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Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand
A Serbian nationalist named Sarajevo, Bosnia assassinated Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand. -
Battle of Mons
The British Expeditionary Force arrived in France on 14th August, 1914. On the way to meet the French Army at Charleroi, the 70,000 strong BEF met the advancing German Army at Mons. The British Commander Sir John French, deployed the British infantry corps, under the leadership of General Horace Smith-Dorrien, east and west of Mons on a 40km front. General Edmund Allenby and the cavalry division was kept in reserve. -
Battle of Heligoland
In August 1914 Admiral Sir David Beatty devised a plan to draw the German Navy into a major sea battle. Beatty used two light cruisers, the Fearless and Arethusa and 25 destroyers to raid German ships close to the German naval base at Heligoland. When the German Navy responded to the attack, Beatty brought forward the battleships, New Zealand and Invincible and three battlecruisers. In the battle that followed, the Germans lost three German cruisers and a destroyer. (is more but character limit) -
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Battle of Tannenberg
This battle between Russia's Second Army against Germany's Eighth Army took place from 26-30 August, 1914. Despite being outnumbered by two Russian field armies, the Germans managed to inflict a huge defeat on the Russians at Tannenberg, decimating the second army, and annihilating the majority of the first army. The German's ability to rapidly deploy their troops by train, was remarkable. The Russians suffered 170,000 casualties to the Germans 12,000. -
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First Battle of the Marne
At the end of August 1914, the three armies of the German invasion's northern wing were sweeping south towards Paris. The French 5th and 6th Armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were in retreat. General Alexander von Kluck, commander of the German Ist Army, was ordered to encircle Paris from the east. Expecting the German army to capture Paris, the French government departed for Bordeaux. About 500,000 French civilians also left Paris by the 3rd September.
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First battle of Aisne
After the first battle at the Marne in September, 1914, the German Army was able to deploy its forces along the north bank of the River Aisne, a tributary of the Oise. The Chemin des Dames Ridge provided a long natural defensive position and the Germans began to dig in. The French Army (5th and 6th) and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) launched a frontal assault at the Aisne on 13th September. (CHARACTER LIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITS!!!!!!!) -
First battle of Abert
After the failure to take Lorraine, General Noel De Castlenau and the French 2nd Army was sent to the Somme region of the Western Front. On 25th September, 1914, Castlenau ordered a frontal attack on German positions. The French attacks were initially successful but eventually they were driven back beyond the town of Albert. -
Battle of Arras
In October, 1914, the French Tenth army attempted to outflank German forces on the Western Front by advancing along a line between Arras and Lens. After initial progress towards Douai was forced to withdraw after a counter-attack from Crown Prince Rupprecht and the German Sixth Army. The French Army lost Lens to Germany, but was able to retain Arras. -
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First battle of Ypres
Ypres, a medieval town in Belgium, was taken by the German Army at the beginning of the war. However, by early October, 1914, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was able to recapture the town. The first major German attempt to regain Ypres took place on 15th October. Experienced BEF riflemen held their positions but suffered heavy losses.
arrival of the French Army the line was held. Basically the German's base died so they left. -
Neuve Chapelle
In early March 1915, General Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, agreed to a plan put forward by General Joseph Joffre, commander of the French Army, to capture the heights of Aubers Ridge at Neuve Chapelle. General Sir Douglas Haig, and four divisions of Britain's First Army, advanced along a 3km front on the morning of 10th March. At Neuve Chapelle the British were able to break through a line held by a division of the German Sixth Army. Sorry for character limits. -
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Passchendaele
The third major battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele, took place between July and November, 1917. General Sir Douglas Haig, the British Commander in Chief in France, was encouraged by the gains made at the offensive at Messines in June 1917. Haig was convinced that the German army was now close to collapse and once again made plans for a major offensive to obtain the necessary breakthrough. (character limit) -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was planned as a joint French and British operation. The idea originally came from the French Commander-in-Chief, Joseph Joffre and was accepted by General Sir Douglas Haig, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) commander, despite his preference for a large attack in Flanders. Although Joffre was concerned with territorial gain, it was also an attempt to destroy German manpower. (Character limits) -
Vittorio Veneto
After the Caporetto Offensive, where the Italian Army lost over 300,000 men and most of its trench artillery, General Luigi Cadorna was sacked and replaced by General Armando Diaz. The new prime minister, Vittorio Orlando, agreed to a new Allied Supreme War Council that would help coordinate Italian operations. Diaz managed to stabilize the front-line but was unwilling to undertake an offensive of his own. (character limit)
