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The Battles Of WWI

Throughout the first World War, there were many battles on the western and eastern fronts. A majority of the war was set on the ground, but some battles were also in the air or sea. WWI lasted from 1914 - 1918

Fronts

The Western Front

A large part of the war took place at the western front. It's a line bordering France, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. Most of the Western Front is bordering eastern France, and most of the battles during the war took place here including some of the most important like Verdun, Somme, and Passchendaele. With all these battles the death toll was huge, over four million people from both sides. Despite many attempts no enemies could manage to push past the front until the 1918. Many features of the Western Front are iconic for WW1, like mud-filled trenches, artillery bombardments, appalling tactical blunders, futile charges on enemy positions, periods of stalemate, high death rates, and harsh conditions.

The Eastern Front

The Eastern Front was a front which bordered the east side of Germany and Austria-Hungary on the west and Russia on the east. The Eastern Front was overlooked by the Germans in the start of the war, as they did not expect Russia to mobilize quickly because of its poor infrastructure, and as a result the Eastern Front did not have a proper trench system. The strain of war on Russia's instability eventually gave way to the rise of the Soviet Union. Notable battles on the Eastern Front include Tannenburg, Lutsk, and Bolimov.

Events

August 5th, 1914

The Battle Of Liege

  • Liege was the first land battle of WWI, lasting 12 days from August 5th - August 16th resulting in the Germans taking over Liege
  • The German Second Army took over Liege, Belgium (neutral) as it was a direct "gateway" into the north side of France
  • Liege was defended by a "ring of 12 heavily armed forts built on high ground" with "400 retractable guns, up to 210mm in size"
  • The Germans' first attempt to take over Liege and had to call in zepplins for a bombing run
  • The German Second Army (with the help of the Big Bertha gun) finally took over all the forts and successfully took over Liege
Visual of Tannenberg

August 30th, 1914

The Battle of Tannenberg

  • Tannenberg was the first German victory on the Eastern Front against the Russian Armies
  • The Germans expected Russia to take months to mobilize their army, so they had left the Eastern Front poorly defended, which lead to the winning several victories across the front.
  • There were a total of 8 Russian armies invading, and the Germans were able to intercept messages between the First and Second Armies
  • Receiving these messages, the Germans were able to reinforce their armies and seperate the First and Second armies from each other
  • Germans now with many more troops and resources, who intercepted Russian uncoded messages, managed to defeat the Second Army in Tannenburg, taking over 90,000 prisoners.
  • This victory boosted German morale as defeating Russia in a battle made a statement to the world about Germany's sheer power.
British & German soldiers exchange gifts in unclaimed ground.

December 25th, 1914

The Christmas Truce


 Alfred Self, sergeant of the English military, was concerned by the absence of the sounds of war he was so used to. “It was so quiet, it was uncanny, there were no planes overhead, no observation balloons, no bombs, no rifle fire, therefore no snipers, just an occasional lark…” On Christmas morning, the English soldiers held up a sign with the words, “MERRY CHRISTMAS” on it. The Germans replied via a sign that read, “YOU NO FIGHT, WE NO FIGHT.” They decided to form a day-long truce and celebrate the holiday together as one. There was no official declaration of the truce. Actually, commanders did anything in their power keep the fight going. But they were formed so quickly that the higher-ups couldn't avert the truce by the time they were informed.

French soldiers resting away from the front line at the Battle of Verdun, 1916.

February 21st, 1916

The Battle of Verdun

  • On February 21, 1916, Germany attacked Verdun, a highly defended city.
  • Close to the border, Verdun controlled entrance to eastern France after a huge gunfire. The Germans advanced.
  • The french were caught by surprise, but still managed to push backs the the Germans.
  • There were a lot of casualties mostly on the French side.

May 31st, 1916

The Battle Of Jutland

  • First and only major sea battle of WWI began with the British found and read the codes for secret plans of the Germans
  • The Germans plotted to send a huge fleet of ships into the Scapa Flow which is north of Scotland without the Royal Navy's knowledge
  • The British scouting ships found the German's scouting ships and chased them back to the German's main fleet
  • The Germans then followed the British ships with their Dreadnoughts (large and powerful battleships)
  • The Germans ,with their lighter ships, covered the bigger battle ships as they retreated out of the area
  • Germany lost "one battle cruiser, one pre-Dreadnought, four light cruisers, five destroyers" says John Rickard, author for firstworldwar.com
  • Britain lost "three battle cruisers, four armoured cruisers, and eight destroyers" says John Rickard, author for firstworldwar.com
  • Many German ships that survived had suffered immense amounts of damage


July 1st, 1916

The Battle Of Somme

  • The Somme was a battle between the British and the German, so the Allies could achieve victory over the Germans on the Western Front.
  • First the bombarded. They tried to cut the barbed wire and destroy enemy defenses at the border but the British had no luck.
  • They fought brutally for months then the British brought out their new toy The Tank.
  • Millions of lives were taken from both sides, but the battle ended without the goals achieved.

July 31st, 1917

The Battle of Passchendaele

  • This battle occurred in Belgium, on the Western Front, is often called the third battle of Ypres, this battle between the British and the Germans is notable for the immense accumulation of mud on the battle field.
  • The first infantry attack began on July 31, but however constant shelling on the clay soil in Passchendaele combined with the heaviest rain in 30 years quickly generated immense amounts of mud, deep enough for men and horses to drown in.
  • Attacks from August through October had little effect, but finally, on November 6, British and Canadian forces managed to capture the remains of Passchendaele.

October 29th, 1918

The Battle Of Sharqat

  • The last battle fought in WWI ended in Britain gaining control of the oilfields in northern Baghdad
  • The British were ordered to get rid of the Turkish influence still lurking in the region
  • The British had a combined "Anglo-Indian" that cover 120km in two days to the Little Zab River
  • The Turkish Sixth Army fled to Sharqat, 100km north of the Little Zab River
  • The Turks had surrendered in a day with a loss of 18,000 soldier that had been captured by the British

Sources Cited


  • Adams,Simo. World War I.DK(DorlingKindersley),

2014. Print.

  • "BBC - History - World Wars: Battle of Passchendaele: 31 July - 6 November 1917." BBC News. BBC. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.
  • "The Eastern Front." World War I. 14 Dec. 2015. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.
  • Jtalarico. "What Happened During The Battle Of The Somme?" Imperial War Museums. 02 Feb. 2016. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
  • "The Western Front." World War I. 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
  • "The Western Front." World War I. 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.
  • "Firstworldwar.com." First World War.com - Battles - The Battle of Tannenberg, 1914. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.
  • "Firstworldwar.com." First World War.com - Battles - The Battle of Jutland, 1916. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.
  • "Firstworldwar.com." First World War.com - Battles - The Battle of Liege, 1914. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.
  • "Firstworldwar.com." First World War.com - Battles - Battle of Sharqat, 1918. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.