World War I Battles

1. Cambrai

1.1. November 20 - December 6, 1917

1.2. Led by British General Julian Byng.

1.3. German commander Georg von der Marwitz

1.4. First large-scale use of tanks for a military offensive.

1.5. At first, British tanks and infantry overwhelmed German defenses but the cavalry exploitation was slow to develop. On Nov. 30, the Germans counterattacked and regained most of the ground lost.

1.6. No clear victor

2. Third Battle of Ypres

2.1. July 31 - November 10, 1917

2.2. British commander in chief, Sir Douglas Haig.

2.3. Also referred to as the Battle of Passchendaele.

2.4. poison gas, machine guns

2.5. Allies made advances by pushing the Germans back more than a mile and taking more than 5,000 German prisoners.

2.6. The Third Battle of Ypres remains one of the most costly and controversial offensives of World War I.

2.7. About 310,000 British casualties and 260,000 on the German side.

2.8. Haig called off the offensive in November, claiming victory.

3. Dardanelles Campaign

3.1. April 25, 1915-January 9, 1916

3.2. Naval attack

3.3. Mustafa Kemal; commander at Gallipoli

3.4. Sir Ian Hamilton, the British commander, was replaced by Sir Charles Monro

3.5. British and French invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula. Lack of sufficient intelligence and knowledge of the terrain, along with a fierce Turkish resistance, hampered a successful invasion.

3.6. Allied Forces evacuated.

3.7. Turkish victory

4. Battle of Marne

4.1. September 7-12, 1914

4.2. French Commander in Chief Joseph Joffre

4.3. German Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke

4.4. Radio intercepts used.

4.5. Allied victory

5. Brusilov Offensive

5.1. June 4 - September 20, 1916

5.2. Led by Russian General Alexei Brusilov

5.3. Austrian Chief of Staff Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf

5.4. Began attack on the Austro-Hungarian city of Lutsk.

5.5. Used as a distraction tactic to assist the Allies in the Battle of the Somme, the Russians planned a major attack in the east, so that the Germans would have to split their forces between both fronts.

5.6. Allied victory

6. Somme

6.1. July 1 - November 18, 1916

6.2. The British attack was planned by Douglas Haig.

6.3. German staff officer, Erich von Falkenhayn

6.4. Barbed wire obstacles and trenches

6.5. The bloodiest military battle in history. On the first day, the British suffered more than 57,000 casualties, and by the end of the campaign the Allies and Central Powers would lose more than 1.5 million men.

6.6. By the end in November, the British had suffered around 420,000 casualties, and the French about 200,000. German casualty numbers may be about 465,000.

6.7. Haig called off the offensive

7. Verdun

7.1. February 21 - December 18, 1916

7.2. German General Erich von Falkenhayn

7.3. French commander General Joseph Joffre

7.4. Fortress war with artillery bombardment

7.5. German forces claim Fort Douaumont and Fort Vaux.

7.6. Germans called off their offensive and Falkenhayn was relieved of his position.

7.7. The French retook their forts and pushed back the line.

7.8. Both sides were left with more than 600,000 casualties.

7.9. French victory; Germans retreated

8. Jutland

8.1. May 31 - June 1, 1916

8.2. John Jellicoe, British fleet commander

8.3. Reinhard Scheer, German fleet commander

8.4. Battlecruiser action; the largest naval battle in the war and the only full-scale clash of battleships.

8.5. Denmark’s North Sea coast; 250 ships & 100,000 men.

8.6. Indecisive battle, but Britain retained control of the North Sea.

8.7. British Grand Fleet had advantage over the German High Sea Fleet with 37:27.

8.8. British lost 6,784 men, and Germans lost 3,058 men.