Largest naval battle in history

The question of what is the largest naval battle in history is controversial, and depends on the definition of "battle" and the criteria used to assess the size, such as personnel, the number of ships, their tonnage, the area involved, and the duration. There are three main candidates, each of which are said to have involved about 200,000 personnel.

However, two of these battles occurred in the Classical Era, and it should be noted that ancient sources frequently exaggerate the numbers involved in warfare. For example, Herodotus claimed in The Histories that Xerxes invaded Greece with some 2,600,000 soldiers, when it is more commonly believed that a figure of 100,000-200,000 would be more accurate. Since Herodotus is one of the key sources for information on the Battle of Salamis, a candidate for largest naval battle, it is likely that far fewer than the supposed 200,000 sailors and 1,642 vessels fought. For the same reason, the figures for the Battle of Ecnomus are somewhat dubious. By comparison, the Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought during World War II, and one side was comprised by liberal democracies, with strong record-keeping institutions.

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 seems that about 200,000 sailors, soldiers and marines may have taken part.

• The Battle of Ecnomus, 256 BC - Ecnomus was also a single engagement where 680 ships were fighting in a very small area. Some historians accept Roman claims that Rome had approximately 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 Actium , 31 BC - On 2 September 31 B.C., Mark Antony, Cleopatra and Octavian fought the crucial naval battle in a war for control of the Roman world. More than 1,000 warships clashed near the entrance to the Ambracian Gulf on the western coast of Greek; a nearby cape gave the battle its name. By the end of the day, Octavian's navy had so completely vanquished their foes that Antony never recovered. In less than a year both he and Cleopatra were dead and Octavian was left to ponder how to restructure the Roman state. In time, the battle came to be seen as the birth event of the new order that we now call the Roman Empire. As such, it represents a pivotal event--a turning point--in western history.

• The Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944 - The largest in terms of tonnage of ships and also in terms of the area in which the action took place. United States and Australian forces numbered 17 aircraft carriers, 195 battleships and other large ships, many smaller ships and around 1500 planes won a decisive victory over Japanese forces comprised of 4 aircraft carriers, 62 battleships and other large ships and around 200 planes. It is estimated that about 200,000 personnel were involved. Leyte Gulf was also a major air battle. It encompassed several distinct actions over the space of three days, all of them linked by the strategies of the Allied and Japanese commanders.

Other large battles

• The Battle of Lepanto, 1571 - 212 Christian galleys and galleasses vs c. 270 - 290 or more Muslim galleys, galliots etc. (c. 482-500+ total)
• 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 Jutland, 1916 - 151 British vs 99 German ships of the main battle fleets (250 total)

Note that in the pre-modern battles, large actions involved numerous small galleys, rather than large battleships. The largest number of ships of the line in a single battle was perhaps the 87 of various sizes which took part in a sea battle between Venice and Turkey near Corfu in 1716 (however, most didn't fight), or the 85 which took part in the Battle of Matapan, between Venice and Turkey, in 1717. Several battles of the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654) also featured large numbers of warships on each side. Most larger fleet battles involved 20-30 ships on each side.