Largest naval battle in history

The title of largest naval battle in history depends on criteria that may include the number of people and ships involved, the total tonnage of vessels, the size of the battlefield, and the duration of the action. There are six main candidates, each said to have involved at least 200,000 personnel: the Battle of Salamis, the Battle of Ecnomus, the Battle of Red Cliffs, the Battle of Yamen, the Battle of Lake Poyang, the Battle of Jutland and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The first two occurred in the Classical Era, when ancient sources frequently exaggerated the numbers involved in warfare. This includes Herodotus, a key source for information on Salamis.^[1] Figures for Cape Ecnomus are similarly dubious. In contrast, Leyte Gulf was fought in 1944 during World War II and was accordingly well-documented. In pre-modern battles, large actions involved numerous small galleys, rather than larger vessels like battleships or cruisers. Two battles between the Ottoman Empire and Venice are candidates for the battle with the largest number of ships of the line. In the Action of July 8, 1716, near Corfu, 87 ships were present, although most of them did not take an active part in the fighting. The following year, 85 ships took part in the Battle of Matapan. Several battles of the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654) as well as the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690 and the Battle of La Hougue in 1692 also featured large numbers of warships on each side, possibly well over 100, depending on where the line is drawn between ships of the line and frigates. Most larger fleet battles involved 20-30 battleships, as well as smaller ships, on each side.

The candidates

• The Battle of Salamis, 480 BC. 371 Greek ships defeated 1,271 Persian ships in this decisive battle. Greek triremes had a crew of about 200 while their small penteconters had 50 oarsmen. With 1,642 ships altogether, it is possible that 200,000 sailors, soldiers and marines may have taken part.
• The Battle of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BC. Like Salamis, Ecnomus was also a single engagement where 680 ships were fighting in a very small area. Some historians accept Roman claims that Rome had about 100,000 personnel. If this is true, it is probable that at least 200,000 Roman and Carthaginian sailors and soldiers were involved.
• The Battle of Red Cliffs, 208, the battle between Cao Cao and Sun Quan on China's Yangtze River during the late Han Dynasty. Cao Cao's forces numbered 220,000-240,000 while Sun Quan's fleet had 50,000 marines, the total being some 270,000 or 290,000 in all.
• The Battle of Yamen, 1279. The battle which ended the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty conquest of Southern Song Dynasty. More than 1,000 Song Dynasty warships were destroyed by the Yuan Dynasty near Yamen, Guangdong, China.
• The Battle of Lake Poyang, 1363. Claimed to be the largest battle in terms of personnel. The 200,000 sailors of the Ming rebel force, commanded by Zhu Yuanzhang, met the 650,000-strong Han rebel force, commanded by Chen Youliang, on Lake Poyang, China's largest freshwater lake.
• The Battle of Jutland, 1916. The largest battle in terms of tonnage of ships engaged, and in terms of the total tonnage of ships involved in a single action. Possibly the largest battle-line action, in terms of numbers of ships engaged; certainly the largest in terms of the tonnage of ships engaged. The largest surface action and the largest ship-to-ship action, in terms of the tonnage of the ships engaged. The largest gun action in terms of the weight of fire of the guns involved, and the largest single action - surface or otherwise - in terms of the numbers of torpedoes launched. The Imperial German Navy's battlefleet ('the High Seas Fleet') commanded by Reinhardt Scheer encountered the numerically superior British main battlefleet ('the Grand Fleet') under Jellicoe. Material losses were heavier on the British side, but the High Seas Fleet only narrowly escaped destruction - and arguably the battle was a decisive moral victory for the British.
• The Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944. The largest in terms of tonnage of ships in the orders of battle of the fleets involved, in terms of the tonnage of ships sunk, and also in terms of the area over which the component actions took place. United States and Australian forces included 8 large aircraft carriers, 24 smaller carriers, 12 battleships, 24 cruisers, 141 destroyers, smaller ships, and around 1,500 planes. They won a decisive victory over Japanese forces, which consisted of four aircraft carriers, nine battleships, 19 cruisers, 34 destroyers and other ships and around 200 planes. The opposing fleets were manned by a total of about 200,000 personnel. Leyte Gulf was also a major air battle. This battle comprised four major naval actions (the Battles of Surigao Strait, Sibuyan Sea, Samar and Cape Engano) as well as submarine actions - which are counted together as 'The Battle for Leyte Gulf' by virtue of their all being part of the Japanese operation 'Sho-Go' intended to destroy Allied invasion shipping in Leyte Gulf.

Other large battles

• The Battle of Actium, 31 BC - Battle between Mark Antony, Cleopatra and Octavian for control of the Roman world; more than 500 warships were involved.
• The Battle of Baekgang, 663. More than 800 Yamato ships versus 170 Tang ships.
• The Battle of Tangdao, 1161. More than 600 Jin warships versus 120 Song warships.
• The Battle of Lepanto, 1571 - 212 Holy League galleys and galleasses vs 272 or more Ottoman galleys, galliots etc (c. 484 or more total).
• The Battle of Myeongnyang, 1597 - a large Japanese assault on Admiral Yi's remaining 13 ships. The japanese attacked with 300.
• The Battle of Noryang Point, 1598, final battle to end Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598), 500 Japanese warships versus 140 Korean and Chinese warships.
• The Battle of Lowestoft, 1665 - 109 English ships vs 103 Dutch ships (212 total).
• The Battle of Penghu, 1683 - More than 200 Qing vs more than 200 Tungning warships (400+ total).
• The Battle of Cartagena de Indias, 1741 - 186 British ships vs major Spanish fortifications and 6 warships in Cartagena de Indias (present-day Colombia).
• The Battle of Vyborg Bay, 1790 - 257 Russian vs 241 Swedish sailing ships and rowing vessels (498 total)[1].
• The Second Battle of Svensksund, 1790 - 196 Swedish vs 141 Russian vessels (337 total).
• The Battle of the Philippine Sea, 1944 - The largest aircraft carrier battle in history, involving 15 US fleet carriers, 9 Japanese fleet carriers, 170 other warships and 1700 aircraft

There may as well be the question of the identity of the largest sea battle in history. Usually one would tend to assume that 'largest naval battle' and 'largest sea battle' are in practise synonymous, but if 'The Battle of Red Cliffs' (for example) - which was fought on the River Yangtze - were to be adjudged the largest naval battle in history this would not resolve the question of the largest sea battle - Leyte Gulf or Jutland, Salamis or Cape Ecnomus might still qualify for that title.

Footnotes