Key Battles of WWI

General Facts  Fought between (peace treaty ends war officially in 1919)  First war involving countries from all over the world  Total War = using all faculties of one country’s resources  Approx. 20 million dead, double that for wounded

General Facts (cont’d)  German strategy = Schleiffen Plan, capture Paris before Russia “Paris for lunch, St. Petersburg for dinner” -Kaiser Wilhelm II  Easily defeat Belgium on way to Paris  Viewed by French as distraction

Battle of the Frontiers  22 August 1914  1 st battle between French and Germans on Western Front  27, 000 French soldiers die in single day  Easy victory for Germany

Battle of Tannenberg  August 1914  Germany vs. Russia  Another easy win for Germany  Proves Russia is not ready for fight

1 st Battle of the Marne  5-10 September 1914  French halt German advance towards Paris  Opposing sides will “dig in” and begin trench warfare on Western Front

Battle of Gallipoli  April 1915-January 1916  Unified group of Allies; British, French, Australian, & New Zealand vs. Turks  Turks successful in defending Dardanelles  Allies lose approx. 46,000 casualties

Battle of Verdun (Western Front)  21 Feb- 18 Dec 1916  Longest battle in WWI  French caught off guard by Germans, unexpected attack  German artillery too much for French  Estimated 1 million dead

Battle of the Somme (Western Front)  1 July- 18 November 1916  Allies vs. Germans  British bombardment of Germans, heard across English Channel

Battle of Passchendaele  31 July- 10 November 1917  Another stalemate between Allies and Germans  Americans first join Allies

1918  Allied blockade of German supplies takes its toll  Last ditch effort by Germans  Armistice signed on 11 November at 11 am “11 th hour of the 11 th day of the 11 th month”

Total Casualties