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World War I
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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 Frontiers
This was a series of battles in southern Belgium and eastern France. Frances first offence attack of the war known as the Battle of the Mulhouse was on August 7th 1914, soon after an attack from German forces forced the French to withdraw. This set the stage for the Battle of the Frontiers. On August 14th the French launched an offence known as the Battle of Lorraine. The French were defeated due to the Germans superior machine gun technology. The French launched a counter offence on August -
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.
Map - stratigic map that shows the Position of the armys during the start of the battle. -
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. -
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:
o The First Battle of Picardy (September 22nd – 26th 1914)
o Battle of Albert (September 25th – 29th 1914)
o First Battle of Artois (September 27th – October 10th 1914)
o Battle of La Bassée (October 10th – November 2nd 1914)
o Battle of Messines (October 12th – November 2nd 19 -
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 started October 19th, 1914, and ended November 22nd, 1914, with a decisive Allies victory. -
The Race to the Sea Ends
o Battle of Armentiéres (October 13th – November 2nd 1914)
o Battle of the Yser (October 18th – November 30th 1914)
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. -Picture - Painting depicting the first Zeppelin raid on London -
Start of The Second Battle of Ypres
– The second battle of Ypres took place in Ypres. Starting on April 22nd 1915, and ended on May 25th 1915. The Second Battle of Ypres was made up of 4 main engagements:
o The Battle of Gravenstafel, April 22nd – April 23rd 1915
o The Battle of St Julien, April 24th – May 4th 1915
o The Battle of Frezenberg: May 8th – May 13th 1915
o The Battle of Bellewaarde: May 24th – May 25th 1915 -
The Battle of Gravenstafel
The Battle of Gravenstafel – 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
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 awarded the VC for his actions but was killed on April 23rd 1915. The following day the Germans mounted another Chlorine gas attack, but were unsuccessful in capturing the city (However Germany did establish a front closer to St Julien.) Allied lines eventually folded from gas atta -
Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive
This was a campaign in the East that Germany and Austria-Hungary made significant advancements on Russia. The German strategy caught the Russian defences by surprise: they sent 10 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry regiment to an area of the front about 20 miles in length. The Russian front collapsed, 140,000 Russian soldiers were taken prisoner. The result was a massive Russian retreat. Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive was offically ruled over on September 18th 1915. -
The Battle of Frezenberg
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
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. Due to Britians superior numbers the line broke easily and the British took control of the town of Loos. Due to commutation problems the British were not able to exploit the break through. An additional British offensive was attempted but was quickly crushed from German machine guns. On October 8th the -
Battle of Verdun
Starting on February 21st 1916 the battle lasted until December 18th 1916. 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. -
Battle of Verdun cont.
Falkenhayn accepts the “loss exchange ratio” as being worth it because the French would cling to their fortress. However, Falkenhayn did not anticipate the amount of resistance that he would face on the path to Verdon. In July 12, of 1916 at Fort Souville the Germans were stopped within eye shot of Verdon. 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, giving the French relief. In what started out as just a diversion the Russians actually made significant progress. They systematically 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.jun 1 - sep 16 1916 -
Battle of the Soome
Starting on July 1st 1916 the battle of Soome lasted until November 18th 1916. It was an offensive that the Allies mounted against the Germans. The Battle of Soome was made up of about 15 smaller offences that all generally followed the strategy of General Sir Henery Rawlinson which was to bombard the Germans with artillery and then fight the remaining forces with their infantry regiments. -
Battle of the Soome cont.
On the first day of fighting the artillery strikes had started, the Allied forces crawled into “no man’s land” awaiting the end of the bombardment. Surprisingly because of the German dugouts, a majority of the German soldiers survived and after artillery strikes were ready to do some serious damage to the Allies in no man’s land. The following days Germany was caught off guard and retreated further. -
Battle of the Soome end
Falkenhayn had not expected an Allied assault of this scale and as a result lost massive territories. By the time the fighting had ended approximately 1.5 million casualties and the Allies had pushed forward up to 6 miles at points in the front. -
Germany Makes Peace Offering
On December 12th 1916 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. -
Operation Alberich
The Hindenburg line was a heavily fortified German defense line that was constructed behind the front during the earlier years of the war should Germany need to retreat. In February of 1917 the Germans started withdrawing back to the line. As the Germans retreated they used “scorched Earth” it is a military tactic that makes it impossible to use anything on the land. The operation of falling back was code named Alberich. -
Kerensky Offensive
After the February Revolutions in 1917 the Russian people had become unrest with the war. Time was running out for the Russian government in this war. The Kerensky offensive was the last Russian involvement in World War II. The offensive spanned from July first to July 19h 1917. The Russians mounted one of the strongest offences that they had in the war. -
Kerensky Offensive cont.
They easily broke through the Austrian line and marched unopposed to the German border. However once there fortified defenses, machine guns, and a rebellion within the Russian ranks the Russians suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat effectively taking them out of the war. -
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. Using artillery the Germans were able to fend off the Allies but suffered sig -
Cambrai Offensive
The British were trying to break through the Hindenburg line during the battle of Cambrai. The attack started on November 20th 1917, where 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 -
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. This treaty was passed on June 28th 1919 and stated Germany’s punishment. Punishments included:
o Loss of territory
o Not being allowed to have an alliance with Austria-Hungary
o The League of Nations took control of Germanys colonies
o 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.
