This page lists mortalities from battles and other individual military operations or acts of violence, sorted by death toll. For wars and events more extensive in scope, see ''
List of wars and disasters by death toll''. For natural disasters, see ''
List of natural disasters by death toll''.
Battles and sieges
Main articles: Most lethal battles in world history
★ 1,530,000 -
Battle of Stalingrad (1942–1943)
★ 1,500,000 -
Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944)
★ 1,425,000 -
Brusilov Offensive (
4 June-
20 September 1916)
★ 1,338,000 -
Battle of Kursk (1943)
★ 1,300,000+ - The
Merv massacre
1221
★ 1,200,000 - The
Urgench massacre
1220
★ 900,000 -
Battle of Moscow (1941–1942)
★ 552,000 -
Battle of Gallipoli (1916)
★ 500,000 -
Battle of Smolensk (1941)
★ 400,000 -
Battle of Kiev (1941)
★ 370,000 -
Battle of Belarus (1941)
★ 330,000 -
First Battle of the Marne (1914)
★ 310,000 -
Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC)
★ 300,000 -
Battle of the Somme (1916)
★ 280,000 -
Warsaw Uprising (1944)
★ 280,000 -
Second Battle of the Aisne (1917)
★ 270,000 -
Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive (1942)
★ 270,000 -
Battle of West Ukraine (1944)
★ 260,000 -
Battle of Verdun (1916)
★ 260,000 -
Battle of the Caucasus (1942)
★ 240,000 -
Third Battle of the Aisne (1918)
★ 240,000(est) -
Battle of Bibracte (58 BC)
★ 230,000 -
Battle of Berlin (1945)
★ 230,000–350,000 -
Battle of Kursk (1943)
★ 207,000 -
Battle of Plataea (479 BC)
★ 200,000+ -
Battle of Chi Bi,
China (208 AD)
★ 200,000 -
Battle of Carthage (c.149 BC) (149 BC–146 BC)
★ 190,000 -
Battle of West Ukraine (1941)
★ 180,000 -
Battle of France (1940)
★ 175,000–350,000 -
Operation Bagration (1944)
★ 170,000 -
Battle of the Lower Dnieper (1943)
★ 170,000 -
Battle of Königsberg (1945)
★ 165,000–300,000
Battle of Chalons (451)
★ 150,000 -
Battle of Rostov (1941)
★ 150,000 -
Battle of Okinawa (1945)
★ 150,000 -
Battle of Passchendaele (1917)
★ 140,000 -
Battle of Vercellae (101 BC)
★ 132,000 -
Battle of Normandy (1944)
★ 130,000 -
Battle of Budapest (1945)
★ 125,000 -
Third Battle of Nanking (1864)
★ 125,000 -
Battle of Lemberg (1914)
★ 120,000 -
Battle of Arausio (105 BC)
★ 117,000 -
Battle for the Liberation of Manila (1945)
★ 115,000 -
Battle of the Frontiers (1914)
★ 110,000 -
Battle of Issus (333 BC)
★ 100,000 -
Battle of Chernikov-Poltava (1943)
★ 100,000 -
Battle of Smolensk (1943)
★ 100,000(est) -
Battle of Lugdunum (197)
★ 95,000(est) -
Battle of Sarıkamış (1915)
★ 90,000 -
Battle of Cambrai (1917) (1917)
★ 90,000 -
Battle of Aquae Sextiae (102 BC)
★ 83,000 -
Battle of the Baltic (1941)
★ 80,000 -
Battle of the Somme (1918)
★ 80,000 -
Second Battle of the Marne (1918)
★ 80,000(est) -
Battle of Watling Street (AD 61)
★ 74,000 -
Battle of Polyarnoe-Karelia (1941)
★ 72,000+ -
Battle of Belgorod (1943)
★ 70,000 -
Second Battle of El Alamein (1942)
★ 70,000 -
Second Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945)
★ 70,000 -
Second Battle of Anchialus (917)
★ 69,000 -
Battle of Leyte (1944)
★ 66,000 -
Battle of Donbass (1943)
★ 65,000 -
Battle of Lvov-Sandomierz (1944)
★ 62,000 -
Battle of Artois (1915)
★ 61,000 -
Battle of the Baltic (1944)
★ 60,000 - 100,000
Third Battle of Panipat,
India,
1761
★ 60,000 -
Battle of Basra (655)
★ 60,000 -
Battle of Monte Cassino (1944)
★ 60,000 -
Battle of Arras (1917)
★ 60,000 -
First Battle of Ypres (1914)
★ 60,000 -
Second Battle of Champagne (1915)
★ 56,000–66,000 -
Battle of Cannae (216 BC)
★ 55,000 -
Korsun Pocket (1944)
★ 55,000 -
Battle of Voronezh (1942)
★ 50,000–80,000 -
Battle of Salamis (480 BC)
★ 50,000 -
Meuse-Argonne offensive (1918)
★ 50,000 -
Battle of Gettysburg (1863)
★ 50,000 -
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo (1917)
★ 50,000 -
Battle of Caporetto (1917)
★ 50,000 -
Battle of Hsuchow (1927)
★ 45,000 -
Fourth Battle of Kharkov (1943)
★ 45,000 -
Battle of Hurtgen Forest (1944–1945)
★ 44,000 -
Battle of the Crimea (1944)
★ 42,000 -
Battle of the Seelow Heights (1945)
★ 40,000–56,000 -
Tet Offensive (1968)
★ 40,000 -
Battle of Imphal (1944)
★ 40,000 -
Battle of Adrianople (378)
★ 40,000 -
Battle of Sekigahara (1600)
★ 40,000 -
Battle of Vaslui (1475)
★ 38,000 -
Battle of the Bulge (1944–1945)
★ 37,000 -
Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
★ 36,500 -
Battle of the Ebro (1938)
★ 35,000 -
Battle of Mukden (1905)
★ 32,000 -
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
★ 31,000 -
Battle of Thapsus (46 BC)
★ 31,000 -
Battle of Taierzhuang (1937)
★ 30,000 -
Hartmannswillerkopf (1914-1918)
★ 30,000 -
Battle of Saipan (1944)
★ 30,000 -
Battle of Konotop (1659)
★ 30,000 -
Battle of Marignan (1515)
★ 30,000–50,000 -
Battle of Naissus (268)
★ 30,000 -
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9)
★ 30,300–34,000 -
Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)
★ 29,000 -
Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)
★ 28,000–38,000 -
Battle of Towton, (
Wars of the Roses, 1461)
★ 26,000 -
Battle of Guadalcanal, (1942–1943)
★ 25,000 -
Battle of Pydna (168 BC)
★ 24,000 -
Battle of Mohács (1526)
★ 22,500 -
Battle of Leipzig (1813)
★ 21,000 -
Battle of Guam (1944)
★ 20,000 -
The Night Attack (1462)
★ 20,000–30,000 -
Battle of Munda (45 BC)
★ 20,000 -
Battle of the Trebia (218 BC)
★ 20,000 -
Battle of Zama (202 BC)
★ 19,000 -
Battle of Vienna (1683)
★ 19,500 -
Battle of Borodino (1812)
★ 18,500 -
Operation Market Garden (1944)
★ 17,000 -
Battle of Bataan (1942)
★ 16,500 -
Battle of Halhin Gol (1939)
★ 15,000 -
Battle of Waterloo (1815)
★ 15,000 -
Battle of Lake Trasimene (217 BC)
★ 15,000 -
Battle of Mohács (1526)
★ 13,500 -
Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944)
★ 12,000 -
Battle of Chancellorsville (1863)
★ 12,000 -
Siege of Tobruk (1941)
★ 11,000 -
Battle of Heraclea (180 BC)
★ 11,000 -
Siege of Petersburg, Virginia (1864–1865)
★ 10,500 -
Battle of Asculum (279 BC)
★ 10,360 -
Battle of Mons Graupius (83 or 84)
★ 10,000 -
Battle of Điện Biên Phủ (1954)
★ 10,000 -
Battle of the Metaurus (207 BC)
★ 10,000 -
Battle of Celaya (1913)
★ 9,500 -
Battle at Lund (Slaget vid Lund) (1677)
★ 8,700 -
Battle of Cynoscephalae (197 BC)
★ 8,600 -
Battle of Jutland (1916)
★ 8,400 -
Battle of Tinian (1944)
★ 8,000+ -
Battle of Agincourt, (
Hundred Years' War, 1415)
★ 8,000 -
Battle of Grunwald (1410)
★ 7,200 -
Kokoda Track Campaign, (1942–1943)
★ 7,000–11,000 -
Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC)
★ 6,592 -
Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
★ 6,500 -
Battle of the Kasserine Pass (1943)
★ 5,600–6,600
Battle of Tali-Ihantala (1944)
★ 5,700 -
Battle of Tarawa (1943)
★ 5,350+ -
Battle of Suomussalmi (1939–1940)
★ 5,000–8,000 -
Battle of Hastings (1066)
★ 5,000+ -
Battle of Daraa (530)
★ 5,000+ -
Battle of Dyrrhachium (1081)
★ 4,808 -
Battle of Antietam (1862)
★ 4,360 -
Battle of Chickamauga (1863)
★ 4,329 -
Battle of Isandlwana (1879)
★ 4,175 -
Battle of Leuthen (1757)
★ 3,750 -
Battle of the Wilderness (1864)
★ 3,477 -
Battle of Shiloh (1862)
★ 3,205 -
Second Battle of Bull Run (1862)
★ 2,800 -
Battle of Midway (1942)
★ 2,400 -
La Noche Triste (1520)
★ 2,000+ -
Battle of Vimeiro (
August 20,
1808)
★ 2,000+ -
Battle of Manzikert (1071)
★ 1,900 - First
Battle of Fredericksburg (1862)
★ 1,705 -
Battle of Cold Harbor (
June 1-
June 3,
1864)
★ 1,700 -
Battle of Vicksburg (1863)
★ 1,300 -
Battle of Culloden (1746)
★ 1,015 -
Battle of Bud Dajo (
Philippines, 1906)
★ 1,000+ -
Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC)
★ 868 -
First Battle of Bull Run (
July 21,
1861)
★ 639 -
Battle of San Jacinto (1836)
★ 586 -
Battle of the Alamo (1836)
★ 567 -
Battle of Rorke's Drift (1879)
★ 495 -
Battle of Monongahela (1755)
★ 366 -
Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)
★ 350 -
Battle of Spioen Kop (1900)
★ 302 -
Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)
★ 200–2,850 -
Battle for Fallujah (
November 8–
November 14,
2004)
Air raids
★ 100,000-300,000 -
Tokyo firebombing by the
USAF, 1945
★ 66,000–237,062 -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the USAF, (
Japan, 1945)
★ 50,000 -
Bombing of Hamburg in World War II (
Germany,
1943)
★ 43,000 -
The Blitz (
London,
1940 -
1941)
★ 39,000–108,000 -
Atomic bombing of Nagasaki by the USAF, (
Japan, 1945)
★ 25,000–60,000 -
Bombing of Dresden in World War II, (in
Germany by Allied forces,
1945)
★ 7,500-8,500 - Bombings of
Cap Arcona and
Thielbek, (
Germany, 1945)
★ 3,000 - Taihoku air raid (
Taiwan, 1943-1945)
★ 1,645 -
Bombing of Guernica (
Spain, 1937)
★ 1,400 - Operation Linebacker 2 'Christmas bombing' (
Vietnam), 1972)
★ 800-900 -
Terror bombing of Rotterdam by
Nazi Germany,
14 May 1940.
Wartime ship disasters
Prior to World War I
★ 838 -
HMS ''St George'', (Denmark, 1811)
★ 800 -
HMS ''Association'' 1707
★ 600 -
HMS ''Hero'', 1811
★ 555 -
HMS ''Defence'', (Denmark, 1811)
★ 500 -
HMS ''Eagle'' 1707
★ 380 - ''
Mary Rose'' (
Portsmouth, 1545)
World War I
★ 1,255 -
HMS ''Queen Mary'', (
Battle of Jutland) 1916
★ 1,198 -
RMS ''Lusitania'', 1915
★ 1,015 -
HMS ''Invincible'', (
Battle of Jutland) 1916
★ 1,013 -
HMS ''Indefatigable'', (
Battle of Jutland) 1916
★ 903 -
HMS ''Defence'', (
Battle of Jutland) 1916
★ 900 -
HMS ''Good Hope'', (
Battle of Coronel) 1914
★ 857 -
HMS ''Black Prince'', (
Battle of Jutland) 1916
★ 843 -
HMS ''Vanguard'' 1917
★ 839 -
SMS ''Pommern'', (
Battle of Jutland) 1916
★ 782 -
SMS ''Blücher'', (
Battle of Dogger Bank) 1915
★ 764 -
SMS ''Scharnhorst'' (
Battle of the Falkland Islands) 1914
★ 750 -
SMS ''Monmouth'', (
Battle of Coronel) 1914
★ 648 -
''Suffren'', 1916
★ 646 -
SS ''Mendi'',
troopship struck by SS ''Darro'', off
Isle of Wight,
21 February 1917
★ 600 -
''Bouvet'', (
Gallipoli) 1915
★ 501 -
RMS ''Leinster'', 1918
★ 577 -
SMS ''Gneisenau'' (
Battle of the Falkland Islands) 1914
★ 570 -
HMS ''Goliath'', (Gallipoli) 1915
★ 460 -
HMS ''Hawke'', 1914
World War II
| Estimate | Name | Nat. | Ship Type | Principal victims | Where sunk | Date | Year |
|---|
| 6,000 - 9,000 | ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' | Ger | Transport | Refugees | Baltic Sea | Jan 30 | 1945 |
| 6,000 | ''Goya'' | Ger | Transport | Troops, refugees | Baltic Sea | Apr 16 | 1945 |
| 5,620 | ''Junyō Maru'' | Jap | Transport | Allied POW's | Indian Ocean | Sep 18 | 1944 |
| 5,400~ | ''Toyama Maru'' | Jap | Transport | Troops | Sea of Japan | Jun 29 | 1944 |
| 5,000 | ''Armenia'' | Sov | Hospital | Wounded, refugees | Black Sea | Nov 7 | 1941 |
| 4,650 | ''Cap Arcona'' | Ger | Transport | Concentration camp prisoners | Baltic Sea | Apr 26 | 1945 |
| 4,000 - 6,500 | ''HMT Lancastria'' | Brit | Transport | Troops, refugees | English Channel | Jun 17 | 1940 |
| 3,850 | ''Orion | Ger | Aux. Cruiser | Refugees | Baltic Sea | May 4 | 1945 |
| 3,000 | ''SS General von Steuben'' | Ger | Transport | Wounded, refugees | Baltic Sea | Feb 10 | 1945 |
| 3,000 | ''Yoshida Maru'' | Jap | Transport | Troops | | Apr | 1944 |
| 2,750 | ''Thielbek'' | Ger | Freighter | Concentration camp prisoners | Baltic Sea | May 3 | 1945 |
| 2,571[1] | ''MS Rigel'' | Ger | Transport | Troops, Soviet POW's | | Nov 27 | 1944 |
| 2,498 | ''Yamato'' | Jap | Battleship | Crew | Sea of Japan | Apr 7 | 1945 |
| 2,097 | ''Bismarck'' | Ger | Battleship | Crew | Atlantic Ocean | May 27 | 1941 |
| 2,003 | ''Awa Maru'' | Jap | Hospital[2] | Civilians | Taiwan Straits | Apr 1 | 1945 |
| 2,000 | ''Ural Maru'' | Jap | Transport | N/A | | Sep 27 | 1944 |
| 2,000 | ''Iosif Stalin'' | Sov | Transport | Troops, crew | Baltic Sea | Dec 3 | 1941 |
| 1,932 | ''Scharnhorst'' | Ger | Battlecruiser | Crew | Arctic Ocean | Dec 26 | 1943 |
| 1,875 | ''Arisan Maru'' | Jap | Freighter | US POW's | China Sea | Oct 24 | 1944 |
| 1,650 | ''Taihō'' | Jap | Air. Carrier | Crew | Philippine Sea | Mar 7 | 1944 |
| 1,600 | ''Roma'' | Ita | Battleship | Crew | Mediterranean | Sep 8 | 1943 |
| 1,529 | ''Tsushima Maru'' | Jap | Transport | Schoolchildren, civilians | Sea of Japan | Aug 22 | 1944 |
| 1,435 | ''Shinano'' | Jap | Air. Carrier | Crew | | Nov 29 | 1944 |
| 1,414 | ''HMS Hood'' | UK | Battlecruiser | Crew | Denmark Strait | May 24 | 1941 |
| 1,400 | ''Yamashiro'' | Jap | Battleship | Crew | Surigao Strait | Oct 25 | 1944 |
| 1,400 | ''Fusō'' | Jap | Battleship | Crew | Surigao Strait | Oct 25 | 1944 |
| 1,297 | ''SS Khedive Ismail'' | UK | Transport | Troops | Indian Ocean | Feb 12 | 1944 |
| 1,263 | ''Shōkaku'' | Jap | Air. Carrier | Crew | Philippine Sea | Jun 19 | 1944 |
| 1,250 | ''Kongō'' | Jap | Battleship | Crew | Formosa Strait | Nov 21 | 1944 |
| 1,239 | ''Unryū'' | Jap | Air. Carrier | Crew | | Dec 19 | 1944 |
| 1,209 | ''Conte Rosso'' | | | | | | 1941 |
| 1,207 | ''HMS Glorious'' | UK | Air. Carrier | Crew | Norwegian Sea | Jun 8 | 1940 |
| 1,177 | ''USS Arizona'' | US | Battleship | Crew | Pearl Harbor | Dec 7 | 1941 |
| 1,023 | ''Musashi'' | Jap | Battleship | Crew | Leyte Gulf | Oct 24 | 1944 |
| 1,000 | ''Tirpitz'' | Ger | Battleship | Crew | Tromso | Nov 12 | 1944 |
| 946 | Exercise Tiger | UK | (Military exercise) | US troops | South Devon | Apr 28 | 1944 |
| 920 | ''Blücher'' | Ger | Hvy Cruiser | Troops, crew | Oslofjord | Sep 20 | 1940 |
| 883 | ''USS Indianapolis'' | US | Hvy Cruiser | Crew | Philippine Sea | Jul 30 | 1945 |
| 862 | ''HMS Barham'' | UK | Battleship | Crew | Mediterranean | Nov 25 | 1941 |
| 843 | ''Zuikaku'' | Jap | Air. Carrier | Crew | Leyte Gulf | Oct 25 | 1944 |
| 833 | ''HMS Royal Oak'' | UK | Battleship | Crew | Scapa Flow | Oct 14 | 1939 |
| 814 | ''Kaga'' | Jap | Air. Carrier | Crew | Midway | Aug 10 | 1942 |
| 718 | ''Sōryū'' | | | | | | 1942 |
| 655 | ''SS Ceramic'' | | | | | | 1942 |
| 645 | ''HMAS Sydney'' | | | | | | 1941 |
| 631 | ''Shōhō'' | | | | | | 1942 |
| 549 | ''Ukishima Maru'' | | | | | | 1945 |
| 518 | ''HMS Courageous'' | | | | | | 1939 |
| 513 | ''HMS Repulse'' | | | | | | 1941 |
| 353 | ''HMAS Perth'' | | | | | | 1942 |
| 338 | ''HMS Curacoa'' | | | | | | 1942 |
| 327 | ''HMS Prince of Wales | | | | | | 1941 |
| 271 | ''Ilmarinen'' | | | | | | 1941 |
| 137 | ''SS Caribou'' | | | | | | 1942) |
Post World War II
★ 323 -
ARA ''General Belgrano'', 1982
★ 34 -
USS ''Liberty'', (
Six-Day War), (
USS Liberty incident), 1967
Massacres
''See also
List of massacres''
★ 1,300,000+ -
Merv massacre, by
Mongol Empire (ordered by
Tolui khan), located in
Merv (present
Mary) in
Turkestan
★ 1,200,000 -
Urgench massacre, by
Mongol Empire (ordered by
Ögedei khan), located in
Urgench (then Guranj) in
Uzbekistan
★ 250,000–800,000 -
Sack of Baghdad by
Hulagu Khan (1258)
★ 220,000 - Massacre of the
Helvetii (by
Roman Empire 58 BC)
★ 200,000+ - Sack of
Moscow (by
Crimean Tatars, 1571)
★ 200,000–400,000 -
Rape of Nanking (by
Imperial Japan, in
China, 1937)
★ 150,000 - 300,000 -
Kalmyks from east of the
Volga set out to return to
China but two-thirds of them were massacred on the way by theirs
Kazakh enemies (
Central Asia, 1770-1771)
★ 100,000 -
Ponary massacre of
Jews,
Poles and
Russians by German
SD and
SS (
Lithuania 1941-1944)
★ 100,000–500,000 -
Massacres of Poles in Volhynia by Ukrainian nationalists from
Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the
German occupation of Ukraine between 1942 and 1944
★ 100,000–300,000 - Jews massacred in Poland by the
Cossacks led by
Chmielnicki, (1648 - 1649). During the
Deluge, series of wars between 1648 and 1660, Poland lost an estimated one-third of its population.
★ 100,000 - Massacre of Romans by
Mithridates VI Eupator (
Anatolia, 88 BC)
★ 100,000 -
Manila Massacre (
Manila,
Philippines, 1945)
★ 100,000-150,000 - Sack of
Carthage, (146BC)
★ 100,000 -
Siege of Antioch (1268)
★ 100,000 -
Hindu captives executed by
Timur (1398)
★ 70,000 - Sack of
Merv by
Genghis Khan (1221)
★ 70,000 -
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (
France, 1572)
★ 60,000–100,000 -
Sack of Jerusalem,
First Crusade (1099)
★ 50,000-150,000 -
Harki Algerians massacred by the
National Liberation Front (Algeria) (1962)
★ 50,000-100,000 -
Sook Ching massacre (
Singapore, 1942)
★ 50,000 - Defenders of
Somnath massacred by
Mahmud of Ghazni (1026)
★ 50,000 -
Wola massacre in
Warsaw (1944)
★ 42,000 -
Chios Massacre (
Greek War of Independence, 1822)
★ 36,000 -
Odessa massacre (1941)
★ 30,000 -
Babi Yar Yom Kippur Jewish Massacre (
Kiev,
Ukraine, 1941)
★ 30,000 - Massacre of
Greeks in
Constantinople (1821)
★ 30,000 -
Rajput defenders of
Chittorgarh massacred by
Akbar the Great (1568)
★ 26,000 -
Katyn Massacre (1940)
★ 25,000 -
Sack of Magdeburg (
Thirty Years' War,
Germany,
1631)
★ 25,000 -
Rumbula Forest massacre of the
Riga Jews (1941)
★ 20,000 - Sack of
Baghdad by
Timur (1401)
★ 20,000 -
Massacre of Praga (
Poland, 1794)
★ 14,000 -
Haitians massacred by
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo's government. (
Dominican Republic, 1937)
★ 12,000 -
Massacre of Elphinstone's army (
Afghanistan, 1842)
★ 12,000 -
La matanza (
El Salvador, 1931)
★ 10,000-30,000
228 Incident, (
Republic of China (
Taiwan), 1947)
★ 10,000
Bataan Death March, (
Philippines, 1942)
★ 10,000 - Sack of
Béziers (
Albigensian Crusade,
France, 1209)
★ 8,000 -
Sack of Antwerp (1576)
★ 7,000-8,100 -
Srebrenica massacre (
Srebrenica,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1995)
★ 7,000 -
Kragujevac massacre, (
Kragujevac,
Serbia, 1941)
★ 7,000 - Massacre in
Thessalonika by
Theodosius I (
Byzantine Empire, 390)
★ 7,000 -
Zulus killed at the death of
Nandi, mother of Shaka (1827)
★ 6,000-16,000 -
Jews are blamed as the cause of the
Black Death (1348)
★ 5,000-17,000
[3] - Massacre and
ethnic cleansing of
Indians and
Arabs by the descendants of black African
slaves during the
Zanzibar Revolution (Zanzibar,
Tanzania, 1964)
★ 5,000-7,000 -
Halabja poison gas attack (
Halabjah,
Iraq, 1988)
★ 5,000 -
Batak massacre of Bulgarian civilians by
bashi-bazouk Ottoman army irregulars (1876)
★ 5,000 -
Siege of Limerick (
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, 1651)
★ 5,000 - Massacre of
Mamluks (
Egypt, 1811)
★ 4,500 -
Massacre of Saxons in Verden by
Charlemagne (
Lower Saxony, 782)
★ 4,000 -
Prebilovci massacre 1941,
NDH
★ 4,000 -
Direct Action Day (
India, 1946)
★ 2,500-12,000 -
Massacred in Novgorod by
Ivan the Terrible
★ 3,500 -
Siege of Drogheda (
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, 1649)
★ 3,000 - 300,000 - Japanese biological warfare program
Unit 731 (1931-1945)
★ 3,000
Massacre at Huế (
Vietnam, 1968)
★ 2,000 - Jiali Massacre (
Taiwan, 1895)
★ 2,000 -
Oluja Genocide and complete ethnic cleansing of 250,000 Serbs from Krajina (
Croatia, 1995)
★ 1,500-3,500 -
Oran massacre of 1962 in
Algeria
★ 900 -
El Mozote Massacre (
El Salvador, 1981)
★ 800 - White settlers massacred throughout
Minnesota as part of the
Dakota War of 1862
★ 700 - Slaughter of the
Jews of
Medina by
Muhammad (626)
★ 622 -
Jamestown Massacre (1622)
★ 600 - MacDonnell clans-people massacred by
Francis Drake (
Rathlin Island, 1575)
★ 500 -
Crow Creek massacre (
South Dakota, 1325)
★ 409 -
Lonoy Massacre (
Philippines, 1901)
★ 379-1,000 -
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (
Amritsar,
India, 1919)
★ 360 -
Wyoming Valley Massacre (
Pennsylvania,
United States, 1778)
★ 347-504 -
My Lai Massacre (
Vietnam, 1968)
★ 328-5,500 -
Sabra and Shatila Massacre (
Lebanon, 1982)
★ 320 -
Bloody Assizes (
England, 1685)
★ 300 -
Weenen Massacre (
Natal,
South Africa, 1838)
★ 300 -
Wounded Knee Massacre (
South Dakota,
United States, 1890)
★ 268 -
Plan de Sánchez massacre (
Guatemala, 1982)
★ 260 -
Vukovar massacre (
Croatia, 1991)
★ 202-300
Bentalha massacre (
Algiers, 1997)
★ 192 -
Tartu massacre (
Estonia, 1944)
★ 173 -
Tenes massacre (
Algiers, 1994)
★ 150-200
Lawrence Massacre (
Kansas, 1863)
★ 150 -
Sand Creek Massacre (
Colorado,
United States, 1864)
★ 149 -
Khatyn massacre (
Belarus, 1943)
★ 133 -
1929 Palestine riots (67 in
Hebron, 18 in
Safed, the rest in
Jerusalem in the
British Mandate of Palestine), 1929
★ 125-15,000 -
Balangiga Massacre (
Philippines, 1901)
★ 120-400
Sidi-Hamed massacre (
Algiers, 1998)
★ 120 -
Gospic massacre (
Croatia, 1991)
★ 120 -
Mountain Meadows Massacre (
Utah,
United States, 1857)
★ 119 -
Bojayá Massacre (
Chocó,
Colombia, 2002)
★ 113 -
Waxhaw Massacre (
South Carolina,
United States, 1780)
★ 111 - 1992
Carandiru Massacre (
São Paulo,
Brazil, 1992)
★ 106 -
Qana Massacre, (
Qana,
Lebanon, 1996)
★ 100-400 -
Rais massacre (
Aligers, 1997)
★ 100-300 -
Waterloo Creek Massacre (
Australia, 1838)
★ 91–200 -
Kristallnacht (
Germany,
1938)
★ 94 -
Waco Siege -(
United States, 1993)
★ 78 -
Massacre of Glencoe (
Scotland, 1692)
★ 50 -
Telavåg (
Norway, 1942)
★ 45–60
Acteal massacre (
Mexico, 1997)
★ 28 -
Myall Creek massacre (
Australia, 1838)
★ 14 -
Bloody Sunday (
Ireland, 1972)
Terrorist attacks
''See also
List of terrorist incidents and
List of assassins''
★ 2,996 -
September 11, 2001 attacks, (
New York City,
Arlington, VA,
Shanksville, PA,
United States, 2001)
★ 572 -
2007 Qahtaniya bombings, (
Qahtaniya,
Iraq, 2007)
★ 438 -
Cinema Rex fire, (
Abadan,
Iran, 1978)
★ 365 -
Beslan School Siege, (
Beslan,
Russia, 2004)
★ 329 -
Air India Flight 182 (
Atlantic Ocean, south of
Ireland, 1985)
★ 307 -
1983 Beirut barracks bombing, (
Beirut,
Lebanon, 1983)
★ 270 -
Pan Am Flight 103, (
Lockerbie,
Scotland, 1988)
★ 257 -
1993 Mumbai bombings (
Mumbai,
India, 1993)
★ 257 -
1998 United States embassy bombings (
Nairobi,
Kenya and
Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania, 1998)
★ 215 -
Sadr City bombings, (
Sadr City,
Iraq, 2006)
★ 209 -
11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, (
Mumbai,
India, 2006)
★ 202 -
2002 Bali bombing, (
Bali,
Indonesia, 2002)
★ 198 -
18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings, (
Iraq, 2007)
★ 191 -
11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings, (
Spain, 2004)
★ 181 -
Kerbala and
Baghdad attacks, (2004, see
Ashoura Massacre)
★ 171 -
UTA Flight UT-772, (
Niger, 1989)
★ 170 -
Moscow Theatre Siege, (
Russia, 2002)
★ 168 -
Oklahoma City bombing, (
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
United States, 1995)
★ 152 -
2007 Tal Afar bombings and massacre (
Tal Afar,
Iraq,
2007)
★ 135 -
3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing, (
Baghdad,
Iraq, 2007)
★ 127 -
2005 Al Hillah bombing (Al Hillah, Iraq, 2005)
★ 120 -
2007 Al Hillah bombings (Al Hillah, Iraq, 2007)
★ 117 -
2004 Irbil bombings, (Irbil, Iraq, 2004)
★ 116 -
Superferry 14 bombing, (
Philippines, 2004)
★ 112 -
14 September 2005 Baghdad bombing, (
Baghdad,
Iraq, 2004)
★ 112 -
Avianca Flight 203, (
Colombia, 1989)
★ 98 -
Musayyib fuel tanker bombing, (
Musayyib,
Iraq, 2005) (see
Triangle of Death (Iraq))
★ 91 -
King David Hotel bombing, (
Jerusalem, 1946)
★ 90 -
Central Bank Bombing, (
Colombo,
Sri Lanka, 1996)
★ 90 -
2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks, (
Egypt, 2005)
★ 89 -
Russian airplane bombings, (
Russia, 2004)
★ 88 -
TWA Flight 841, (
Ionian Sea, 1974)
★ 88 -
22 January 2007 Baghdad bombings, (
Baghdad,
Iraq, 2007)
★ 86 -
AMIA Bombing, (
Buenos Aires,
Argentina, 1994)
★ 85 -
Buratha Mosque bombing, (
Baghdad,
Iraq, 2006)
★ 85 -
Stazione Centrale bombing, (
Bologna,
Italy,
1980)
★ 83 -
Imam Ali Mosque bombing, (
Najaf,
Iraq, 2003)
★ 76 -
12 February 2007 Baghdad bombings, (
Baghdad,
Iraq, 2007)
★ 74 -
2005 Khanaqin bombings, (Khanaqin, Iraq, 2005)
★ 74 -
21 April 2004 Basra bombings, (Basra, Iraq, 2004)
★ 74 -
2004 Kufa shelling, (Kufa, Iraq, 2004)
★ 70 -
2007 Baghdad Mustansiriya University bombing, (
Baghdad,
Iraq, 2007)
★ 68 -
2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, (India, 2007)
★ 63 -
18 February 2007 Baghdad bombings, (
Baghdad,
Iraq, 2007)
★ 63 - DAS Building bombing, (
Bogotá,
Colombia, 1989)
★ 63 -
April 1983 US Embassy bombing, (
Beirut,
Lebanon, 1983)
★ 62 -
1 July 2006 Sadr City bombing, (
Sadr City,
Iraq, 2006)
★ 61 -
29 October 2005 New Delhi bombings, (
New Delhi, 2005)
★ 60 -
2005 Amman bombings, (
Amman, 2005)
★ 57 -
2003 Istanbul Bombings, (
Turkey, 2003)
★ 52 -
7 July 2005 London bombings (
London, 2005)
★ 52 -
2003 Mumbai bombings, (
Mumbai,
India, 2003)
★ 46 -
Casablanca Attacks, (
Morocco, 2003)
★ 42 -
2004 Moscow metro bombing,
Russia, 2004)
★ 38 -
Wall Street bombing, (
New York City, 1920)
★ 34 -
2004 Sinai bombings,
Taba and
Nuweiba,
Egypt, 2004
★ 33 -
Pan Am Flight 110, (
Italy,
1973)
★ 33 -
Coimbatore blasts, (
India, 1998)
★ 33 -
Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, (
Ireland, 1974)
★ 30 -
Passover massacre, (
Israel,
2002)
Human sacrifice and mass suicide
''This section lists notable individual episodes of mass suicide or human sacrifice. For tolls arising from the systematic practice of suicide or sacrifice, see
Human sacrifice and ritual suicide.''
| Low Estimate | High Estimate | Description | Group | Location | From | To | See also |
|---|
| 80,000 | 80,000 | Mass suicide | Japanese civilians | Japan | 1945 | 1945 | Battle of Okinawa |
| 8,000 | 8,000 | Mass suicide | Japanese civilians | Mariana Islands | 1944 | 1944 | Battle of Saipan |
| 3,000 | 80,000 | Mass human sacrifice | Aztecs | Huitzilopochtli, Tenochtitlan | 1487 | 1487 | |
| 960 | 960 | Mass suicide | Jewish zealots | Judea | 73 | 73 | Siege of Masada |
| 913 | 913 | Mass suicide, murder | Peoples Temple | Guyana | 1978 | 1978 | Jonestown |
| 300 | 1000 | Mass suicide | Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God | Uganda | 2000, March | 2000, March | |
| 53 | 53 | Mass suicide | Order of the Solar Temple | Switzerland, Canada | 1994 | 1994 | |
| 39 | 39 | Mass suicide | Heaven's Gate | California | 1997 | 1997 | |
| 16 | 16 | Mass suicide | Order of the Solar Temple | France | 1995, December 23 | 1995, December 23 | |
Riot or political demonstration
★ 87,000 -
Chinese massacres of Tibetan pro-independence protestors (
Tibet,
China 1959)
★ 30,000 -
Nika riots (
Constantinople, 532)
★ 30,000 -
La semaine sanglante (
Paris, 1871)
★ 30,000 -
228 Incident, (
Taiwan, 1947)
★ 11,000 -
Romanian Peasants' Revolt, 1907
★ 7,500 -
March 1st Movement (
Seoul,
Korea, 1919)
★ 3,000 -
Burma 1988 demonstrations (
Yangon, (a.o.)
Myanmar,
1988)
★ 2,000 -
Santa Maria School Slaughter (
Iquique,
Chile, 1907)
★ 1,000 -
Bloody Sunday (1905) (
St. Petersburg,
Russia, 1905)
★ 400 -
Iranian pilgrim riot (
Mecca, 1987)
★ 300–5,000 -
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 (
China, 1989)
★ 285 -
Gordon Riots (
England, 1780)
★ 249 -
Riots in Palestine of 1929, (
Mandate of Palestine, 1929)
★ 200–300 -
Tlatelolco massacre (
Mexico, 1968)
★ 184 -
May 13 Incident (
Kuala Lumpur, 1969)
★ 139 -
Cartoon Riots (2006)
★ 100 -
Napoleon's "whiff of
grapeshot" (
Paris, 1795)
★ 100 -
New York Draft Riots (
New York City, 1863)
★ 95 -
Riots in Palestine of May, 1921 (
Tel Aviv, 1921)
★ 94 -
Jerusalem Riots of 1947
★ 84 - Riot and crushing during mass arrests (
Narathiwat province,
Thailand, 2004)
★ 69 -
Sharpeville Massacre (
South Africa, 1960)
★ 50–60 -
1992 Los Angeles riots (1992)
★ 50 -
Champ de Mars massacre (
Paris, 1791)
★ 46 -
Boipatong Massacre (
South Africa, 1992)
★ 43 -
Attica Prison riots (
New York, 1971)
★ 43 -
12th Street Riot (
Detroit, 1967)
★ 40–50 -
Newton Rebellion (
Newton,
Northamptonshire,
UK, 1607)
★ 39+ -
Tulsa Race Riot,
Tulsa, Oklahoma,
USA, the official death toll is 39, although recent investigations suggest the actual toll may be much higher.
★ 36 -
1964 Race Riots (
Singapore, 1964)
★ 34 -
Watts Riot (
Los Angeles, 1965)
★ 25 -
Palingoproer (
Amsterdam, 1886)
★ 25 -
Corpus Christi Massacre (
Mexico City, 1971)
★ 22 -
Eureka Stockade (
Ballarat, Australia, 1854)
★ 20 -
Ludlow Massacre (
Ludlow, Colorado, 1914)
★ 18 -
Maria Hertogh riots (
Singapore, 1950)
★ 14 -
Bloody Sunday (1972) (
Derry,
Northern Ireland)
★ 13 -
Socialist riot (1932) (
Geneva,
Switzerland)
★ 13 -
Chinese Middle School riots (
Singapore, 1956)
★ 13 -
Mendiola Massacre (
Philippines, 1987)
★ 9 -
Riots in Palestine of 1920 (
Jerusalem, 1920)
★ 11 -
Peterloo massacre (
England, 1819)
★ 7–60 - Massacre in Côte d'Ivoire by French troops (
Côte d'Ivoire, 2004)
★ 5 -
Greensboro massacre (
Greensboro, North Carolina, 1979)
★ 5 -
Ådalen shootings (
Sweden, 1931)
★ 4 -
Kent State shootings (
Kent,
Ohio, 1970)
★ 4 -
Hock Lee bus riots (
Singapore, 1955)
Footnotes
1. http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/maritime-1b.html
2. Ship was sunk in violation of a safe passage agreement, apparently in error by US submarine ''Queenfish''.
3. Country Histories - Empire's Children
See also
''Other lists organized by death toll''
★
List of wars and disasters by death toll
★
List of natural disasters by death toll
★
List of accidents and disasters by death toll
★
List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll
★
Most prolific murderers by number of victims
''Other lists with similar topics''
★
List of wars |
List of battles |
List of invasions
★
List of disasters |
List of historic fires
★
List of earthquakes |
List of notable tropical cyclones
★
List of famines |
Famine |
Infectious diseases
★
List of massacres |
List of riots
★
List of terrorist incidents
★
List of rail accidents
★
Lists of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners
''Topics dealing with similar themes''
★
Mass murder |
Genocide |
Democide
★
Genocide in history
★
Mass deaths and atrocities of the twentieth century
★
Most lethal battles in world history
★
United States casualties of war
★
Invasion and occupation of Iraq casualties
External links
★
Bloodiest Battles of the 20th Century
★
Death Tolls for Battles of the 16th, 17th, 18th & 19th Centuries
★
Wars of the 20th Century
★
The world's worst massacres Whole Earth Review
★
War Disaster and Genocide
★
Killers of the 20th Century
★
Soviet Prisoners of War: Forgotten Nazi Victims of World War II
★
Top 100 aviation disasters on
AirDisaster.com
★
Maritime disasters of World War II
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