The Worst Battlefield of WWII

[syscom3]

Maybe the highest casualty rate for the marines. But their were battles in New Guinea that were more vicious with an even higher casualty rate.

 

[barney]

Maybe the highest casualty rate for the marines. But their were battles in New Guinea that were more vicious with an even higher casualty rate.

The casualty rate is a quote from Wikipedia. So, maybe true.

My namesake died in the fighting at Buna but after reading WITH THE OLD BREED I'm sticking with my choice of Peleliu.

 

[Elmas]

The Battle of the Atlantic.
Being trapped in a submarine going down or to receive a torpedo with a temperature of the water of 5 °C I think must have been dreadful.

 

[Readie]

The Battle of the Atlantic.
Being trapped in a submarine going down or to receive a torpedo with a temperature of the water of 5 °C I think must have been dreadful.

BoA agreed, but please also consider the merchant seaman that the U boats condemned to death.
John

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

BoA agreed, but please also consider the merchant seaman that the U boats condemned to death.
John

I think that is what he did, by saying taking a torpedo with water temps of 5 C. Normally it was the surface ships that took torpedos...

 

[Readie]

I think that is what he did, by saying taking a torpedo with water temps of 5 C. Normally it was the surface ships that took torpedos...

Fair comment Chris
Elmas, please ignore my post.
Cheers
John

 

[stug3]

Hundreds of horses hooves discovered in German positions within Stalingrad, all that was left of the transport livestock that had been eaten in desperation.

 

[VinceReeves]

I think it's Iwo Jima - it's the only battlefield I can think of that was absolutely primed to be a death trap. The Japanese worked out every fire position on the island, and anywhere that was potential cover was mined and booby trapped. They then pre-ranged every yard of ground from their pre-prepared indirect firing positions. For their direct firing positions, they graded the fuses of their airburst shells against distance so that they could always guarantee maximum damage against advancing infantry.

There really hasn't been another battle like it, anywhere. Stalingrad was an extreme version of a standard modern urban battle. Iwo Jima was totally unique.

 

[stug3]

Stalingrad was 5 months of torturous hell, especially for the Germans their hapless allies. 5 months of increasing, impending, claustrophobic doom along with starvation as the icing on the cake. I think only prolonged jungle battles (Guadalcanal, New Guinea, Burma, etc.) would be comparable.

 

[parsifal]

The problem with Stalingrad is that it commeitted the Germans to a frontal assault in an urban environment. The chief German advantages, their mobility and superior C&C were really minimised in that situation

 

[stug3]

Eastern Front 1943

 

[airminded88]

Every single battlefield in the air, ground, sea or below the sea must have been a living hell to the ones involved in them.

I voted for Stalingrad for its sheer magnitude, miserable conditions and the horrendous stories that came out of it; but I think that Okinawa and the Kokoda Trail come very close to it as well.
Ploesti deserves a mention too.