What was the largest naval battle in history?
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, fought from 23 to 26 October 1944 in the waters around the Philippines, is generally regarded as the largest naval battle in history. Japan gambled almost its entire remaining fleet to stop the American landings and lost, and the Imperial Japanese Navy was broken as a fighting force.
Command of the sea has decided the fate of empires as surely as any land campaign. From the oar-driven triremes that met in the narrows off Athens to the aircraft carriers that fought a battle over the horizon in the Pacific, these are the fifteen greatest sea battles in history. They are ranked by a score, not by date, and how we chose and ranked them is explained right after the list.
1 Salamis, 480 BC
- Where
- The strait between the island of Salamis and Attica, Greece
- War
- Greco-Persian Wars, Xerxes' invasion of Greece
- Fleets
- Allied Greek fleet (Eurybiades of Sparta, Themistocles of Athens) vs the Persian fleet of Xerxes
- Strength
- 310 Greek ships by Aeschylus's count, 378 triremes by Herodotus's; Aeschylus and Herodotus give Xerxes 1,207 (disputed)
- Result
- Greek victory; at least a third of the Persian fleet beaten
In September 480 BC Xerxes held Athens. The Athenians had abandoned their city for the island of Salamis, betting everything on their fleet, and the Greek ships sheltering there blocked the waters the Persian supply transports needed to feed an army now marching on the Isthmus of Corinth. How many ships fought is disputed. Herodotus counts 378 Greek triremes and credits Xerxes with 1,207 at the start of the invasion; Aeschylus, in his play The Persians, gives the Greeks 310 ships and Xerxes 1,207.1
Before dawn the Persians rowed into the narrows, perhaps lured by a false message from Themistocles that the Greeks were about to flee; Herodotus tells the story, and it may or may not be true. Xerxes watched from the hill of Aegaleos as his ships, crowding into the narrow strait, were attacked on their flank at dawn. By nightfall at least a third of the Persian fleet had been beaten. Diodorus, writing four centuries later, puts the losses at 40 Greek ships and more than 200 Persian. Xerxes recalled his army, and the land war was settled at Plataea the next year. Aeschylus celebrated the victory in his play The Persians, written, by Jona Lendering's account, seven years after the battle.2
Why it ranks here: It is the only battle here with full marks for recognition, decisiveness, consequence and memory: it turned back an invasion and gave the Greeks the sea. It ties on points with Trafalgar and Midway and wins the tie on consequence; only certainty, 3, holds it back, because the ship numbers rest on Herodotus and are disputed.
2 Trafalgar, 1805
- Where
- Off Cape Trafalgar, southwest Spain
- War
- Napoleonic Wars
- Fleets
- British fleet (Nelson) vs combined French and Spanish fleet (Villeneuve)
- Strength
- 27 vs 33 ships of the line; about 18,000 vs nearly 30,000 men
- Result
- British victory; 17 enemy ships captured and one burned; Nelson killed
In October 1805 Napoleon ordered Vice-Admiral Villeneuve to take the combined French and Spanish fleet out of Cadiz and into the Mediterranean to support his war against Austria, and 33 ships sailed on 19 October. Nelson was waiting with 27. The enemy had nearly 30,000 men and 2,632 guns to his 18,000 men and 2,148 guns.3
On 21 October, off Cape Trafalgar, the British came on in two columns straight at the enemy line, so slowly in the light wind that the ships leading each column took the fire almost alone. At 11:45 a.m. Nelson's flagship Victory flew the signal “England expects that every man will do his duty.” Nelson's plan and the faster, more accurate British gunnery decided the pounding match that followed: when the firing stopped at 5:30 p.m., 17 enemy ships had been captured and another was a blazing wreck. The British lost 449 killed; the French and Spanish dead numbered about 4,400 to 4,500. Nelson was among the British dead, shot on Victory's deck at 1:15 p.m. and dead by 4:30. Trafalgar ended Napoleon's hopes of invading Britain and opened a century of British naval supremacy, though the war on land went on for another decade. The Royal Navy still marks 21 October as Trafalgar Day.4
Why it ranks here: Full marks for recognition, decisiveness, memory and certainty, from one of the best-documented battles ever fought; consequence is 4, because it did not end the war with Napoleon. Level on points with Salamis, it loses the tie on consequence, and it stays ahead of Midway, its equal on recognition and consequence, as the older battle.
3 Midway, 1942
- Where
- Around Midway Atoll, central Pacific
- War
- World War II, Pacific War
- Fleets
- US Pacific Fleet (Nimitz) vs Japanese Combined Fleet (Yamamoto)
- Strength
- 3 US carriers and the Midway air base vs 4 Japanese fleet carriers
- Result
- US victory; 4 Japanese carriers sunk for 1 US carrier; about 3,057 Japanese and 362 American men lost
Admiral Yamamoto planned to knock out Midway's defenses, invade the atoll and draw out the American carriers, expecting them to arrive too late and too weak to win. But Navy cryptanalysts in Hawaii had been breaking Japanese codes since early 1942. A false message from Midway saying it was short of fresh water confirmed that the Japanese target “AF” was the atoll. Admiral Nimitz was able to set an ambush, with three carriers waiting east of the island.5
Early on 4 June 1942 aircraft from four Japanese carriers bombed Midway. While they were back aboard to rearm, dive-bombers from Enterprise and Yorktown found the Japanese fleet and left Akagi, Kaga and Soryu burning and abandoned. Hiryu, the fourth, crippled Yorktown before Hiryu herself was caught that afternoon. Japan lost about 3,057 men, four carriers, a cruiser and hundreds of aircraft; the United States lost about 362 men, Yorktown, a destroyer and 144 aircraft. The Navy's own historians call Midway the strategic high-water mark of Japan's war: before it Japan held general naval superiority, after it the two fleets were equals and the United States soon took the offensive. The anniversary is still kept: in June 2025 the US Navy Memorial in Washington marked the 83rd with a wreath laying.6
Why it ranks here: Full marks for recognition, decisiveness, memory and certainty: four carriers lost in a day cost Japan the initiative for good. Consequence is 4, because Japan fought on for three more years, and it sits below Trafalgar only on the tie rule, level with it on points, recognition and consequence but the younger battle.
4 Gravelines (the Spanish Armada), 1588
- Where
- Off Gravelines on the Flemish coast, near Calais
- War
- Anglo-Spanish War (to 1604), the Armada campaign
- Fleets
- English fleet (Lord Howard of Effingham, Drake) vs the Spanish Armada (Duke of Medina Sidonia)
- Strength
- About 130 to 138 Spanish ships vs about 136 to 200 English; some 60 a side in the close fighting off Gravelines
- Result
- English victory; at least 3 Spanish ships sunk in the battle, about 19 wrecked later off Scotland and Ireland
Philip II's Armada left Lisbon in May 1588 with about 130 ships (138 by one count) and more than 25,000 sailors and soldiers. It was to carry the Duke of Parma's army over from Flanders. England had about 136 ships, some 200 by another count. The Armada fought its way up the Channel and anchored off Calais on 6 August, but Parma's troops were blockaded by the Dutch and never came out.7
On the night of 7 August the English sent eight fireships into the anchorage. The Spaniards cut their cables and scattered, and on 8 August the English closed in off Gravelines for a running fight at close range that lasted all day, about 60 English ships against a similar number of Spanish. Several Spanish ships were driven ashore and at least three were sunk. A sudden change of wind next day saved the Armada from the Zeeland shoals, and it fled north. The worst came on the way home around Scotland and Ireland: some damaged ships foundered in severe storms and about 19 were wrecked on the Scottish and Irish coasts; only about 67 of the 138 ships got back to Spain, and perhaps 11,000 men died. Myth vs fact: English guns did not destroy the Armada; Gravelines broke its plan, and the weather did most of the sinking.8
Why it ranks here: The Armada is a household name and keeps full marks for recognition and memory, and its defeat ended the invasion of England. Decisiveness is 4, because the war ran on to 1604 and storms sank more ships than English guns; it ties on points with Tsushima and goes ahead on recognition.
5 Tsushima, 1905
- Where
- Tsushima Strait, between Korea and Japan
- War
- Russo-Japanese War
- Fleets
- Japanese Combined Fleet (Togo) vs Russian Second and Third Pacific Squadrons (Rozhestvensky)
- Strength
- Japan: 4 modern battleships, the old ex-Chinese Chin Yen, 8 armored cruisers, 15 other cruisers and about 70 torpedo craft vs 38 Russian ships
- Result
- Japanese victory; 34 of 38 Russian ships sunk, captured or interned; Japan lost 3 torpedo boats
With its Pacific squadron destroyed at Port Arthur, Russia sent the Baltic Fleet around the world. Its battleships steamed some 18,000 nautical miles and arrived in the spring of 1905 worn out, many crewed by poorly trained men. Admiral Rozhestvensky made for Vladivostok by the shortest route, the Tsushima Strait, where Admiral Togo's Combined Fleet was waiting. Togo's battle line had four modern battleships, the old ex-Chinese battleship Chin Yen and eight armored cruisers, backed by 15 other cruisers and about 70 torpedo craft.9
In the early hours of 27 May a Japanese auxiliary cruiser sighted the Russians and radioed their position, the first time warships under way used wireless in action. Togo crossed the Russian “T” at 7,500 yards, and signaled that the fate of the empire depended on the battle. By sunset four Russian battleships were sunk; torpedo attacks through the night sank more, and the next morning Admiral Nebogatov surrendered what was left. Of 38 Russian ships, three reached Vladivostok and one got back to the Baltic; the other 34 were sunk, captured or interned. The British naval historian Julian Corbett counted 4,830 Russians killed and 5,907 taken prisoner, against 117 Japanese dead and three torpedo boats lost. Russia asked for peace, signed at Portsmouth in September 1905, and Togo's flagship Mikasa is kept as a memorial ship at Yokosuka.10
Why it ranks here: Full marks for decisiveness, consequence and certainty: it was the most one-sided fleet action of modern times, ended the war and announced Japan as a great power. Recognition and memory are 4, as it is far less known in the West, and it loses the tie on points with Gravelines on recognition.
6 Lepanto, 1571
- Where
- Mouth of the Gulf of Patras, western Greece
- War
- Ottoman-Venetian War of 1570 to 1573 (the War of Cyprus)
- Fleets
- Holy League fleet (John of Austria) vs Ottoman fleet (Müezzinzade Ali Pasha)
- Strength
- 206 galleys and 6 galleasses, about 80,000 men, vs 220 to 230 galleys and 50 to 60 galliots; about 280 a side by another count
- Result
- Holy League victory; 117 Ottoman galleys taken; Ali Pasha killed
When Sultan Selim II demanded Cyprus from Venice in 1570, Pope Pius V built a Holy League against him. Its fleet gathered at Messina under Don John of Austria, half-brother of Philip II, with 206 galleys, 108 of them Venetian, and six heavy galleasses mounting 20 guns each. The Ottomans had 220 to 230 galleys and 50 to 60 smaller galliots; another estimate puts each fleet at about 280 ships.11
The fleets met on 7 October 1571. The galleasses, sent ahead of the line, pounded the Ottoman galleys as they came on, and in the center Ali Pasha's flagship, the Sultana, drove into Don John's Real; the Sultana was captured in turn, and Ali Pasha was killed. The League took 117 galleys and freed 12,000 Christian galley slaves. Nearly 9,000 Christians died, and the Ottoman dead or captured are put at up to 30,000, figures that vary between sources. Among the wounded was Miguel de Cervantes. Myth vs fact: Lepanto did not end Ottoman sea power; the Ottomans rebuilt almost the whole fleet within a year, and in 1573 Venice made peace and gave up Cyprus. Its lasting mark is in the Church: Pius V founded a feast of Our Lady of Victory for the battle, renamed the feast of the Holy Rosary in 1573 and kept today on 7 October as Our Lady of the Rosary.12
Why it ranks here: Recognition, memory and certainty take full marks: it was the last great galley battle, and a feast day still recalls it. Decisiveness is only 3, because the Ottomans rebuilt their fleet within a year and kept Cyprus, which holds it a point behind the two battles above.
7 Actium, 31 BC
- Where
- Off the Actium promontory, at the mouth of the Gulf of Ambracia, western Greece
- War
- Final civil war of the Roman Republic
- Fleets
- Octavian's fleet (Agrippa) vs the fleet of Mark Antony and Cleopatra
- Strength
- Antony 230 warships by Jona Lendering's count, at least 500 by Plutarch's; Octavian 250 by Plutarch's, with 300 under Agrippa by Lendering's
- Result
- Octavian's victory; Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt; by Augustus' own count 300 ships captured
By 32 BC Octavian had his excuse for war: a document, probably forged in Jona Lendering's view, showing that Antony meant to give Roman land to Cleopatra. Antony and Cleopatra brought their army and fleet to Actium in western Greece, but in early 31 BC Agrippa seized their bases along the supply route from Egypt, and hunger began to wear down their men. Antony had to break out by sea. How many ships he had is uncertain: Plutarch says no fewer than 500 against Octavian's 250, while Jona Lendering gives Antony 230 and Agrippa alone 300 war galleys.13
On 2 September 31 BC Antony attacked through the center. Cleopatra's 60 ships hoisted sail and slipped through the gap, Antony followed, and the rest of his fleet, left without its commander, was beaten and burned. Plutarch reports no more than 5,000 dead and 300 ships captured, quoting Augustus himself. Antony had broken out, but he had lost his army. In 30 BC, with Octavian besieging Alexandria, he and Cleopatra took their own lives, and Octavian went on to rule alone as Augustus. He founded Nicopolis, the “victory city,” on the site of his camp, and his poets made the battle the founding myth of the new regime: Virgil gave it some of the finest lines of the Aeneid. That is the catch: we know the fight through Augustan propaganda.14
Why it ranks here: Full marks for decisiveness and consequence: it ended the Roman civil wars and opened the way to Augustus and the Empire. Certainty is 3, because the course of the battle reaches us through Augustan sources, and recognition and memory are 4; on 43 it sits one point behind Lepanto and two ahead of the Nile.
8 The Nile, 1798
- Where
- Aboukir Bay, near the Rosetta mouth of the Nile, Egypt
- War
- French Revolutionary Wars, Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt
- Fleets
- British fleet (Rear-Admiral Nelson) vs French fleet (Vice-Admiral Brueys)
- Strength
- 14 British ships of the line by EBSCO's count vs 13 French, plus 4 French frigates
- Result
- British victory; 11 of 13 French ships of the line taken or destroyed; flagship L'Orient blown up
In May 1798 Bonaparte sailed from Toulon for Egypt, taking Malta on the way. His fleet of 13 ships of the line was led by the flagship L'Orient, a three-decker with a crew of more than a thousand. By the time Nelson found it on 1 August, the army had landed and the French commander, François-Paul Brueys, had anchored his line in Aboukir Bay, 15 miles from Alexandria, too far from the shore and with all his guns pointing out to sea.15
Nelson attacked at once, late in the afternoon. The leading British ship risked the shallows and passed between the French line and the shore, others followed, and the anchored French ships were bombarded from both sides. Brueys was killed, and at about 10 p.m. L'Orient blew up; the blast was apparently heard as far away as Alexandria, and the fighting stopped for some 15 minutes. Of 13 French ships of the line and four frigates, only two of each escaped; of the rest, nine were taken, three burned and one sunk. More than 35,000 French soldiers were cut off in Egypt, and by EBSCO's account the victory's prestige let William Pitt build the Second Coalition. Nelson was made Baron Nelson of the Nile, and was buried in a coffin made from the wood of L'Orient.16
Why it ranks here: Full marks for decisiveness and certainty: Nelson destroyed the French fleet at anchor and stranded Napoleon's army in Egypt. Recognition is 4, because Trafalgar overshadows it, and memory only 3, since little beyond Nelson's title recalls it today; it ties on points with Leyte Gulf and stays ahead as the older battle.
9 Leyte Gulf, 1944
- Where
- Waters around Leyte and Samar and the Sibuyan Sea, Philippines
- War
- World War II (Pacific War)
- Fleets
- US Third and Seventh Fleets, with two Australian ships, against the Japanese Combined Fleet
- Strength
- 282 ships (216 American, 2 Australian, 64 Japanese) and nearly 200,000 men; more than 1,000 aircraft on the US fast carriers alone
- Result
- Allied victory; Japan lost 26 to 29 warships, among them 4 carriers and 3 battleships
On 20 October 1944 American troops landed on Leyte to begin the liberation of the Philippines. Japan answered with Sho-1, a plan that staked almost its entire fleet: a decoy force of carriers with few planes aboard would lure Admiral William Halsey's Third Fleet north, while two forces of battleships slipped through the islands to smash the landing fleet in the gulf.17
Was Leyte Gulf the largest naval battle in history? By the usual measures, yes. Between 23 and 26 October some 282 ships fought, 216 American, 2 Australian and 64 Japanese, with almost 200,000 men across more than 100,000 square miles of sea, and Halsey's fourteen fast carriers alone carried more than a thousand aircraft. It was really four battles: in the Sibuyan Sea aircraft sank the giant battleship Musashi; in Surigao Strait the last battle lines of dreadnoughts met; off Cape Engaño Halsey sank all four decoy carriers; and off Samar escort carriers and destroyers held off Admiral Kurita's battleships until he turned back. Japan lost 26 to 29 warships, among them four carriers and three battleships, and more than 10,500 men; the Americans lost six ships. The battle also saw the first kamikaze attacks.18
Why it ranks here: Leyte Gulf earns top marks for decisiveness and certainty, because it ended the Japanese navy as a fighting force and its ships and losses are well documented. What holds it here is memory: outside the US Navy it has little public memory, so it scores 3, and its name is less widely known than Midway's. It ties on points with the Nile, which goes first as the older battle.
10 Red Cliffs, 208
- Where
- On the Yangtze River in central China (exact site disputed)
- War
- Wars at the end of the Han dynasty
- Fleets
- Cao Cao against the allied fleets of Sun Quan (under Zhou Yu) and Liu Bei
- Strength
- Cao Cao claimed 800,000; Zhou Yu reckoned 150,000 to 160,000 northerners plus 70,000 to 80,000 men from Jing; Sun Quan sent 30,000 (all disputed)
- Result
- Allied victory; Cao Cao retreated north and China stayed divided
By 208 the warlord Cao Cao ruled northern China. He took over the province of Jing with its river fleet and came down the Yangtze. A letter quoted in the commentary to the Records of the Three Kingdoms has him warn Sun Quan, lord of the southeast, that he commanded a fleet with 800,000 men. Sun Quan's commander Zhou Yu, in a conversation the commentary records, put Cao Cao's real strength at no more than 150,000 to 160,000 weary northerners plus 70,000 or 80,000 men from Jing of doubtful loyalty. Sun Quan gave Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu 30,000 men to join Liu Bei and his ally Liu Qi, for whom Zhuge Liang claimed 10,000 men each, probably an exaggeration in the historian Rafe de Crespigny's view.19
In Chen Shou's Records, the life of Zhou Yu tells how his officer Huang Gai feigned surrender and sent a squadron of warships, several tens by the Records' count but only ten in a later chronicle, as de Crespigny notes, filled with dry reeds and faggots soaked in oil, set alight, before a following wind; Cao Cao's ships were moored stem to stern, and the fire spread through his fleet and camp. Cao Cao himself, in a letter preserved in the commentary, blamed sickness for his retreat. Myth vs fact: the famous version, in which Liu Bei's strategist Zhuge Liang shares the credit with Zhou Yu, is the fourteenth-century novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, not the history. Even the site is disputed. Red Cliffs was Cao Cao's last chance to bring Liu Bei and Sun Quan under his authority, and John Woo's two-part film Red Cliff (2008 and 2009) retold the story.20
Why it ranks here: Few battles live on so strongly in novel, film and games, and this one split China into the Three Kingdoms, so it scores 5 for memory. It sits here because the site, the numbers and even the course of the fire attack are disputed, which gives it only 2 for certainty.
11 Jutland, 1916
- Where
- North Sea, off the coast of Jutland, Denmark
- War
- World War I
- Fleets
- British Grand Fleet (Jellicoe, Beatty) against the German High Seas Fleet (Scheer, Hipper)
- Strength
- 250 or 279 warships in all by Royal Museums Greenwich's two counts, the British much the stronger
- Result
- Draw; Britain lost 14 ships, Germany 11, and the High Seas Fleet went home
By 1916 Britain's Grand Fleet, with 42 dreadnoughts to Germany's 23, kept the German High Seas Fleet penned in the North Sea. Its commander, Reinhard Scheer, hoped to lure part of the British fleet out and destroy it. On 31 May his scouting battlecruisers under Franz von Hipper met David Beatty's, and behind them came Admiral Sir John Jellicoe with the British battle fleet. Royal Museums Greenwich counts 250 ships in all on one of its pages and 279 on another.21
Within half an hour two of Beatty's battlecruisers blew up, and Britain lost three battlecruisers in all. When the main fleets met, Scheer twice withdrew from the massed British guns, covering his retreat with destroyer attacks, and at night he took his fleet through the British destroyer flotillas to reach home. Britain lost 14 ships and Germany 11; Royal Museums Greenwich counts 6,945 British and 3,058 German casualties, prisoners included. Myth vs fact: on losses Germany could claim a tactical victory, but on 1 June Britain had 105 undamaged warships ready to fight and Germany only 40, and the blockade that wore down Germany's war effort went on.22
Why it ranks here: The only full clash of the great battleship fleets is famous and superbly documented, and it kept the blockade in place, but neither fleet was destroyed, so it scores 3 for decisiveness. It ties on points with Hansan Island and stands ahead of it because it is better known.
12 Hansan Island, 1592
- Where
- Off Hansan Island, near today's Tongyeong, South Korea
- War
- Imjin War (Japanese invasions of Korea, 1592 to 1598)
- Fleets
- Joseon navy under Yi Sun-sin, Yi Eok-gi and Won Gyun against Wakisaka Yasuharu's squadron
- Strength
- 55 Korean warships vs 73 Japanese ships (Korean records)
- Result
- Korean victory; 47 Japanese ships burned and 12 captured, no Korean ship lost
In the fourth lunar month of 1592 Toyotomi Hideyoshi's armies invaded Korea, planning to advance by land and sea together. At sea the plan went wrong: the Korean navy beat Japanese squadrons at Okpo, Dangpo and Danghangpo. The Japanese reinforced their fleet, and Wakisaka Yasuharu came west with 73 ships, 36 large, 24 medium and 13 small, while Kuki Yoshitaka followed with 42 more.23
On the 8th day of the seventh lunar month Yi, with 55 warships from three provincial fleets, found Wakisaka in the Gyeonnaeryang strait, a narrow channel full of reefs where his heavy panokseon could not maneuver. Five or six Korean ships attacked and fell back; the Japanese chased them into the open water off Hansan, where Yi's whole fleet closed around them in the hagikjin, the crane-wing formation, firing its cannon as it came. Korean records count 47 Japanese ships burned or wrecked and 12 captured; some 400 survivors fled ashore, and the Korean fleet lost no ship. The American writer Homer Hulbert later called it the Salamis of Korea. Japanese reference works also record a heavy defeat at sea that month, and Yi's navy went on to cut the invaders' supply route. Tongyeong still marks the victory with a festival, a memorial rite and a reenactment of the battle.24
Why it ranks here: Yi Sun-sin's crane-wing victory won Korea command of its southern sea, which earns top marks for decisiveness, and it is still celebrated. It ties on points with Jutland but falls behind it because it is known mainly in East Asia, so it scores 3 for recognition.
13 The Chesapeake, 1781
- Where
- Mouth of Chesapeake Bay, off Cape Henry, Virginia
- War
- American Revolutionary War
- Fleets
- French fleet under the Comte de Grasse against the British fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves
- Strength
- 24 French vs 19 British ships of the line
- Result
- Tactical draw, strategic French victory; British fleet withdrew to New York
In 1781 Lord Cornwallis fortified Yorktown on Chesapeake Bay as a base supplied by sea. At Washington's request, on 5 August the Comte de Grasse sailed from the Caribbean with 37 ships, 28 of them ships of the line, while Washington marched his army south. The British sent Samuel Hood north with 14 ships of the line; he joined Admiral Thomas Graves at New York, and Graves sailed for the bay with 19.25
On the morning of 5 September Graves found the French at anchor inside Cape Henry, many of their officers ashore. Instead of attacking at once he formed his line of battle, which gave de Grasse time to work his ships out of the bay; as they came out the British counted 24 ships of the line. The fight began at 4:15 p.m. and lasted just over two hours; the wind and confusing signals kept the British rear out of range. The British had 90 killed, 246 wounded and six ships damaged, the French about 210 casualties. Days later de Grasse slipped back into the bay, where the Comte de Barras had joined him with more ships, and Graves went back to New York. Cut off by sea, Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on 19 October. American Heritage put it in a line in 1961: “Admiral Graves lost no ships… he merely lost America.”26
Why it ranks here: A two-hour draw that sealed Cornwallis's fate and with it American independence earns top marks for decisiveness and consequence, but it lives in the shadow of Yorktown, so it scores only 2 for memory. It ties on points with Dan-no-ura and Myeongnyang and stands ahead of both on consequence.
14 Dan-no-ura, 1185
- Where
- Dan-no-ura, in the Kanmon Strait off today's Shimonoseki, Japan
- War
- Genpei War (1180 to 1185)
- Fleets
- Minamoto fleet under Minamoto no Yoshitsune against the Taira fleet of Taira no Munemori and Taira no Tomomori
- Strength
- More than 840 Minamoto ships vs more than 500 Taira ships (figures from the chronicles)
- Result
- Minamoto victory; the Taira destroyed and the child emperor Antoku drowned
From 1180 the Taira and Minamoto clans fought for control of Japan. In the second month of 1185 Minamoto no Yoshitsune drove the Taira from their base at Yashima on Shikoku, and their leader Taira no Munemori fell back to the island of Hikoshima off today's Shimonoseki, where Taira no Tomomori held the Kanmon Strait. With them was the child emperor Antoku, born in 1178, Taira no Kiyomori's grandson.27
On the 24th day of the third month, 25 April by the Western calendar, Yoshitsune came on with more than 840 ships against more than 500, by the chroniclers' counts. Fighting began around noon. The Taira rode the eastward tide until it turned, and by about four in the afternoon they were beaten, though historians still argue over the hours and the tide's part. Antoku's grandmother Taira no Tokiko leapt into the sea with the boy and with the sacred sword of the imperial regalia, which was never recovered; Tomomori and many of the clan drowned or were killed, and Munemori was taken. Victory left Minamoto no Yoritomo master of Japan, and his Kamakura shogunate began warrior rule that lasted, in one form or another, for centuries. The Tale of the Heike tells of the emperor's drowning in its eleventh book, and Akama Jingu shrine in Shimonoseki still honors Antoku every May.28
Why it ranks here: It destroyed the Taira, ended the Genpei War and opened the way to the first shogunate, and The Tale of the Heike keeps it alive; but its numbers rest on chronicles, so it scores 3 for certainty. It ties on points with Myeongnyang and stands ahead of it as the older battle.
15 Myeongnyang, 1597
- Where
- Myeongnyang (Uldolmok) Strait, between Jindo Island and the mainland, South Korea
- War
- Imjin War (second Japanese invasion of Korea)
- Fleets
- Joseon navy under Yi Sun-sin against the Japanese invasion fleet
- Strength
- 13 Korean warships vs 133 Japanese ships by Yi's count (other accounts about 330)
- Result
- Korean victory; 31 Japanese ships destroyed by Yi's count
When Japan invaded again in 1597, the Korean navy under Won Gyun was all but destroyed at Chilcheollyang; only 12 warships escaped. Yi Sun-sin was reappointed to command the navy. When King Seonjo judged that the navy could no longer win, Yi answered with words Koreans still quote: “we still have 12 ships left.” Civilians later brought a thirteenth. To stop the Japanese pushing west toward the Yellow Sea, Yi chose Myeongnyang, a narrow channel off Jindo where the sea roars with the tide.29
Early on the 16th day of the ninth lunar month the Japanese entered the strait, 133 ships by Yi's count, and Yi formed a single line across it. His own ship, out in front, was nearly surrounded until he ordered his lagging captains forward. Then the current turned against the attackers, and a Japanese defector spotted the body of the commander Madashi in the water; Yi had the head hung high, and Japanese morale broke. By Yi's count 31 Japanese ships were destroyed before the rest withdrew. Myth vs fact: the famous odds come from Yi's own diary, other accounts give the Japanese about 330 ships, and tales of iron chains across the strait and some hundred refugee boats disguised as warships are traditions, not established fact. The 2014 film Roaring Currents drew a record 17.6 million viewers in South Korea.30
Why it ranks here: Thirteen ships against more than a hundred is a Korean national legend that closed the sea route west, so memory 5. The odds come from Yi's own diary, so certainty 3, and it ties on points with Dan-no-ura but falls behind it as the younger battle.
How we chose and ranked these naval battles
We counted a naval battle as one engagement between fleets on a sea, a lake or a great river, whether the ships fought gun to gun or through carrier aircraft that never saw the enemy. That is why both Midway and Lake Poyang count as naval battles, and why the Battle of the Atlantic, a six-year campaign of convoys and U-boats, is left to our guide to the greatest battles of World War II. Battles fought mainly on land are in the greatest battles of all time.
We considered 26 candidates and scored each one from 1 to 5 on five criteria. Recognition counts three times, because this page answers the question of which naval battles are the greatest; decisiveness, consequence and memory count twice, and certainty once:
- Recognition (×3). 5 if the name is known far beyond naval history and appears on most published lists of its kind, 1 if only specialists know it.
- Decisiveness (×2). 5 if it decided a war or command of the sea, 1 if it was a draw that settled nothing.
- Consequence (×2). 5 if it changed history well beyond its war (an empire, a dynasty, a new nation, a new kind of navy), 1 if it left no mark beyond the campaign.
- Memory (×2). 5 if it is still a living tradition (a naval anniversary, a monument, a feast day, a famous book or film), 1 if it is forgotten.
- Certainty (×1). 5 if the fleets, losses and events are confirmed by independent sources, 1 if they rest on one source or are disputed.
The list is ranked by total score, not by date or by size. Ties go to the better-known battle, then to the one with the greater consequence, then to the older one. The scores are our editorial judgment, made on the evidence in the sources below, and the table shows every one of them. It explains, for example, why Jutland, the greatest clash of battleships ever fought, is only eleventh: neither fleet was destroyed and the war at sea went on as before, so it scores 3 for decisiveness.
| Rank | Name | Recognition ×3 | Decisiveness ×2 | Consequence ×2 | Memory ×2 | Certainty ×1 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salamis | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 48 |
| 2 | Trafalgar | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 48 |
| 3 | Midway | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 48 |
| 4 | Gravelines (the Spanish Armada) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 45 |
| 5 | Tsushima | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 45 |
| 6 | Lepanto | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 44 |
| 7 | Actium | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 43 |
| 8 | The Nile | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 41 |
| 9 | Leyte Gulf | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 41 |
| 10 | Red Cliffs | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 40 |
| 11 | Jutland | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 39 |
| 12 | Hansan Island | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 39 |
| 13 | The Chesapeake | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 38 |
| 14 | Dan-no-ura | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 38 |
| 15 | Myeongnyang | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 38 |
Close calls
Five battles came close and did not make the fifteen:
Navarino, 1827. In Navarino Bay, in the southwest Peloponnese, a British, French and Russian fleet under Sir Edward Codrington destroyed the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet in the last great battle of the age of sail; the Ottomans lost 60 of 89 vessels and 8,000 men. It turned the war toward Greek independence, but it is less widely known than the fifteen above and finished two points short.31
Coral Sea, 1942. In May 1942 American and Japanese carriers fought the first naval battle in which the opposing ships never sighted each other. Japan sank the carrier Lexington, but the invasion force bound for Port Moresby turned back. A Japanese tactical edge and an Allied strategic win, it scores 3 for decisiveness.32
Philippine Sea, 1944. Off the Marianas in June 1944 American pilots shot down so many attackers that the fight became the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”: Japan lost more than 600 aircraft and three carriers against about 125 American planes. It broke Japanese carrier aviation for good, but Leyte Gulf, four months later, finished the job and takes the place on the list.33
Lake Poyang, 1363. On China's largest freshwater lake Zhu Yuanzhang's small ships and fire ships beat Chen Youliang's towering warships, and Zhu went on to found the Ming dynasty. By men engaged it may be the largest naval battle ever, with perhaps half a million people on several hundred vessels, but those numbers are not reliable and the battle is little known outside China.34
Hampton Roads, 1862. On 9 March 1862 the ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia, the rebuilt Merrimack, fought for four hours while their armor turned the shots aside, a day after the Virginia had sunk two Union warships. The duel opened a new era of iron ships, but it was a draw that decided nothing in the Civil War.35
See these battles set beside every other kind of warfare in the greatest battles of all time and Battles That Changed the World, or read which cost the most lives in the deadliest battles in history.
What was the deadliest naval battle in history?
No one can say for certain, because the oldest figures are the least reliable. Ancient and medieval chronicles give the highest tolls, but they cannot be checked. Among battles of the last five centuries, Lepanto in 1571 has some of the highest estimates: the New Catholic Encyclopedia counts nearly 9,000 Christian dead and 30,000 Ottoman losses.36
The early numbers come from chronicles, not muster rolls. Polybius, for instance, reckoned that about 140,000 men sailed with the Roman fleet and more than 150,000 with the Carthaginian one at Cape Ecnomus in 256 BC, during the First Punic War, yet he counted the losses only in ships: 24 Roman and more than 30 Carthaginian sunk, and 64 Carthaginian taken. Death tolls for battles like these are later reckonings rather than counts.37
Modern records are firmer. At Jutland in 1916, the great clash of battle fleets in World War I, 6,094 British and 2,551 German sailors died, by Royal Museums Greenwich's count. At Leyte Gulf Japan paid by far the higher price: the National WWII Museum counts 26 Japanese ships sunk, among them four carriers and three battleships. The great sailing battles were smaller in blood but not in result. At Trafalgar the British lost about 450 killed and 1,200 wounded, while the French and Spanish had about 4,400 dead and 2,500 wounded, and thousands more were taken prisoner.38
How big was the Battle of Leyte Gulf?
Big enough that it is often called the largest naval battle in history, a title that rests above all on the tonnage of the ships engaged and the expanse of sea the fighting covered. Nearly 200,000 men and 282 ships took part, in four separate engagements spread over some 100,000 square miles of ocean.39
Among the Japanese losses was the giant battleship Musashi, which sank in the Sibuyan Sea after being hit by some 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes. Leyte Gulf also opened a grim new chapter. On the morning of 25 October 1944 Japanese pilots made the first dedicated kamikaze attack of the war, and the escort carrier Santee was the first ship they struck.40
For scale before the 20th century, the usual benchmark is Lepanto. More than 400 galleys fought there, besides six heavy galleasses and dozens of smaller oared craft. For the carrier war that led up to Leyte, read our accounts of the Coral Sea and Midway.41
What was the largest naval battle of the ancient world?
Judged by the most trustworthy ancient figures, it was the battle off Cape Ecnomus in Sicily in 256 BC. Polybius gives the Romans 330 decked warships and the Carthaginians 350, some 680 in all, with about 140,000 men in the Roman fleet and more than 150,000 in the Carthaginian, some 290,000 men together.42
If Polybius is right, more men fought at Ecnomus than the nearly 200,000 who took part at Leyte Gulf. Livius.org points out that Polybius's totals are reckoned from crew sizes, 300 rowers and 120 marines to each Roman ship, which makes them sounder than most ancient numbers. For Salamis the scale is far less certain: Herodotus credits Xerxes with 1,207 triremes at the start of the invasion and counts 378 Greek ships at Salamis itself. Taken at face value, those figures would make Salamis larger still, but they are much harder to trust than Polybius's crew-based totals. Set them beside the land battles of the age in the greatest battles of antiquity.43
What was the most decisive naval battle in history?
There is no agreed answer, because decisiveness depends on what a battle changed. Salamis, Trafalgar and Midway have the strongest claims, each of which shifted the balance of power at sea for years, while Lepanto shows that a crushing victory on the water could leave the strategic map almost unchanged.
After Salamis Xerxes recalled his army, and in the following year the Persian force left in Greece was beaten at Plataea. The National Museum of the Royal Navy calls Trafalgar the beginning of a century of British naval supremacy, although Royal Museums Greenwich notes that it did little to change the war on land, where Napoleon won at Austerlitz six weeks later. The US Navy's historians call Midway the strategic high-water mark of Japan's Pacific war: before it Japan held general naval superiority, after it the two fleets were roughly equal and the United States soon went over to the offensive. Lepanto, by contrast, was an impressive victory but, in the New Catholic Encyclopedia's judgment, not a decisive one: in 1573 Venice sued for peace and abandoned Cyprus.44
What was the first naval battle in history?
Recorded sea fighting goes back at least to the end of the Bronze Age. One Hittite tablet, a Biblical Archaeology Society caption notes, tells of a naval battle that the Hittite king Suppiluliuma II, who came to the throne around 1207 BC, fought against Alashiya, that is Cyprus.45
Far better documented is Egypt's war with the Sea Peoples. In the eighth year of Ramesses III, probably about 1177 BC, the pharaoh defeated these invaders on land and in a naval battle, and reliefs at his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu show his victory on land and in the Nile Delta.46
Could you name a battle from a single scene? Try Guess the Battle or play today's Battle of the Day.
Notes
A number in the text points to a note; each note names the works that paragraph draws on, listed in full under Sources.
- Livius.org, “Salamis (480 BCE)”; Hellenic Ministry of Culture, “Inscriptions”; Herodotus, “Herodotus, The Histories, Book 8, chapter 48”; Herodotus, “Herodotus, The Histories, Book 7, chapter 89”; Aeschylus, “Persians”. ↩
- Livius.org, “Salamis (480 BCE)”; Herodotus, “Histories 8.90”; Diodorus Siculus, “Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Book XI”; Livius.org, “Aeschylus”. ↩
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “The background to Trafalgar”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Battle of Trafalgar timeline”. ↩
- National Museum of the Royal Navy, “Trafalgar Day”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Battle of Trafalgar timeline”; Fondation Napoléon, “A close-up on”. ↩
- Naval History and Heritage Command, “Battle of Midway, 4-7 June 1942”; The National WWII Museum, “The Battle of Midway”. ↩
- The National WWII Museum, “The Battle of Midway”; Naval History and Heritage Command, “Battle of Midway, 4-7 June 1942”; United States Navy Memorial, “Battle of Midway Wreath Laying”. ↩
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “Research guide P3”; World Book, “The End of the Spanish Armada”. ↩
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “Research guide P3”; HISTORY.com Editors, “Spanish Armada”; World Book, “The End of the Spanish Armada”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 8 August 1588”. ↩
- HistoryNet, “Japan's Trafalgar”; Naval Historical Society of Australia, “The Battle of Tsushima, 1905”; Mikasa Preservation Society, “Battle of Tsushima (Battle of the Sea of Japan)”. ↩
- HistoryNet, “Japan's Trafalgar”; Naval Historical Society of Australia, “The Battle of Tsushima, 1905”; Mikasa Preservation Society, “Battle of Tsushima (Battle of the Sea of Japan)”. ↩
- J. B. Heffernan, “Lepanto, Battle of”; Ernest Tucker, “Lepanto, Battle of”. ↩
- J. B. Heffernan, “Lepanto, Battle of”; Ernest Tucker, “Lepanto, Battle of”; Franciscan Media, “Our Lady of the Rosary”; EWTN News, “A saint and a sea battle”. ↩
- Livius.org, “Actium (31 BCE)”; Plutarch, “Plutarch, The Life of Antony”. ↩
- Livius.org, “Actium (31 BCE)”; Plutarch, “Plutarch, The Life of Antony”; Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, “Nicopolis”. ↩
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “The Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798”; EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle of the Nile”; Fondation Napoléon, “The destruction of l'Orient during the Battle of the Nile (Aboukir)”. ↩
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “The Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798”; EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle of the Nile”; Fondation Napoléon, “The destruction of l'Orient during the Battle of the Nile (Aboukir)”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Research guide N1”. ↩
- The National WWII Museum, “The Battle of Leyte Gulf”; EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle for Leyte Gulf”. ↩
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle for Leyte Gulf”; The National WWII Museum, “The Battle of Leyte Gulf”. ↩
- Rafe de Crespigny, “Generals of the South (PDF)”. ↩
- Rafe de Crespigny, “Generals of the South (PDF)”; EBSCO Research Starters, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong”; Silk Qin, “Former Red Cliff Rhapsody (Qian Chibi Fu)”. ↩
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle of Jutland”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Remembering Jutland”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Who won the Battle of Jutland?”. ↩
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “Remembering Jutland”; EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle of Jutland”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Who won the Battle of Jutland?”. ↩
- Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, “Hansando daecheop (한산도대첩)”. ↩
- Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, “Hansando daecheop (한산도대첩)”; Tongyeong Hansan Battle Festival, “Battle of Hansan”; Kotobank, “Bunroku-Keichō no eki (文禄慶長の役)”. ↩
- National Park Service, “Battle of the Capes”; American Battlefield Trust, “The Battle of the Capes”. ↩
- National Park Service, “Battle of the Capes”; American Heritage, “A Near Thing at Yorktown”; American Battlefield Trust, “The Battle of the Capes”. ↩
- Kotobank, “Dannoura no tatakai (壇ノ浦の戦)”; EBSCO Research Starters, “Minamoto Yoritomo Becomes Shogun”; Japan Tourism Agency, “Akama Jingū Shrine”. ↩
- Kotobank, “Dannoura no tatakai (壇ノ浦の戦)”; Kotobank, “Dannoura no tatakai (壇ノ浦の戦い)”; EBSCO Research Starters, “Minamoto Yoshitsune”; Japan Tourism Agency, “Akama Jingū Shrine”; EBSCO Research Starters, “Minamoto Yoritomo Becomes Shogun”. ↩
- Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, “Myeongnyang daecheop (명량대첩)”; The Korea Herald, “Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s legacy assembled for first time at National Museum of Korea”; Encyclopedia of Korean Local Culture: Jindo, “Myeongnyang daecheop (명량대첩)”. ↩
- Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, “Myeongnyang daecheop (명량대첩)”; Encyclopedia of Korean Local Culture: Jindo, “Myeongnyang daecheop (명량대첩)”; MediaToday, “1700만 흥행 '명량'의 10가지 역사적 허구와 의문 (Ten historical fictions and questions in Myeongnyang)”; The Korea Herald, “New year, new movies”. ↩
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Greek War of Independence”; EBSCO Research Starters, “Greek Independence from the Ottoman Empire”. ↩
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle of the Coral Sea”; Australian War Memorial, “Battle of the Coral Sea, 4-8 May 1942”. ↩
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle of the Philippine Sea”. ↩
- Bruce A. Elleman, “Battle of Lake Poyang (1363)”; Sinica, “This Week in China’s History”. ↩
- National Park Service, “Battle of the Ironclads”. ↩
- J. B. Heffernan, “Lepanto, Battle of”. ↩
- Polybius, “Polybius, The Histories, Book I”; Livius.org, “Ecnomus (256 BCE)”. ↩
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “Battle of Trafalgar timeline”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Remembering Jutland”; The National WWII Museum, “The Battle of Leyte Gulf”. ↩
- Naval History and Heritage Command, “Calmness, Courage, and Efficiency”. ↩
- Naval History and Heritage Command, “Japanese battleship Musashi”; Naval History and Heritage Command, “H-038-1”. ↩
- J. B. Heffernan, “Lepanto, Battle of”. ↩
- Polybius, “Polybius, The Histories, Book I”; Livius.org, “Ecnomus (256 BCE)”. ↩
- Naval History and Heritage Command, “Calmness, Courage, and Efficiency”; Livius.org, “Ecnomus (256 BCE)”; Herodotus, “Herodotus, The Histories, Book 7, chapter 89”; Polybius, “Polybius, The Histories, Book I”. ↩
- Livius.org, “Salamis (480 BCE)”; National Museum of the Royal Navy, “Trafalgar Day”; Royal Museums Greenwich, “Battle of Trafalgar timeline”; Naval History and Heritage Command, “Battle of Midway, 4-7 June 1942”; J. B. Heffernan, “Lepanto, Battle of”. ↩
- Biblical Archaeology Society, “bsao080504200l.jpg”; Livius.org, “Sea People”. ↩
- Livius.org, “Sea People”; Biblical Archaeology Society, “Who Were the Sea Peoples?”. ↩
Sources
- Livius.org (Jona Lendering), “Salamis (480 BCE)”
- Hellenic Ministry of Culture, 2500 Years exhibition, “Inscriptions”
- Herodotus, Histories 8.48, trans. A. D. Godley (Loeb Classical Library), Perseus Digital Library, “Herodotus, The Histories, Book 8, chapter 48”
- Herodotus, Histories 7.89, trans. A. D. Godley (Loeb Classical Library), Perseus Digital Library, “Herodotus, The Histories, Book 7, chapter 89”
- Aeschylus, Persians 337-343, trans. H. W. Smyth (Loeb Classical Library, 1926), Perseus Digital Library, “Persians”
- Herodotus, Histories 8.90, trans. A. D. Godley (Loeb Classical Library), Perseus Digital Library, “Histories 8.90”
- Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 11.19, trans. C. H. Oldfather (Loeb Classical Library), LacusCurtius, “Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Book XI”
- Livius.org (Jona Lendering), “Aeschylus”
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “The background to Trafalgar”
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “Battle of Trafalgar timeline”
- National Museum of the Royal Navy, “Trafalgar Day: The Battle of Trafalgar”
- Fondation Napoléon, napoleon.org, “A close-up on: Trafalgar, 21 October, 1805”
- Naval History and Heritage Command, Online Library of Selected Images (HyperWar mirror), “Battle of Midway, 4-7 June 1942: Overview and Special Image Selection”
- The National WWII Museum, “The Battle of Midway”
- United States Navy Memorial, “Battle of Midway Wreath Laying”
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “Research guide P3: Charts of the Spanish Armada by Robert Adams”
- World Book, “The End of the Spanish Armada”
- HISTORY.com Editors, “Spanish Armada”
- Royal Museums Greenwich, collections, “Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 8 August 1588”
- HistoryNet (Alan George), “Japan's Trafalgar: The Battle of Tsushima Strait”
- Naval Historical Society of Australia (K. Kubota), “The Battle of Tsushima, 1905”
- Mikasa Preservation Society, “Battle of Tsushima (Battle of the Sea of Japan)”
- J. B. Heffernan, New Catholic Encyclopedia, via Encyclopedia.com, “Lepanto, Battle of”
- Ernest Tucker, Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World, via Encyclopedia.com, “Lepanto, Battle of”
- Franciscan Media, Saint of the Day, “Our Lady of the Rosary”
- EWTN News (Peter Pinedo), “A saint and a sea battle: How the rosary saved Christian Europe”
- Livius.org (Jona Lendering), “Actium (31 BCE)”
- Plutarch, Life of Antony 61 and 66 to 68, trans. B. Perrin (Loeb Classical Library), LacusCurtius, “Plutarch, The Life of Antony”
- Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Odysseus, “Nicopolis”
- Royal Museums Greenwich, collections, “The Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798: End of the Action”
- EBSCO Research Starters (John G. Gallaher and Larry Schweikart), “Battle of the Nile”
- Fondation Napoléon, napoleon.org (Karine Huguenaud), “The destruction of l'Orient during the Battle of the Nile (Aboukir)”
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “Research guide N1: Horatio Nelson”
- The National WWII Museum, “The Battle of Leyte Gulf”
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle for Leyte Gulf”
- Rafe de Crespigny, Generals of the South: The Foundation and Early History of the Three Kingdoms State of Wu, internet edition (Canberra: Australian National University, 2018), pages 200-212, 216, “Generals of the South (PDF)”
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong”
- Silk Qin (silkqin.com), “Former Red Cliff Rhapsody (Qian Chibi Fu)”
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle of Jutland”
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “Remembering Jutland”
- Royal Museums Greenwich (Andrew Choong Han Lin), “Who won the Battle of Jutland?”
- Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (Academy of Korean Studies), “Hansando daecheop (한산도대첩)” (in Korean)
- Tongyeong Hansan Battle Festival, “Battle of Hansan”
- Kotobank (Heibonsha, Shogakukan encyclopedias), “Bunroku-Keichō no eki (文禄慶長の役)” (in Japanese)
- National Park Service, Yorktown Battlefield, “Battle of the Capes”
- American Battlefield Trust, “The Battle of the Capes”
- American Heritage (Harold A. Larrabee, 1961), “A Near Thing at Yorktown”
- Kotobank, Sekai Daihyakka Jiten (Heibonsha; Sugihashi Takao), “Dannoura no tatakai (壇ノ浦の戦)” (in Japanese)
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Minamoto Yoritomo Becomes Shogun”
- Japan Tourism Agency, multilingual commentary database, “Akama Jingū Shrine”
- Kotobank, Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponica) (Shogakukan; Sugihashi Takao), “Dannoura no tatakai (壇ノ浦の戦い)” (in Japanese)
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Minamoto Yoshitsune”
- Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (Academy of Korean Studies), “Myeongnyang daecheop (명량대첩)” (in Korean)
- The Korea Herald, “Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s legacy assembled for first time at National Museum of Korea”
- Encyclopedia of Korean Local Culture: Jindo, “Myeongnyang daecheop (명량대첩)” (in Korean)
- MediaToday, “1700만 흥행 '명량'의 10가지 역사적 허구와 의문 (Ten historical fictions and questions in Myeongnyang)” (in Korean)
- The Korea Herald, “New year, new movies”
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Greek War of Independence”
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Greek Independence from the Ottoman Empire”
- EBSCO Research Starters (Jason T. Harris), “Battle of the Coral Sea”
- Australian War Memorial, “Battle of the Coral Sea, 4-8 May 1942: Summary”
- EBSCO Research Starters, “Battle of the Philippine Sea”
- Bruce A. Elleman, The Making of the Modern Chinese Navy (Cambridge University Press, 2019), “Battle of Lake Poyang (1363)”
- Sinica (James Carter), “This Week in China’s History: The Battle of Lake Poyang”
- National Park Service, “Battle of the Ironclads”
- Polybius, Histories, book 1, 25-28, trans. W. R. Paton (Loeb Classical Library), LacusCurtius, “Polybius, The Histories, Book I”
- Livius.org (Jona Lendering), “Ecnomus (256 BCE)”
- Naval History and Heritage Command, “Calmness, Courage, and Efficiency: Remembering the Battle of Leyte Gulf”
- Naval History and Heritage Command, “Japanese battleship Musashi”
- Naval History and Heritage Command, “H-038-1: Leyte Gulf Synopsis”
- Biblical Archaeology Society, BAS Library, image caption to “The Cyprus Collections in the Medelhavsmuseet”, “bsao080504200l.jpg”
- Livius.org (Jona Lendering), “Sea People”
- Biblical Archaeology Society (Zachary Thomas), “Who Were the Sea Peoples?”
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