| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=17061169710.36421300 |
| 2 | %% Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | |
| 5 | [[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/TransformersLastBotStanding https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tflbs.jpg]]]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | ->''"Far from shore, a Pacific War\ |
| 9 | bombs are falling from the skies\ |
| 10 | It's a bomb-run day, it's the Naval Way,\ |
| 11 | A blood-red sun is on the rise!"'' |
| 12 | -->-- '''Music/{{Sabaton}}''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuOnQpyP1nc "Midway"]] |
| 13 | |
| 14 | A Big Badass Battle Sequence isn't just a battle, it's war. This is the battle that makes other battles look like schoolyard scuffles. Expect a high death toll, either shown or implied. The best examples of this trope show not only the battle itself, but the preparations for it and the aftermath. [[WarIsHell Don't expect it to be pretty.]] |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Bonus points if coupled with OrchestralBombing. May be the work's SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome as opposed to a single character's. ShellShockSilence may be added for dramatic effect. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Note that this trope implies that there are at least two armies fighting each other, and as such OneManArmy examples do not fit here. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Can overlap with ParallelConflictSequence, if multiple such sequences are part of one full-scale battle. Could start or end with a SciFiFlyby. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Compare TheWarSequence and FinalBattle. |
| 23 | ---- |
| 24 | !!Examples: |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 27 | |
| 28 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 29 | * Given that most Franchise/{{Gundam}} series tend to feature major wars, it's inevitable that massive battles will come up at some point. |
| 30 | ** The Battles of Solomon and A Baoa Qu in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', the Battle of Kilimanjaro and Operation: Maelstrom in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]'', the Battle of Axis in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Gundam ZZ]]'', the Second Battle of Axis in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack Char's Counterattack]]'', and the final battle of the Delaz Conflict in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Gundam 0083]]'' are just some of the examples from the Universal Century era. |
| 31 | ** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'': the final episodes are focused on the Eve War, an all-out conflict between the World Nation and White Fang, as the latter attempts a ColonyDrop on the Earth, and the Gundam Pilots get caught up in the middle. A short recap of the battle opens the OVA ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWingEndlessWaltz''. |
| 32 | ** The opening of the first episode of ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'' shows the apocalyptic final battle of the Seventh Space War. The finale also has a decently big battle in the form of a threeway [[spoiler: later fourway]] battle between the protagonists, the Space Revolutionary Army and the United Nations of Earth [[spoiler: with the Frost Brothers being the rogue element]]. |
| 33 | ** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' the final three episodes, focuses on a MeleeATrois. The Three Ship Alliance trying to stop ZAFT and Earth Forces from destroying each other. |
| 34 | ** The final battle of ''Anime/Gundam00AWakeningOfTheTrailblazer''. [[spoiler:Humanity defends Earth from an alien race]] that has them outnumbered ten thousand to one. |
| 35 | * The Marineford Arc of ''Manga/OnePiece'' plays out as this, pitting [[BigGood one of the four most powerful pirates in the world]], [[BadassCrew his crew of approximately 1600]], [[BadassArmy and his 40 or so allied crews]] against the entire military force of [[TheGovernment the World Government]] (containing, aside from uncountable {{Mooks}} and a slew of SuperPowerLottery winners, a trio of NighInvulnerable OneManArmy [[HeroKiller Hero Killers]]), as well as five of their [[PsychoForHire hired pirate dogs]] the Seven Warlords of the Sea, each monstrously powerful in their own right. Then, to add even more to the chaos, factor in [[spoiler:the [[BigBad Blackbeard Pirates]] showing up at the very end to witness Whitebeard's death, and then wage war against the Marines themselves]]. Luffy's exploits during the battle are particularly epic. And nothing hammers in the "big" part of the trope like the fact that nearly every page of the arc is a two-page spread. |
| 36 | ** It is very much implied that Marieneford is going to be a playground scuffle when compared to the war that is about to engulf the world in the battle for the titular One Piece. Said battle has already been dubbed "the throne wars", and while it's still a ways off, various chapters have shown the movement of nearly all factions into place while the Straw Hats are shaking things up in the isolationist, Edo Japan-inspired island nation of Wano. |
| 37 | * ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'': In the final season of the anime adaptation, the battle at Seireden between the Flame Hazes and Crimson Denizens lead by the Snake of the Festival is a multi-episode epic and all-out war fought on several fronts, with [[ItsRainingMen Paratrooper Flame Haze]] and [[TheSiege siege]] [[StormingTheCastle warfare]]. The battle in Misaki City that takes place not long afterwards definitely qualifies as well. |
| 38 | * ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' and TheMovie version ''[[Anime/MacrossDoYouRememberLove Do You Remember Love?]]'' has a spectacular climactic battle against the Zentraedi, [[spoiler: won not by military tactics but by Lynn Minmay's song. MagicMusic all the way, baby!]] |
| 39 | * ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY'' is largely wrapped up with the Battle of Lumiose City, in which almost all of the important characters in Kalos join together to thwart Lysandre and Team Flare. |
| 40 | * The Battle of Doldrey from the Golden Age arc from ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'', featuring the Band of the Hawk at their best and most badass. |
| 41 | * ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'': For over 160 episodes and several movies we haven countless battles often involving million upon millions of soldiers. The casualty rate of major characters is unbelievably high, making the show an extreme case of AnyoneCanDie and AMillionIsAStatistic. |
| 42 | * ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': The attack of the Geofront in ''The End of Evangelion''. Starts as a CurbStompBattle where NERV is being massacred by SEELE's forces, then turns into [[spoiler:another one, with the attackers being repelled when the Eva-02 starts fighting, until it becomes even more confused when reinforcements arrive]]. |
| 43 | [[/folder]] |
| 44 | |
| 45 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 46 | * ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': Since the Empire of Lynn and its vassals and enemies are in a near constant state of warfare, there are numerous examples of massive battles and city sieges being waged between armies of knights, mages, dragon riders, orks, elves, giants, and war machines. Ledroit's artwork is impressive for its attention to detail. |
| 47 | * ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'' tends to use these to close out its major {{Story Arc}}s: |
| 48 | ** The opening saga has all the heroes who debuted before Issue #9 fighting to liberate Angel Island from [[DragonAscendant Neo Metal Sonic's]] forces, climaxing with the battle against Neo's [[OneWingedAngel final form]], Master Overlord, in Issue #11. |
| 49 | ** The [[ZombieApocalypse Metal Virus Saga's]] climax in Issue #29 [[spoiler:pits a 99%-infected Sonic and seven of his allies, [[EnemyMine along with Eggman and Metal Sonic]], against a [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever giant]] Zavok and the heroes who got Zombot-ified. What ensues is a nail-biting, down-to-the-wire LastStand in which the heroes are very nearly defeated. The tide finally turns when Sonic and Silver go super, allowing them to [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomp]] Zavok and destroy the Metal Virus.]] |
| 50 | ** The third saga culminates in [[TheStarscream Starline]] finally enacting his long-planned coup against Eggman, leading to a HumongousMecha duel between the two while [[CoDragons Surge and Kit]] go after Sonic and Tails after they're lured into the battle. [[spoiler: Despite some initial upper hands, the would-be replacements are ultimately [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] and defeated.]] |
| 51 | [[/folder]] |
| 52 | |
| 53 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 54 | * On Luthien, in ''Fanfic/AlongCameASpider'' almost four thousand Battlemechs clash in the largest battle for over a century. At the end of the day, only about one in seven of them are still able to fight. |
| 55 | * There's a few major battles in ''FanFic/WhatLiesBeyondTheWalls'', but the biggest one so far has been the invasion of Tearmann, which was so chaotic that it lasted two entire chapters and killed off quite a few [[MauveShirt Mauve Shirts]]. |
| 56 | * The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' FanFic ''FanFic/HarmonyTheory'', has two examples at the same time. On one side, the capital city of the solar kingdom is being attacked by a {{War God}}ess, that is also creating an army of zombie like creatures as the entire city attempts to fend her off. On the other corner, criminal master mind Max Cash, is marching his private army onto a senator's mansion, guarded by almost forty Orion City Police, two SWAT teams, nine detectives, half a dozen sniper teams, two changeling agents, a resurrected ancient hero, and a ''dragon''. |
| 57 | * ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'': |
| 58 | ** The Battle of the [=M4=]. [[EvilSorcerer Gravemoss]] summons a massive army of demons and the undead and unleashes them on London, while the Avengers, [=MI13=]/Excalibur, a few other heroes, and the British military rally to stop them. Concurrent with this, Dresden, Sif, and Agent Ward are facing down Gravemoss himself in his underground lair in Paris. |
| 59 | ** Chapters 59 and 60 see the Avengers and Harry and his friends (the latter being [[PlotRelevantAgeUp temporarily aged up]] by a [[GeniusLoci living mountain]]) fighting off a HYDRA strike force led by [[spoiler: the Winter Soldier]] and backed up by a robot remote controlled by Baron Zemo and an army of [[spoiler: Slendermen]]. |
| 60 | ** The FinalBattle of the first book is a four-chapter grudge match between the Avengers, SHIELD, [=MI13=][=/=]Excalibur, Harry's team of proto-Young Avengers, and about a dozen other characters on one side, and HYDRA on the other. And when the latter is defeated, they're quickly replaced by [[spoiler: [[EldritchAbomination Chthon]] and an invasion force of extra-dimensional demons,]] while the heroes gain [[spoiler: Lily Potter a.k.a. the White Phoenix of the Crown.]] |
| 61 | ** Chapters 9 and 10 of the sequel, ''Ghosts of the Past'', are entirely this trope, with a fully fledged Psi-War raging between two Omega Class psychics Harry and [[spoiler: Rachel/Maddie]] in the Nevernever, where thought defines reality, and resulting in a WorldGoneMad (the mountains are made of clouds and the snow is falling upwards. And that's just the start) and a worldwide PsychicNosebleed, while Carol and company wind up fighting [[spoiler: Blob!Dudley]], the Avengers are mowing through the Red Room's forces, Wanda finds [[spoiler: Sinister]] and quite literally melts him, then Jean gets involved... it all gets very messy. |
| 62 | ** The climax of the sequel's ''Bloody Hell'' arc, Chapters 32 and 33, feature a lot of these, as [[TwoLinesNoWaiting both storylines]] culminate in a series of fights. For the Dresden storyline, there's him, Wanda, Magneto and the Wardens going up against the Kemmlerlites, Voldemort, and Selene to prevent the Darkhallow. For the Harry storyline, there's Harry and a group of allies facing off with the elite of the Grey Court to [[spoiler: save Carol]], with Harry himself taking on Dracula personally twice. |
| 63 | ** The sequel's ''Of Dungeons and Dragons'' arc climaxes in another big battle in Chapters 43 and 44, as Harry, Dumbledore, the heroes who came to watch the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, and [=MI13=] (who were providing security) face off with a [[PersonOfMassDestruction massively powerful]] [[spoiler: Elder Wyrm]] that was awakened during the Task. |
| 64 | ** Chapter 58 of ''Ghosts of the Past'', the climax of the ''Mirror Image'' arc, has Harry and [[spoiler: a newly empowered]] Clark, with tactical support from SHIELD, going up against the ArcVillain, who has transformed into his OneWingedAngel form, [[spoiler: the Void/Parasite]]. |
| 65 | ** The climax of the side story ''Unfinished Business'' features the Battle of New Orleans, wherein [[spoiler: Nimue]] unleashes all the horrors of [[EldritchLocation Project Pegasus]] on the city, where they're confronted by the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the White Council. Then Carol and [[spoiler: Nimue]] take the fight first global, then to the stars. |
| 66 | * The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' ZombieApocalypse story ''FanFic/FallOfLiberty'' has a few examples: |
| 67 | ** The LCPD fighting against the undead as they storm Algonquin when the bridges are overrun in chapter eleven. |
| 68 | ** The LCPD again taking on a huge horde at the Libertonian in chapter thirteen. |
| 69 | ** The [[EliteMooks Noose and CIA agents]] lead by [[DevilInPlainSight Director Ross]], teaming to retrieve [[VideoGame/RedDeadRedemptionUndeadNightmare The Mask]] causing TheVirus, and clearing out a horde of zombies. [[spoiler: At least, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness until Ross has the NOOSE agents killed.]]]] |
| 70 | * ''WebAnimation/TheFedoraChronicles'': Almost every installment in the series has an elaborate battle that makes up the climax. |
| 71 | ** ''Bolted Behmoth'' pits the Red team against a humongous robotic Heavy that leaves all but three of the mercs alive. |
| 72 | ** ''Live and Let Spy'' has the Red Team confront the Blu Team [[spoiler:and their army of killer robots]]. |
| 73 | ** ''The Red, the Blu, and the Ugly'' [[spoiler:culminates in a massive battle between both the Red and Blue team and Grey Mann's army of robots.]]. |
| 74 | * ''Fanfic/TheLittlePonyLegend'': In the fic ''Shadow of Ronin'' as part of the series, there's a battle sequence where the Umbra army with their leaders Nyx, Kage, Shade and Ronin fighting against Team Avatar Harmony, Airbenders, Alicorns, older heroes, spirits and [[spoiler: changelings]] in a battle at the southern spirit portal to save the 3 worlds. (again) |
| 75 | * ''Fanfic/QueenOfShadows'': |
| 76 | ** The First Battle of Awaji, an epic clash between the forces of the [[TheEmpire Shadowkhan Empire]] (represented by [[ImAHumanitarian General Tsume]] and the Gani tribe) and the [[LaResistance Shogunate in the Shadows]] (represented by [[ActionGirl Yasashi]], [[BloodKnight Gurando]], [[NobleTopEnforcer Murakami]], and [[TheArchMage Himitsu]]). |
| 77 | ** The Second Battle of Awaji is mostly an offscreen event, as the Shadowkhan sweep over the island. However, as they take the final human-held fortress, a large naval battle occurs immediately after, [[BattleInTheRain in the middle of a magically summoned storm]]. |
| 78 | ** The Battle of Tobe, where all the combined forces of the Shadowkhan invade said city in order to confront the Shogunate in the Shadows [[spoiler: and rescue Jade]]. |
| 79 | * ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'': |
| 80 | ** The Sack of Torus Filney, a massive battle that occurs as the Rebellion -- aided by the Guardians and Jade -- storm said fortified city. WarIsHell is in full effect, as is a deconstruction of {{Child Soldier|s}}. |
| 81 | ** The Battle of the Meridian Plains is meant to be the FinalBattle of the rebellion against Phobos, as the combined forces of the Rebellion and the nobility clash in a massive, chaotic clash. |
| 82 | * ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' features this trope in several of the arcs including the Sabrina Arc and the Mewtwo Strikes Back Arc involving massive amounts of Pokemon battling either to rescue Ash or save the world. |
| 83 | * ''Fanfic/YoungJusticeDarknessFalls'': The Invasion of Darkseid creates a battle that rages across earth and even into Apokalips and War World as the entire League, Team, Red Hood's Outlaws, and the armies of Atlantis and Themyskira all unite to hold the line and save the world. |
| 84 | * By the two-third segment of ''FanFic/Zero2ARevision'', [[BigBadEnsemble Umbradevimon and Demon]] and their armies have decided to invade Odaiba at the same time, resulting in an [[MeleeATrois epic clash]] between Devimon's 1 million strong army, Demon and his Black Generals, and the citizens of Odaiba, causing an event known as the Odaiba War. Unfortunately, due to the efforts of Umbradevimon and Demon independently creating Davis's [[SuperPoweredEvilSide corrupted half]] as Darkheart, the Digidestined are unable to directly assist Odaiba in repelling the invaders, being continuously pursued and absorbed by the corrupted Digidestined of Miracles until the very last segments of the story. |
| 85 | * ''Fanfic/AnEmpireOfIceAndFire'' has several over the course of the story, including [[AdaptationExpansion expanded versions]] of the Battle of the Blackwater, the Battle of Hardhome, and the Battle of the Bastards, as well as original fights the Battle of the Coastroad, the Battle of Riverrun, the Battle of Highgarden, the Battle of King's Landing, the Battle of Last Hearth, and [[FinalBattle the Battle of Winterfell]] (which is the biggest of all, lasting ''seven chapters''). |
| 86 | [[/folder]] |
| 87 | |
| 88 | [[folder:Film -- Animation]] |
| 89 | * The first two ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' movies had to temper their action due to Toys/{{Lego}}'s anti-violence policy. By the third, ''Web of Shadows'', LEGO stopped caring, allowing the creators to go wild with a nearly 15 minute battle (the movie is barely over an hour) with four Toa and six Rahaga against hundreds of [[GiantSpiders Visorak]], while Vakama duels Matau one-on-one and [[EvilDuo Roodaka and Sidorak]] take on Keetongu. The {{novelization}} lacking most of the fights proves that some of the action was a late addition to [[{{Padding}} pad out]] the film. This was however averted by the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen never made 2006 movie]] -- the proposed outline featured a massive army battle scene, which franchise co-creator Christian Faber hated so much that he threw out the whole movie. |
| 90 | [[/folder]] |
| 91 | |
| 92 | [[folder:Film -- Live-Action]] |
| 93 | * ''Film/SevenManArmy'' actually ''opens'' with one of these, superimposed over the credits, as the titular seven (being parts of a PRC unit) recaptures a section of the Great Wall from the Japanese. The PRC forces wins, recapturing the area, at the cost of only seven of them surviving. |
| 94 | * ''Film/The14Amazons'' ends with the Yang army's HomeGuard units finally reaching the Tangut fortress, facing off each other in a massive battle. The Tangut being a KeystoneArmy, the fighting finally stops when their leader is killed. |
| 95 | * ''Film/ThreeHundred'' and the infamous Battle of Thermopylae |
| 96 | * ''Film/ThreeHundredRiseOfAnEmpire'' has battles happening before, during and after 300, though for some reason they are not as famous. |
| 97 | * ''Film/{{Alexander}}'' has the Battle of Gaugamela towards the opening of the film. The battle in India, later in the film, could also count, albeit to a lesser extent. |
| 98 | * ''Film/AlexanderNevsky'' has the thrity minutes Battle on the Ice. An early example of PropagandaPiece in cinema, it also features SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic by Creator/SergeiProkofiev, widely regarded one of the greatest of the 20th century. |
| 99 | * ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'': the last installment of the ''Franchise/EvilDead'' films has an over the top fun battle where Ash leads a medieval army against the Deadites and [[spoiler:[[EvilTwin a version of himself]]]]. |
| 100 | * ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' has a large, meaningless CurbStompBattle showing the American Army attacking a village for almost no reason. One of the best anti-war battles ever. DiegeticSwitch with SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic by Music/RichardWagner. |
| 101 | * ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' - the big fight between the mercenaries and the Na'vi. |
| 102 | * The climax of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' has the Wakandan army, joined by a multitude of heroes, facing off with the [[CoDragons Black Order]] and a massive army of Outriders. Simultaneously to this is Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and the Guardians of the Galaxy fighting Thanos on Titan. |
| 103 | ** Its sequel, ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', [[ExaggeratedTrope goes further]], with the climax involving ''over'' '''''forty''''' ''named characters'' from across [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse the film series]], pitting just about ''all'' of the surviving heroes and factions ([[spoiler:including the ones who [[BackFromTheDead were just restored to life]] after dying by [[BadassFingersnap the Snap]] last film]]) versus [[BigBad Thanos]] and his army [[spoiler:from 2014]]. |
| 104 | * ''Film/BeachOfTheWarGods'' has a massive battle halfway through the film between the village resistance, led by Hsiao-Feng and his band of warriors, against the Japanese buccaneers led by Hashimoto. |
| 105 | * ''Film/BattleOfTheBulge'' depicts one the last major German offensive on the Western front Second World War using real tanks of the war. |
| 106 | * ''Film/BattleOfBritain'' - A depiction of the very first major victory of the allies. A must for aerial battle scenes |
| 107 | * ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' has two major ones. The Battle of Stirling Bridge and the battle of Falkirk, both all kinds of epic. |
| 108 | * ''Film/BenHur1959''. Of course the definition of an EpicMovie has an impressive sea battle. |
| 109 | * The raid on the rebel fortress in ''Film/BloodBrothers1973'', with the three titular brothers leading their bandit-turned-conscripts army into capturing an enemy fort. |
| 110 | * ''Film/ABridgeTooFar'' showing the disastrous that was Operation Market Garden, one of the last major defeats faced by the Allies during World War II, was one of the most famous of its time. |
| 111 | * In ''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': ''Film/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'', the battle of the Narnians against the White Witch's army. Also features SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic. |
| 112 | * ''Film/ChimesAtMidnight'' has one of the best of all time in the gritty, muddy, chaotic Battle of Shrewsbury, a sequence that is even more amazing when one considers the microscopic budget Creator/OrsonWelles was working with. |
| 113 | * ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' features Batman and the police officers of Gotham fighting against Bane and his soldiers at the climax. |
| 114 | * Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse: |
| 115 | ** ''[[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague Justice League]]'' has a {{flashback}} to the day Darkseid invaded Earth with his armies from Apokolips. They were greeted by a coalition of humans, Amazons, gods of Olympus and even a Franchise/GreenLantern. The coalition emerged victorious and Darkseid's ego got quite bruised in the process. |
| 116 | ** ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'' has an underwater battle between the alliance of Atlanteans, Xebellians and FishPeople led by Orm and the crustacean Brine. Then Aquaman shows up riding [[RentAZilla the Karathen]] and commanding sea life, including the monstrous ''Trench'', and turns the tide of the battle. |
| 117 | * The FinalBattle in ''Film/EnterTheDragon'' doesn't begin like this, but the arrival of the previously imprisoned Black Robes leads to this. |
| 118 | * In every movie of ''Film/TheExpendables'': |
| 119 | ** The first movie had the attack on Garza's mansion. |
| 120 | ** ''Film/TheExpendables2'' had the airport shootout. |
| 121 | ** ''Film/TheExpendables3'' has the abandoned hotel attack. |
| 122 | ** ''Film/Expend4bles'' has the assault on Rahmat's ship. |
| 123 | * ''Film/{{Gettysburg}}'' - The film has several. |
| 124 | * ''Film/{{Glory}}'' opens with the Army of the Potomac marching to the Battle of Antietam in 1862 along with the Army of Northern Virginia coming to meet them followed by a brief but violent sequence of the battle itself. The climax of the film is the (Second) Assault on Fort Wagner in 1863. |
| 125 | * ''Film/HardBoiled'': The entire climax is a shootout in a hospital, it lasts about 30 minutes [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome and is worth every second.]] |
| 126 | * ''Film/HacksawRidge'' - The Battle of Okinawa, as shocking and violent as Saving Private Ryan, but in the Pacific, not in Europe. |
| 127 | * ''Film/HaveSwordWillTravel'' has a battle in an open, burning paddy-field between the heroes and a bandit army. |
| 128 | * The war epic, ''Film/TheHeroicOnes'', has at least two, when the {{Warrior Prince}}s, Li Chun-Hsiao and Shih Jing-Si, lead their soldiers to raid an enemy camp wiping out the opposing forces in a lengthy battle, and the assault on the Chu Wen Villa when Li and his reinforcements serve as TheCavalry to save his foster brother and father. |
| 129 | * The eponymous battle at the last installment of The Hobbit, prequel to The Lord of the Rings, ''Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies''. |
| 130 | * ''Film/TheImperialSwordsman'' ends with a final raid where the rebels managed to take on the combined forces of Mongols and the local bandits, while the four heroes, deep in the heart of the enemy fortress, kills their way out during the chaos. |
| 131 | * Almost every ''Film/JamesBond'' movie from ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'' to ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' featured one of these, with armies of hundreds of extras clashing and killing each other off in choreographed battles stretching across an entire huge secret enemy base, ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' being an extreme example and the first two with Creator/RogerMoore (''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' and ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'') being the exceptions. Almost no movie after that has done this, because apparently it makes [[OneManArmy Bond more heroic to be able to do it all by himself now]]. |
| 132 | * The spectacularly shot church melee in ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'' is a variation in that instead of being two armies against each other, it's everyone for themselves due to the effect of BigBad Richmond Valentine's mind controlling SIM cards. |
| 133 | * The climactic battle of ''Film/TheLastSamurai'' between the Imperial Army of Japan and Katsumoto's Samurai Rebellion is definitely an impressive spectacle, which is absolutely fueled by the SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic playing through it all. |
| 134 | * ''Film/TheLongestDay'' If Saving Private Ryan is not enough for you, maybe three hours of the D-Day will be enough. |
| 135 | * ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' films are full of these, mostly in the third. |
| 136 | ** In ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', the battle between the Last Alliance and Mordor in the prologue certainly counts. |
| 137 | ** In ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers The Two Towers]]'', Helm's Deep fills out this role quite nicely. |
| 138 | ** In ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'' you have the siege of Minas Tirith, the Pelennor fields, and the Black Gate. |
| 139 | * ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' is one long chase for the whole film, with Furiosa, Max and [[BreedingSlave the Wives]] on the run from [[BigBad Immortan Joe]] and his army, and whenever Joe gets close, this is the inevitable result. The straightest and most spectacular example is the FinalBattle, when Max and Furiosa decide to run into Joe's army head-on. |
| 140 | * ''Film/TheMalayChroniclesBloodlines'' has the StormingTheBeaches sequence that takes up the entire ending, the LaResistance cleaning out the evil pirates terrorizing the Malaysian Straits. |
| 141 | * ''Film/Midway1976'' - The battle that (literally) turned the tides of the Pacific Front of the Second World War, combining both aerial and sea battles. |
| 142 | ** TheRemake, ''Film/Midway2019'', also shows the attack at Pearl Habor. |
| 143 | * ''Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure'' ends with one as militant rebels completely overrun the Last City. |
| 144 | * ''Film/TheMummyTombOfTheDragonEmperor'' has a climactic battle with the Dragon Emperor and his Terracotta army fighting against the main heroes [[spoiler:and a couple thousand resurrected laborers who were buried under the Great Wall.]] |
| 145 | * ''Film/OutlawKing'': The Battle of Loudoun Hill at the end. |
| 146 | * ''Film/ThePatriot2000'': has many, the FinalBattle of Cowpens lasting almost 20 minutes. |
| 147 | * ''Film/PearlHarbor'': The 40-minute bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. |
| 148 | * Some battles in the ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' series might count if we limit the 'army size' to two boat-loads of people. |
| 149 | ** The [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl first film]] has the moonlight battle with the undead. |
| 150 | ** ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd At World's End]]'' has the final battle where the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl are mast-locked and fighting over a maelstrom. |
| 151 | * ''Film/RedCliff'' has a total of three: |
| 152 | ** The Battle of Changban at the start of part one |
| 153 | ** The climax battle of part one, when the allied forces lure Cao Cao's vanguard into their Eight Trigrams Formation |
| 154 | ** The Battle of Red Cliff at the climax of part two, which could be considered the biggest and most badass battle in the whole film |
| 155 | * Creator/RidleyScott is a fan of this trope; it's very common in his historical epics. |
| 156 | ** ''{{Film/Gladiator}}''[='=]s Battle for Germania at the start is perhaps the most famous. |
| 157 | ** ''Film/BlackHawkDown''[='=]s Battle of Mogadishu. Very few movies dedicate so much time to battles as this one. |
| 158 | ** ''Film/KingdomofHeaven'' has many, the most climactic being the Siege of Jerusalem. Guess who directed it. |
| 159 | ** Even his ''Film/RobinHood2010'' adaptation has two gritty battles, one is a castle siege the begining, and another at the end, an invasion at the beach. |
| 160 | ** ''Film/ExodusGodsAndKings'': his adaptation of the Biblical tale starts with the historical Battle of Kadesh, where the Egyptian army faces a huge invasion by the Hittite Empire. |
| 161 | * ''Film/TheRescue1971'' has the final raid on the Mongol fort, where the Ming loyalists, some thirty of them, takes on the Mongol troops which totals up to the thousands. |
| 162 | * ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' begins (after the opening [[BookEnds book-end]]) with the D-Day assaults on [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Omaha Beach]]. The sequence is famous for its harrowing realism. The Battle at Ramelle, that finishes the movie, despite great, is often forgotten due to the opening sequence on Omaha Beach. |
| 163 | * ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' had this at the climax when the titular ship brings an army of [[AxCrazy Reavers]] against the [[EvilEmpire Alliance]]. |
| 164 | * ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'': The film ends with Spartacus's rebel army making their doomed last stand against the Roman army. |
| 165 | * ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' has at least three with many tropes, including BloodyHilarious, CurbStompBattle, and HollywoodTactics. |
| 166 | * ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' has the Battle of Sector 001 with the Federation fleet facing off against a Borg Cube |
| 167 | * Every ''Franchise/StarWars'' film contains at least one of these. |
| 168 | ** ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' has the space-ground battle of Naboo, interchanging between the Trade Federation's clash against the Gungans; Padme's attack on the palace; the lightsaber fight between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul; and the attack on the Trade Federation command ship. |
| 169 | ** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' features the Battle of Geonosis, with the freshly-revealed army of Republic Clone Troopers slugging it out against the fleeing fleets of the Confederacy of Independant Systems. |
| 170 | ** ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' ''begins'' with the Battle of Coruscant, with Anakin and Obi-Wan weaving their way through countless Republic and Separatist ships to rescue Chancellor Palpatine. The movie also contains the Battles of Utapau and Kashyyyk, albeit by then it's become increasingly clear that they're hardly important to the plot as the main villain reveals himself. |
| 171 | ** ''Film/{{Solo}}'' is more a SpaceWestern than an epic SpaceOpera and given its smaller scale might be the exception. We have a glimpse of the muddy Battle of Mimban and the shoot out at Kessel, which might, however, count. |
| 172 | ** ''Film/RogueOne'' has the Battle of Scarif, where the infiltration of the crew of the ''Rogue One'' turns into a full-blown fleet battle over the planet's orbital shieldgate, as well as a ground battle on the surface's beach. The Rebels have thrown everything they could muster at the time in this battle, and it came at a great cost, explaining their fleet's haphazard state in ''Film/ANewHope''. |
| 173 | ** ''Film/ANewHope'' has the battle of Yavin IV, where the Rebellion sends all of its starfighters against the Death Star as it moves to destroy the Rebel base. |
| 174 | ** ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' has the Battle of Hoth, where the Empire sends an armada of AT-AT ground walkers to impede the Rebels' escape from the planet. The Rebellion, while defeated, manages to evacuate most of their personnel. |
| 175 | ** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' has the Battle of Endor, split between the ground battle on the forest moon and the space battle with the Imperial armada and the Rebel fleet over the moon's orbit. Though initially outmatched, sheer determination on all fronts allows the Rebellion to triumph, leading to the Original Trilogy's happy ending. |
| 176 | ** ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' has the Battle of Starkiller Base, with the Resistance's starfighters swiftly attacking the compound after Starkiller Base's shields are lowered. They are still met with heavy resistance from First Order TIE Fighters, turbolasers and missile turrets. |
| 177 | ** ''Film/TheLastJedi'' opens with a space battle over the Resistance's base of D'Qar, with Poe launching a daring strike against the First Order Dreadnought in order to buy time for the evacuation; a massive furball ensues as the Resistance bombers make their way through hordes of TIE Fighters. The fight culminates in the Dreadnought's destruction, though at the cost of much of the Resistance's starfighter corps as well as all of their bombers. The Resistance spends the rest of the movie on the run, too crippled to conduct an effective counterattack against the pursuing First Order. |
| 178 | ** ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' has the Battle of Exegol, the Resistance's desperate last gamble to stop the Final Order (a massive armada of Star Destroyers equipped with PlanetDestroyer weapons) from being deployed. They are joined just in time by TheCavalry in the form of volunteer ships [[GondorCallsForAid across the galaxy]] numbering in what appear to be the ''millions'', which allows them to even the odds until [[KeystoneArmy the armada is crippled]]. |
| 179 | * This happens in ''Film/GrownUps2'' at the climax between the adults and the army of teens. |
| 180 | * ''Film/{{Ran}}'' has the Assault on the Third Castle at the climax of the first half, and later the battle between the armies of Jiro and Saburo near the end of the film. |
| 181 | * ''Film/ReadyPlayerOne2018''[='=]s climactic battle on Planet Doom initially has Wade making a speech to everyone on the OASIS about fighting back against Sorrento and his army of Sixers. Sorrento believes no one will come to Wade's aid... until ''countless players'' start rallying behind Wade and charge towards Anorak Castle, engaging the Sixers in an all-out battle over the snowy plains, topped with a clean rendition of Music/TwistedSister's "We're Not Gonna Take It". Kickass action sequences ensue, including multiple cameos from iconic pop cultures and a brawl between [[spoiler:Sorrento's Mechagodzilla and Daito's RX-78-2 Gundam.]] |
| 182 | * ''Film/TheRevenant'' opens with a [[TheOner six-minute tracking shot]] of a trapping expedition being attacked by a band of Indians who storm their camp and force them to flee on their boat. |
| 183 | * ''Film/ToraToraTora'' A depiction of the Attack on Pearl Harbour. The name of the film was the Japanese call to initiate the attack: "Tiger, tiger tiger!" |
| 184 | * ''Film/{{Thirteen Assassins}}'' has one between the eponymous assassins and over 200 troops that goes on, unbroken, for ''over 40 minutes.'' |
| 185 | * ''{{Film/Troy}}'' has a no-magic-allowed depiction of the various battles in the historical/mythical Trojan War. The Sack of Troy, despite being a massacre, can count as one too. |
| 186 | * ''Film/TheWarlords'' has one relatively early in the film between the Qing and Taiping armies. |
| 187 | * ''Film/{{Waterloo}}'': The historic and titular battle, featuring over 17,000 extras. |
| 188 | * ''Film/WeWereSoldiers'' and the extra bloody Battle of Ia Drang Valley. |
| 189 | * ''{{Film/Zulu}}'': The Battle of Rorke's Drift. A tiny British division is about to face the same odds as the 300 Spartans. The first half of the movie shows the preparations of their LastStand battle, making us expect a total CurbStompBattle, and the second is the conflic. [[spoiler:Miraculously the Zulu retreat]] |
| 190 | [[/folder]] |
| 191 | |
| 192 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 193 | * In Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium: |
| 194 | ** Pelennor Fields in ''Literature/TheReturnOfTheKing'' and Helm's Deep in ''Literature/TheTwoTowers''. |
| 195 | ** Before either of them was the Battle of Five Armies in ''Literature/TheHobbit''. |
| 196 | ** The seven great battles of Beleriand in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. |
| 197 | * ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has a few of these |
| 198 | ** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'''s "Battle of the Department of Mysteries" which features about a dozen or so per side. |
| 199 | ** From ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'' there's "Battle of the Astronomy Tower" with about a couple of dozen per side. |
| 200 | ** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' features the "Battle of Hogwarts" between the defenders of Hogwarts and Voldemort's Death Eaters. The defenders are mentioned to have lost ''fifty-five dead''--more than the total number of combatants in any previous fight--and shocking given the Wizarding World's tendency for less-lethal spells. With most of the students and teachers, dozens of parents, and the centaurs and house-elves, there were easily hundreds of fighters. The battle also raged for hours, beginning at midnight, with a one-hour break, and Voldemort's final defeat came at dawn. |
| 201 | *** Also "The Battle of the Seven Potters" could count. |
| 202 | * ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' has tons of these. In the first couple of books there are not that many: the stand at Emonds Field, the battle at Falme and the battle of Cairhien. Then comes Dumais Wells, a battle between three parties which ends by the outright slaughter of one of the parties by male channelers. Only 100k participants though. Several big battles follow and the biggest in the series come in Book 14, including a three-front battle to start with that takes weeks at least, and ending with the two-pronged Last Battle itself, which includes every single army in the entire world except for [[spoiler:the Land of Madmen]], and takes approximately a third of the entire book, being almost entirely one chapter that is two hundred and two pages long. The battle itself takes days, with some looks behind the front lines to see how people handle such an extended conflict, even resting or getting food to eat while battles rage. |
| 203 | * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has had a few so far, the most notable one being [[spoiler: the Battle of Blackwater at the end of the second book]]. |
| 204 | * The ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' - has tons of big climatic battles of all kinds. |
| 205 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': |
| 206 | ** The Battle of Chichen Itza in ''Literature/{{Changes}}''. Magical duels, vampires, swords, intervention via possession from what is probably an Archangel (or possibly God himself), freaking ''Odin'', the protagonist's (more than slightly insane) Faerie Godmother, Excalibur, Kusanagi and Durandal all in one place and arguably the most badass [[PreAssKickingOneLiner speech]] in history. And it's not even the series' GrandFinale. |
| 207 | --> '''Possessed[[spoiler:Murphy]]:''' "False gods! Pretenders! Usurpers of truth! Destroyers of faith, of families, of lives, of children! For your crimes against the Mayans, against the peoples of the world, now will you answer! Your time has come! Face judgment Almighty!" |
| 208 | ** {{Exaggerated|Trope}} in ''Literature/{{Battle Ground|2020}}'', considering that ''the entire book'' is basically one long battle sequence with only a few brief periods of peace as the armies of the Fomor (led by a Titan with a FantasticNuke) invade Chicago and the Unseelie Accords Nations [[TheAlliance unite]] to fight back. |
| 209 | * The [=BloodClan=] battle in the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' book ''The Darkest Hour''. [=BloodClan=], a huge group of city cats (enough to take on around 100 forest cats) with a leader who can kill a Clan leader's [[CatsHaveNineLives nine lives]] in one blow, gives the forest Clans three days to either leave the forest or meet them in battle. The forest Clans spend the three days weighing their options, training, having medicine cats prepare herbs, and coming up with an escape strategy for the defenseless kits and elders if they fail. All four Clans join together to face [=BloodClan=], and the battle itself lasts about a day. |
| 210 | ** That's nothing compared to what happens in the fourth series' last book. Basically, the cat versions of Heaven and Hell start fighting an epic war on Earth, and dozens of cats both living and dead kick ass. That one book alone has more [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments Of Awesome]] to its name than any preceding it. |
| 211 | * In a series that's already about huge armies of superhuman warriors conquering planets across the galaxy, you'd kind of expect this thing from the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' series, but a few battles stand out in particular for the sheer scale and epicness (and most have suitably epic names to boot); |
| 212 | ** The third novel, ''Galaxy in Flames'' kicks things off with "The Virus Bombing of Istvaan III", where the first four traitor legions begin their purge of their own ranks by bombing the life out of an entire planet of billions, then setting the entire world ablaze before descending to the surface to mop up the survivors. |
| 213 | ** This is then followed by "The Dropsite Massacre of Istvaan V" in ''Fulgrim'', where three loyalist legions are drawn into a conflict with the traitor forces (now also backed up by deamons and insane noise marines) only to find the additional four legions they thought were coming to reinforce them also turning traitor and utterly [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] them. The fight on the planet's surface involved hundreds of thousands of space marines, Imperial Army, Titans and tanks and war machines of all description, whilst the battle in space above contained at least a thousand warships. The battle was such a pivotal conflict for the series as a whole and involved so many major characters that later stories replay the events time and again from all the different points of view. It's equally as epic every time. |
| 214 | ** Not to be outdone, "The Burning of Prospero", played out over two books from both sides, features the [[TheDreaded Space Wolves]] descending upon the homeworld of the Thousand Sons legion of Prospero. "Burning" doesn't even begin to cover what happens next. |
| 215 | ** The king of them all so far though, has to go to "The Battle of Calth", shown in ''Know No Fear''. 250,000 Ultramarines and all their supporting Imperial Army and Mechanicum forces, vs. 100,000 Word Bearers and their army of Deamons, cultists and a well executed betrayal that leaves an entire world near-uninhabitable. Thousands of starships and billions of people fighting and dying, a small moon shattered, hell, even ''the sun'' gets wrecked. |
| 216 | * In the novels ''In Death Ground'' and ''The Shiva Option'' by Creator/DavidWeber and Steve White, there are numerous examples of this trope. |
| 217 | * The First Battle of Manticore in the ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Mission of Honor]]'', being the largest battle in history up to that point. |
| 218 | * In the novel ''[[Literature/EmpireFromTheAshes The Armageddon Inheritance]]'' by Creator/DavidWeber, a number of epic space battles take place between the protagonists and the invading alien fleet, which consisted of something like 5 or 6 ''million'' enemy warships. |
| 219 | * Literature/TheIcelandicSagas have several fine descriptions of climactic battles: |
| 220 | ** The naval Battle of Hjorunga Bay in ''Literature/SagaOfTheJomsvikings'' |
| 221 | ** The naval Battle of Svold in ''Literature/{{Heimskringla}}'' |
| 222 | ** The Battle of Uppsala in ''Literature/TaleOfStyrbjorn'' |
| 223 | * The Battle of Vo Mimbre and Thull Mardu in ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' by David Eddings. |
| 224 | * The Battle of Seattle in Literature/TheLeonardRegime. |
| 225 | * Italian writer Emilio Salgari (of ''Literature/{{Sandokan}}'' fame) ''[[AuthorAppeal loved]]'' them, and strived to put at least one in most of his novels. His crowning achievement is the novel ''The King of the Sea'' (of the ''Sandokan'' series) with its ''three'' battle sequences (a desperate running battle fought by Tremal Naik and a group of Tigers of Mompracem led by Yanez against thousand of Dayaks, a naval battle between the ''King of the Sea'' and a Royal Navy warship, and the desperate battle of the ''King of the Sea'' against ''five'' warships), but he wrote dozens of them, including a revisitation of the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto (''Il Leone di Damasco'') and one of Little Bighorn (''La Scotennatrice''. |
| 226 | * ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'': ''The Baron of Maleperduys'' features the Battle of the Samara and [[spoiler: the siege of Maleperduys.]] |
| 227 | ** ''Defender of the Crown'' opens with one that [[spoiler: ends the war between Calvaria and Arcasia.]] |
| 228 | * A RealLife (embellished?) one in the finale of ''Literature/TheKnightsOfTheCross'', since it's a historical novel. |
| 229 | * ''Literature/{{Department 19}}'': The battle at Château Dauncy in ''Zero Hour'' and the final battle in Carcassone in ''Darkest Night'' |
| 230 | * ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' has tons of these, both in the main series and some of the spin-offs. Averted in the [[Literature/TheGenesisFleet prequel series]], where, so far, space battles have been limited to half a dozen ships at most. Justified, since the series takes place before the formation of the Alliance. |
| 231 | * As befitting a SpaceOpera, the ''Literature/RedRising'' saga has two in the second and third books. |
| 232 | ** The entire second half of ''Golden Son'' is dedicated to preparations for the Siege of Mars, the battle itself, and the aftermath. |
| 233 | ** ''Morning Star'''s largest action sequence is the Battle of Ilium in the last third of the book, featuring the largest scale ship-to-ship action depicted in the series, with the fleets of [[LaResistance the Rising]] forming an EnemyMine with [[LawfulEvil the Moon Lords]] to secure the independence of the gas giants from the core. |
| 234 | * ''Literature/SecondApocalypse'' features ''quite'' a few epic battle sequences of holy wars, focusing on the gallantry, horror and ecstasy of zealous warriors slaughtering for their gods. |
| 235 | ** The first trilogy tracks the crusade of the Men of the Tusk fighting their way through Fanim territory to recapture Holy Shimeh from the infidels. |
| 236 | ** The second series follows the Great Ordeal against the [[AncientConspiracy Unholy Consult]] as all the fighting men of the Three Seas unite under their Aspect-Emperor in an assault on [[{{Mordor}} Golgotterath]], facing monstrous forces in numbers that break the back of reason. |
| 237 | * Glen Cook's ''Literature/TheBlackCompany'' is pretty much the father of the military, grimdark fantasy so much in fashon nowdays. Of the original trilogy, every book has a few battles, with one at the end that surpasses every other: |
| 238 | ** In the self-title first book, there's the Battle of Charm, where the rebels fight the Lady and the Black Company in one final battle. |
| 239 | ** On Shadows Linger, the second Book, The Black Company there's the Battle of Juniper, where the opponent is the Lady's Husband, the Dominator, and his demons. |
| 240 | ** On the White Rose, the third book, in the Battle fo the Barrowland, the Black Company [[spoiler:now allied with the new rebels and fighting the Lady]] once more has the wrath of the Dominator on their path. |
| 241 | * ''Literature/ReadyPlayerOne'': Wade, after an infiltration to set things up, announces that he'll be joining the ongoing Siege of Gate Three to take it from the Sixers at a certain time. ''Half the players in the entire game'' show up, an army millions strong with even more showing up to watch. The sheer logjam of incoming vessels nearly makes Wade late for his own war. When the shield drops, the massed Gunnters and assorted civilians wipe the Sixers out in short order. Only Sorrento, driving [[Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla Mechagodzilla]], survives for any length of time, albeit while getting shot at by a few million players. |
| 242 | [[/folder]] |
| 243 | |
| 244 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 245 | * ''Series/NirvanaInFire'' has one when Prince Yu decides to take the throne by force and attacks the Hunting Palace with an army of 50,000 against the Emperor who only has a meager 3000 Imperial guards. Don't forget to breathe. |
| 246 | * As miniseries, ''Series/BandOfBrothers'' and ''Series/ThePacific'' had budgets that dwarved even Game of Thrones. Most of episodes have at least one big, sentimental battle. |
| 247 | * ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' - No wonder why the title starts with "battle". Among others large scale battle, there's the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage, in the Minisseries, the Battle of the Ressurrection Ship, in season 2, the Battle of New Caprica on season 3, and the battles of the Ionian Nebula and at the Colony in Season 4. |
| 248 | ** The three TV movies, ''Razor'', ''The Plan'' and ''Blood & Chrome'' also have their battles. |
| 249 | * ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': "[[Recap/FireflyE01Serenity Serenity]]" starts with showing the ending of the battle in Serenity Valley, which is described as being this. |
| 250 | * The battle for Camelot in the ''{{Series/Merlin|2008}}'' episode "The Tears of Uther Pendragon, part two". |
| 251 | * ''Series/TimeCommanders'' used the ''VideoGame/RomeTotalWar'' game engine to simulate historical battles for the contestants to re-fight (and get walked over by the AI opponent.) |
| 252 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'' has the Battle of Canary Wharf in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E13Doomsday Doomsday]]". |
| 253 | * First episode in ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', we're offered one in form of ''every single Super Sentai'' vs the whole Zangyack fleet. |
| 254 | ** ''Film/KamenRiderXSuperSentaiSuperheroTaisen'' plans to top that sequence; the writers even submitted the film to the Guinness World Records for the largest number of suit actors for a single battle. |
| 255 | * ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' has several during the Dominion War that are on a completely different level to any of the previous Trek series. The First Battle of Deep Space Nine ("[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E01E02TheWayOfTheWarrior The Way of the Warrior]]"), The Second Battle of Deep Space Nine ("[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E26CallToArms Call to Arms]]"), Operation Return ("[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E06SacrificeOfAngels The Sacrifice of Angels]]"), The First and Second Battles of Chin'toka, and the Battle of Cardassia ("[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E25E26WhatYouLeaveBehind What You Leave Behind]]"). Even the early battles with mere dozens of ships are larger than anything else in Trek history including the Borg attacks on Earth from TNG & First Contact, while the later battles during the Dominion War include ships in the thousands! |
| 256 | * ''Series/StargateSG1'': |
| 257 | ** The Battle of Dakara at the end of Season 8. |
| 258 | ** Also, the Battle of Antarctica at the end of the 7th season. |
| 259 | ** And the Battle of the Supergate ([=P3Y=]-229, technically) at the end of Season 9. Though that was more of a CurbStompBattle than anything else. |
| 260 | * ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' had the Battle of Asuras. |
| 261 | ** And, arguably, the Siege of Atlantis |
| 262 | * ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' has the Rangers and the rebelling citizens of Angel Grove fighting against the U.A.E. in the final episode. |
| 263 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' features the battle between Buffy and the potentials against the First Evil's Uber Vamps in the center of the Hellmouth for "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E22Chosen Chosen]]". |
| 264 | * ''Series/{{The 100}}'' ends its first season with a big battle between the Grounder army and the 100. |
| 265 | * * ''Series/BabylonFive'' had a habit of using this trope to mark major points in the series' [[StoryArc different story arcs]]. Four such battles stand out as exceptionally badass: |
| 266 | ** The newly-independent B5 vs an Earthforce fleet in the third-season episode ''[[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E10SeveredDreams Severed Dreams]]". Deserves special notice because it included both space combat and an infantry fight aboard B5 after an Earthforce BoardingPod succeeded in putting Earth troops aboard the station. |
| 267 | ** The huge space battle between the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and the Shadows in the third season episode "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E21ShadowDancing Shadow Dancing]]" |
| 268 | ** The even larger three-way space battle in the climax of the Shadow War, "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS04E06IntoTheFire Into the Fire]]". |
| 269 | ** The first major battle of the Earth Civil War, between Sheridan's fleet and the Earthforce fleet besieging Proxima 3 ("[[Recap/BabylonFiveS04E15NoSurrenderNoRetreat No Surrender, No Retreat]]"). |
| 270 | * ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'': |
| 271 | ** The mid-season 4 finale features The Governor leading an assault on the prison, resulting in a three-way battle between Rick and The Governor's groups and a horde of walkers. |
| 272 | ** The final act of "No Way Out" featured nearly every citizen of Alexandria, from the main characters to the {{Mauve Shirt}}s and {{Spear Carrier}}s, banding together to fight off a herd of hundreds of zombies that had overrun the city. It's the first time we see that many heroes fighting at once, and [[spoiler: the first time Rick's group manages to completely destroy a herd that large]]. |
| 273 | ** The Season 7 finale, "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life", features a truly massive battle, with Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom uniting to fight against the Saviors [[spoiler: and [[SixthRangerTraitor the Scavengers]]]] and drive them out of Alexandria. |
| 274 | * ''[[Franchise/ASongOfIceAndFire Game of Thrones]]'' universe: |
| 275 | ** ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Given its scale, the series often dedicates most of or an entire episode on a single battle sequence. |
| 276 | *** The Battle of the Blackwater is waged in Blackwater Bay outside of King's Landing between the reigning Lannisters and the invading army of Stannis Baratheon. It is the first episode to be entirely composed of a single battle, with the narrative following characters on both sides of the conflict. |
| 277 | *** The Battle of Castle Black is waged between a skeleton crew of men of the Night's Watch defending their primary castle on two fronts: Mance Rayder's wildling horde attacking from the front and Tormund's commando raid from behind. We follow the perspective of Jon Snow and his various friends in the Night's Watch as they struggle to fight off both invasions. |
| 278 | *** "Hardhome" uses the majority of its run time on a battle for survival when an undead army ambushes a refuge inhabited by wildlings right as Jon Snow is attempting to forge an alliance with them. The episode plays as much as a horror sequence as a battle sequence. |
| 279 | *** The "Battle of the Bastards" features a coalition force of Northmen loyal to Jon Snow attacking Northern forces following Ramsay. This is the first large-scale battle in the show that is not a siege, so we get massive armies clashing in an open battlefield. |
| 280 | *** "The Spoils of War" ends with a large battle in which Daenerys's Dothraki forces ambush a Lannister caravan moving Tyrell gold into King's Landing. This is the first extended battle sequence featuring a dragon. On a related note, it also broke records for most stuntmen set on fire. |
| 281 | *** The Great Battle of Winterfell in "The Long Night" is entirely taken up by [[spoiler: the FinalBattle against the Night King]]. The largest-scale battle in the show's history, it includes fighting on open fields, on the walls, in the catacombs, in the godswood and even in the air. |
| 282 | ** ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': Like ''Game of Thrones'', there's no entire episode dedicated to a big battle yet. The closest is the final battle in the Stepstones in which Daemon Targaryen takes part. In one last gamble from him against the Crabfeeder's army, he pulls a ISurrenderSuckers maneuver which allows the Velaryon forces to decimate the Crabfeeder's forces in the open with a dragon's fire and a good old infantry charge. |
| 283 | * ''Series/CobraKai:'' The final episode of the second season, just as the first day back at school is starting. It begins only with Tory and Sam but quickly turns into an all-out brawl between their respective dojos. And the ending is most definitely not pretty. |
| 284 | * ''Series/TheExpanse'': |
| 285 | ** "CQB" has a space battle between TheBattlestar MCRN ''Donnager'' and six of TheConspiracy's advanced stealth fighters, interspaced with scenes of Holden's crew in a running gun battle with the latter's BoardingParty while trying to flee the ship. |
| 286 | ** "Doors and Corners" has the joint assault by the OPA and the ''Rocinante'' on the conspiracy's research base on a centrifugal space station, which is guarded by another stealth ship and a hull-mounted cannon designed to be able to break asteroids. It takes some clever maneuvering, but the ''Roci'' is able to disable the stealth ship and destroy the cannon, enabling a BoardingPod to land on and seize control of the station. |
| 287 | * ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Episode 6x01, has the only big battle of the first season. The Orcs led by Adar are fighting the villagers of Tirharad and other towns in order to enslave them and take the Southlands for themselves. The Orcs almost win, but the Numenorians Cavalry makes its appearance and defeats TheHorde of Orcs. |
| 288 | * ''[[Series/Napoleon2002 Napoléon]]'' - Features some of the biggest battles of UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars, of course: Austerlitz, Eylau, Aspern-Essling, and, last but not least, Waterloo. |
| 289 | * ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'': |
| 290 | ** The Battle at the Binary Stars, which kicks off the Federation-Klingon War. While not quite in the scale of some of the battles in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', it’s portrayed with action beats and special effects that rival Hollywood films, introducing a new, more militaristic era in ''Star Trek''. |
| 291 | ** Another large-scale engagement happens in the Season 2 finale, where the ''Discovery'', the ''Enterprise'', and about 200 hastily-armed shuttles and pods are facing off against a fleet of over 30 capital ships and hundreds of drones, controlled by [[spoiler:the Control AI]]. Partway through the battle, there's also the arrival of [[spoiler:the Klingons and Kelpiens (the latter flying Ba'ul fighters), who help turn the tide]]. Many die during the battle, including [[spoiler:Admiral Cornwell]] and, officially, [[spoiler:almost the entire crew of the ''Discovery'' (the ship actually entered a temporal wormhole and traveled to the 32nd century)]]. |
| 292 | * ''Series/TheOrville'' |
| 293 | ** The show finally has one after a number of single-ship engagements, although the titular ship doesn’t actually participate. The fight is between the fleets of two rival races. It goes on for a bit, and several ships on both sides are destroyed, before both fleets are called off. |
| 294 | ** And then it one-ups that in "Identity Pt. II" with the Union and [[spoiler:Krill]] fleets battling the [[spoiler:Kaylon]]. In the end, [[spoiler:over 36 ships are destroyed or heavily damaged just on the Union side, with many Krill and Kaylon ships destroyed as well. Given that a medium-sized ship like the ''Orville'' likely has a crew complement of about 200, the larger heavy cruisers probably have double that. That implies that the relatively brief battle has resulted in over 10,000 casualties]]. |
| 295 | ** Several more large-scale battles take place in season 3, one [[spoiler:in the orbit of Krill, when a fleet of Union ships arrives to try to retrieve the hostages taken by the newly-elected Chancellor Teleya. The Union forces eventually retreat after the hostages are rescued]]. Another, even more massive battle, takes place in [[spoiler:orbit of a planet housing a Moclan weapons research center, this one between a Krill/Moclan alliance and a Union/Kaylon alliance]]. |
| 296 | * Several of the annual ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'' events are all capped off with a huge brawl between an [[SerialEscalation ever-growing]] number of supers vs. first an AlienInvasion (in the aptly-titled ''Invasion''), and then AlternateUniverse Nazis (during ''Series/CrisisOnEarthX''). The FinalBattle of ''Series/Elseworlds2018'' is more restrained by contrast, "only" dealing with Oliver, Barry, Kara and Clark -- with some [[EleventhHourRanger last minute]] help from Lois, J'onn, and Brainy -- taking on the Amazo robot and John Deegan (who has turned himself into an EvilTwin of Superman). |
| 297 | * ''Series/SovietStormWorldWarIIInTheEast'', being a BattleEpic about the Red Army's role during World War II, has several large battle scenes, most notably the Battles of Kursk and Berlin, where hundreds of troops are shown fighting. |
| 298 | * Season 2 of ''Series/TheOutpost'' climaxes with the Prime Order sending an army of 5000 to [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs destroy the outpost]] and crush Gwynn's rebellion. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the defenders hold their own by faking surrender to lure the Prime Order's forces inside their walls for an ambush that allows them to barely turn the tide. And when the Prime Order calls in two more armies as reinforcements, the defenders [[GodzillaThreshold resort to]] [[spoiler: Talon freeing the other Blackbloods from the Plane of Ash to [[EnemyMine fight alongside them]]]]. |
| 299 | * ''Series/Warrior2019'' features an impressive one that lasts most of a single episode. When the Irish Mob attack Chinatown, the feuding gangs [[EnemyMine set aside their differences]] and go to war to defend their home. In the end, the mob are driven out. |
| 300 | * ''Series/Halo2022'': |
| 301 | ** The episode "Reckoning" features the first major battle sequence, as the Covenant attacks Eridanus II in force in order to gain control of the Second Keystone, and the Spartans lead the UNSC's defenses against them. |
| 302 | ** The Season 1 finale "Transcendence" sees Silver Team attacking the Covenant's holy planet to retrieve the Keystones. What starts as a surgical strike soon turns into this trope, as the Prophets summon hundreds of soldiers to try and overwhelm the Spartans. |
| 303 | [[/folder]] |
| 304 | |
| 305 | [[folder:Mythology and Religion]] |
| 306 | * The FinalBattle in ''Literature/{{Mahabharata}}'', in which all warriors of Pandava fights all warriors of Kaurava. Imagine if all the battle-capable people of India goes to battle, and you get a pretty close approximation. All super powers are set loose, no quarters are asked, no quarters are given. This makes this trope OlderThanFeudalism. |
| 307 | * The First (Tuatha Dé Danann vs. Fir Bolg) and the Second (Tuatha Dé Danann vs. Fomor) Battle of Magh Tuireadh in ''Literature/TheBattleOfMaghTuireadh'', from Myth/IrishMythology. |
| 308 | * The Final Conflict between {{Satan}}, the First Beast, the AntiChrist, and most of the corrupted legions of our CrapsackWorld, against Michael, all the Angels, and {{God}}. So terrifying, that Earth has to be replaced because the former one is bombed back to before the Big Bang. |
| 309 | [[/folder]] |
| 310 | |
| 311 | [[folder:Roleplays]] |
| 312 | * In ''Roleplay/RealmsOfHyrule'', you have the Battle of Kakariko in which around nineteen different players joined together with almost the entirety of Hyrule's military in order to route the undead and reclaim Kakariko. |
| 313 | [[/folder]] |
| 314 | |
| 315 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 316 | * Minatures games, such as ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' are another good example of this trope. It can be taken to ridiculous extremes even, if players decide in a casual game to have 'no point limit' for building their army. |
| 317 | ** For bonus points, 40K also features the "Epic" side-series. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the name implies]], it's built around truly massive battles, so instead of having 10-30 individual troop units and maybe a vehicle or two or three, mid-size infantry platoons and small tank formations ''are'' individual units, superheavy tanks roam freely, oh and this is the scale where Titans (the largest of which stand 130-170 scale feet tall) start stomping their enemies. Literally. |
| 318 | ** Whenever players use Apocalypse rule, you can expect this. The larger battles may take over an hour to do a single turn (whereas a more traditional 2000 point battle may take as much as 10-15 mins per turn, if that). |
| 319 | * This is also the purpose of mass combat systems. |
| 320 | * Likewise, there's the ever popular game of ''TabletopGame/{{Risk}}''. The goal of that game? [[TakeOverTheWorld World conquest!]] |
| 321 | [[/folder]] |
| 322 | |
| 323 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 324 | * Multiplayer maps in most FPS games are at least trying to invoke this. |
| 325 | ** It's easier in RTS games, which could conceivably have battles between hundreds of individual units. Depending on the game, it could have an even more epic scale with special units, such as a battle between Greeks and Egyptians in ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology'' having not only their infantry spearmen and cavalry duking it out but also influenced by cyclopes and manticores on the side of the Greeks vs. sphinxes and falcon-headed warriors. |
| 326 | * ''VideoGame/{{Planetside}} II'' actually [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb54iuks3UM holds a Guinness world record]] for the largest number of players engaged in a single server at once for a first-person shooter: 1,158, [[MeleeATrois split between three factions]] - the [[TheEmpire Terran Republic]], the [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits New Conglomerate]] and the [[TechnologicallyAdvancedFoe Vanu Sovereignty]], fighting in the swamps of Hossin for two hours. [[spoiler:The New Conglomerate just barely won, holding 35% of territory to the Terran's 34% and the Vanu's 30%]]. |
| 327 | * The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series loves these. |
| 328 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' has the Weapon Raid on Junon. |
| 329 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': |
| 330 | *** The Siege of Dollet, in which the part the player sees begins with [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything their boats charging]] [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII onto the beach]]. |
| 331 | *** The Battle of the Gardens, wherein the Galbadian Army and the [=SeeD=] forces of Balamb clash in one of the most memorable conflicts of the game. |
| 332 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' also joins the fray, with the Siege of Cleyra, the Iifa Tree battle, and when Bahamut attacks Alexandria. |
| 333 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has the Operation Mi'ihen, where the Al Bhed, the Crusaders, Chocobo Knights, and Yuna's party join forces against Sin and its creatures. |
| 334 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' is bookended with these. The first features the Archadian invasion of Nabudis and Dalmasca, while the second shows an air battle between the Sky Fortress Bahamut against Marquis Ondore's air fleet. |
| 335 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' begins with a revolt of the purge victims against PSICOM in the depths of Cocoon. |
| 336 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has one in the ''Stormblood'' story where it's the player character, their allies, their opponents from a previous battle now turned allies all fighting against soldiers from TheEmpire in a massive brawl and it is awesome. |
| 337 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'' comes and goes radical with this. The opening war in Rubrum on Chapter 1 is just the first example. Then we get the Battle of Judecca as the main example in Chapter 5, where an airship fleet fights a population of dragons. And almost immediately after, in Chapter 6, Lady Caetuna summoning the humongous [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Alex]][[LaserCutter ander]] on [[TheEmpire the Empire]]'s border and [[EarthShatteringKaboom mopping both sides]] of the conflict on a single beam. |
| 338 | * ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' has an entire archetype of levels like this, at least one per game. |
| 339 | * ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series: |
| 340 | ** ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' and its expansions tell a story of the multi-sided battle at Black Mesa, where Gordon and security team of Black Mesa, the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit, a unit of the US government, Black Ops forces, the Alien invading forces of Xen and of Race X fight each other. |
| 341 | ** ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has the Battle of City 17, where Gordon leads the Resistence agains the Combine [[spoiler:another force than invaded Earth during the Black Mesa Incident]]. Half Life 2: Episode 2 ends with an attack at the White Forest, a main base of the Resistence. In two acts, the battle first depicts Gordon and the Resistence repelling a Combine mostly made by humans inside the base and then protecting a rocket launch attacked by extremely powerful alien warfare. |
| 342 | * The ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series is built around this entire concept, with ''you'' being in control of the battle and sending thousands of individual troops into combat. |
| 343 | * The ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' series has plenty of these, the best examples probably being the first game's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UID6LEzvRRo intro cinematic]] and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu4ABhVd28U&feature=related trailer]] to the second game. |
| 344 | * Strategy war games like the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series and clones of it may possibly count, with you controlling one faction/army while the other(s) is controlled by a computer/friend. You can also use fluffy logic to decide that these battles really are epic in the game world. A single soldier on screen may actually be 100 within the game world. Imagine those minor 'skirmish' games of yours now. |
| 345 | ** In the case of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberium'', it's mentioned in supplementary material that the EVA HeadsUpDisplay depicts squads of soldiers as units. So every time you create "one" Rocket Infantry, you're in fact creating a squad of ten or so. |
| 346 | %%* Most RealTimeStrategy games revolve into this, both the background stories, campaigns, custom games and multiplayer modes. Among the finest examples, we can mention ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires'', ''VideoGame/StarCraft'', ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'', ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'', among others. |
| 347 | %%Examples are not general, and a list of titles is not context. |
| 348 | * Pushed to the limits in the critically acclaimed ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation''. Telling a story of a 4000 years galactic Armageddon between two genocidal factions, most matches usually end up in titanic battles. In addition, TA is also easily modded and the ArbitraryHeadcountLimit is often disabled. The result are wars featuring thousands of units. |
| 349 | * ''VideoGame/LEGOUniverse''. Both in game and out. The intro has SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic and the preparations for combat even. Sadly, it skips over the actual battle, but we're pretty sure it was epic. More so when you realize that those spiders and horsemen are elite enemies, and the dragons tend to be bosses. |
| 350 | * ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' features the Battle of the Citadel. ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' is determined to out-do its predecessors with a full on galactic war. |
| 351 | * ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' has a couple. |
| 352 | ** The first game has the Revolt on Kashyyk and Battle of the Star Forge, who are almost opposite of each other: Kashyyk is a small skirmish (Czerka only has a small outpost on the planet) kept on-planet where the player character is ''directly'' involved in fighting the battle, while the Battle of the Star Forge is a big honking fleet engagement between large portions of the Sith and Republic navies where the player character is infiltrating the Star Forge. |
| 353 | ** [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords The second game]] has the Civil War on Iziz and the Battle of Telos. |
| 354 | ** [[VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic The MMO followup]] has plenty of these as well, especially once the Eternal Empire arrives on the scene. |
| 355 | * ''VideoGame/HeavenlySword'' ends with one of these. |
| 356 | * The final battle in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', with the NCR facing off against Caesar's Legion. Depending on your actions, you'll either support one of the two or support a third party. |
| 357 | ** For a little extra context: depending on your choices, you can roll into the battle for Hoover Dam with [[spoiler:an elite unit of Brotherhood of Steel paladins joining you in the first stages, the Boomers shelling the other side with howitzers and flying a bomber over the battlefield, the Enclave remnants taking to the battlefield, the Great Khans throwing their lot in if you didn't convince them to leave the Mojave]], and two factions will even give you ARMOURED ROBOT INFANTRY... and it shows through NPC dialogue. They're damn glad to see [[TheCavalry the backup you brought along with you.]] |
| 358 | ** ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' also has one of these as its climax, when the Brotherhood of Steel finally attacks the Enclave. Especially its newest recruit, and we're not talking about the Lone Wanderer here... |
| 359 | * ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' has the Neverwinter-Luskan War. ''Hordes of the Underdark'' adds the Valsharess War, with your by-now epic-level character leading the defenders. |
| 360 | * ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' has the Shadow War, which takes up the majority of Act III and prominently includes TheSiege of Crossroad Keep. ''Mask of the Betrayer'' adds [[spoiler:the invasion of the Fugue Plane]]. |
| 361 | * ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' has several during the civil war, including Whiterun, and depending on what side you choose, Windhelm or Solitude. |
| 362 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'' games tend to have these in droves. [[VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefrontII Battlefront 2]] even has an XL mode, a deathmatch with hundreds of bots on the field. [[MoreDakka Very]] [[StuffBlowingUp fun]] for [[TankGoodness vehicle users]] and [[DeathFromAbove pilots.]] |
| 363 | * ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has the Battles of Ostagar and [[spoiler:Denerim]] against the Darkspawn, and Redcliffe against TheUndead. |
| 364 | ** Its [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII sequel]] ends with [[spoiler: the destruction of the Chantry and the Battle of Kirkwall in its aftermath, which is also stated to be only the first battle of the Mage-Templar War.]] |
| 365 | ** The [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition third game]] has the [[spoiler:siege of Adamant Fortress, where the Inquisition assaults the fort due to the Grey Wardens being under Corypheus' influence.]] |
| 366 | * ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X3: Terran Conflict]]'': The Second Battle of Aldrin during the Aldrin Expansion plot, with a Terran warfleet and the PlayerCharacter pushing the [[AIIsACrapshoot Xenon]] out of the Terrans' former colonies. |
| 367 | ** Massive battles happen randomly in ''X3: Albion Prelude'', what with the GuiltFreeExterminationWar going on between the [[PlanetTerra Earth State]] and [[LostColony Argon Federation]]; in the border sectors between Terran and Argon space, it's not uncommon to see dozen of [[MileLongShip mile long capital ships]] duking it out. The player can accept missions from either government to participate in these raids. |
| 368 | * The invasion of [[spoiler: Char]] in ''VideoGame/StarCraftIIWingsOfLiberty''. |
| 369 | ** In the expansion, ''[[VideoGame/StarCraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm Heart of the Swarm]]'', the invasion of [[spoiler: Korhal]]. |
| 370 | * ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings'' starts with a massive siege battle against one of the King's bastard sons, and they only get bigger from there. |
| 371 | * ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade'' battles are supposed to get ''very'' large, which, varying on your settings, can display over well over 100 to even 500 or more men with mods. |
| 372 | * ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'' has the Battle of Sector Beta. The level opens with a massive skirmish between the main fleets of Corneria and Venom, with squadrons of star fighters flying everywhere in between. In the second phase you find yourself in an all out dogfight involving EVERY SINGLE NAMED PILOT from ''VideoGame/StarFox64''. This includes your team, Bill Grey, Katt, and Star Wolf. |
| 373 | * The second ''VideoGame/JediKnight'' game has the BigBad invade the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV with an army of Reborn. While your goal is to reach and defeat the BigBad, you run through courtyards and hallways of scores of Jedi battling their {{Evil Counterpart}}s. |
| 374 | * ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' has played into this at least three different times, despite being a 1-on-1 fighting series. |
| 375 | ** The intro to ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'' involves most of the series' fighters engaging in an all-out brawl with casualties on both sides, before the pyramid erects and gives them all a goal to fight towards. ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' shows the sickening aftermath, with Shao Kahn being the canon winner of the battle. |
| 376 | ** ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' has this when the [=MK=] and [=DC=] Universes encounter each other in Apokalypse, with Dark Kahn forcing them to fight to the death. Unfortunately, due to the game's troubling development, it's played out in a slideshow rather than a fully cinematic motion cutscene. |
| 377 | ** [[spoiler:''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' takes this to its {{Exaggerated|Trope}} extreme with the introduction of TheMultiverse, with you picking a Titan companion to Fire God Liu Kang in order to siege Titan Shang Tsung's pyramid and take him out once and for all. Unlike with ''Armageddon'', you actually do get to fight through waves of endless alternate-timeline kombatants on your way to the final battle]]. |
| 378 | * ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' is no stranger to prolonged aerial furballs. |
| 379 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'' has a massive furball over Comona Island as the ISAF attempt to launch a recon satellite for Operation Countdown, with Erusea deploying a large aerial force to foil it. The hard-rocking "Comona" plays as you're immersing yourself in the battle. |
| 380 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' has an interesting subversion in the fleet battle over the Ceres Ocean towards the end of the story. The Yuktobanian fleet prepares to attack the ''Kestrel'', but are instead led astray by the revelation that their then-kidnapped Prime Minister is on-board, leading to mutiny on the Yuke side. The Osean fleet then approaches with the intent to sink the Yuktobanians, the Yuktobanians who side with the ''Kestrel'', and the ''Kestrel'' herself altogether, so Razgriz Squadron launches and singlehandedly takes down all belligerents unwilling to defect to the newly-formed ''Kestrel'' fleet. The entire battle is fought to the tune of "The Journey Home" blaring on all radio comms. |
| 381 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'': Area [=B7R=], also known as [[Myth/ArthurianLegend the Round Table]], is prone to frequent furballs involving [[BadassArmy Belka's legendary air force]] and Osea's army, with several mercenaries thrown in, most tellingly [[ArmyOfOne Galm Team]]. Most dogfights in it are accompanied by hard rocking themes like "Mayhem", or flamenco-flavoured songs like "The Round Table". |
| 382 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation'' takes it even further by integrating large scale operations into its gameplay mechanic, allowing for simultaneous air and ground assault scenarios through allied [=NPCs=]. The culmination of all this is the Liberation of Gracemeria, where you take part in a ''six''-pronged battle to retake Emmeria's capital from Estovakian forces on the sea, air and land. |
| 383 | ** The spin-off ''VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity'' takes cues from Strangereal titles, namely a massive aerial furball over Area [=B7R=] (located in Nevada here) between the UNF and USEA called Operation Battle Axe, and Operation Bunker Shot over the Adriatic Sea. The latter features a sea and air battle that [[spoiler:almost ends in failure as the OLDS unexpectedly wipes out most of the UNF's landing forces, but they get back up after a HeroicSecondWind fueled by Goodfellow's resolve and [[OneManArmy Reaper]]'s presence]]. From then on, Operation Bunker Shot is fought to the sound of a remix of ''Ace Combat 04''[='=]s "Blue Skies". |
| 384 | --->'''Collins:''' We got nothing to be afraid of! Not with the Grim Reaper haunting the skies!\ |
| 385 | '''Bertz:''' You said it! On the ground and in the air... We can do this! ''[Cue rallying cries of "Let's go!"]'' |
| 386 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' has their big final battle at the International Space Elevator as Osean and Erusean troops join forces to take down the final Arsenal Bird once and for all, countered by pro-war rebels and the Arsenal Bird's own masses of [[AttackDrone MQ-101 drones]]. |
| 387 | ** Fan game and SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/ProjectWingman'', being the love letter to ''Ace Combat'' that it is, naturally has one of its own in the form of Mission 11, "Cold War," which consists of a gigantic aerial brawl over the Bering Strait between the Federation and the Cascadian forces, the former backed up by the elite [[RecurringBoss Crimson Squadron]] and the latter led by the mercenaries of Sicario, most prominently PlayerCharacter Monarch. Monarch, being Monarch, effectively turns the tide of the battle by himself, resulting in him gaining his RedBaron nickname of "The Crown" from the Feds. To make the player feel even more badass, [[SceneryPorn the whole thing takes place above (and in) an Arctic blizzard]], and the background music is "Showdown," widely considered the best song in the game. |
| 388 | * ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' features two. The first takes place on Phobos Base, where the Armored Response Coalition is desperately fighting off the demons with infantry and the {{BFG}} 10,000; the Doom Slayer slaughters a good chunk of the demons on his way to using the BFG 10,000 to blast a way to Hebeth. The second takes place in the final level of ''The Ancient Gods Part II'', where Valen and the Night Sentinels lay siege to Immora, the capital of Hell, in order to give the Slayer a chance to pursue [[BigBad Davoth]]. |
| 389 | * ''VideoGame/Tekken8'' has this in its intro sequence. Despite the war climate the franchise has been plunged into since ''VideoGame/Tekken6'', seeing a whole bunch of playable characters fighting armies in an ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' fashion is quite unusual. |
| 390 | [[/folder]] |
| 391 | |
| 392 | [[folder:Web Comic]] |
| 393 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' has a couple of examples: |
| 394 | ** Volume 3 features the Battle of Azure City in which Xykon, Redcloak, and their goblin horde lay seige to Azure City, which is defended by the Azure City Army, the Sapphire Guard, and the Order of The Stick. The battle is so big that it takes the entire volume to chronicle events between the setup and the conclusion. |
| 395 | ** The climax of Volume 5 features Tarquin's army assaulting the Order of the Stick after [[spoiler:the destruction of Gerard's gate and the temple that surrounded it]]. The event becomes one of these when Roy manages to rally his party into effectively fighting off the entire army, thwarting what would otherwise have been a massacre. |
| 396 | * ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'' takes place in a universe that is a large scale tabletop wargame brought to life, so it naturally features these all the time. Books 1 and 2 are entirely focused on the events surrounding the Battle of Gobwin Knob and the Battle of Spacerock, respectively. |
| 397 | [[/folder]] |
| 398 | |
| 399 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 400 | * In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', several big battles have taken place during the war, most notably the Battle of Folsworth Woods and the Battle of Vanna. |
| 401 | * ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'' has many, but probably the best would be Michael vs. Yahweh, with in-universe OrchestralBombing, including the theme from the Dam Busters and Holst's Mars. |
| 402 | * The Battle of Nancy, and possibly the entire ''Juillet Lorrain'' leading up to it, in ''Literature/TheDeadSkunk''. |
| 403 | * ''Literature/AMorePersonalUnion'' has the Battle of Toledo, the FinalBattle of the Great War. On one side, there's 90,000 [[TheAlliance Grande Alliance]] troops commanded by King Henri III of France. On the other, 200,000 Spanish soldiers and Italian mercenaries led by Henri's [[CainAndAbel cousin]] and [[ArchEnemy nemesis]] Crown Prince Ferdinand of Spain. |
| 404 | * ''WebAnimation/GenLock'' Episode 6 features the Union launching a full scale assault on the Anvil. |
| 405 | * WebVideo/MinecraftCivilizationExperiments, due to using hundreds of people to simulate civilization in VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}, tend to have this as a matter of course, often involving the populations of two major groups clashing against each other for supremacy on the global battlefield. |
| 406 | ** The GenrePopularizer, WebVideo/MagicGumCivilizationExperiments, kicked this trend off with its climactic battle between the Ice Spikes and Plains, featuring the bulk of both armies, including streamers and powerful PlayerVersusPlayer experts such as Creator/Clownpierce as participating characters, clashing it out underneath the mountain separating their two regions, accross a frozen river at high noon, with up to 41 players participating in the battle to secure the trade route between their nations. |
| 407 | ** In WebVideo/IshStateExperiments, another major series of civilization events, featured the [[FinalBattle FinalBattles]] during the first, third, and fourth events. All were fought between armies of the entire server they were conducted on(which hosts, as of the latest video, ''up to 1000 players''), with the majority of the people in the world participating in all of these battles. |
| 408 | *** In particular, the first [[HistoryRepeats and fourth events both]] had the fighting take place around a tall [[TheTower Tower]] that served as the last main stronghold for one of the opposing factions, the Solev Union in the first event, and the Aculon Empire in the fourth event. Due to the Tower being heavily fortified with murder holes, arrow slits, lava covering the insides, and, in the case of the Iron Torch, lava on the top, both of these events qualified as TheSiege, with the attacking army being forced to use every trick in the book to try and breach them to finish the war once and for all, [[spoiler: both succeeding in the end]]. |
| 409 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' |
| 410 | ** Volume 3 ends with the Battle/Fall of Beacon with students from the four major Huntsmen academies, Beacon staff and the Atlesian military defending the city of Vale from a combined assault of Grimm, White Fang and hacked Atlesian combat mechs. [[spoiler:By the end of the Volume, contact between Kingdoms has been cut off, [[BigGood Headmaster Ozpin]] is killed by [[ArcVillain Cinder Fall]], Beacon Academy has been overrun by the Grimm, the rest of the world believes the Atlas Military was behind the chaos and the heroes are scattered as a result.]] |
| 411 | ** During the middle of Volume 8, [[BigBad Salem's]] forces are able to take out the defensive [[HardLight Hard-Light Dust]] shields protecting the city of Atlas as she orders her Grimm to attack. General James Ironwood has his Atlesian Military forces defend the city while also [[ChildSoldier drafting Atlas Academy Students]] into the army such as Team FNKI to help deal with the Grimm. [[spoiler:In the end, Ironwood planned to bomb the Grimm creating the smaller footsoldiers until it was instead killed by Oscar releasing most of the energy in his cane. Because of this, Salem is taken out of commission for the rest of the Volume with only a few of her Grimm surviving the blast.]] |
| 412 | [[/folder]] |
| 413 | |
| 414 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 415 | * ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has a few, what with it being about a hundred year war and all, but the one which would probably fit best would be The Day of Black Sun battle. A [[LaResistance small guerilla army]] with submarines, tanks, and a combination of benders and BadAssNormal warriors take on the [[TheEmpire Fire Nation troops]]. |
| 416 | ** The Battle of the Drill and the Siege of the North certainly count, if smaller in scope; both involving the Fire Nation attacking a city, the [[SlippySlideyIceWorld Northern Water Tribe]] and city of [[CitadelCity Ba Sing Se]] respectively. They are both considered key battles in the war effort, and both ending in victory against the Fire Nation. |
| 417 | * The GrandFinale to ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' features nearly every hero in the series teaming up to stop Galactus. |
| 418 | * ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'' has one of these per season: the defense against the demons invading Gresit in season 1, the siege on Dracula's castle in season 2, the battle of Lindenfeld in season 3, and the second battle of Dracula's castle in season 4. |
| 419 | * The GrandFinale to ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' featured an [[EnemyMine alliance]] between the Justice League and the Legion, with the two teams going up against Darkseid and his invading forces all over the earth. |
| 420 | * ''WesternAnimation/KulipariAnArmyOfFrogs'' has Episode 9, where the residents of the Amphibilands and Marmoo's army finally clash after much buildup. The battle lasts almost the entire episode. |
| 421 | * ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'' features this as Lilo, Stitch, ''all'' the reformed experiments, and [[spoiler: [[HeelFaceTurn Gantu]]]] take on wave after wave of Leroy clones, the EvilCounterpart to Stitch. |
| 422 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'' has all the outmodes rising up against [[BigBad Madame Gasket]] and her army in the chop shop. |
| 423 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' will occasionally have an entire arc based around one giant battle, with two of the most notable ones being the Second Battle of Genosis and the Umbara Arc. |
| 424 | * The biggest battle featured so far on ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' is the Battle of Atollon, which looks like a one-sided Imperial rout against [[LaResistance the rebels]] until [[spoiler:[[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant the Bendu gets involved]]]]. |
| 425 | * ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)]]'': |
| 426 | ** The Season 5 finale (which served as the culmination of the entire series up to that point) had the Turtles gather pretty much every local Earth-bound ally and villain alike to form an army to fight the Tengu Shredder. This included their long-time enemies in the Foot Clan, the Purple Dragons, and the Earth Protection Force; and allies such as the united Justice Force, a collection of Earth's strongest superheroes. The battle rages over the course of the two-part finale. |
| 427 | ** The Season 7 finale (which is the SeriesFauxnale as there's still ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever'' to go) features almost every single ally the Turtles have made over the course of the series BackForTheFinale to attend Casey and April's wedding, only for it to get crashed by the Cyber Shredder and a truly colossal army of Foot ninjas. This time, the Turtles are packing demigods, aliens, mutants, and even the cast of ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo''. |
| 428 | * The conclusion of the Season 5 ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' storyline which pits the Titans and all their allies going up against the [[LegionOfDoom Brotherhood of Evil]]. |
| 429 | * ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' unexpectedly have something very fitting at the two last episodes of the first season. [[WickedWitch The Trix]] have a huge army of darkness and they're aiming to take over [[WizardingSchool Alfea]], causing faeries, witches, and specialists to band together to repel the invasion while the Winx take on the Trix. |
| 430 | [[/folder]] |
| 431 |
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