First Battle of the Marne

September 6-12, 1914

Marne River, France (Northeast of Paris)
This battle showed the first use of radio intercepts and
automotive transportation of troops. The British
Expeditionary Forces (the British Army’s Western Front
divisions) under the command of Joseph Joffre fought
alongside the French army.
World War I is famous for its use of trench warfare,
which created a stalemate between opposing armies.
The First Battle of the Marne began this phase of war
defined by trench warfare.
The battle ended in victory
for Great Britain and France
because the Germans had
run out of heavy artillery and
had surpassed their logistics
for the battle. Had the
Germans won this battle, it
would have increased the
effectiveness of the Schlieffen
Plan, a massive attack to
surround French forces and
ensure the fall of Paris.
 Gallipoli
February 1915-January 1916
Dardanelles Strait
The Ottoman Empire had long been concerning Russia, and
Russia wanted help from the Allies to defeat the Ottomans with
the end goal of conquering Constantinople (present day
Istanbul). The Germans backed the Turks, who were under the
command of Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk), while the British, under
Sir Ian Hamilton, supported the Russians. The fighting took
place in the Dardanelles Strait, which is located between Turkey
and Europe, connecting the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea. The
battle began with long range bombardment. The armies quickly
established two beach heads, but, like much of the rest of the
war, they made little progress after that and fell into a
stalemate.
This battle, had it been successful, would have knocked the
Ottoman-controlled Turkey out of the war and would have
allowed the Allies to control the sea route from Europe to
Russia. However, the Ottomans won this conflict and continued
fighting in World War I. The battle resulted in 250,000 Allied
casualties and 250,000 Turkish casualties before the British
withdrew on December 7. Because of this battle, the world
viewed the Allies as militarily incapable.
 Jutland
May 31-June 1, 1916
Denmark’s North Sea Coast
Jutland is unique because it was the only major naval
surface engagement between Britain and Germany of
World War I. The British, under the orders of Admiral
John Jellicoe, had a massive advantage when it came to
naval power. In heavy units, the British Grand Fleet
outnumbered the Germans 37 to 27 and, in light
support crafts, they outnumbered the Germans 113 to
72. Additionally, the British broke the German signal
codes, which provided an additional advantage since the
British were able to anticipate Admiral Reinhard
Scheer’s surprise attack.
The British suffered higher losses in ships and men, but
the balance of naval power still did not change. After
this battle, the German High Sea Fleet would only go out
to see three more times, and these would all be for minor
sweeps.
 Verdun
February 21-December 18, 1916
Verdun, France
Germany’s General Erich von Falkenhayn wanted to provoke
massive French casualties because he believed the entire war
would be won or lost in France, which led to the Battle of
Verdun. Verdun was picked as the battle site because the
location of the fort threatened German communication lines.
Crown Prince William (son of William II) was the site
commander for the Germans. The Germans began by taking Ft.
Douaumont and Ft. Vaux, but the French would later retake
these forts.
The French also had to
contend with their rail
lines, which were either
cut or under heavy fire by
the Germans. The
fighting lapsed into
stalemate, and both sides
cycled through
commanding officers.
The battle ended with the
capture of over 11,000
German prisoners of war.
The fighting in Verdun was so intense that ¾ of the troops in
the French Western Front division would serve there. It is
estimated that there were 1.25 million casualties in the Verdun
area during the war. It is estimated that the uncovering and
disposing of the chemical shells in and around Verdun will last
for centuries.
 Somme
July 1-November 1, 1916
Somme River, France
Somme was the first major British offensive, and it was planned
by Commander in Chief Douglas Haig and Sir Henry Rawlinson.
Haig was optimistic about the success of the battle while
Rawlinson was more reserved. Haig’s optimism would cost
thousands of soldiers their lives. Their obstacle was, yet again,
how to solve the problem of trench warfare. They relied on
heavy bombardment, convinced this would destroy the
resistance so that the infantry would just have to walk over to
take possession of the land, but the British could not find a way
to destroy the trenches or cut through all of the barbed wire.
As the British troops stormed no-man’s-land, there was no real
way to determine if the bombing had really destroyed German
resistance or not. Additionally, the soldiers were so weighed
down by gear that they could barely travel faster than a walk.
This resulted in one of the bloodiest battles in history. By the
end of the first day of fighting, there were over 57,000 British
casualties. By the end of the campaign, more than 1.5 million
Allied and Central soldiers would die.
This was a costly lesson for the British: they saw a real
improvement in tactics and
studied “how not to” launch
attacks. Tanks also appeared
in battle for the first time on
September 15, 1916 and held
the potential of breaking trench
warfare.
 Passchendaele
July 31-November 6, 1917
Ypres Salient in Belgium
The Battle of Passchendaele is also called the Third
Battle of Ypres because the Ypres Salient region had
previously seen two German-led attacks. Britain’s
Douglas Haig was convinced that Germany would run
out of man power within six months and spearheaded
the attack. This battle was aimed at destroying the
German submarine base, but the campaign suffered due
to heavy rains and mud.
Britain claimed victory, but this battle once again
showed how futile and wasteful trench warfare was. The
ports the British were trying to reach were never
captured. By 1918, all of the territory the Allies had
gained was evacuated.
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