Losses:
[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Ypres#cite_note-1)348,300 dead, wounded, missing, or captured[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Ypres#cite_note-2)

[Salman]

The Battle of Salsu was an enormous battle that occurred in the year 612 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/612), during the second Goguryeo-Sui War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goguryeo-Sui_Wars), between Goguryeo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goguryeo) and Sui Dynasty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sui_Dynasty). Goguryeo cavalry forces, although outnumbered, overwhelmed the Chinese troops in combat and eventually emerged victorious.
In 612, the Sui Emperor Yangdi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Yang_of_Sui) invaded Goguryeo with a million men.[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salsu#cite_note-1)[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salsu#cite_note-2) However, at this time, Goguryeo General Eulji Mundeok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eulji_Mundeok) defended fortresses against the Sui army and navy for several months and destroyed the Sui troops in retreat. An ambush at Salsu (Chongchon River (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chongchon_River)) caused massive Sui casualties. When the Sui army had reached Salsu, the water level was shallow. Eulji Mundeok had already cut off the flow of water with a dam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dam). When the Sui army had half crossed the river, Eulji opened the dam, and the onslaught of water left many thousands of Sui soldiers dead. The Goguryeo cavalry then charged the remaining Sui force. The surviving Sui forces were forced to retreat to Liaodong Peninsula (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaodong_Peninsula) to avoid being killed. This led to an overall campaign loss of all but 2,700 Sui troops out of 305,000 men.[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salsu#cite_note-3) The Battle of Salsu is listed among the most lethal "classical formation" battles in world history (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battles_by_death_toll).
With the victory over Sui dynasty in Salsu, Goguryeo eventually became the victor of the war itself, while the Sui Dynasty started to crumble from within and was finally brought down by internal strife, replaced by the Tang (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_Dynasty).

[GeraldDuval]

Battle of *****sburg? wasnt it something like 40-60k killed?

46,286 casualties on both sides.

7,863 killed.

[JRT]

Battle of Seelow Heights, 16.4.1945 - 19.4.1945, 11 000 German casualties, ~ 30 000 Soviet casualties.

[Winger]

I think WWI had an engagement that exceeds all others. I have to look back through my books and check.

The Battle of Verdun comes to mind but that took place over a period of time:
Casualties and losses 378,000; of whom 163,000 died for the allies & 330,000; of whom 143,000 died for the Germans


As far as America is concerned I believe Antietam/Sharpsburg was the bloodiest if not deadliest.

[Salman]

I think WWI had an engagement that exceeds all others. I have to look back through my books and check.

The Battle of Verdun comes to mind but that took place over a period of time:
Casualties and losses 378,000; of whom 163,000 died for the allies & 330,000; of whom 143,000 died for the Germans


As far as America is concerned I believe Antietam/Sharpsburg was the bloodiest if not deadliest.

Its about the deadliest battle in one day, not several months.

[PsihoKeke]

There is also battle of Borodino, 7. september 1812 where Russians sufered 44000 casualties and French sufered 28000

[CMNot]

Waterloo was awful, ~75k casualties in one day :|

Wagram again produced a similar amount.

July 1st, 1916 is also an awful day that would do well to live on in the modern psyche :-(

Pre-Lepanto, you have Cannae with something like 120k casualties. Battle of Salsu with ~300k looks like it wasn't a very good day to venture out without water wings. Battle's of Arausio and Plataea looks like they blew if you were Roman or Achaemenid respectively.

[Pete031]

During Vimy in WW1 there were 150000 casualties... That was over 5 months or so.

[LongShot]

The Death Star destruction, At any given time, around 1.7 million Imperial personnel (excluding droids (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Droid)) were aboard the battlestation

Full-time crew members (342,953)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Officers (27,048)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Troops (607,360)
Pilots (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Pilot) (167,216)
Support and maintenance crew (285,675)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Stormtrooper (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper) (25,984; depending upon deployment)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Gunners (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gunner) (57,278)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Starship (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Starship) support staff (42,782)
Passengers (843,342)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I

Damn that Skywalker....


Roger that, all done here.

[PanzerMaster]

I think that punic wars battles were a good candidate for single-day bloodiest matches.

While Cannae is widely know, the Battle of Lake Trasimeno (Trasimene for you english speakers) was also a terrible blood bath. See here. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Trasimene)

A lot of ancient battles in India and, more than so in China were huge. Armies reported of being hundreds of thousands strong. But it is unlikely that armies this size were brought together in a single place.


The Death Star destruction, At any given time, around 1.7 million Imperial personnel (excluding droids (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Droid)) were aboard the battlestation

Full-time crew members (342,953)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Officers (27,048)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Troops (607,360)
Pilots (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Pilot) (167,216)
Support and maintenance crew (285,675)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Stormtrooper (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper) (25,984; depending upon deployment)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Gunners (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gunner) (57,278)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Starship (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Starship) support staff (42,782)
Passengers (843,342)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I

Damn that Skywalker....

Number should be higher, running in millions or billions of beings being (luv english) muredered by Rebel scum. Read here (http://www.theforce.net/swtc/ds/population.html)

[Skutatos]

The battle of Plataea in 479 BC may have killed 77,000 people, or more.

The battle of Salsu(now in North Korea) in 612 resulted in the deaths of more then 300,000. Eulji had a damn opened as the opposing army was attempting to retreat across it, and in the process drowned most of them, and finished the survivors off with cavalry.

[BugHunt]

Strictly speaking when the death star blew apart Alderaan there might have been more then 1.7 million military personnel on that single planet....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alderaan


Or perhaps again the forgotten Endor Holocaust comes to mind.....but frankly who gives a damn if a few billion Ewoks die....

Endor Holocaust

What happens when you detonate a spherical metal honeycomb over five hundred miles wide just above the atmosphere of a habitable world? Regardless of specifics, the world won't remain habitable for long.

http://theforce.net/swtc/holocaust.html

[LongShot]

I cleaned my toilet today......billions and billions of germs wiped out........

[bthest86]

The Death Star destruction, At any given time, around 1.7 million Imperial personnel (excluding droids (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Droid)) were aboard the battlestation

Full-time crew members (342,953)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Officers (27,048)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Troops (607,360)
Pilots (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Pilot) (167,216)
Support and maintenance crew (285,675)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Stormtrooper (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper) (25,984; depending upon deployment)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Gunners (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gunner) (57,278)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Starship (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Starship) support staff (42,782)
Passengers (843,342)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I

Damn that Skywalker....

I'm about sick of you Empire apologists.

Destruction of Alderaan by the Death Star
~Death Toll: 1.97 Billion

1.97 Billion > 1.7 million

[Salman]

Strictly speaking when the death star blew apart Alderaan there might have been more then 1.7 million military personnel on that single planet....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alderaan


Or perhaps again the forgotten Endor Holocaust comes to mind.....but frankly who gives a damn if a few billion Ewoks die....

Endor Holocaust

What happens when you detonate a spherical metal honeycomb over five hundred miles wide just above the atmosphere of a habitable world? Regardless of specifics, the world won't remain habitable for long.

http://theforce.net/swtc/holocaust.html


And this is like 0.00001% of the history of star wars.....people have way to much time!!

[Winger]

I cleaned my toilet today......billions and billions of germs wiped out........

Well, when you only get to it twice a year..........damn it man, get a wife. p-)

[Dan2004]

I cleaned my toilet today......billions and billions of germs wiped out........

I just blew my nose and slaughtered millions.

My God! Someone better call Geneva........p-)

[blueactive]

I think that the deadliest single-day battle in human history occurred on September 7, 1812. On the first day of the battle of Borodino anywhere between 70,000 to 100,000 European and Russian soldiers became casualties.

It could be argued that Hanibal's victory at Cannae was the bloodiest battlefield in history for the simple fact that so many men died in a confined a space of about two square miles.

[Chulo]

the first day of the battle of the Somme was quite bad too

Overall, however, the first day on the Somme was a failure. The British had suffered 19,240 dead, 35,493 wounded, 2,152 missing and 585 prisoners for a total loss of 57,470. Initial casualties were especially heavy among officers, who still dressed differently from non-commissioned officers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-commissioned_officer) and other ranks, and whose uniforms the Germans had been trained to recognise. The French Army suffered 7,000 casualties during the day.
An exact count of German casualties for 1 July is difficult to make, because German units only submitted casualty returns every ten days. It is estimated that the Germans suffered 8,000 casualties on the British front, 2,200 of which were prisoners of war (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner_of_war). The disparity between British and German casualties was highest at Ovillers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovillers), where the 8th British Division (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_8th_Infantry_Division) suffered 5,121 casualties, while the defending German 180th Regiment had only 280—a ratio of 18 to 1.

[jackehammond]

Battle of *****sburg? wasnt it something like 40-60k killed?


Dear Member,

The Battle of G-E-T-T-Y-S-B-U-R-G took place over 3 to 5 days. And I believe the total casualties -- ie killed and wounded not just killed -- was between 40K to 60K. I could be wrong, but I don't think that the US has evre suffered over 10,000 dead in one day in a battle.

Jack E. Hammond

NOTE> Does anyone want to name the next battle after Lepanto where combatants killed in one day were worst?

.

[jackehammond]

Megaraptor;3492014']For Combatants...that eliminates the bombing of Hiroshima.

In that case, I believe the first day of the Battle of the Somme (July 1, 1916) wins:

Killed or wounded: 58,000 British, 8,000 Germans, 7,000 French.

Dear Member,

You are close. It was an earlier battle though.

Jack E. Hammond

.

[Marsh]

Hi,
A battle close to where I come from and used to live was probably the worst battle in British history, in terms of slaughter inflicted over a single day. Worse than the Somme in terms of deaths rather than casualties and inflicted by arrow storm, blade and muscle rather than artillery.

The Battle of Towton iduring the Wars of the Roses was the largest and bloodiest ever fought on British soil, with casualties believed to have been in excess of 50,000 (perhaps as many as 60,000) men. Roughly 1% of the entire English population at the time died at Towton. The battle took place on a snowy 29 March 1461 (Palm Sunday) on a plateau between the villages of Towton and Saxton in Yorkshire (about 12 miles (19 km) southwest of York and about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Tadcaster). (From Wikki)

Cheers
Marsh

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

Dear Member,

You are close. It was an earlier battle though.

Jack E. Hammond

.

Battle of the Frontiers, August 1914?

[PanzerMaster]

Hi,
A battle close to where I come from and used to live was probably the worst battle in British history, in terms of slaughter inflicted over a single day. Worse than the Somme in terms of deaths rather than casualties and inflicted by arrow storm, blade and muscle rather than artillery.

The Battle of Towton iduring the Wars of the Roses was the largest and bloodiest ever fought on British soil, with casualties believed to have been in excess of 50,000 (perhaps as many as 60,000) men. Roughly 1% of the entire English population at the time died at Towton. The battle took place on a snowy 29 March 1461 (Palm Sunday) on a plateau between the villages of Towton and Saxton in Yorkshire (about 12 miles (19 km) southwest of York and about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Tadcaster). (From Wikki)

Cheers
Marsh

Thanks for the info, never heard before. I will research...

[Alfacentori]

If I had to theorise the bloodiest battles in history my money would be on the Mongol expansions into the Mid East and Persia. There are good accounts from period authors like Ata Malik Juvaini who wrote a history of Genghis Khan in 1250, he was a member of the Mongol Court.

He gives accounts of the Mongol expansion and wars against the Persians and Arab Sultanates, with accounts of armies in the 100000+ range getting slaughtered to the man.

Anyone who has studied history will know he is considered a reliable authority and isnt known to exaggerate, plus the Mongol way of war is well known. Once a city or kingdom resisted they would offer no quarter and would kill all and everyone.

Armies of the size Juvaini mentions were certainly not beyond the power and strength of the muslim kingdoms to raise and equip and that they were defeated by the Mongols is a matter of historical record.

The fall of central cities like Samarkand and Balakh would have been bloody affairs and in many cases the Arab/Muslim armies, especially the turkic mercenaries, came out to fight the Mongols on open ground and were subsequently slaughtered in massive numbers by Mongol forces.

Alfa

[Salman]

If I had to theorise the bloodiest battles in history my money would be on the Mongol expansions into the Mid East and Persia. There are good accounts from period authors like Ata Malik Juvaini who wrote a history of Genghis Khan in 1250, he was a member of the Mongol Court.

He gives accounts of the Mongol expansion and wars against the Persians and Arab Sultanates, with accounts of armies in the 100000+ range getting slaughtered to the man.

Anyone who has studied history will know he is considered a reliable authority and isnt known to exaggerate, plus the Mongol way of war is well known. Once a city or kingdom resisted they would offer no quarter and would kill all and everyone.

Armies of the size Juvaini mentions were certainly not beyond the power and strength of the muslim kingdoms to raise and equip and that they were defeated by the Mongols is a matter of historical record.

The fall of central cities like Samarkand and Balakh would have been bloody affairs and in many cases the Arab/Muslim armies, especially the turkic mercenaries, came out to fight the Mongols on open ground and were subsequently slaughtered in massive numbers by Mongol forces.

Alfa

It was not until the battle of "Ain Jalut" in modern day Israel that the mongol expansion got stopped for good in the muslim world. Ironically it was fought mainly between turkish mercenaries and mongols. The turks were fimiliar with mongol tactics and won the battle. This was the first time that the mongols got defeated in open battle.

Previous to the battle the mongols sent an envoy to persuade the mamluks to surrender with this message:

"From the King of Kings of the East and West, the Great Khan. To Qutuz the Mamluk, who fled to escape our swords. You should think of what happened to other countries and submit to us. You have heard how we have conquered a vast empire and have purified the earth of the disorders that tainted it. We have conquered vast areas, massacring all the people. You cannot escape from the terror of our armies. Where can you flee? What road will you use to escape us? Our horses are swift, our arrows sharp, our swords like thunderbolts, our hearts as hard as the mountains, our soldiers as numerous as the sand. Fortresses will not detain us, nor arms stop us. Your prayers to God will not avail against us. We are not moved by tears nor touched by lamentations. Only those who beg our protection will be safe. Hasten your reply before the fire of war is kindled. Resist and you will suffer the most terrible catastrophes. We will shatter your mosques and reveal the weakness of your God and then we will kill your children and your old men together. At present you are the only enemy against whom we have to march."

The mamluks responded, however, by killing the envoys and displaying their heads on Bab Zuweila , one of the gates of Cario. Talk about kill or be killed.

[jackehammond]

Megaraptor;3496362']Battle of the Frontiers, August 1914?

Dear Member,

It was combatants killed in one day after the battle of Lepanto in 1571. While the author could be mistaken in his book on Lepanto he states it was the 1915 Battle of Loos. I have searched and searched an can not find a break down of day to day killed in action.

Lepanto may hold the record since that battle. I don't even think on the Russian front the Russians suffered that many combatants killed in one day.

Jack E. Hammond

.

[Alfacentori]

It was not until the battle of "Ain Jalut" in modern day Israel that the mongol expansion got stopped for good in the muslim world. Ironically it was fought mainly between turkish mercenaries and mongols. The turks were fimiliar with mongol tactics and won the battle. This was the first time that the mongols got defeated in open battle.

Previous to the battle the mongols sent an envoy to persuade the mamluks to surrender with this message:

"From the King of Kings of the East and West, the Great Khan. To Qutuz the Mamluk, who fled to escape our swords. You should think of what happened to other countries and submit to us. You have heard how we have conquered a vast empire and have purified the earth of the disorders that tainted it. We have conquered vast areas, massacring all the people. You cannot escape from the terror of our armies. Where can you flee? What road will you use to escape us? Our horses are swift, our arrows sharp, our swords like thunderbolts, our hearts as hard as the mountains, our soldiers as numerous as the sand. Fortresses will not detain us, nor arms stop us. Your prayers to God will not avail against us. We are not moved by tears nor touched by lamentations. Only those who beg our protection will be safe. Hasten your reply before the fire of war is kindled. Resist and you will suffer the most terrible catastrophes. We will shatter your mosques and reveal the weakness of your God and then we will kill your children and your old men together. At present you are the only enemy against whom we have to march."


The mamluks responded, however, by killing the envoys and displaying their heads on Bab Zuweila , one of the gates of Cario. Talk about kill or be killed.

You are quite right, the Mongols never took Egypt and there is no doubt of the bravery of the turkish forces they fought on numerous occasions, they stood their ground when all others fled or surrendered .

The Mongol commander at Ain Jalut (Meaning the 'Spring of Goliath) was Kit-buqa and he was killed during the fighting, with Syria falling from Mongol to Mamluk control.

The Mongols were however far from defeated and invaded Syria and the Near East several more times pushing back Mamluk forces, probably being aided by Mamluk disunity after the murder of Qutuz shortly after Ain Jalut.

Alfa

[Mogilny]

The Death Star destruction, At any given time, around 1.7 million Imperial personnel (excluding droids (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Droid)) were aboard the battlestation

Full-time crew members (342,953)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Officers (27,048)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Troops (607,360)
Pilots (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Pilot) (167,216)
Support and maintenance crew (285,675)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Stormtrooper (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper) (25,984; depending upon deployment)[2] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-BtM-1)
Gunners (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gunner) (57,278)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
Starship (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Starship) support staff (42,782)
Passengers (843,342)[1] (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I#cite_note-CCS-0)
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_I

Damn that Skywalker....

that just made my day dude.
hahahahahahahahahahahaha

[Eoin666]

Hi, A battle close to where I come from and used to live was probably the worst battle in British history, in terms of slaughter inflicted over a single day. Worse than the Somme in terms of deaths rather than casualties and inflicted by arrow storm, blade and muscle rather than artillery.
The Battle of Towton iduring the Wars of the Roses was the largest and bloodiest ever fought on British soil, with casualties believed to have been in excess of 50,000 (perhaps as many as 60,000) men. Roughly 1% of the entire English population at the time died at Towton. The battle took place on a snowy 29 March 1461 (Palm Sunday) on a plateau between the villages of Towton and Saxton in Yorkshire (about 12 miles (19 km) southwest of York and about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Tadcaster). (From Wikki)


Thanks for the info, never heard before. I will research...

Battle of Towton
56078

http://www.richardiii.net/towton.htm

[PanzerMaster]

Battle of Towton
56078

http://www.richardiii.net/towton.htm

thanks for the link and the pic

[Billy No Mates]

The Battle of Towton iduring the Wars of the Roses was the largest and bloodiest ever fought on British soil, with casualties believed to have been in excess of 50,000 (perhaps as many as 60,000) men. Roughly 1% of the entire English population at the time died at Towton.

The percentage of the population lost you quote is probably correct but number is probably inflated as the population was no where near 6million a casualty figure of around 28000 is probably closer to the mark given a population of around 3million in England and would better match both the contemporary sources (letters English bishops sent to their Italian counterparts lamenting the fact that Christians should engage in such slaughter and quoting the figures given by the heralds) and modern research into the battle .

Events conspired to make Towton a perfect storm,unusually large but roughly equal musters saw Armies in excess of 25000 on both sides at at time went most engagements were between forces a quarter to a third of the size,the weather conditions were atrocious the battle unusually long,Edwards father and brother had been killed at the previous Yorkist foray northwards at Wakefield and their heads still adorned the gates of York so he was hardly in a loving mood when he went north,in their turn many Lancastrian lords Craven and Clifford in particular were not ****e to taking prisoners and let the fact be widely known .

The rout of the Lancastrians was followed up with unusal vigour long into the night and what had been a strong defensive position turned into a death trap as exhausted Lancastrians struggled across two freezing rivers one of which had been made all the more difficult by the Lancastrians destroying the bridge to protect their own kings retreat .

Channel 4 did an intresting program on one of the mass graves discovered in its secrets of the dead series entitled Blood Red Roses many of the dead had defensive wounds to their hands some had been bound others mutilated,i suppose thats why we use the phrase 'getting medieval' .

[BugHunt]

Channel 4 did an intresting program on one of the mass graves discovered in its secrets of the dead series entitled Blood Red Roses many of the dead had defensive wounds to their hands some had been bound others mutilated,i suppose thats why we use the phrase 'getting medieval' .


I think i recall alot of skulls with scrappings indicating chopped off ears..... makes you proud to be British woot

[Billy No Mates]

I think i recall alot of skulls with scrappings indicating chopped off ears..... makes you proud to be British woot

Yep thats right,so much for the age of chivalry....

[PsihoKeke]

Wasn't there also notion of damaged skulls indicating use of morningstars to finish off the wounded.

[Billy No Mates]

Wasn't there also notion of damaged skulls indicating use of morningstars to finish off the wounded.

There were certainly skulls that had puncture wounds that married up perfectly with the 'pick' end of surviving warhammers,and also a skull that showed a suprisingly well treated and healed sword wound from a previous battle(a deep horizontal cut through the bone of the lower jaw) .

I dont remember morning stars but the series did cover other battles and i have seen pictures of unfortunate souls whose remains exhibited the points of the stars still lodged in their skulls i think they fell at the battle of Visby on Gotland .

[Mordoror]

usually Napoleonic Era battles were big shredding flesh fest

Borodino (around 72000 casualies) :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Borodino

Wagram (more than 75 000 casualties)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wagram

Iéna (more than 50 000 casualties)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jena-Auerstedt

Leipzig on 3 days, more than 92 000 combined casualties)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leipzig

Eylau (up to 50 000 combined casualties)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Eylau

and so on and so on .....