Major Battles of World War I

Battle of Kolubara
World War I - one of the most devastating wars in human history. The battles of World War I were characterized by severe casualties numbering tens of thousands and in some cases even hundreds of thousands for a territorial gain of literally a few hundred feet.

Table of Contents

Quick Facts

World War I was marked by trench warfare.

Advance of few hundred feet into the enemy's territory often claimed tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousand of lives.

The First Battle of the Somme, the deadliest battle of World War I claimed about 1.5 million casualties.

Major battles of World War I are remembered for outstanding tactical and strategical victories, introduction of new weapons and in the first place, tremendous casualties.

Preface

World War I that lasted from 1914 to 1918 was very different from other wars by that time. It involved as much as three quarters of the world and was fought in Europe, Asia and Africa. World War I was marked by introduction of new and more lethal weapons including machine gun, poison gas, strategic bombers, submarines, tanks, etc. that significantly changed the nature of warfare and claimed about 20 million of lives. Despite that relatively little territory was captured. After initial success of one or the other side, the combatants occupied trench lines and settled into a static battle because the attacks on the enemy’s position resulted in severe casualties even if successful. An advance of few hundred feet into the enemy’s territory often claimed tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of lives.

Battle of Cer and Battle of Kolubara

World War I started by the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia. The Serbian forces, exhausted from the Balkan Wars severely defeated the Austro-Hungarian Army in the Battle of Cer (August 16 - August 19, 1914) and forced the Austro-Hungarian forces to withdraw from Serbia. In December, Austria-Hungary launched another attack on Serbia with a force of 450,000 men but was once again heavily defeated by 250,000 poorly equipped Serbian soldiers in the Battle of Kolubara (December 3 - December 9, 1914). However, Serbia could not withstand the coordinated attack of the Austro-Hungarian and German forces in the north and the Bulgarians in the east. The country was occupied by the Central Powers by autumn 1915, while the Serbian forces retreated to Albania from where they were shipped to Corfu, Greece.

Battle of Tannenberg

Russia launched an attack against Germany after the outbreak of hostilities in the Balkans and the Western Front but it suffered severe defeat against the German Imperial Army commanded by Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff in the Battle of Tannenberg (August 26 – August 30, 1914). The Germans took advantage of poorly coordinated Russian attack and rapidly moved their forces by train to the left of the Russian Second Army under the command of Alexander Samsonov. After five days, the Russian Second Army was completely destroyed, while Samsonov committed suicide. Afterwards, the Germans concentrated on the Russian First Army led by Paul von Rennenkampf and forced it to retreat over the frontier by mid-September.

First Battle of the Marne

The hostilities in the Western Front started with German invasion of Belgium, Luxembourg and France. The German forces reached the outskirts of Paris by the end of August 1914, while the French Army and British Expeditionary Force retreated towards the Marne River. However, the German Army made a crucial mistake as it moved away from Paris in order to encircle the retreating French Army. The armies clashed along the Marne River and the battle, known as the First Battle of the Marne (September 5 - September 12, 1914) ended with decisive Allied victory. The Germans were forced to retreat northeast and abandon the Schlieffen Plan that foresaw quick German victory in the West. Afterwards, both sides dug into fortified trenches stretching from the North Sea to the French frontier with Switzerland.

Battle of Gallipoli

The Battle of Gallipoli or the Gallipoli Campaign which took place between April 25, 1915, and January 9, 1916, was a joint French and British attempt to capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople with an aim to open a sea route to Russia. The operation failed but it proved to be crucial for the rise of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish national movement in the Turkish War of Independence after the Ottoman defeat in World War I. The Battle of Gallipoli is also notable for being the first major battle of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).

Battle of Verdun

The Battle of Verdun was fought between the French commanded by Philippe Petain and later Robert Nivelle and the Germans under the command of Erich von Falkenhayn from February 21 to December 18, 1916. It was one of the bloodiest battles of World War I and is estimated to claim nearly 700,000 lives (total casualties are estimated to account for about 1 million). But despite heavy casualties, the Battle of Verdun did not change virtually anything and ended with status quo. It is, however, considered a French tactical victory due to the fact that the German goal of the offensive – capture of the city of Verdun and annihilation of the French Army - failed. Even more, the successful resistance in at Verdun has been shown to raise the French morale.

Battle of Jutland

The war at the sea played a major role in the outcome of World War I but there was only one major naval battle – the Battle of Jutland fought between the Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy near Jutland (Denmark) from May 31 to June 1, 1916. The battle ended inconclusive and both sides claimed victory. The Royal Navy lost more ships and had twice as many casualties as the German Imperial Navy but the British retained their dominance at the North Sea and the British naval blockade of Germany continued until the end of World War I.

First Battle of the Somme

The First Battle of Somme or the Somme Offensive was one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The British and French armies under the command of Douglas Haig and Ferdinand Foch launched an attack on German positions along the River Somme with an aim to relieve the German pressure on Verdun on July 1, 1916. However, the outcome of the battle that claimed over 1.5 million of lives was indecisive. The French and the British advanced of 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) into occupied territory by mid-November.

Battle of Passchendaele

The Battle of Passchendaele (July 31 – November 6, 1917), also referred to as the Third Battle of Ypres was an offensive of the Allied forces under the British command against the German Army under the command of Erich Ludendorff at the village of Passchendaele near the town of Ypres. The Allies managed to capture the village of Passchedaele but they failed to continue the offensive into Belgium. Relatively insignificant territorial gain claimed about 300,000 casualties in the Allied forces and at least as many on the German side.

Battle of Caporetto

The Battle of Caporetto (October 24 - November 19, 1917), also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo was the decisive battle of the Isonzo Front, a series of 12 battles fought between Austria-Hungary and Italy along the Isonzo (Soča) River. At Caporreto (Italian name for the town of Kobarid, Slovenia), the Austro-Hungarian Army reinforced with German troops decisively defeated the Italian Second Army under the command of Luigi Cadorna and invaded the Italian territory. However, the lack of supplies, physical exhaustion and Italian reorganization forced them to dig into the trenches along the Piava River.

Battle of Cambrai

The Battle of Cambrai was fought between the British and German forces near the French city of Cambrai from November 20 to December 7, 1917. It ended indecisively but became one of the most notable battles of World War I due to the first large-scale use of tanks in history of warfare. The British achieved a major breakthrough thanks to the tanks but these tanks were too slow and too heavy, while many suffered a mechanical failure. The British advance slowed after few days of fighting and the Germans launched a counterattack forcing the British forces to withdraw by December 7.

Second Battle of the Somme

The Second Battle of the Somme was one of the most important battles of World War I. The Germans considered the breakthrough at the Somme River before the arrival of reinforcement from the United States crucial for the outcome of the war. General Ludendorff launched a major offensive on March 21, forced the British Fifth Army to retreat and advanced nearly 40 miles (64 kilometers) by the end of offensive on April 4, 1918. However, the German advance was halted at Amiens and the operation Michael - to defeat the British and force France to seek armistice failed to achieve its goal.

Second Battle of the Marne

The Second Battle of the Marne (July 15 – July 18, 1918) was the last major action of the German Spring Offensive and the last German offensive in World War I. After the Second Battle of the Marne that ended with German defeat, the initiative in the war was overtaken by the Allies who launched the Hundred Days Offensive (August 8 – November 11, 1918), a series of Allied offensives starting with the Battle of Amiens that forced the Germans to withdraw beyond the Hindenburg Line and seek an armistice.