Verdun

• Germany vs. France
• Germans commanded by General Falkenhayn.
• French commanded by General Pétain, then General Mangin from 24 September.

• February to December 1916

• French town and fortress of Verdun.

• Verdun occupied a vital position on the heights above the Meuse River at the eastern extremity of the trench line in France.
• Great national symbol for France.

• Very intense German artillery bombardment of the outlying forts.
• French fell back to prepared positions.
• Germans captured a number of French forts.
• French gained control of skies in April
• September: French recaptured Douaumont and Thiaumont.

• French ended up with same land as before the battle.
• No strategic advantage to either side.
• French lost 350, 000
• Germans lost 330, 000.

Jutland

• British and German Fleets
• Germans: Vice Admiral Scheer led High Seas Fleet Battle Squadron.
• Hipper commanded 5 battlecruisers and 4 cruisers.
• British: Admiral John Jellico led Grand Fleet squadrons; Admiral Beatty commanded squadron of battle cruisers

• Summer of 1916; 31 May and 1 June.

• North Sea, off the southwestern coast of Norway.
• Off the Danish coast of Jutland.

• Germans planned to ensnare British battle cruisers to stop supply blockade.
• Wanted to fight a small group of British ships to ensure victory.

• Britain intercepted and partially decoded German signal for beginning of operation.
• first 50 minutes British suffered severely, the Indefatigable was sunk.
• Beatty's battle cruisers joined in and German cruisers suffered.
• German destroyers sent to launch a torpedo attack.
• British Queen Mary sunk; lost the Germans.
• British found Germans and formed the horizontal line of a "T"
• Germans held up well; sunk the Invincible.
• Germans escaped through brilliant retreat manoeuvre

• 11 out of 110 German vessels lost.
• 14 out of 149 British vessels lost.
• 1545 German casualties.
• 6274 British casualties.
• German fleet made no further attempts to break the Allied blockade.

Ypres

• Britain, France and Belgium vs. Germany.

• FIRST: 30 October-24 November, 1914
• SECOND: 22 April-25 May, 1915

• In and around the town of Ypres, Flanders region of Belgium.

• Ypres was in the way of the German path to the French ports of Calais and Dunkirk on the English Channel.
• SECOND: Ypres was the key point of an Allied salient that blocked a German approach to the English Channel.

• FIRST: British occupied Ypres.
• Germans attacked Ypres (bombardment).
• Allies outnumbered.
• November: Germans capture Messines-Wytschaete Ridge overlooking the Ypres Salient.
• Stemmed after 34 days of heavy fighting.
• SECOND: Germans used poisonous chlorine gas for the first time.
• Five weeks of fighting.
• Stalemate was reached.
• Germans ended the battle.

• FIRST: Initiated the long period of trench warfare on the western front.
• Ypres Salient formed.
• Great damage to Ypres.
• SECOND: Germans lost less men: 35, 000 but ended the battle.
• British had 60, 000 casualties.
• Ypres destroyed.

Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres)

• Allies (mostly Britain) vs. Germans.
• British commander-in-chief General Haig.
• Allies included Canada, New Zealand.

• 31 July - 10 November, 1917

• Village of Passchendaele, near Ypres, Belgium.

• British offensive directed against enemy installations.

• June: British forces take the strategically important village of Messines, the heights of which commanded miles of German-occupied territory.
• Prolonged rainfall
• Heavy Allied bombardment
• 31 July-Nov. 10: battlefield had been transformed into a swamp.
• Canadian infantrymen captured Passchendaele.
• Allies halted offensive

• German lines pushed back only 8km.
• Passchendaele turned into a swamp.
• Each side suffered some 250, 000 casualties.

Marne

• FIRST: France vs. Germany
• French commander in chief, Joseph Joffre; advised by Gallieni, military governor of Paris.
• SECOND: Allies (largely American) vs. Germany.
• Allied commander General Ferdinand Foch; Included several American divisions.
• Planned by German General Erich Ludendorff.

• FIRST: 6-9 September, 1914.
• SECOND: 15 July-4 August, 1918.

• Near the Marne River, NE France.
• SECOND: Marne and Château-Thierry.

• FIRST: Germans accidentally wheeled southeast.
• French took advantage of the exposed flank.
• SECOND: Part of the plan of General Erich Ludendorff.

• FIRST: Germans, on path to Paris, erred in decoding an order, wheeled SE.
• French attacked exposed German flank.
• Joffre ordered troops to front by all available means, including taxicabs.
• German armies retreated and quelled the threat to Paris.
• SECOND: Germans attacked to the east and west of Reims.
• Germans Crossed the Marne west of Reims.
• Fierce combat at Château-Thierry.
• German armies forced back across the Marne.

• FIRST: Halted the German advance into NE France.
• SECOND: Tipped the balance of power in favour of the Allied forces.
• Destroyed Ludendorff's plan for a massive attack in Flanders.

Somme

• Britain & France vs. Germany.
• FIRST: British Commander-in-Chief: General Douglas Haig.
• French Commander-in-Chief: General Joseph Joffre.
• German commanders: General Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff.
• SECOND: Germans commanded by General Erich Ludendorff.
• 26 March: French General Ferdinand Foch appointed C-in-C of Allies.

• FIRST: July-November 1916.
• SECOND: 21 March-30 March 1918.

• Strongly fortified German positions along the Somme River, France.

• FIRST: To relieve the German pressure on Verdun in northeastern France.
• SECOND: German attempt to drive a wedge in the Allied lines and to capture Amiens before proceeding to Paris.

• FIRST: Germans abandoned Verdun offensive on 16 July, 1916.
• Haig shelled the Germans for 5 days straight to destroy lines of wire.
• British went over the top.
• 60,000 British died in the first day after the shelling - mowed down.
• First use of the modern tank by the British; useless in rain & mud.
• End of November the Germans retreated to the Hindenburg Line.
• SECOND: British forced to retreat to the town of Amiens.
• Allied forces were skilfully manoeuvred into slowing then halting the German advance.
• Germans driven back to Hindenburg then further.

• FIRST: The attack failed because the Germans had the high ground and killed more British; also had stronger barricades than expected.
• Allies only gained 324 sq. km of territory at the Somme.
• Often considered the real turning point in the war for the Allies.
• Allies suffered about 600, 000 casualties.
• Germans had about 450, 000 casualties.
• SECOND: 200, 000 British casualties and 190, 000 prisoners
• 180, 000 German casualties.

Tannenburg

• Russia vs. Germany.
• Germans: General Hindenburg; Second-in-command General Erich Ludendorff
• Russians: General Alexander Samsonov

• 26-30 August 1914.

• Tannenburg area, East Prussia.

• Russian attempt to divert the Germans from their offensive against France.

• Russian armies not properly equipped; commanders would not cooperate.
• Russian armies wiped out.

• Attack helped France, as German troops were taken from the Western Front.
• Probably helped prevent a German breakthrough in the West.

Gallipoli

• Britain, France, Australia, NZ vs. Turkey.
• British: First Lord of Admiralty Winston Churchill; Sir Ian Hamilton (weak commander).
• Turkish: Mustafa Kemal

• 25 April 1915-8 Jan 1916.

• Dardanelles Strait and the tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula near Istanbul (Turkey).

• Open up a new theatre of war to end French stalemate.
• Relieve Turkish pressure on Russian forces in the Caucasus.
• Provide a direct link with Russia via the Black Sea.

• Amphibious landing by Allies.
• 3 months of stalemate.
• Turks had the high ground.

• 205, 000 British casualties.
• 47, 000 French casualties.
• 250, 000-300, 000 Turkish casualties.
• Badly stained Churchill's reputation.
• Weakened Turks enough for the British to seize Palestine.
• Distracted Germans from another plan.