What battles in US war History do you think were the deadlist?

Emperor Trajan · Apr 9, 2013

I have 3 attacks or battles that were deadly and costed a lot of US tooper's lifes.

1. Peral Harbor(1941)-Surprise attack by the Japanese many US Navey soldiers died that day

2.Tet Offensive(1968)-Surprise attack by the Viet Cong and North Vietnam it sparked many protests for the U.S. to back out of the Vietnam war.

3.Battle of Gettysburg(1863)-A well thought out attack carried on by the Confederate States. Altho it was a Union victory the North lost many soldiers.

What other battles do you think were the deadlist in U.S. war History?

Salah · Apr 9, 2013

For the Civil War, Antietam was the single bloodiest day of the conflict, though the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse were particularly miserable battles to fight at as well. One could say the same thing about Franklin/Nashville - if you were a Rebel

Viperlord · Apr 9, 2013

Emperor Trajan said:
3.Battle of Gettysburg(1863)-A well thought out attack carried on by the Confederate States. Altho it was a Union victory the North lost many soldiers.

Gettysburg was not a well-thought out battle for the Confederates, and the casualties, although relatively close in absolute numbers, were far worse proportionately for the Confederates.

For a day that rivals Antietam in sheer bloodshed that doesn't receive much attention, the fighting on the third day of the Battle of Chancellorsville was absolutely horrific, definitely rivalling the Wilderness in the same terrain a year later. That day is when the great majority of the battle's 30,000 casualties fell.

If I'm doing my math right, the casualties for the third day at Chancellorsville and Antietam are actually pretty darn close; in Chancellorsville, 2,500 Union soldiers plus an indeterminate number of Jackson's men fell on the second day. There wasn't much heavy fighting on the first day. 5,000 men fell at Salem Church. Let's assume that all comes out to 8,000 or thereabouts. With the fighting around Chancellorsville itself plus Second Fredericksburg on the same day, that brings the Chancellorsville, May 3rd casualties, to about the same as Antietam, 22,000, give or take several hundred.

Spartacuss · Apr 9, 2013

WWII's Battle of the Bulge. A nearly six week affair that cost the Americans almost 90,000 total casualties, nearly 20,000 dead.

Earl of Mountain View · Apr 9, 2013

Battle of Unsan; Korea.
Oct-Nov 1950

8Th US Cavalry Regiment virtually 'hors de combat' for another year. Est. combat deaths at 800+. 5th US Cavalry in support loss over 350 troopers. South Korean losses were staggering.

http://www.history.army.mil/books/korea/20-2-1/toc.htm

Underlankers · Apr 10, 2013

1) The Battle of the Wabash/St. Clair's defeat. Out of 1,000 soldiers, US survivors were in the double-digits.

Battle of the Wabash - Nortwest Indian War Battle of the Wabash

2) The Battle of Antietam, as the bloodiest single day of battle in the US Civil War.

3) The Battle of Stone's River as the bloodiest proportional battle in the entire war.

4) The Battle of Chickamauga, which was by some reckonings the second bloodiest battle of the entire war.

Apachewarlord · Apr 10, 2013

tjadams said:
Basing a battle on time alone, the battle of the Alamo & San Jacinto have to rank in there.
The Alamo battle (1836) lasted just about one hour with an est. 600 Mexican soldiers killed
and almost 200 Texians.

The San Jacinto battle lasted about eighteen minutes with an est. 600 Mexican soldiers killed and about nine Texians killed in this one.

Not sure those count as the bloodiest. . .

Salah · Apr 10, 2013

Apachewarlord said:
Not sure those count as the bloodiest. . .

tjadams said:
It counts in my book and that's all that matters .

Using the words of the OP, this thread is to give examples of battles that were bloody and cost the lives of lots of American soldiers. The Alamo definitely qualifies on both ends, while San Jacinto also applies for the first half of that criteria. Indeed, TJ named two of the most important battles in the conflict that gave America it's most badass state - so they're worthy in my book

cavtrooper · Apr 10, 2013

Spartacuss said:
WWII's Battle of the Bulge. A nearly six week affair that cost the Americans almost 90,000 total casualties, nearly 20,000 dead.

I'm an American Legion post commander(until tomorrow,when I pass the reins to the NEXT .....),as well as a County Officer,and I serve with one of the last Battle of the Bulge veterans in Wisconsin.He is quite a character,and has told me plenty of tales of his time with the 101st,both at the Bulge and at Arnhem.He collected three purple hearts,and two Bronze Stars along the way.His grand daughter is currently writing a book about his experiences,and his story needs to be told.

sgtdole · Apr 10, 2013

The Battle of the Bulge in 1944 (WWII), with 90,000+ estimated casualties for the U.S.

Emperor Trajan · Apr 10, 2013

Viperlord said:
Gettysburg was not a well-thought out battle for the Confederates, and the casualties, although relatively close in absolute numbers, were far worse proportionately for the Confederates.

For a day that rivals Antietam in sheer bloodshed that doesn't receive much attention, the fighting on the third day of the Battle of Chancellorsville was absolutely horrific, definitely rivalling the Wilderness in the same terrain a year later. That day is when the great majority of the battle's 30,000 casualties fell.

If I'm doing my math right, the casualties for the third day at Chancellorsville and Antietam are actually pretty darn close; in Chancellorsville, 2,500 Union soldiers plus an indeterminate number of Jackson's men fell on the second day. There wasn't much heavy fighting on the first day. 5,000 men fell at Salem Church. Let's assume that all comes out to 8,000 or thereabouts. With the fighting around Chancellorsville itself plus Second Fredericksburg on the same day, that brings the Chancellorsville, May 3rd casualties, to about the same as Antietam, 22,000, give or take several hundred.

How did the Confederates almost win if it was not well thought out?

Underlankers · Apr 10, 2013

Emperor Trajan said:
How did the Confederates almost win if it was not well thought out?

That's the point: they didn't almost win and were never in a position to have been almost-winners.

Spartacuss · Apr 10, 2013

cavtrooper said:
I'm an American Legion post commander(until tomorrow,when I pass the reins to the NEXT .....),as well as a County Officer,and I serve with one of the last Battle of the Bulge veterans in Wisconsin.He is quite a character,and has told me plenty of tales of his time with the 101st,both at the Bulge and at Arnhem.He collected three purple hearts,and two Bronze Stars along the way.His grand daughter is currently writing a book about his experiences,and his story needs to be told.

Outstanding! Please give a heads up when it comes out, Sarge. Btw... what the hell is AirCav doing hanging out with Airborne? In my day, that made for bad nights for many club owners!

Viperlord · Apr 10, 2013

Emperor Trajan said:
How did the Confederates almost win if it was not well thought out?

When did they almost win?

cavtrooper · Apr 10, 2013

Spartacuss said:
Outstanding! Please give a heads up when it comes out, Sarge. Btw... what the hell is AirCav doing hanging out with Airborne? In my day, that made for bad nights for many club owners!

Well,we're all brothers,in the Legion-and I'm turning over the command slot to a Coastie......

Scaeva · Apr 10, 2013

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive during the First World War.

It is arguably the bloodiest single 'battle' in American military history, and in the U.S. hardly anyone has ever heard of it. Between September 26th, 1918 and November 11th, 1918 the U.S. suffered a total of 117,000 casualties, 26,277 of which were KIA or died of wounds.

Although far less well known than the Normandy cemetery and visited much less frequently by tourists, the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial remains the largest cemetery for American war dead in Europe.

cavtrooper · Apr 10, 2013

Spartacuss said:
Outstanding! Please give a heads up when it comes out, Sarge. Btw... what the hell is AirCav doing hanging out with Airborne? In my day, that made for bad nights for many club owners!

Hey,even worse was when units from 3rd armored and 11th ACR ended up in the same bar.I started out as an artilleryman in 3rd Armored,and if we saw some Blackhorse guys,Top would take a swing-oh crap,Top's at it again...get 'em,boys......

nuclearguy165 · Apr 10, 2013

Viperlord said:
When did they almost win?

Well, to be fair, they routed Sickles's corps and came close to capturing Little Round Top, which, had this happened, probably would have forced the Union army to retreat.

Viperlord · Apr 11, 2013

nuclearguy165 said:
Well, to be fair, they routed Sickles's corps and came close to capturing Little Round Top, which, had this happened, probably would have forced the Union army to retreat.

I don't think so. The Confederates, at most, could have put a couple thousand men on top of Little Round Top on July 2nd; Meade had the entire Union VI Corps arriving late in the day, and probably could have forced the Confederates right back off the hill. And Little Round Top's importance is somewhat exaggerated; it only became as important as it did because of Sickles' unauthorized advance uncovering it. It's useless as an artillery platform facing north, and you could only get one battery on it anyway. Holding it with a couple of thousand fought-out troops wouldn't have made the Union position untenable in and of itself; Meade had the entire VI Corps arriving in the day, and probably could have swept the Confederates off the hill again.

The closest the Confederates came to victory was the result of two complete accidents they had no control over; Sickles' unauthorized advance, which enabled Longstreet to smash him and wreak havoc on the Union left for a time, and Slocum overreacting to Meade's request for reinforcements by sending almost the entire XII Corps off Culp's Hill on the Union right. The men remaining on Culp's Hill against the assault of Johnson's Confederate division were actually up against greater odds than those on Little Round Top, the position's loss would have made the entire Union line untenable and exposed the Baltimore Pike, and the regiment holding the extreme right, the 137th New York under David Ireland, actually made two bayonet charges and refused their flank to stave off overwhelming Confederate force.

diddyriddick · Apr 11, 2013

Emperor Trajan said:
How did the Confederates almost win if it was not well thought out?

They didn't. Especially after the first day, there was no real chance of a Confederate victory. That's what makes Lee's decisions so inexplicable.

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What battles in US war History do you think were the deadlist?

Emperor Trajan

Salah

Viperlord

Spartacuss

Earl of Mountain View

Underlankers

Apachewarlord

Salah

cavtrooper

sgtdole

Emperor Trajan

Underlankers

Spartacuss

Viperlord

cavtrooper

Scaeva

cavtrooper

nuclearguy165

Viperlord

diddyriddick

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