The 10 Deadliest Battles in U.S. Military History
Thursday, July 30, 2026
"Be sure to enlist under God’s banner, for to war against Him is madness, and to serve Him is glory.” – C.H. Spurgeon
Yesterday’s devotional focused on Custer’s Last Stand, the massacre of Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the 267 men under his direct command at the battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. As horrific as that bloodletting was, there have been far more deadly battles in American history. Here are some of the worst…
Meuse-Argonne Offensive (France, September – November 1918): 26,277 Americans killed
The Battle of the Bulge (Belgium and Luxembourg, Dec. 1944 – Jan. 1945): 19,200 Americans killed
The Battle for France (France, July – September 1944): 17,844 Americans killed
The Battle of Normandy (France, June – July 1944): 16,293 Americans killed
Central Europe Campaign (Germany, March – May 1945): 15,000 Americans killed
The Battle of Okinawa (Japan, April – June 1945): 12.500 Americans killed
The Battle of the Huertgen Forest (Germany, Sept. – Dec. 1944): 12,000 Americans killed
The Battle of Luzon (the Philippines, January – August 1945): 10,380 Americans killed
The Gothic Line (Italy, Sept. 1944 – April 1945): 8,486 Americans killed
Operation Dragoon (France, August – September 1944): 7,301 Americans killed
These are just the Top 10 – the proverbial “tip of the iceberg – of the thousands of deadly battles fought throughout America’s 250-year history. As you can see, these battles were all fought in foreign countries over a period or weeks or months, whereas most battles that were fought on American soil only lasted a few days at most. The single deadliest day in U.S. domestic military history was the Battle of Antietam when approximately 3,654 men died on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, MD. Another 17,301 men on both sides were wounded. Supposedly, the fighting was so fierce that the water in Antietam Creek turned blood red.
Now compare those mass casualty figures with the estimated dead and wounded expected during the Battle of Armageddon, when Jesus Christ will lead the armies of heaven to victory over the antichrist and his military forces (see Revelation 19:11-21). Or, for that matter, when the earth is “harvested” in judgment because of its sins in Revelation 14… and the result is blood that rises to the height of a horse’s bridle for 1,600 furlongs.
My friend, those two conflagrations will make Gettysburg, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal look like a Sunday School picnic in comparison. Please make sure you are on the right side and fighting with God’s armies… not against them.
“He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses.” Revelation 19:13-14 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
