Battles of WW1 on the Western Front

​Western Front

• French, British, and German troops

• Schlieffen Plan

• Trench Warfare

The Battle of the Marne

• September 1914

• Germans vs. British and French

• Allied troops able to push Germans back

• Germans dig the first trenches of WW1 at Aisne River

• “German infantry are holding strong lines of

  trenches among and along the edge of the numerous woods which crown the slopes. These trenches

  are elaborately constructed and cleverly concealed.

  In many places there are wire entanglements.” -Ernest Swinton

• Allied powers begin digging trenches as well

The Battle of Verdun

• February 1916

• Germans decide to attack Verdun, France

• Kill as many French as possible

• 400,000 French casualties

• Germany suffered nearly the same

• Still stagnant

​The Battle of Somme

• June 1916

• British launch attack

• Trying to draw German troops away from Verdun

• British suffered 60,000 casualties on the first day

• Both sides suffer tremendous loses

• Tanks

​The Third Battle of Ypres

• Also known as Passchendaele

• July 1917- November 1917

• Two earlier battles at Ypres

• Very muddy

• Allies suffer 250,000 casualties

• Germans suffer 200,000 casualties

Other Fighting

• The Gallipoli Campaign

• The Italian Front

• The Armenian Massacre