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World War I
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German Assault on Liege
VideoThe German army launches its assault on the city of Liege in Belgium, violating the latter country’s neutrality and beginning the first battle of World War I. The German 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armies—some 34 divisions of men—were in the process of aligning themselves on the right wing of the German lines, poised to move into Belgium. In total, seven German armies were being assembled along the Belgian and French frontiers. Liege eventually fell to the Germans on August 15. -
Battle of Sambre
Perhaps the most important part of the wider First World War. The German war plan, based on the Schlieffen Plan, was for three German armies to sweep through Belgium, bypassing the fortified Franco-German border. Those armies would then continue their advance south and south west towards Paris. When war broke out five French armies were lined up along France’s eastern border at the north of the line. Germany came through Belgium causing a two week retreat of the Allied forces. -
Battle of the Marne
On September 4, 1914, the rapid advances of the German army through Belgium and northern France caused panic in the French army and troops were rushed from Paris in taxis to halt the advance. Combined with the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) the Germans were eventually halted and the War settled into the familiar defensive series of entrenchments. -
First Battle of Ypres
The First Battle of Ypres and the Battle of the Yser were the last battles fought between the Allied Powers and Germany in the Race to the Sea. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) under the command of Field Marshal Sir John French, reinforced the French-Belgian troops at Ypres. The battle commenced on October 19, 1914, with the Flanders Offensive orchestrated by German Chief of the General Staff Falkenhayn. Falkenhayn ordered his troops to simultaneously engage the Belgian troops at Yser. -
Battle of Bolimov
An inconclusive battle between the German Ninth Army and the Russian Second Army, the Battle of Bolimov, launched on 31 January 1915, formed part of the third German attack directed against Warsaw. The attack was centred around the town of Bolimov in the plains to the west of Warsaw. The German force was led by August von Mackensen and the Russians by Smirnov. Today the Battle of Bolimov is chiefly remembered as the site of the German army's first extensive use of poison gas. 40,000 Casualties -
Battle of Verdun
VideoWas a ten month long ordeal between the French and German armies. The battle was part of an unsuccessful German campaign to take the offensive on the western front. Both the French and German armies suffered incredibly with an estimated 540,000 French and 430,000 German casualties. The Battle of Verdun is considered to be one of the most brutal events of World War I, and the site itself is remembered as the "battlefield with the highest density of dead per square yard." -
Battle of the Somme
After weeklong artillery bombardment launched the now infamous attack across the river Somme. With the French Army being hard-pressed to the south at Verdun the British intended to break through the German defenses in a matter of hours. The mistrust that High Command had of the "New Armies" manifested itself in the orders to the troops to keep uniformed lines and to march towards the enemy across no-man's land. This led to one of the biggest slaughters in military history. -
Battle of Delville Wood
It was essential to the British that the wood be cleared of Germans before any attack. The task of capturing the wood was handed to the South African Brigade of some 3,150 men, attached to the 9th Scottish Division. Hand to hand fighting ensued until the South Africans were relieved on the night of July 19, having lost 766 dead among the four battalions alone; the dead outnumbered the wounded by four to one. Today the wood and nearby memorial is looked after by the South African Government. -
Battle of Cambrai
VideoCambrai was the first battle in which tanks were used in mass In fact; Cambrai saw a mixture of tanks being used, heavy artillery and air power. Mobility, lacking for the previous three years in World War One, suddenly found a place on the battlefield - though it was not to last for the duration of the battle. While losses did not equate to the Somme or Verdun, the British lost over 44,000 men during the battle while the Germans lost about 45,000 men. -
Battle of Cantigny
A regiment of the American 1st Division (some 4,000 troops), under Major-General Robert Lee Bullard, captured the village of Cantigny, held by the German Eighteenth Army commanded by von Hutier and the site of a German advance observation point, strongly fortified. In the face of seven fierce counter-attacks that day and the next the U.S. forces held their position with the loss of 1,067 casualties; they captured around 100 German prisoners.
