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Battle of Tannenberg
Two Russian armies invaded German East Prussia in August 1914. The German army won, and this prevented any further invasion by the Russian army. The Russian action had diverted the Germans from their attack on France and allowed the French to counter-attack at the Marne. -
CONTINUED First Battle of the Marne CONTINUED
...battle of the Marne was a great strategic victory, as it enabled the French to continue the war. However, the Germans succeeded in capturing a large part of the industrial north east of France, a serious blow. Furthermore, the rest of 1914 bred the geographic and tactical deadlock that would take another three years and countless lives to break. -
First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne marked the end of the German sweep into France and the beginning of the trench warfare that was to characterise World War One. The German 1st Army, under Kluck, swung north of Paris, rather than south west, as intended. This required them to pass into the valley of the River Marne across the Paris defences, exposing them to a flank attack and a possible counter-envelopment. In saving Paris from capture by pushing the Germans back some 45 miles, the First... -
First Battle of the Ypres
By October 1914, the Allies had reached Nieuport on the North Sea coast. The Germans, led by General Erich von Falkenhayn's Flanders Offensive, captured Antwerp and forced its Belgian defenders back to Nieuport, near Ypres. Under the command of Field Marshall Sir John French, the British Expeditionary Force retreated to Ypres after Antwerp fell. The already weakened Belgian Army fought hard, but the Germans were much too powerful. The First Battle of Ypres was one of the most significant. -
Second Battle of the Ypres
Began in April and used for distracting allied attention from the Eastern Front, and testing the use of chlorine gas, it eventually failed in May. In result of the failure of this attack the German army gave up its attempts to take the town, choosing instead to demolish it through constant bombings. By the end of the war Ypres had been largely reduced to piles of rubble. -
Battle of Verdun
In a letter sent from German Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn on Christmas day 1915, he advised the Kaiser in order to defeat Britain, a dominance of France must take place to weaken the alliance. A siege of a very important French occupied fortress, Verdun, was decided in order to %u201Cbleed France white%u201D in it%u2019s defense. The long battle over the town used up over 4,000,000 artillery shells and est. 800,000 deaths from both sides, ending in a virtual tie as neither side gained any advantage. -
Battle of Jutland
The greatest naval battle in the war occurred when German High Seas Fleet commander Reinhard Sheer decided to attack a British fleet thinking that coded messages would stop the enemy from knowing about the attack. The British were able to decode the messages and were prepared for the attack with the Royal Navy in position. -
CONTINUED Battle of Jutland CONTINUED
When the Keiser%u2019s High Seas Fleet and Britain%u2019s Grand Fleet met each other, it was a surprise for the Germans, who ended up escaping however with heavy damage. The battle effectively ended the threat of naval warfare from Germany. -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was one of the costliest engagements of the First World War. The attack began with a giant British force climbing out of its trenches and crossing, No Man's Land withering German machinegun and artillery fire. The attack soon stalled and turned into a huge disaster. On that day the British suffered almost 60,000 casualties making it the bloodiest day in British military history. The final tally included 420,000 British, 200,000 French and the Germans 500,000 casualties. -
Battle of Cambrai
This battle was the first to involve tanks. Tanks were deemed to prone to malfunction. The Germans first use of a tank was found to be disappointing and could be destroyed with concentrated fire. They stopped using tanks until later in the war. British tanks were well constructed and aided in there victory. -
Second Battle of the Marne
This battle was the turning point of the war on the western front. It started with a German offensive but the allied forces had a great counter attack. This battle became a great allied victory and helps to win the war. -
St. Mihiel Offensive
General Billy Michael had 1,481 planes for the battle of St. Mihiel Offensive. John J. Pershing led the army on the ground. General Pershing planned to capture but the Germans retreated in fear of being surrounded. The German found an escape route to a more powerful position. St. Mihiel salient was regained by the Allies for the first time since 1914.
