Germany Timeline

By Iceman195

  • Germany Declares War on Russia

    After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Russians mobilized troops onto Germany and Austria-Hungary’s boarders. The Germans saw this as an aggressive act from Russia and ordered them to move away from the boarder. When Russia declined Germany declared war on Russia on August 1st 1914.

  • Germany Declares war on France

    The French were allied with the Russians through the Triple Entente. The German leaders knew that if they waited for France to invade Germany then they would be fighting on multiple fronts. The Germans had planned for this situation and put the Schlieffen Plan into effect.

  • Battle of the Mulhouse

    Frances first offence attack of the war.

  • Battle of Lorraine

    The French were defeated due to the Germans superior machine gun technology.

  • Battle of the Ardennes

    The French launched a counter offence. The French were once again defeated by Germany’s superior strategy.

  • Battle of the Mons

    On August 21 Germany launched an attack on two bridgeheads. Fighting continued until the French began to fall back on August 23rd. The final battle started on August 23rd.

  • Battle of Tannenburg

    Starting on August 23rd and ending August 30th the Battle of Tannenburg was one of the key battles in the eastern theater. The Russian 2nd arms marched into German territory. Despite going against the Schlieffen Plan the Germans had a key victory. A large majority of the Russians second army was crushed during the battle. The Russians suffered 170,000 casualty/POW’s compared to Germany’s 12,000.

  • The First Battle of the Marne

    The Battle of the Marne started on September 5th 1914, and ended September 12th 1914. The Allies were facing defeat when the Germans almost broke through the line on September 6th, 7th and 8th. With the additional 10,000 men, the Allies managed to mount a successful offence against the Germans at the Marne River. The Schlieffen Plan was declared a failure. The Germans retreated to the Aisne River to regroup, and began digging trenches. The front for the next three years was established.

  • The First Battle of Aisne

    After Germanys defeat in the Battle of the Marne the germans retreated to on of the most defendable positions in northern Europe. Germany had the highland and foilige, the allies were faced with a flat platue that offered no natural cover. This marked the start of trench warefare for the Allies. The battle had no winner, the Allies lost troops from artillery fire, but Germans made no advancements. After this battle the Race to the Sea began.

  • The First Battle of Picardy

    Part of the Race to the Sea. Ended on the 26th of the same month.

  • Race To the Sea Starts

    After the First Battle of Aisne the Race to the Sea began. The aim of the Germans was to cut off supply lines between the French and the British across the English Channel. The push north was met with a lot of battles.

  • Battle of Albert

    Part of the Race to the Sea. Ended on the 29th of the same month.

  • First Battle of Artois

    Part of the Race to the Sea. Ended on October 10th.

  • Battle of La Bassée

    Part of the Race to the Sea. Ended on November 2nd.

  • Battle of Messines

    Part of the Race to the Sea. Ended on November 2nd.

  • Battle of Armentiéres

    Part of the Race to the Sea. Ended on November 2nd.

  • Battle of the Yser

    Part of the Race to the Sea. Ended on November 30th.

  • The First Battle of Ypres

    This fight took place in west Belgium for the town of Ypres. For the allies this would serve as an important town in establishing a supply route for England across the English Channel. For the Germans, this was one of the last major obstacles before the French port towns of Boulogne-sur-Mer, and Calais. The battle ended November 22nd, 1914, with a decisive Allies victory.

  • End of the Race to the Sea

    The conclusion of these battles in the battle of Yser is the Belgian forces were able to defend their position, the Allies kept control of the English Channel and the western front was better established.

  • The Zeppelin Raid on Great Britain

    The Germans launched a successful air raid on Great Britain. The Kiser would only allow the attack of military facilities.

  • Start of The Second Battle of Ypres

    The Second Battle of Ypres was made up of 4 main engagements.

  • The Battle of Gravenstafel

    Part of The Second Battle of Ypres. Ended on the 23rd. This was the first battle that the Germans used Chlorine gas. The Germans relied on the winds to carry the gas toward the Allies trenches. The weapon was so effective that in 10 minutes approximately 6,000 Allie troops had died, creating a massive gap between the front lines. However the Germans had underestimated the weapon and did not have any reserves in the area. The Canadian Allies were able to hold the line until May 3rd 1915.

  • The Battle of St Julien

    Part of The Second Battle of Ypres. Ended on May 4th. After being pushed back from the battle of Gravenstafel, the Allies were reorganizing behind St Julien. On April 22 Lance Corporal Frederick Fisher led the 13th battalion to the front to hold St Julian. Fisher was killed on April 23rd 1915. The following day the Germans mounted another Chlorine gas attack, but were unsuccessful in capturing the city Allied lines eventually folded from gas attacks and surrendered St Julien.

  • The Battle of Frezenberg

    Part of The Second Battle of Ypres. Ended on the 13th. The Allies and the Germans met at the Frezenberg ridge on May 18th. The Allies underwent heavy attack from the German divisions. The line was broken after a German assault, but the Allies mounted a successful counter attack halting any further German advancement.

  • The Battle of Bellewaarde

    Part of The Second Battle of Ypres. Ended on the 25th. On May 24th the Germans unleashed more Chlorine gas on the Allies. The British were able to defend against the initial attacks, but were soon forced to retreat to the north and south. The British tried mounting another counter attack from the north which failed, forcing the Allies to retreat an additional 1000 yards north.

  • End of The Second Battle of Ypres

    The Second Battle of Ypres was a stalemate. At the Conclusion of the second battle of Ypres the Allies had been forced back but remained in control of the city, Ypres. After this battle gas was never used effectively by either side, however both sides developed more potent gas weapons.

  • Battle of Loos

    Starting on September 25th and going to the 14th of October, this was a battle that the British won at a very high cost. On September 25th the British launched an offence on the german line. An additional British offensive was attempted but was quickly crushed from German machine guns. On October 8th the Germans launched a large offensive, but after severe losses had abandoned it be the next day. The British launched one final offensive on October 13th which failed. Britain had to retreat.

  • Battle of Verdon

    The Germans had accepted that a large scale break through is no longer possible due to trench warfare. Instead, the German chief of staff Erich Von Falkenhayn decided that if France suffered enough causality’s they would be forced out of the war. Falkenhayn picked Verdon, a fortress that has an abundance of natural resources surrounding it, and is a stop on a major rail way line that goes into Paris. This became the highpoint for the Allies in the Germans unsuccessful Assault on Verdon.

  • Brusilov Offensive

    While the Germans were attacking Verdon the French asked the Russians to mount an offensive in the east in hopes of Germany sending troops to the eastern front. In what started out as just a diversion the Russians actually made significant progress. They shattered the Austrian line and marched into the city of Lutsk. They then Began to hesitate allowing the Germans and Austrian time to bring reinforcements and end the Russian advance. The offensive ended on september 20th.

  • Germany Makes Peace Offering

    The Allies are contacted by German officials asking for talks of peace. The Germans propose that the Allies surrender and Germany is named victorious. The allied nations consult the United States which is still neutral who helps decline the proposal.

  • Third Battle of Ypres

    Also known as the Battle of Passchendaele was an offensive that the allies implemented on July 31st and stretched until November 6th. Germany had compiled 4 lines of defense on the front of which hey assigned 12 infantry divisions to defend. The Germans had the defensive advantage of the Belgian mountains and the Allies were faced with the river and large valley that they needed to cross in order to mount an assault. The allies made advancements on the Germans Position but it failed.

  • Cambrai Offensive

    The British were trying to break through the Hindenburg line during the battle of Cambrai. The British forces saw early success. As the British broke further into the line Germany began sending reinforcements. Even with the aid of tanks the British were dwindling. By December 3rd the British were in retreat, by December 7th 1917 all advancements that were gained in the original offence had been abandon. December 8th 1917 marked the end of the Cambrai offensive.

  • Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

    This was a treaty between the central powers and Russia, officially marking Russia’s surrender. The treaty was signed on March 3rd of 1918. It stated that the Russian’s would transfer territory to the Ottomen Empire and to Germany. The territory transferred to Germany included: the Baltic States, Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine. The Ottomen Empire received back all lands that had been recently conquered by the Russian empire.

  • Hundred Day Offensive

    The Hundred day offensive was the beginning if the end for Germany in World War I. The Hundred Day Offence refers to a series of Allied victories that would eventually push the German defenses past the Hindenburg line. The Germans were facing defeat and had no choice but to surrender to the Allies. On November 11th 1918 Germany signed the Armistice ending the fighting in World War I.

  • Paris Peace Conference

    On January 18th 1919 representatives from the allied countries came together in Paris to decide the peace treaty’s to insure a lasting peace. The Paris Peace conference decided on numerous treaties related to the Great War. The countries involved in the Paris Peace conference became part of the League of Nations (except for the United States). The League of Nations was responsible for keeping an everlasting peace in Europe.

  • Treaty of Versaillas

    One of the treaty’s that came from the Paris peace council. It stated Germany’s punishment. Punishments included: Loss of territory, Not being allowed to have an alliance with Austria-Hungary, The League of Nations took control of Germanys colonies, and A limited Military size. These guidelines were followed until the 1930’s when Adolf Hitler declared that he would be expanding Germanys military due to the Allies violations of the treaty. But that's a story for another time.