WWI Battles
Battle of the Frontiers
• When: Aug. 7 – Sept 13, 1914
• Where: France / Western Front
• Countries:
• France, England
• Germany +
• Significance:
• German invasion of France / Schlieffen Plan
Battle of Tannenberg
• When: Aug 26-30, 1914
• Where: Prussia/Germany
• Countries:
• Russia
• Germany +
• Significance:
• Russia didn’t gain German territory for remainder of the War
First Battle of the Marne
• When: Sept 6 – 12, 1914
• Where: near Paris, France
• Countries:
• France, England (some historians argue victory for Allied Powers)
• Germany
• Significance:
• Taxi cab reinforcements/soldiers brought in by taxi
• Germans dug trenches that lasted several years
• Ended German hopes of having a quick war
Battle of Ypres
• When: October 19th – November 22nd, 1914
• Where: Belgium
• Countries: stalemate
• France, Britain
• Germany
• Significance:
• British used clerks, cooks, engineers; foreshadowing of fighting on Western
Front*
Second Battle of Ypres
• When: April 22 – May 25, 1915
• Where: Belgium
• Countries:
• British (some historians argue the British had a victory)
• Germany
• Significance:
• First use of gas warfare*
Battle of Verdun
• When: Feb 21 – Dec 16, 1916
• Where: France
• Countries:
• France (some historians argue France was victorious)
• Germany
• Significance:
• Longest and one of most costly battles in history
• Marked WWI as a war of attrition
Battle of the Somme
• When: July 1st – November 18th, 1916
• Where: France near Somme River
• Countries: stalemate
• France
• Germany
• Significance:
• Munitions were duds / ineffective
• First use of the tank
• Battle ended due to snow
Third Battle of Ypres / Passchendaele
• When: July 31 – November 6, 1917
• Where: Flanders / Belgium
• Countries:
• British +
• Germans
• Significance:
•
•
•
•
Heaviest rain in 30 years altered battle conditions
Adolf Hitler temporarily blinded by gas attack
Extra German reinforcements after Russian surrender
Haig’s assumption that Germans ready to surrender
Battle of Chateau-Thierry
• When: June 3 – 4, 1918 / June 6th – 26th, 1918
• Where: France
• Countries:
• United States of America / France +
• Germany
• Significance:
• Re-capture of the woods by Americans six times (renamed to honor marines)
WWI Battles QUIZ
Select two battles and compare or contrast the
significance of events in the battles.
* Use proper paragraph form with a topic
sentence and concluding sentence.
* Use as many concrete details and as much
commentary as necessary to compare or
contrast the significance of two battles.