Battles of World War I

Battle of Lorraine-ALSACE-LORRAINE.

Battle of the Marne (Sept. 5-10, 1914) First Battle of the Marne

In the opening days of the war the Germans, sweeping through Belgium and southward into France, hoped to encircle Paris and score a quick victory. The First Battle of the Marne, although tactically inconclusive, was strategically a great Allied victory--and one of the most decisive in history--thwarting the German plan for an early end to the war..Allied losses in the first Battle of the Marne were about 250,000; German casualties amounted to nearly 300,000

Battle of Tannenberg Late August 1914, was a German victory early in World War I over Russia. Russians lost over 1 million people many of whom were civilians. After the Germans took about 90,000 prisoners, Samsonov killed himself, and his remaining men were forced to retreat.

Battle of Verdun (Feb. 21-Nov. 26, 1916)Battle of Verdun, an unsuccessful German effort to take the offensive in the west, was one of the longest and bloodiest encounters of the war.

Total casualties have been estimated at about 542,000 French and about 434,000 Germans. About 1 million soldiers plus 25,000- 30,000 civilians. Book says 330,000 and 350,000

Battle of the Marne

The Second Battle (July 15-17, 1918). of the Marne stopped the fifth and last of Gen. Erich LUDENDORFF's great 1918 German offensives. Although the Germans were quickly stopped along most of the Champagne-Marne front, the Seventh Army broke through Allied lines west of Reims and drove about 16 km (10 mi) to the Marne River, which was then crossed by 14 German divisions. The Allied lines soon stiffened, however, largely because of the stubborn defense of the American 3d Division and the arrival of other American units.Within three days of the start of the offensive the Germans were halted, and on July 18 the Allies began a counteroffensive that did not stop until the Armistice on November 11.

Battle of Gallipoli The Gallipoli campaign of 1915 was an Allied attempt to knock Ottoman Turkey out of WORLD WAR I and reopen a supply route to Russia Estimates of Allied casualties for the entire campaign are about 252,000, with the Turks suffering almost as many casualties--an estimated 251,000.

Battle of Somme (June 24-Nov. 13, 1916)Throughout the summer and autumn the British continued a series of limited attacks, including the last large-scale use of horse cavalry in western Europe. The British also used tanks for the first time in battle, although not very effectively. The battle ended in a deadlock. Little land had changed hands; the campaign had succeeded only in relieving Verdun. The cost was enormous: the British lost 420,000 men; the French lost 195,000; German casualties were about 600,000.

The Second Battle of the Somme (Mar. 21-Apr. 5, 1918)This battle, too, was fought at great cost: the British suffered 163,000 casualties, and the French, 77,000; German losses were almost as high as those of the Allies.

The Gallipoli campaign of 1915 was an Allied attempt to knock Ottoman Turkey out of WORLD WAR I and reopen a supply route to Russia. The initial plan, proposed by British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston CHURCHILL, called for an Allied fleet--mostly British--to force the Dardanelles Strait and then to steam to Constantinople to dictate peace terms.

On Feb. 19, 1915, a Franco-British fleet under British Vice Admiral Sackville Carden began systematic reduction of the fortifications lining the Dardanelles. The principal fortifications were attacked on March 18. Sixteen battleships--including the powerful Queen Elizabeth--provided the principal firepower. Just as the bombardment had silenced the Turkish batteries, however, three battleships were sunk in an undetected minefield, and three others were disabled. The Turks had nearly expended their ammunition, many of their batteries had been destroyed, and their fire-control communications were out of action. The Allies, however, did not know this. Rear Admiral John de Robeck, who had taken command when Carden fell ill, called off the attack and withdrew his ships from the strait.

In the meantime, the Allies had hastily assembled a force of 78,000 men and dispatched it from England and Egypt to Gallipoli. As his flotilla gathered near the peninsula, however, the commanding general, Ian Hamilton, discovered that guns and ammunition had been loaded on separate ships. The transports had to steam to Egypt to be properly loaded for combat. The Turks, now alerted to the Allied plan, used the resulting month's delay to improve their defenses. Some 60,000 Turkish troops, under the German general Otto Liman von Sanders, awaited the Allies.

On April 25, British and ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) troops landed at several points near the tip of the peninsula. Simultaneously, on the Asiatic side of the strait, the one French division made a diversionary landing, and off Bulair, on the neck of the peninsula, a naval force attempted to distract the Turks.

The Allied troops were soon pinned down in several unconnected beachheads, stopped by a combination of Turkish defenses and British mismanagement. Losses were high. The Turks ringed the tiny beachheads with entrenchments, and the British and ANZAC troops soon found themselves involved in trench warfare.

After three months of bitter fighting, Hamilton attempted a second assault--on the western side of the peninsula. This assault lacked adequate naval gunfire support; it failed to take any of its major objectives and resulted in heavy casualties. Hamilton was relieved on October 15, and by December 10 his replacement, Gen. Charles Monro, had evacuated the bulk of the troops and supplies. The remaining 35,000 men were withdrawn without the Turks realizing it on Jan. 8-9, 1916. By contrast with the operation as a whole, the withdrawal was a masterpiece of planning and organization, with no loss of life.

The Battles of the Somme were two encounters fought along the Somme River in northern France during World War I.

The First Battle of the Somme (June 24-Nov. 13, 1916)

The Allies' long-standing plans to attack the Central Powers were delayed when the Germans launched (Feb. 21, 1916) an offensive at Verdun (see VERDUN, BATTLE OF) in an attempt to breach the French line. On July 1, following a weeklong artillery barrage, the Allies finally began their attack on the highly fortified German line along the Somme; they now had the secondary purpose of relieving the pressure on Verdun. The British, under Field Marshal Sir Douglas HAIG, played the leading role, with a smaller French force to their right. Only small gains were made on the first day of battle, and the British suffered 60,000 casualties, including 19,000 dead; it was the greatest one-day loss in the history of the British army.

Throughout the summer and autumn the British continued a series of limited attacks, including the last large-scale use of horse cavalry in western Europe. The British also used tanks for the first time in battle, although not very effectively. The battle ended in a deadlock. Little land had changed hands; the campaign had succeeded only in relieving Verdun. The cost was enormous: the British lost 420,000 men; the French lost 195,000; German casualties were about 600,000.

The Second Battle of the Somme (Mar. 21-Apr. 5, 1918)

In early 1918, German general Erich LUDENDORFF opened the Second Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive. His purpose was to breach the Allied line before U.S. reinforcements could arrive. German shock troops struck along a 92-km (60-mi) front and succeeded in rolling back the Allies as much as 64 km (40 mi). It was the Germans' first major breakthrough since the early days of the war. Haig failed to get support from the French forces under Gen. Henri PETAIN, who was occupied with the defense of Paris, and the Allies assigned Gen. Ferdinand FOCH the task of coordinating the Allied efforts. Foch immediately sent French reserves to the Somme, and the German drive lost momentum. This battle, too, was fought at great cost: the British suffered 163,000 casualties, and the French, 77,000; German losses were almost as high as those of the Allies.