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Battle of Tannenburg
Decisive German victory over the Russian Second Army, resulting in the near annihilation of the Russian force under General Aleksandr Samsonov, with the German commanders, Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, exploiting poor Russian coordination to surround and defeat them in East Prussia. -
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First Battle of the Marne
Allied victory where the French and British armies successfully halted the German advance towards Paris, effectively ending the German hope for a quick victory on the Western Front and marking the beginning of trench warfare. -
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Second Battle of Ypres
The first large-scale use of poison gas in World War I, when the Germans unleashed chlorine gas against Allied forces, primarily impacting French troops, near the Belgian city of Ypres, resulting in significant casualties and a major turning point in the war's tactics. -
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Battle of Gallipoli
The Allies landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Ottoman Turkey in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war and allow Allied ships to pass through the Dardanelles. The campaign was a military defeat for the Allies, but it established the reputation of the original Anzacs. -
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Battle of Verdun
It was one of the longest, bloodiest, and most-ferocious battles of the war; French casualties amounted to about 400,000, German ones to about 350,000. -
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Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland, fought between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet from May 31 to June 1, 1916, was the largest naval battle of World War I, taking place off the coast of Denmark near Jutland; although the British lost more ships, the battle is considered a strategic British victory as it prevented Germany from gaining control of the seas, crucial for their war effort. -
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Brusilov Offensive
A major Russian attack against the Austro-Hungarian forces on the Eastern Front during World War I, led by General Aleksei Brusilov, and resulted in significant losses for the Central Powers, forcing them to divert troops from the Western Front and ultimately contributing to the weakening of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; despite initial successes, the offensive eventually stalled due to logistical issues and heavy Russian casualties. -
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Battle of the Somme
A devastating World War I engagement on the Western Front where British and French forces launched a major offensive against the German army along the Somme River in France, resulting in a bloody stalemate with over a million casualties on both sides, marked by heavy artillery bombardments and significant losses on the first day of battle for the British troops; despite the high cost, the Allies only managed a small territorial gain. -
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Battle of Passchendaele
A brutal World War I campaign fought in Belgium from July to November 1917, where Allied forces, primarily British, battled against the Germans in a muddy, rain-soaked landscape around the village of Passchendaele, resulting in immense casualties for both sides with little strategic gain, and becoming notorious for its horrific conditions and futility. -
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Battle of Caporetto
A devastating defeat for the Italian army, where a combined Austro-German force overwhelmed Italian troops along the Isonzo River in northeastern Italy, causing a massive retreat and leading to the surrender or desertion of hundreds of thousands of demoralized Italian soldiers. -
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Battle of Cambrai
The battle was known for being the first large-scale use of tanks in warfare, and it involved the effective coordination of combined arms, including infantry, aircraft, artillery, and cavalry. -
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Spring Offensive
A series of major attacks launched by the German army on the Western Front during World War I, beginning in March 1918, aiming to decisively defeat the Allies before the full force of the American military could arrive. -
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Battle of Belleau Wood
It was a pivotal engagement where U.S. Marines successfully halted a major German offensive near Paris, marking a significant American victory and proving their combat prowess on the Western Front, with the battle characterized by intense hand-to-hand combat and heavy casualties for both sides. -
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Second Battle of the Marne
The final major German offensive of World War I, where a decisive Allied counterattack, supported by American troops, halted the German advance and effectively turned the tide of the war on the Western Front, forcing the Germans onto the defensive for the remainder of the conflict. -
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Hundred Days Offensive
A series of relentless Allied attacks launched on the Western Front during the final months of World War I.