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Battle of Tannenberg
The Battle of Tannenberg in 1914 pitted the Russian and German Empires against each other at the beginning of World War I, near the town of Allenstein in East Prussia. This engagement proved to be of considerable importance in the Great War.
The battle resulted in the near total annihilation of the Russian 2nd Army, and a series of battles immediately following destroyed most of the Russian 1st Army as well, leaving Russia in a very poor state of war until the spring of 1915. -
Start of the war
The cause that triggered the outbreak of the first war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, and his wife, Archduchess Sophie.
The Western Front opened in 1914 after the army of the German Empire invaded Belgium and Luxembourg, gaining military control of important industrial areas of France.
The Eastern Front began with a Russian offensive against Germany in August 1914. -
Battle of Galipoli
The battle began in February 1915 with a massive bombardment from British and French warships against the Ottomans defending the strait, which failed due to the presence of mines in the sea laid by the Turkish military. This failure prompted commanders and governments to call for a combined British-French landing operation to conquer the Ottoman capital of Istanbul. Control of the Straits would allow France and the United Kingdom to revitalise the Russian Empire and encircle the Central Empires. -
Battle of Loos
This battle was one of the main British offensives on the Western Front in 1915. The British managed to break through the German trenches and captured the village of Loos. However, problems with supplies and communications and the late arrival of relays, meant that the assault could not be exploited. When the battle resumed the next day, the Germans were ready and repulsed attempts to continue the advance. The fighting ended on 28 September with the British retreating to their initial positions. -
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Battle of Verdun
It was the largest and longest battle of the First World War on the Western Front. The battle took place in the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse. The German Army attacked the defences of the Verdun Fortified Region and those of the French Army on the Meuse River. The Germans expected the French to commit their strategic reserve to recapture the position and suffer heavy losses in a battle of annihilation, at minimal cost to the Germans in tactically advantageous positions on the heights. -
The battle of Somme
The Battle of the Somme in 1916 was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the First World War, with more than a million casualties on both sides. British and French forces attempted to break through German lines along a front north and south of the Somme River in northern France. The main purpose of the battle was to distract German troops from the Battle of Verdun; however, the casualties of the Battle of the Somme ultimately outweighed those of the Battle of Verdun. -
US declaration of war on Germany
On 6 April 1917, US President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany. Until that day, the United States had remained neutral. The declaration of war was a reaction to the maritime war that Germany had been waging since January 1917. Germany's resumption of submarine attacks on passenger and merchant ships in 1917 became the main motivation behind Wilson's decision to lead the United States in World War I. -
End of the First World War
After a major German offensive in early 1918 along the entire Western Front, the Allies pushed the Germans back in a series of successful offensives. Germany, in the throes of revolution, requested an armistice on 11 November 1918, ending the war with Allied victory.