Bloodiest Battle of World War 1

[Fix bayonets]

What do you think is the bloodiest battle in World War 1

 

[GuyontheRight]

Verdun

 

[godofthunder9010]

Once again, we have a poll that has a correct answer. The Somme saw more casualties and a greater loss of human life than any WW1 battle. Verdun was a strong second.

"The total bill for Verdun was between 315,000 and 377,000 French killed or wounded. These were matched by 337,000 Germans. Of the dead, 150,000 were never buried ..."

"At the Somme was suffered a holocaust of misery and dying equal to that of Verfun, and the casualties were even higher: 650,000 Germans, 420,000 Britons and 195,000 Frenchmen."
-- World War I by David Shermer

 

[Mark Conley]

If each soldier at the somme got his traditional burial plot...not counting depth of the plot in the first or second calculation...

6 feet x 2 feet x (650,000 Germans, 420,000 Britons and 195,000 Frenchmen) 1,265,000 or 15,180,000 square feet of earth, if you divide by 43,560 square feet per acre, it comes to about 350 acres of land if you did not include space around each grave.

now if you buried them vertically instead of horizontally.with no seperation..like what happened with most of the french dead in verdum (they were buried alive by the artillary barrages collapsing their trenches, by the way..they died slightly crouched, standing mostly upright. Most just suffacated. In some places the tips of the bayonets would poke above the ground to mark the spot where they were)

2 feet by 2 feet x 1,265,000 divide by 43,560 sqaure feet to the acre would equal 116 acres.


thats just if you didnt bother to send them home for burial..and you wonder why graves registration has a hard time...

Not to get to terribly off topic..im just glad i have my plot reserved, and they wont stack anyone on top of me...

 

[David Hurlbert]

The Battle of the Somme is not only the bloodiest battle in World War I, but it is also documented as the bloodiest battle throughout world history. Let’s not forget that more than a million lives were lost (on both sides).

 

[godofthunder9010]

Yeah, the Somme was the bloodiest ever so long as you remember that several battles of WW2 on the Ostfront would come close. Because the casualties were severely misreported by the Soviets, we may never know if they surpassed the Somme or not. Probably not, but its hard to be certain.

 

[Damien435]

I am sure that the Soviets lost more men in Stalingrad and Leningrad than died on the Somme, they were lying little commies.

 

[bush musketeer]

Passchendaele (3rd ypres). wasn't the bloddiest but but may well of been close to the worst conditons soldiers had to fight thru in that war? due to the rain and the bloody mud.

 

[godofthunder9010]

One thing that surprises me is that Gallipoli is listed, but no other Eastern Front battles are listed. Where's Tannenburg?

 

[silent driller]

For the Marines, it was Bellau Wood. But it was also the greatest ass whoopin' ever administered to the Germans in WWI.

 

[VEK]

For the Marines, it was Bellau Wood. But it was also the greatest ass whoopin' ever administered to the Germans in WWI.

Hmmm.......that's a little biased..........

The Australians gave the Germans quite a kicking of the arse during Passchendaele. As did the British, but yes, you Yanks did "whoop some ass" with the USMC.

As for bloodiest battle, The Somme, Passchendaele and Verdun would have to be top of my list. But, if it's loss of life, nothing compares to the Somme.

My great-grandfather fought there, and lost many of his comrades. He says their regiment was down to around 15% of it's total strength after the first week or two :shock:

And the Black Watch/Argyll Sutherland Highlanders (both Scotland) kicked a lot of arse during WW1.

These regiments have the highest VC rate in the whole British Army, I believe. :?

 

[bush musketeer]

somme

the somme was a shocking place to fight at fluerbaix the 60th battalion of the AIF attacked german position and to quote from one diary"Fifty six remained of a full thousand. It was over in five minutes"
to lose that many men that quickly must of been truly herendous;


those highlanders were quite amazing some of the brave deeds they did!

 

[silent driller]

For the Marines, it was Bellau Wood. But it was also the greatest ass whoopin' ever administered to the Germans in WWI.

Hmmm.......that's a little biased..........

The Australians gave the Germans quite a kicking of the arse during Passchendaele. As did the British, but yes, you Yanks did "whoop some ass" with the USMC.

As for iest battle, The Somme, Passchendaele and Verdun would have to be top of my list. But, if it's loss of life, nothing compares to the Somme.

My great-grandfather fought there, and lost many of his comrades. He says their regiment was down to around 15% of it's total strength after the first week or two :shock:

And the Black Watch/Argyll Sutherland Highlanders (both Scotland) kicked a lot of arse during WW1.

These regiments have the highest VC rate in the whole British Army, I believe. :?

Fair enough. Greatest ass whoopin' administered by the Marines in WWI.

 

[Bory]

But one thing about the Somme. It was probably the most pointless battle in WW1. Months of bitter and endless fighting, and at the end of it all, nobody gained any territory. Over a million dead for nothing.

 

[Animal Mother]

While the Somme was bloodier, i would say Verdun eclipsed it in brutality and pointlessness. At least the Somme relived some off the pressure on the French defenders of Verdun. A disgusting fact about the Somme is the utter disregard from the british leadership regaring the hard learnt lessons of the French. The most successful troops on the first day was the French contingent, capturing almost all of their first day objectives.

The reason for that was that they advanced in squads, using cover. While the British generals prefered a walking advance, in perfect lines, towards the enemy...

A very good read on the battle of Verdun is Alstair Hornes book "The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916"