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Germany in the First World War

Germany fought on two fronts from 1 August 1914. It defeated Russia but could not win the war in the west, and signed an armistice on 11 November 1918.

Side:
The Central Powers
At war:
1 August 1914 – 11 November 1918
Author:
Łukasz Skowroń
Updated:
30 October 2026

In numbers

Men mobilised by country
11–13m
Military deaths by country
1.8–2m
Deaths as a share of the pre-war population
3.4–4.3%
The war in numbers →

Germany entered the war on 1 August 1914, when it mobilised and declared war on Russia, and two days later on France. From the first days it fought on two fronts, and after its defeat on the Marne it could no longer decide the war quickly. In the east it was victorious and imposed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on Russia, but in the west it bled itself white in battles of attrition, while the naval blockade starved the country. After the failure of its last offensives and the outbreak of revolution, on 11 November 1918 it signed the Armistice of Compiègne.

The road to war

German policy rested on the alliance with Austria-Hungary, concluded in 1879 against Russia, which Italy joined in 1882. After the departure of Otto von Bismarck, Berlin in 1890 did not renew the secret treaty with Russia, and in 1894 Russia became France’s ally. From then on the German staff prepared for a war on two fronts. Under the Schlieffen Plan of 1905 Germany was to defeat France within 6 weeks of mobilisation by outflanking it through neutral Belgium.

Under Emperor Wilhelm II Germany began to build a battle fleet. In 1898 the emperor signed the first Navy Law of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, which created the German battle fleet. In the Moroccan crises, from the emperor’s visit to Tangier in 1905 to the dispatch of the gunboat Panther to Agadir in 1911, Berlin tried to force concessions from France. Already at the Algeciras Conference in 1906 Germany was backed only by Austria-Hungary.

Entry into the war

After the assassination in Sarajevo, on 5 July 1914 Wilhelm II promised Austria-Hungary full support against Serbia. On 31 July Germany demanded that Russia halt its mobilisation within 12 hours, and the next day it ordered general mobilisation and in the evening declared war on Russia. On 3 August it declared war on France, citing invented French air raids. That morning Belgium rejected the German ultimatum, and on 4 August Germany marched into its territory. Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg admitted that he was breaking international law. The same day Britain found itself at war with Germany.

War aims were written down only once the war had begun. In a programme of 9 September 1914, drafted on the chancellor’s instructions by his secretary Kurt Riezler, France was to cede some northern territory, Belgium was to become a vassal state, and buffer states were to be carved out of land taken from Russia. The whole was to be held together by an economic union, Mitteleuropa, dominated by Germany. The historian Fritz Fischer saw this programme as proof that Germany went to war for territorial gain. Most scholars today regard it rather as a discussion document than as adopted government policy.

At the fronts

The war plan failed in September 1914. The French and British stopped the Germans on the Marne, the armies of the right wing began to retreat, and the chief of staff, Helmuth von Moltke, was removed from command in favour of Erich von Falkenhayn. From then on a line of trenches ran from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. In the east Paul von Hindenburg, recalled from retirement, with Erich Ludendorff as his chief of staff, crushed the Russians at Tannenberg and at the Masurian Lakes. In Asia the Germans lost Tsingtao, while in East Africa Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck laid down his arms only after the armistice.

In 1915 the troops of August von Mackensen broke the Russian front at Gorlice, on 5 August the Germans entered Warsaw, and in the autumn, together with Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, they occupied Serbia. In February 1916 Falkenhayn attacked at Verdun to bleed the French army white, but lost a comparable number of men himself. In the summer the British and French attacked on the Somme, where the Germans lost between about 450,000 and 600,000 men. At sea the High Seas Fleet clashed with the Grand Fleet at Jutland but did not break British superiority. On 29 August 1916 the emperor dismissed Falkenhayn, and the supreme command passed to Hindenburg and Ludendorff.

In 1917 the Germans in the west withdrew to the Hindenburg Line. The way out of the deadlock was to be submarine warfare: on 31 January 1917 Germany notified the United States that its submarines would sink every ship around the British Isles without warning. Together with the Zimmermann Telegram, a secret offer of an alliance to Mexico against the USA, this meant that on 6 April the United States entered the war.

In the east Berlin allowed Lenin to travel through Germany to Russia. On 15 December 1917 Soviet Russia signed an armistice at Brest-Litovsk, and on 3 March 1918 a peace in which it lost Poland, Lithuania, Courland, Livonia, Estonia, Finland and Ukraine.

The home front

In August 1914 the Social Democrats in the Reichstag also voted for the war credits. In December the only deputy who voted against further credits was Karl Liebknecht. Cut off by the blockade, Germany introduced bread ration cards as early as February 1915. In the winter of 1916–1917 the potato harvest failed and city dwellers had to live on swedes, while rations at times fell to 1,000 calories a day. This period went down in history as the Turnip Winter. By various estimates the blockade killed between 0.3 and 0.76 million people.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff demanded a sharp increase in the output of weapons and ammunition, known as the Hindenburg Programme, and the Auxiliary Service Law of December 1916 imposed compulsory labour on all men aged 17 to 60. In July 1917 the army leaders, with the help of deputies, brought down Bethmann Hollweg, and the Reichstag called for a negotiated peace without forced territorial acquisitions. War-weariness grew. In August 1917 sailors mutinied at Wilhelmshaven, and in January 1918 about a million workers across Germany went on strike, demanding peace and democracy.

Occupation and the Polish question

At the end of August 1915 the Germans set up the General Government of Warsaw in the part of the Kingdom of Poland they had occupied. Its head, General Hans von Beseler, wanted to build a Polish state with an army at Germany’s side. On 5 November 1916 Germany and Austria-Hungary proclaimed a manifesto announcing the creation of a Kingdom of Poland, with no king and no borders, while a Polish army was to be formed only after the peace. A year later power in the kingdom was handed to a Regency Council, under the strict control of the occupiers. When the legionaries, at the call of Józef Piłsudski, refused to swear an oath of “brotherhood in arms” with Germany (the Oath Crisis), the Germans arrested Piłsudski and held him in Magdeburg.

Poles from the Prussian partition served in the German army, in which, according to Andrzej Wrzosek’s estimate, more than 110,000 of them were killed. On 25 October 1918 Wojciech Korfanty demanded in the Reichstag that the Polish lands of the Prussian partition be joined to Poland, and on 27 December the Greater Poland Uprising broke out.

The end of the war and the toll

Peace in the east gave Germany its last chance. On 21 March 1918 Ludendorff launched Operation Michael, but despite his gains he did not take Amiens, and the offensives that followed did not decide the war either. In July the last German offensive on the Marne collapsed, and on 8 August the Allies broke the front at Amiens. On 14 August a crown council at Spa concluded that Germany would not win the war militarily, and on 29 September Hindenburg and Ludendorff demanded an immediate request for an armistice. The new chancellor, Max von Baden, sent a note to Wilson.

On 3 November a revolution began in Kiel, and on 9 November it reached Berlin. The chancellor announced the emperor’s abdication and handed power to Friedrich Ebert, while Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed a republic. Wilhelm II took refuge in the Netherlands. At dawn on 11 November the delegation of Matthias Erzberger signed the armistice in Foch’s railway carriage, and at 11 a.m. the guns fell silent on the Western Front. In the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919 Germany ceded Alsace and north-eastern Lorraine to France and most of Greater Poland and access to the sea to Poland, lost its colonies, and saw its army reduced to 100,000 men. Reparations were later set at 132 billion gold marks.

During the war Germany mobilised between 11 million (according to the US War Department) and 13.25 million men (according to the German government). Between 1.77 million soldiers (by the American count) and 2.04 million (by the German official history) were killed. Together with civilians, including the victims of the blockade, losses came to between 3.4 and 4.3 per cent of the population. Even so, the stab-in-the-back myth grew up in the country: the army, undefeated in the field, had supposedly been betrayed by politicians and revolutionaries. Historians reject it, because it was the supreme command itself that demanded the armistice, and Germany lost the war militarily.

Sources

  1. encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net · germany
  2. encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net · warfare 1914 1918 germany
  3. encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net · war aims and war aims discussions germany
  4. Plan Schlieffena · Wikipedia (pl)
  5. Septemberprogramm · Wikipedia (en)
  6. Rewolucja listopadowa · Wikipedia (pl)
  7. Traktat wersalski · Wikipedia (pl)

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Battles

(240)
  1. 23–30 August 1914Battle of TannenbergGermany's greatest victory on the Eastern Front in 1914. Samsonov's Russian Second Army was encircled and destroyed in the south of East Prussia.
  2. 6–12 September 1914First Battle of the MarneIn September 1914 the French and British halted the Germans on a front from Paris to Verdun and forced them to retreat. The plan for a quick victory collapsed.
  3. 12–15 September 1914First Battle of the AisneIn September 1914 the Germans, retreating from the Marne, held the heights above the Aisne against the French and British. Trench warfare began in the west.
  4. 27 September – 10 October 1914Siege of AntwerpFrom 27 September to 10 October 1914 the Germans besieged Antwerp, Belgium's last fortress. The city fell, but the Belgian army slipped away to the Yser.
  5. 28 September – 8 November 1914Battle of Warsaw and DęblinIn autumn 1914 the Germans and Austrians struck through the Kingdom of Poland at Warsaw and Dęblin. The Russians halted them on the Vistula and drove them west.
  6. 10 October – 2 November 1914Battle of La BasséeFrom 10 October to 2 November 1914 the British tried to take La Bassée. Stopped by the Germans, they held the front with the help of Indian troops.
  7. 12 October – 2 November 1914Battle of Messines (1914)From 12 October to 2 November 1914 British cavalry fought in Flanders for the Messines ridge. On 1 November the Germans took Messines and the heights.
  8. 13 October – 2 November 1914Battle of ArmentièresFrom 13 October to 2 November 1914 the British III Corps retook Meteren, Bailleul and Armentières, then defended itself on the Lys against the Germans.
  9. 16 October – 10 November 1914Battle of the YserFrom 16 October to 10 November 1914 the Belgians and French held the Yser line. Flooding the plain stopped the Germans and saved a strip of free Belgium.
  10. 19 October – 22 November 1914First Battle of YpresFrom 19 October to 22 November 1914 the Allies held Ypres against new German armies. The old British army bled to death in front of the town.
  11. 21–24 October 1914Battle of Langemarck (1914)From 21 to 24 October 1914 Haig's British I Corps at Ypres repulsed an attack by new German reserve corps, made up partly of volunteers.
  12. 29–31 October 1914Battle of GheluveltOn 29–31 October 1914 the Fabeck Group tried to break the front at Ypres. On 31 October the British line broke at Gheluvelt, but a counter-attack closed it.
  13. 1 November 1914Battle of CoronelOn 1 November 1914 Admiral von Spee's squadron destroyed Admiral Cradock's force off Chile. About 1,600 British were killed; the Germans had 3 wounded.
  14. 2–5 November 1914Battle of TangaOn 2–5 November 1914 some 8,000 British and Indian troops were beaten at Tanga by about 1,000 of Lettow-Vorbeck's askaris. Known as the "Battle of the Bees".
  15. 9 November 1914Battle of CocosOn 9 November 1914 the Australian cruiser Sydney forced the German raider Emden to beach herself on a reef. It was the Australian navy's first battle.
  16. 11 November – 6 December 1914Battle of ŁódźIn November 1914 the Germans struck the Russian flank from Thorn and almost encircled Łódź. Some were trapped at Brzeziny, but on 6 December they took the city.
  17. 11 November 1914Battle of Nonne BosschenOn 11 November 1914 the Prussian Guard broke the British line at Ypres and got into Nonne Bosschen, but was driven out. It was the last big German attack.
  18. 15–28 November 1914Battle of KrakówIn November 1914 the Austro-Hungarian army sallied from Kraków fortress to hit the flank of the Russians marching on Silesia, then fell back to its forts.
  19. 1–12 December 1914Battle of LimanowaIn December 1914 the Austrians struck from the hills at the flank of the Russians nearing Kraków. After ten days at Łapanów and Limanowa the Russians withdrew.
  20. 8 December 1914Battle of the Falkland IslandsOn 8 December 1914 British battlecruisers destroyed Admiral von Spee's squadron off the Falklands. Four German cruisers were sunk; only the Dresden escaped.
  21. 20–21 December 1914Defence of GivenchyOn 20–21 December 1914 the Germans blew mines under the Indian Corps' trenches and broke in at Givenchy and Festubert. I Corps' counter-attack saved the line.
  22. 20 December 1914 – 17 March 1915First Battle of ChampagneFrom 20 December 1914 to 17 March 1915 the French Fourth Army assaulted German trenches in Champagne, paying over 90,000 men for a few kilometres of ground.
  23. 8–14 January 1915Battle of SoissonsIn January 1915 the French took Hill 132 at Crouy, north of Soissons. A German counter-attack and the flooded Aisne pushed them back across the river.
  24. 23 January – 15 April 1915Winter Battle in the CarpathiansFrom January to April 1915 Austria-Hungary tried to relieve Przemyśl across the Carpathians. In snow and frost it lost hundreds of thousands. The fortress fell.
  25. 24 January 1915Battle of Dogger BankOn 24 January 1915 Beatty's battlecruisers caught Hipper's squadron in the North Sea. The Germans lost the cruiser Blücher, but their main force escaped.
  26. 31 January – 6 February 1915Battle of BolimówAt the turn of January and February 1915 the Germans attacked at Bolimów, firing 18,000 tear-gas shells. The gas failed and the front did not break.
  27. 7–22 February 1915Winter Battle in MasuriaIn February 1915 two German armies routed the Russian Tenth Army in the snow and drove it out of East Prussia. XX Corps surrendered in the Augustów Forest.
  28. 10–13 March 1915Battle of Neuve ChapelleOn 10–13 March 1915 Haig's British First Army took Neuve-Chapelle in the BEF's first planned offensive. The break-in was not exploited; Aubers Ridge held.
  29. 17 April – 5 May 1915Fighting for Hill 60On 17 April 1915 the British took Hill 60 near Ypres after blowing mines. They held it for two weeks, but on 5 May the Germans retook it with gas.
  30. 22–23 April 1915Battle of Gravenstafel RidgeOn 22–23 April 1915 Canadians and British troops closed the gap at Ypres left by the first chlorine attack, paying for it with thousands killed and wounded.
  31. 22 April – 25 May 1915Second Battle of YpresFrom 22 April to 25 May 1915 the Germans, using chlorine for the first time in the west, cut the Ypres salient by several kilometres but did not take the town.
  32. 24 April – 4 May 1915Battle of St. JulienFrom 24 April to 4 May 1915 Canadians, British, Indians and French defended the northern edge of the Ypres salient against Germans attacking with chlorine.
  33. 1–5 May 1915Battle of GorliceOn 2 May 1915 Mackensen's German and Austro-Hungarian troops broke the Russian Third Army's front at Gorlice. After four days the Russians began to retreat.
  34. 8–13 May 1915Battle of Frezenberg RidgeFrom 8 to 13 May 1915, after a massive bombardment, the Germans drove the British off Frezenberg Ridge near Ypres but did not break the front. Losses were huge.
  35. 9 May 1915Battle of Aubers RidgeOn 9 May 1915 Haig's British First Army attacked Aubers Ridge to support the French in Artois. In a single day it lost over 11,000 men and gained nothing.
  36. 9 May – 18 June 1915Second Battle of ArtoisFrom 9 May to 18 June 1915 the French 10th Army tried to take Vimy Ridge. On day one it reached the crest, then fought for weeks over single villages.
  37. 15–25 May 1915Battle of FestubertOn 15–25 May 1915 the British First Army renewed its attack in Artois, at night and after a long bombardment. It won a few hundred metres of mud for 16,000 men.
  38. 24–25 May 1915Battle of Bellewaarde RidgeOn 24–25 May 1915, after their largest chlorine attack yet, the Germans took Mouse Trap Farm and part of Bellewaarde Ridge. It ended the Second Battle of Ypres.
  39. 20 July – 16 October 1915Battle of Le LingeFrom 20 July to 16 October 1915 French chasseurs alpins stormed the Linge ridge in the Vosges. They took a scrap of mountain; both sides lost thousands of men.
  40. 25 September – 8 October 1915Battle of LoosOn 25 September – 8 October 1915 the British first attacked behind a large chlorine cloud. They took Loos, but the reserves arrived too late.
  41. 25 September – 6 November 1915Second Battle of ChampagneFrom 25 September to 6 November 1915 two French armies attacked in Champagne. They took the German first line and 20,000 prisoners, but the second line held.
  42. 25 September – 15 October 1915Third Battle of ArtoisFrom 25 September to 15 October 1915 the French 10th Army attacked Vimy Ridge again. It took Souchez and part of the slopes, but the Germans kept the crest.
  43. 6 October – 4 December 1915Conquest of SerbiaIn autumn 1915 Germany and Austria-Hungary from the north and Bulgaria from the east overran Serbia. Its army, with king and government, escaped across Albania.
  44. 21 February – 18 December 1916Battle of VerdunFrom 21 February to 18 December 1916 Germans and French fought for the heights above the Meuse. After ten months the front was back almost on the old lines.
  45. 5–21 March 1916Kilimanjaro offensiveIn March 1916 Smuts struck the Germans below Kilimanjaro from east and west. He took Taveta and Moshi, but Lettow-Vorbeck slipped away to the south.
  46. 31 May – 1 June 1916Battle of JutlandOn 31 May – 1 June 1916 the Grand Fleet clashed with the High Seas Fleet. The British lost more ships, but the Germans fled and did not break their supremacy.
  47. 4 June – 20 September 1916Brusilov offensiveFrom 4 June 1916 Brusilov's four armies broke the Austro-Hungarian front in Volhynia and Bukovina. They took hundreds of thousands of prisoners but not Kovel.
  48. 1 July – 18 November 1916Battle of the SommeFrom 1 July to 18 November 1916 the British and French attacked on the Somme. They gained 10 km at most, and the two sides together lost over a million men.
  49. 1–13 July 1916Battle of Albert (1916)First phase of the Somme, 1–13 July 1916. In bloody fighting the British took La Boisselle, Contalmaison and Mametz Wood, below the German second line.
  50. 14–17 July 1916Battle of Bazentin RidgeOn 14–17 July 1916 the British 4th Army, after a night approach and dawn assault, took the German second line from Longueval to Bazentin-le-Petit on the Somme.
  51. 15 July – 3 September 1916Battle of Delville WoodFrom 15 July to 3 September 1916 the British and Germans fought on the Somme for Delville Wood by Longueval. The South Africans faced their hardest test there.
  52. 19–20 July 1916Battle of FromellesOn 19–20 July 1916 the British 61st and the 5th Australian Divisions attacked at Fromelles to keep the Germans from the Somme. They lost over 7,000 men.
  53. 23 July – 3 September 1916Battle of Pozières RidgeFrom 23 July to 3 September 1916 three Australian divisions on the Somme took the village of Pozières and the windmill ridge, losing about 23,000 men.
  54. 27 August – 14 October 1916Battle of TransylvaniaIn late August 1916 three Romanian armies entered Transylvania. Within seven weeks Falkenhayn and Arz drove them back across the Carpathians.
  55. 2–6 September 1916Battle of TutrakanIn early September 1916 the Bulgarians and Mackensen's Germans took the Romanian fortress of Turtucaia on the Danube in five days, capturing about 28,000 men.
  56. 3–6 September 1916Battle of GuillemontOn 3–6 September 1916 the British on the Somme took Guillemont, Falfemont Farm and Leuze Wood, for which they had fought without success since late July.
  57. 9 September 1916Battle of GinchyOn 9 September 1916 the Irish 16th Division took the ruins of Ginchy on the Somme, which the British had attacked in vain for a week. The flanks stalled.
  58. 15–22 September 1916Battle of Flers–CourceletteOn 15–22 September 1916 British and Dominion troops took Flers, Martinpuich, Courcelette and High Wood on the Somme. Tanks fought for the first time.
  59. 25–28 September 1916Battle of MorvalOn 25–28 September 1916 the British Fourth Army took Morval, Lesbœufs and Gueudecourt on the Somme, and Combles with the French. Its best attack since July.
  60. 26–28 September 1916Battle of Thiepval RidgeOn 26–28 September 1916 Gough's Reserve Army took Thiepval and Mouquet Farm on the Somme, but the Stuff and Schwaben redoubts were fought over for days more.
  61. 1–18 October 1916Battle of the Transloy RidgesOn 1–18 October 1916 the British Fourth Army attacked towards Le Transloy on the Somme in rain and mud. It took Eaucourt l’Abbaye and Le Sars, but no more.
  62. 1 October – 11 November 1916Battle of the Ancre HeightsFrom 1 October to 11 November 1916 Gough's Reserve Army, in rain and mud, took the Stuff and Schwaben redoubts and Regina Trench on the Thiepval ridge.
  63. 24 October – 18 December 1916First Offensive Battle of Verdun24 October – 18 December 1916. The French under Nivelle and Mangin retook Forts Douaumont and Vaux and in December drove the Germans several km from Verdun.
  64. 13–18 November 1916Battle of the AncreOn 13–18 November 1916 Gough's Fifth Army took Beaumont-Hamel, Beaucourt and Saint-Pierre-Divion on the Ancre. Serre held and snow ended the Somme battle.
  65. 22 February – 5 April 1917German retreat to the Hindenburg LineFrom 22 February to early April 1917 the Germans fell back from the Ancre and Somme to the Hindenburg Line, shortening the front and leaving devastation behind.
  66. 26–27 March 1917First Battle of GazaOn 26–27 March 1917 the British almost took Gaza on the march, but at dusk they broke off and withdrew behind the Wadi Ghazze, giving up the hills they had won.
  67. 9–12 April 1917Battle of Vimy RidgeOn 9–12 April 1917 the four divisions of the Canadian Corps took Vimy Ridge near Arras, which the French had failed to retake in 1915 despite huge losses.
  68. 9 April – 16 May 1917Battle of Arras (1917)From 9 April to mid-May 1917 British and Dominion troops attacked at Arras. A brilliant first day brought no breakthrough, and losses quickly mounted.
  69. 9–14 April 1917First Battle of the Scarpe (1917)From 9 to 14 April 1917 the British Third Army broke through German positions east of Arras and took Monchy-le-Preux, but could not reach open country.
  70. 16 April – 9 May 1917Second Battle of the AisneFrom 16 April to 9 May 1917 the French assaulted the Chemin des Dames. Nivelle promised a breakthrough in 48 hours; he won a few km for over 100,000 men.
  71. 17 April – 20 May 1917Third Battle of ChampagneFrom 17 April to 20 May 1917 the French 4th Army took the Moronvilliers heights east of Reims. It denied the Germans observation but did not break the front.
  72. 23–24 April 1917Second Battle of the Scarpe (1917)On 23–24 April 1917 the British renewed their attack at Arras. They took Guémappe and Gavrelle, but German counter-attacks stopped them at Rœux and Monchy.
  73. 28–29 April 1917Battle of ArleuxOn 28–29 April 1917 the Canadians took Arleux-en-Gohelle, the only lasting gain of the attack, as the British attacks at Rœux, Gavrelle and Oppy failed.
  74. 3–17 May 1917Battle of BullecourtFrom 3 to 17 May 1917 Australians and British fought for a breach in the Hindenburg Line and the ruins of Bullecourt, taking them at a cost of over 14,000 men.
  75. 3–4 May 1917Third Battle of the Scarpe (1917)On 3 May 1917 three British armies attacked at Arras in the dark. The assault failed almost everywhere. The only gain was Fresnoy, taken by the Canadians.
  76. 7–14 June 1917Battle of Messines (1917)On 7–14 June 1917 the British Second Army, after firing 19 great mines, took the Messines–Wytschaete ridge near Ypres, held by the Germans since 1914.
  77. 1–16 July 1917Kerensky OffensiveThe last Russian offensive of the war. In July 1917 the South-Western Front broke through at Zborów and Stanisławów, but the attack soon petered out.
  78. 31 July – 2 August 1917Battle of Pilckem RidgeOn 31 July – 2 August 1917 the Allies took Pilckem Ridge near Ypres, but the British stalled on the Gheluvelt plateau, and on 31 July rain began to fall.
  79. 31 July – 10 November 1917Third Battle of YpresFrom 31 July to 10 November 1917 the British attacked from Ypres towards Passchendaele. In rain and mud they gained a few km, losing a quarter of a million men.
  80. 15–25 August 1917Battle of Hill 70On 15–25 August 1917 Currie's Canadian Corps took Hill 70 above Lens and beat off more than 20 counter-attacks. Attacks on the town itself failed.
  81. 16–18 August 1917Battle of Langemarck (1917)On 16–18 August 1917 the British took Langemarck and the French the Drie Grachten bridgehead, but on the Gheluvelt plateau and at Frezenberg the attack failed.
  82. 20–25 September 1917Battle of the Menin Road RidgeOn 20–25 September 1917 Plumer's armies took the western part of the Gheluvelt plateau at Ypres, and artillery fire broke the German counter-attack divisions.
  83. 26 September – 3 October 1917Battle of Polygon WoodOn 26 September – 3 October 1917 Plumer's Australians took Polygon Wood and the Butte near Ypres, and British artillery broke the German counter-attacks.
  84. 4 October 1917Battle of BroodseindeOn 4 October 1917 Plumer's Anzacs and British took the Broodseinde ridge near Ypres, smashing German divisions formed up to attack in no man's land.
  85. 9 October 1917Battle of PoelcappelleOn 9 October 1917 Plumer's exhausted divisions attacked the Passchendaele ridge in the mud and were repulsed. In the north the Allies reached Houthulst Forest.
  86. 12 October 1917First Battle of PasschendaeleOn 12 October 1917 New Zealanders and Australians advanced in the rain on Passchendaele. Uncut wire at Bellevue stopped them with huge losses.
  87. 24 October – 9 November 1917Twelfth Battle of the IsonzoFrom 24 October to 9 November 1917 Germans and Austrians broke the front at Caporetto and drove the Italians back to the Piave. Nearly 300,000 were captured.
  88. 26 October – 10 November 1917Second Battle of PasschendaeleFrom 26 October to 10 November 1917 Currie's Canadian Corps took the ruins of Passchendaele in four attacks. It cost close to 16,000 men.
  89. 31 October 1917Battle of BeershebaOn 31 October 1917 Allenby's troops took Beersheba and its wells. The charge of the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade at dusk decided the day.
  90. 20 November – 7 December 1917Battle of CambraiFrom 20 November to 7 December 1917 British tanks in their hundreds broke the Hindenburg Line at Cambrai, but a German counter-attack retook most gains.
  91. 7–9 December 1917Capture of JerusalemOn 7–9 December 1917 Chetwode's XX Corps took the Turkish positions before Jerusalem. That night the Turks left, and on 9 December the mayor gave it up.
  92. 18 February – 3 March 1918Operation FaustschlagOn 18 February – 3 March 1918 Germany, later joined by Austria-Hungary, took Livonia, Estonia, Belarus and part of Ukraine almost unopposed. Lenin made peace.
  93. 21–23 March 1918Battle of St QuentinOn 21–23 March 1918 three German armies broke through the British Fifth Army in fog at Saint-Quentin and drove it back behind the Crozat Canal and the Somme.
  94. 21 March – 5 April 1918Operation MichaelFrom 21 March to 5 April 1918 three German armies broke the British front on the Somme and advanced more than 60 km, but did not take Amiens.
  95. 24–25 March 1918First Battle of BapaumeOn 24–25 March 1918 the British Third Army fell back across the old Somme battlefield. It lost Bapaume and on the night of 25 March withdrew behind the Ancre.
  96. 25–26 March 1918Battle of NoyonOn 25–26 March 1918 Hutier's German 18th Army took Noyon on the Oise and drove back French reinforcements, but stopped at Mont Renaud on the road to Paris.
  97. 26–27 March 1918Battle of RosièresOn 26–27 March 1918 British XIX Corps held the Santerre on the road to Amiens. The Germans took Albert, Chaulnes, Roye and Montdidier but did not break through.
  98. 28 March 1918First Battle of Arras (1918)On 28 March 1918 the German Seventeenth Army attacked at Arras in Operation Mars. The British repulsed the assault, and Ludendorff called it off that evening.
  99. 4 April 1918Battle of the AvreOn 4 April 1918 the Germans struck at Amiens for the last time. The French lost villages on the Avre, but Australians and British held Villers-Bretonneux.
  100. 5 April 1918Battle of the Ancre, 1918On 5 April 1918 the Germans attacked on the Ancre at Dernancourt, Aveluy and Bucquoy. They took only scraps of ground; that evening Ludendorff ended Michael.
  101. 9–29 April 1918Battle of the LysOn 9–29 April 1918 the Germans struck in Flanders, routed the Portuguese and took Kemmel, but failed to break through to Hazebrouck or the Channel ports.
  102. 9–11 April 1918Battle of EstairesOn 9–11 April 1918 the Germans smashed the Portuguese 2nd Division in fog and crossed the Lawe and Lys, taking Estaires and Merville. The British held Givenchy.
  103. 10–11 April 1918Battle of Messines (1918)On 10–11 April 1918 the German 4th Army attacked in fog north of Armentières, took Messines, Ploegsteert and Hill 63 and drove the British off the ridge.
  104. 12–15 April 1918Battle of HazebrouckOn 12–15 April 1918 the German Sixth Army drove on the Hazebrouck rail junction. The 4th Guards Brigade and the Australians stopped it before Nieppe Forest.
  105. 13–15 April 1918Battle of BailleulOn 13–15 April 1918 the Germans attacked the hills near Bailleul. In three days they took Neuve-Église and the Ravelsberg, and the British gave up the town.
  106. 17–19 April 1918First Battle of Kemmel RidgeOn 17–19 April 1918 the Germans attacked the Flanders hills, Kemmelberg included, and the Belgians at Merkem. All attacks failed; the French took over Kemmel.
  107. 18 April 1918Battle of BéthuneOn 18 April 1918 the German 6th Army attacked Givenchy, Festubert and the La Bassée Canal to close on Béthune. The British 1st, 3rd and 4th Divisions held.
  108. 24–25 April 1918Battle of Villers-BretonneuxOn 24 April 1918 the Germans, helped by A7V tanks, took Villers-Bretonneux near Amiens. In the night of 25 April, Anzac Day, the Australians retook the town.
  109. 25–26 April 1918Second Battle of Kemmel RidgeOn 25–26 April 1918 the Germans stormed Kemmelberg, held by the French. The counter-attack of 26 April failed, but the Germans got no further.
  110. 29 April 1918Battle of the ScherpenbergOn 29 April 1918 the Germans struck in Flanders for the last time, at the Scherpenberg and Mont Rouge. The Allies held, and Ludendorff ended "Georgette".
  111. 11 May 1918Battle of KaniówOn 11 May 1918 the Germans surrounded and attacked the Polish II Corps near Kaniów. After a day of defence, Haller's corps, out of ammunition, capitulated.
  112. 27 May – 6 June 1918Third Battle of the AisneFrom 27 May to 6 June 1918 the German 7th Army took the Chemin des Dames, broke the French and British on the Aisne and reached the Marne at Château-Thierry.
  113. 9–14 June 1918Battle of the MatzOn 9–14 June 1918 the German 18th Army struck between Montdidier and Noyon towards Compiègne. After early success it was halted by Mangin's counter-attack.
  114. 4 July 1918Battle of HamelOn 4 July 1918 Monash's Australians, with Mark V tanks and four American companies, took Hamel and the woods by the Somme in 93 minutes, capturing 1,600.
  115. 15 July – 6 August 1918Second Battle of the MarneFrom 15 July to 6 August 1918 the last German offensive on the Marne collapsed, and Foch's counter-offensive drove the Germans from the Soissons–Reims salient.
  116. 23 July – 2 August 1918Battle of the Soissonnais and of the Ourcq23 July – 2 August 1918 the British 15th and 34th Divisions fought in Mangin's army south of Soissons until the Germans fell back behind the Vesle.
  117. 8–11 August 1918Battle of AmiensOn 8–11 August 1918 Rawlinson's Canadians, Australians and British with tanks, and Debeney's French, broke the German front east of Amiens.
  118. 8–15 August 1918Battle of MontdidierFrom 8 to 15 August 1918 Debeney's French First Army, joined on 10 August by Humbert's Third Army, attacked beside the British at Amiens and retook Montdidier.
  119. 17–29 August 1918Second Battle of NoyonOn 17–29 August 1918 Mangin's and Humbert's armies struck between the Oise and the Aisne, pushed the Germans behind the Ailette and retook ruined Noyon.
  120. 18 August 1918Battle of Outtersteene RidgeOn 18 August 1918 the Scottish 9th and the 29th Divisions took the low Outtersteene ridge near Bailleul. The Germans began to leave their April Lys salient.
  121. 21–23 August 1918Battle of Albert (1918)On 21–23 August 1918 the British Third and Fourth Armies broke the German line on the Albert–Arras railway, retook Albert and won the heights above the Ancre.
  122. 21 August – 3 September 1918Second Battle of the SommeFrom 21 August to 3 September 1918 the British Third and Fourth Armies drove the Germans across the old Somme battlefield, retaking Albert, Bapaume and Péronne.
  123. 26–30 August 1918Battle of the Scarpe (1918)On 26–30 August 1918 Currie's Canadians and the Scottish 51st Division struck east of Arras, retook Monchy-le-Preux and broke into the Fresnes–Rouvroy line.
  124. 31 August – 3 September 1918Second Battle of BapaumeFrom 31 August to 3 September 1918 Byng's Third Army took the heights beyond Bapaume, and the Australians Mont Saint-Quentin and Péronne. The Germans fell back.
  125. 2–3 September 1918Battle of the Drocourt–Quéant LineOn 2–3 September 1918 Currie's Canadian Corps broke the Drocourt–Quéant Line near Arras. The Germans fell back behind the Canal du Nord and the Hindenburg Line.
  126. 12 September 1918Battle of HavrincourtOn 12 September 1918 Byng's Third Army took Havrincourt and Trescault, outlying bastions of the Hindenburg Line, opening the battles of the Hindenburg Line.
  127. 12–16 September 1918Battle of Saint-MihielOn 12–16 September 1918 Pershing's US First Army, with the French II Colonial Corps, eliminated the German Saint-Mihiel salient, held since 1914.
  128. 12 September – 12 October 1918Battles of the Hindenburg LineFrom 12 September to 12 October 1918 three British armies, with Canadians, Australians and Americans, broke the Hindenburg Line and reached the Selle.
  129. 15–17 September 1918Battle of Dobro PoleOn 15–17 September 1918 the Serbs and French stormed the Dobro Pole–Sokol–Vetrenik mountain ridge and broke the Bulgarian front in Macedonia.
  130. 15–29 September 1918Vardar offensiveIn September 1918 General Franchet d'Espèrey's Allied armies broke the front in Macedonia, reached Skopje in two weeks and forced Bulgaria to sign an armistice.
  131. 18 September 1918Battle of ÉpehyOn 18 September 1918 the British Fourth Army and part of the Third took the outworks of the Hindenburg Line. The Australians went furthest; Épehy fell late.
  132. 19–25 September 1918Battle of MegiddoOn 19–25 September 1918 Allenby broke the Turkish front by the sea and his cavalry cut off its retreat in the Jezreel Valley. Two Turkish armies were destroyed.
  133. 26 September – 11 November 1918Meuse–Argonne offensive26 September – 11 November 1918 the US First and French Fourth Armies attacked between the Meuse, the Argonne and Champagne. The largest battle in US history.
  134. 27 September – 1 October 1918Battle of the Canal du NordOn 27 September – 1 October 1918 Currie's Canadians crossed a dry stretch of the Canal du Nord, took Bourlon Wood and closed in on Cambrai.
  135. 28 September – 2 October 1918Fifth Battle of Ypres28 September – 2 October 1918 Belgian, British and French troops under Albert I retook the heights around Ypres and reached the Lys, then stuck in the mud.
  136. 29 September – 2 October 1918Battle of the St Quentin CanalOn 29 September – 2 October 1918 the British Fourth Army, with Americans and Australians, broke through the Hindenburg Line on the St Quentin Canal.
  137. 3–5 October 1918Battle of the Beaurevoir LineOn 3–5 October 1918 the British Fourth Army took the Beaurevoir Line, the Hindenburg Line's last position. Australians fought their last action at Montbrehain.
  138. 8–9 October 1918Battle of CambraiOn 8–9 October 1918 the British Third and Fourth Armies, with Americans, broke the last German positions at Cambrai, and the Canadians entered the burning town.
  139. 14–19 October 1918Battle of KortrijkOn 14–19 October 1918 the Flanders Army Group broke the German front, retook Roeselare, Menen and Kortrijk, and the Germans gave up the whole Belgian coast.
  140. 17–25 October 1918Battle of the SelleOn 17–25 October 1918 three British armies with two American divisions forced the River Selle near Le Cateau and drove the Germans back towards the Sambre.
  141. 1–2 November 1918Battle of ValenciennesOn 1–2 November 1918 the Canadians and the British XXII Corps took Mont Houy under cover of massive artillery fire and liberated Valenciennes.
  142. 4 November 1918Battle of the SambreOn 4 November 1918 three British armies forced the Sambre–Oise Canal, went through the Forest of Mormal and took Le Quesnoy. It was the BEF's last great battle.
  143. 27 December 1918 – 16 February 1919Greater Poland uprisingFrom 27 December 1918 to 16 February 1919 the Poles of the Prussian Province of Posen took up arms and within weeks seized most of Greater Poland.
Other battles (97)

People

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Key dates

(180)
  1. 1 August 1914Germany mobilises and declares war on Russia
  2. 3 August 1914Germany declares war on France
  3. 4 August 1914Britain declares war on Germany
  4. 4 August 1914Germany declares war on Belgium
  5. 6 August 1914Serbia declares war on Germany
  6. 6 August 1914Battle of the Frontiers begins
  7. 8 August 1914French troops take Mulhouse
  8. 14 August 1914Battles of Morhange and Sarrebourg begin
  9. 18 August 1914Battle of the Gete
  10. 21 August 1914Battle of Charleroi begins
  11. 22 August 1914Battle of the Ardennes begins
  12. 23 August 1914Battle of Mons
  13. 23 August 1914Japan declares war on Germany
  14. 25 August 1914Battle of the Meuse begins
  15. 25 August 1914Battle of the Mortagne begins
  16. 26 August 1914Battle of Le Cateau
  17. 29 August 1914Battle of Guise begins
  18. 4 September 1914Battle of the Grand Couronné begins
  19. 5 September 1914Battle of the Ourcq begins
  20. 6 September 1914Battle of the Marne begins
  21. 9 September 1914Germans retreat from the Marne
  22. 12 September 1914Battle of the Aisne begins
  23. 22 September 1914First Battle of Picardy begins
  24. 22 September 1914First Battle of Albert begins
  25. 27 September 1914Siege of Antwerp begins
  26. 27 September 1914First Battle of Artois begins
  27. 1 October 1914Battle of Arras begins
  28. 10 October 1914Battle of La Bassée begins
  29. 12 October 1914Battle of Messines begins
  30. 13 October 1914Battle of Armentières begins
  31. 16 October 1914Battle of the Yser begins
  32. 19 October 1914First Battle of Ypres begins
  33. 21 October 1914Battle of Langemarck begins
  34. 29 October 1914Battle of Gheluvelt begins
  35. 31 October 1914Critical day at Ypres
  36. 11 November 1914Prussian Guard attack at Nonne Bosschen
  37. 15 December 1914German airship off the English coast
  38. 20 December 1914First Battle of Champagne begins
  39. 20 December 1914Defence of Givenchy
  40. 8 January 1915Start of the battle of Soissons
  41. 19 January 1915First airship raid on England
  42. 10 March 1915The Battle of Neuve Chapelle begins
  43. 17 April 1915British capture Hill 60
  44. 22 April 1915Second Battle of Ypres begins
  45. 22 April 1915Battle of Gravenstafel Ridge begins
  46. 24 April 1915Battle of St Julien begins
  47. 1 May 1915Start of the Battle of Gorlice
  48. 8 May 1915Battle of Frezenberg Ridge begins
  49. 9 May 1915British attack Aubers Ridge
  50. 9 May 1915Second Battle of Artois begins
  51. 15 May 1915Start of the Battle of Festubert
  52. 24 May 1915German gas attack at Bellewaarde
  53. 31 May 1915First airship raid on London
  54. 20 July 1915Start of the Battle of Le Linge
  55. 5 August 1915Germans occupy Warsaw
  56. 25 September 1915Battle of Loos begins
  57. 25 September 1915Third Battle of Artois begins
  58. 25 September 1915Second Battle of Champagne begins
  59. 6 October 1915Central Powers attack Serbia
  60. 21 February 1916Start of the Battle of Verdun
  61. 9 March 1916Germany declares war on Portugal
  62. 15 March 1916Austria-Hungary at war with Portugal
  63. 24 March 1916Torpedoing of the Sussex
  64. 24 April 1916Outbreak of the Easter Rising
  65. 1 July 1916First day on the Somme
  66. 1 July 1916The Lochnagar mine is blown
  67. 14 July 1916Battle of Bazentin Ridge begins
  68. 15 July 1916Battle of Delville Wood begins
  69. 19 July 1916Attack at Fromelles
  70. 23 July 1916Battle of Pozières Ridge begins
  71. 28 August 1916Germany declares war on Romania
  72. 28 August 1916Italy declares war on Germany
  73. 29 August 1916Hindenburg becomes Chief of the General Staff
  74. 2 September 1916Airship raid and the downing of SL 11
  75. 3 September 1916Battle of Guillemont begins
  76. 9 September 1916Capture of Ginchy
  77. 25 September 1916Start of the Battle of Morval
  78. 26 September 1916Start of the Battle of Thiepval Ridge
  79. 1 October 1916Start of the Battle of the Transloy Ridges
  80. 1 October 1916Start of the Battle of the Ancre Heights
  81. 24 October 1916The French recapture Fort Douaumont
  82. 5 November 1916Act of 5 November
  83. 13 November 1916Capture of Beaumont-Hamel
  84. 18 November 1916End of the Battle of the Somme
  85. 23 November 1916Provisional government declares war on Germany and Bulgaria
  86. 12 December 1916German peace offer
  87. 18 December 1916End of the Battle of Verdun
  88. 19 January 1917The Zimmermann Telegram
  89. 31 January 1917Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare
  90. 3 February 1917US breaks off relations with Germany
  91. 25 February 1917Germans withdraw from the Ancre
  92. 6 April 1917United States declares war on Germany
  93. 7 April 1917Cuba and Panama declare war on Germany
  94. 9 April 1917Battle of Arras (1917) begins
  95. 9 April 1917Assault on Vimy Ridge
  96. 16 April 1917Nivelle offensive begins
  97. 17 April 1917Battle of the Hills begins
  98. 23 April 1917Second Battle of the Scarpe begins
  99. 28 April 1917Canadians capture Arleux
  100. 3 May 1917Third Battle of the Scarpe begins
  101. 3 May 1917Battle of Bullecourt begins
  102. 7 June 1917Battle of Messines (1917) begins
  103. 13 June 1917Gotha raid on London
  104. 27 June 1917Greece enters the war
  105. 22 July 1917Siam declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary
  106. 22 July 1917Arrest of Piłsudski
  107. 31 July 1917Third Battle of Ypres begins
  108. 4 August 1917Liberia declares war on Germany
  109. 14 August 1917China declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary
  110. 15 August 1917Battle of Hill 70 begins
  111. 16 August 1917Battle of Langemarck (1917) begins
  112. 12 September 1917Patent on the Regency Council
  113. 20 September 1917Start of the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge
  114. 26 September 1917Battle of Polygon Wood begins
  115. 4 October 1917Battle of Broodseinde
  116. 9 October 1917Battle of Poelcappelle
  117. 15 October 1917Execution of Mata Hari
  118. 24 October 1917Battle of Caporetto begins
  119. 26 October 1917Brazil declares war on Germany
  120. 26 October 1917Start of the Second Battle of Passchendaele
  121. 20 November 1917Battle of Cambrai
  122. 15 December 1917Armistice of Brest-Litovsk
  123. 18 February 1918Operation Faustschlag begins
  124. 3 March 1918Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
  125. 21 March 1918Operation Michael begins
  126. 24 March 1918Germans take Bapaume and Péronne
  127. 25 March 1918Germans capture Noyon
  128. 27 March 1918Fighting at Rosières
  129. 28 March 1918German attack at Arras
  130. 4 April 1918Fighting on the Avre
  131. 5 April 1918Fighting on the Ancre
  132. 9 April 1918Start of the Battle of the Lys
  133. 10 April 1918Germans take Messines
  134. 12 April 1918Start of the Battle of Hazebrouck
  135. 13 April 1918Battle of Bailleul begins
  136. 17 April 1918Start of the First Battle of Mount Kemmel
  137. 18 April 1918Fighting at Béthune
  138. 23 April 1918Guatemala declares war on Germany
  139. 24 April 1918Fighting at Villers-Bretonneux
  140. 25 April 1918Germans take Mount Kemmel
  141. 29 April 1918Fighting for the Scherpenberg
  142. 7 May 1918Peace of Bucharest
  143. 8 May 1918Nicaragua declares war on Germany
  144. 11 May 1918Fighting at Kaniów
  145. 23 May 1918Costa Rica declares war on Germany
  146. 27 May 1918Third Battle of the Aisne begins
  147. 9 June 1918Start of the Battle of the Matz
  148. 12 July 1918Haiti declares war on Germany
  149. 15 July 1918Second Battle of the Marne begins
  150. 19 July 1918Honduras declares war on Germany
  151. 23 July 1918Start of the Battle of the Soissonnais and the Ourcq
  152. 8 August 1918Start of the Battle of Montdidier
  153. 13 August 1918Czechoslovaks declare war on Germany
  154. 14 August 1918Crown council at Spa
  155. 17 August 1918Second Battle of Noyon begins
  156. 18 August 1918Capture of Outtersteene Ridge
  157. 21 August 1918Second Battle of Albert begins
  158. 26 August 1918Start of the Battle of the Scarpe
  159. 31 August 1918Second Battle of Bapaume begins
  160. 2 September 1918Breaking of the Drocourt–Quéant Line
  161. 12 September 1918Battle of Havrincourt begins
  162. 18 September 1918Battle of Épehy
  163. 26 September 1918The Meuse–Argonne offensive begins
  164. 27 September 1918Start of the Battle of the Canal du Nord
  165. 28 September 1918Fifth Battle of Ypres begins
  166. 29 September 1918Battle of the St Quentin Canal begins
  167. 29 September 1918Ludendorff demands an armistice
  168. 30 September 1918Armistice of Salonica
  169. 3 October 1918Start of the battle of the Beaurevoir Line
  170. 4 October 1918Peace notes to Wilson
  171. 8 October 1918Battle of Cambrai begins
  172. 17 October 1918Start of the Battle of the Selle
  173. 1 November 1918Battle of Valenciennes begins
  174. 4 November 1918Battle of the Sambre begins
  175. 9 November 1918Revolution in Berlin
  176. 11 November 1918Armistice of Compiègne
  177. 27 December 1918Outbreak of the Greater Poland Uprising
  178. 28 June 1919Poland signs the Treaty of Versailles
  179. 2 May 1921Outbreak of the Third Silesian Uprising
  180. 20 October 1921Conference of Ambassadors divides Upper Silesia
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