World War I - Battles

The Battle of Verdun

The Battle of Tannenberg

Major Battles of World War I

The First World War saw several battles we will discuss the most famous ones here plotted along the timeline.

Time Line

1914

The Battle of the Marne halted the German advance through Belgium and Northern France. Had the Germans not been stopped here they may have won.

The Battle of Tannenberg was an Eastern Front battle resulted in defeat for Russia by the Germans who were able to intercept messages and anticipate their maneuvers. Second factor Germans excelled in transporting men and supplies via rail.

1914

The Battle of The Marne

1916

1916

1917

The Battle of Ypres

Battle legacy: "The Taxis of the Marne' 600 Parisian taxi cabs transported troops to the front.

The Battle of Verdun was a costly battle in which Germans attacked teh French city of Verdun and its ring of fortifications.Under the leadership of General Philippe Petain, the French put up a stiff resistence, and eventually held out.

The Battle of Ypres was a Western Front battle between the Allies and the Germans between July to Novermber 1917, in Western Belgium. Little progress was made and over half a million casualties resulted from futile engagement

The Battle of the Somme was another costly battle. This Western Front battle between the British and French against the Germans resulted in over one million casualties. It was a battle months of muddy trench warefare and the first in which tanks were used.

The defeat was so devastating to Russian General Alexander Samsonov he committed suicide.

The most well-known battles of World War I. Lasted most of 1916 between February 21 to December 18.

The Battle of Somme