the initial answer was Borodino, and this is a comment
| картина Луи Лежена |
Its difficult to actually pinpoint “the bloodiest single-day battle” in history…it depends on both the reliability of accounts (or lack thereof) and how casualties are tallied and even what is defined as “combat” ! Many premodern (antiquity and medieval) battles seems to have been extremely bloody, but the problems are 1) Most accounts are of dubious reliability and are often regarded as highly exaggerated, and 2) Many Ancient/Medieval battles did not necessarily see very bloody fighting, but the real carnage began, when one side had “broken the morale” of the opposing side, and began a pursuit of the loosing side or when one side had managed to envelope the opposing army and thus could annihilate it completely. Examples from these “pre-gunpowder” battles, that seems to have been particularly bloody, are :
Battle of Cannae (216 B.C) Carthaginian army under command of Hannibal Barca, envelopes and more-or-less annihilate a huge Roman army. Romans sources claims more than 50.000 killed romans in a day´s fighting !
Numerous battles where Roman armies defeated Gauls, Germanic or Britonic armies/war hosts, f.eks. Battle of Wattling Street (modern name - took place in 60 AD). Romans put down Britons rebellion and slaughtered (according to Roman sources) 80.000 Briton warriors !!!
Battle of Towton (1461 - War of the Roses) Two opposing British noble factions and claimants to the English throne and their various supporters, clashed in a deadly exchange of volleys from longbows followed by fierce hand-to-hand fighting. 20.000 killed in a few hours of fighting.
Numerous battles throughout Chinese and Indian history !
These but a few examples, but in many ways these “battles” were often onesided massacres, more than battles (well, perhaps not so much Townton. That one qualify more as a “real” battle).
In gun-powder era, the “bloodiest” single day battles were probably (as noted in Frank Hansens answer)
Battle of Borodino (immense casualty rates - up to 40–50% of Russian army and almost as high for the French).
Battle of Wagram (1809 - French Empire vs. Austrian Empire). Another Napoleonic battle that didn´t go quite as Nap had planned, and instead turned into a slaughter house and a (too) hard won victory for the French ! Many sources claim up to 40.000–45.000 killed and wounded on each side !!!
The Battles of Petersburg (1862), Gettysburg (1863) and Cold Harbour (1864) saw massive, failed infantry charges (Picketts charge f.eks.) with thousands of killed and wounded, within a very short timespan and on a limited area !
The opening day of the Somme offensive, as stated in the post by Joe Mandt, saw extensive British losses, up to 20.000 killed, but it took place along a very long (albeit relatively narrow) frontline, so the concentration of pure “slaughter” were certainly less, than in the battles of the ancient/medieval or gunpowder eras !
A Russian Guards infantry division were said to have been virtually annihilated (appr. 10.000 casualties) within one day of fighting during the Battle of Stalingrad !
Many of other Russian “human wave” offensives in the early days of the War on the Eastern Front (1941–1945) and many Japanese Banzai charges during WWII also saw large number of killed within a very short timespan !
But as I stated in the beginning of the post…It depends very much on the distinction between a massacre or a “regular” battle !
Battle of Cannae (216 B.C) Carthaginian army under command of Hannibal Barca, envelopes and more-or-less annihilate a huge Roman army. Romans sources claims more than 50.000 killed romans in a day´s fighting !
Numerous battles where Roman armies defeated Gauls, Germanic or Britonic armies/war hosts, f.eks. Battle of Wattling Street (modern name - took place in 60 AD). Romans put down Britons rebellion and slaughtered (according to Roman sources) 80.000 Briton warriors !!!
Battle of Towton (1461 - War of the Roses) Two opposing British noble factions and claimants to the English throne and their various supporters, clashed in a deadly exchange of volleys from longbows followed by fierce hand-to-hand fighting. 20.000 killed in a few hours of fighting.
Numerous battles throughout Chinese and Indian history !
These but a few examples, but in many ways these “battles” were often onesided massacres, more than battles (well, perhaps not so much Townton. That one qualify more as a “real” battle).
In gun-powder era, the “bloodiest” single day battles were probably (as noted in Frank Hansens answer)
Battle of Borodino (immense casualty rates - up to 40–50% of Russian army and almost as high for the French).
Battle of Wagram (1809 - French Empire vs. Austrian Empire). Another Napoleonic battle that didn´t go quite as Nap had planned, and instead turned into a slaughter house and a (too) hard won victory for the French ! Many sources claim up to 40.000–45.000 killed and wounded on each side !!!
The Battles of Petersburg (1862), Gettysburg (1863) and Cold Harbour (1864) saw massive, failed infantry charges (Picketts charge f.eks.) with thousands of killed and wounded, within a very short timespan and on a limited area !
The opening day of the Somme offensive, as stated in the post by Joe Mandt, saw extensive British losses, up to 20.000 killed, but it took place along a very long (albeit relatively narrow) frontline, so the concentration of pure “slaughter” were certainly less, than in the battles of the ancient/medieval or gunpowder eras !
A Russian Guards infantry division were said to have been virtually annihilated (appr. 10.000 casualties) within one day of fighting during the Battle of Stalingrad !
Many of other Russian “human wave” offensives in the early days of the War on the Eastern Front (1941–1945) and many Japanese Banzai charges during WWII also saw large number of killed within a very short timespan !
But as I stated in the beginning of the post…It depends very much on the distinction between a massacre or a “regular” battle !
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