History’s Bloodiest Day of Year? Perhaps July 1
I happened to be browsing our “What Happened On” page on Timelines.com, and I decided to look at the events of today, July 1. After looking at the events, I’ve concluded that July 1 might be history’s bloodiest day of the year. Take a look:
July 1, 1863 – Battle of Gettysburg
The American Civil War’s turning point was also its bloodiest battle. Over ninety-three thousand Union soldiers took on seventy-two thousand Confederates, resulting in over 46,000 in casualties (over 7,800 soldiers died) – a casualty rate of over 25%. Staggering.
July 1, 1898 – Battle of San Juan Hill
The Spanish-American War’s bloodiest battle. Over 19,000 US and Cuban fighters took on 800 Spanish soldiers. The US-Cuban side had over 1,300 casualties (with 205 killed) and the Spanish suffered casualties of 277 (58 killed). Incidentally, this was one of the Rough Riders greatest victories, and Teddy Roosevelt was their commander.
July 1, 1916 – Start of the Battle of the Somme
Not only is this World War 1’s bloodiest battle, it is believed to be the bloodiest battle ever recorded. Over 1.5 million Allied forces took on 1.3 million Germans, and the resultant casualties are hard to comprehend: 1 – 1.5 million total casualties; the Allies lost over 623,000 (with 146,000 killed) and Germany lost 465,000 (with 164,000 killed). The British Army suffered over 60,000 casualties… in one day – it’s worst one-day combat loss in its history. And who won the battle? It was basically a draw. Given these numbers. it appears that everyone lost.
There certainly are other bloody days in history:
April 16 – 1945, start of the Battle of Berlin;
June 6 – 1944, D-Day Invasion;
July 17 – 1942, start of the Battle of Stalingrad;
August 6 – 1945, Bombing of Hiroshima;
December 29 - 1944, Siege of Budapest.
And sadly the list goes on. But, July 1 appears to be the infamous standout.
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