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Battle of Tannenberg
Following the failed Russian invasion, the Russians managed to defeat the Germans and made a push towards the west. The Germans were greatly outnumbered but they managed to defeat the Russians at Tannenberg. The Russians had 170,000 casualties and the Germans had 12,000 casualties. -
The First Battle of Marne
The battle was fought from September 6-9, 1914. British and French forces confronted Germany’s army which had penetrated deep into France. The Allied troops counter acted Germany’s attack pushing the Germans back north. Both sides started making trenches and they were preparing for more war. -
The Indians Join the War
At the battle of La Bassee on October 10th, 1914, in northern France, Indian soldiers join allied forces for the first time. Britain calls on its empire and 1.5 million Indian soldiers and 1.3 million Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and South Americans to fight with the allied side. France also calls on its colonies in Africa to help as well. The War had became truly global. -
The First Battle of Ypres
On October 19th, 1914, near the city of Ypres, the allied and German forces were fighting the first of three battles to control the city and all its advantages positions. On the 19th of October, some strong combat began, as the Germans opened their offense and the allied powers resisted. The fighting continued and both side lost a lot of men. They didn’t stop fighting until the 22nd of November due to the weather. -
The First Use of Poison Gas
Both sides had experimented with tear gas in the first winter of war. But in January of 1915 the use of more deadly, that killed over 1000 Russian troops at Bolimov on the Eastern Front. In Ypres was the first time that it was used on a large scale. Germany unleashes thousands of canisters of chlorine gas and French. -
The Gallipoli Campaign
On the Western Front the allied power attacks Germany’s allies in the Middle East. British, New Zealand, French, Australian and Indian troops mount to take the peninsula of Gallipoli. They suffered a crushing defeat at the end of the year. One third of the New Zealand troops were killed and there was 28,000 casualties. The Turks had 200,000 casualties. -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
A terrifying new weapons of World War One is the U- Mediterranean trade routes. The Lusitania was sunk of the coast of Ireland by a torpedo fired by a U-Boat. 1,200 people died including 128 americans. Although Germany issued warnings, the world was still shocked by the unprecedented attack on civilians. This event pushed the United States closer to joining the war. -
The Battle of Verdun
As another battle was being planned, the Germans staged a massive attack against the French. The German's goal was to capture the town of Verdun-sur-Meuse. They later planned to kill as many French soldiers as they could to cause them to panic and abandon the fight. The French were very stubborn and inflicted horrific casualties on the Germans. Nearly 40 million artillery shells were exchanged during the battle, and the French had 542,000 casualties, while the Germans lost some 435,000. -
Battle of Somme
This battle was one of the two great slaughterhouses of World War 1 the Somme still rings in the minds of the British as an example of senseless slaughter of war. The German attack on Verdun, however, forced the Allied commanders to change their plans, and the battle became a primarily British offensive, though the French still contributed significantly.The Allies lost a total of 623,906 casualties, including 100 tanks and 782 aircraft.The Germans lost nearly 600,000 men. -
Battle of Passchendaele
This is the fifth most deadliest battle of war with with 848,614 total casualties. It was fought from July to November of 1917, it is also known as the Third battle of Ypres. In a series of hold and bite operations against the German lines, the allies try to wear down the Germans through tough and bloody warfare. The conditions during the war were horrible and both sides had casualties. The Allies lost f 448,614 men to the Germans 400,000. -
Battle of Arras
By 1917, the Western Front had been a stalemate for two years. Many bloody battles had already taken place. As a result, a plan was formed to assault the German trenches at the town of Arras, they hoped to tire them down and lead the Allies to victory. The battle opened on April 9th 1917 and closed May 16th, 1917. The outcome wasn't what the British had hoped for. The British lost 158,000 casualties in the assault to a German loss of 120,000.
