MAJOR BATTLES
+The Battle of Verdun, 1916+
*The Battle of Verdun was a ten month long ordeal between the French and German armies.
*The battle was part of an unsuccessful German campaign to take the offensive on the western front.
*540,000 French and 430,000 German casualties and no advantages were gained for either side.
*Considered one of the most brutal events of WWI.
*Germany began attacks on February 21, 1916 with an attack of the forts surrounding Verdun. The French army retreated to positions while the German army pounded through the French lines. On February 25 1916, Fort Douaumont which is near Verdun surrendered to German forces.
*On March 22, 1916 Malancourt which was a French fort near Verdun was captured by the Germans.
*The French forts of Thiaumont and Vaux had fallen to the German army in June.
*Pressure on the French was reduced when the British decided to help them.
*This British attack and a Russian offensive in the east forced the German army to transfer troops away from Verdun. These events put Germany in a defensive mode.
*By November of 1916 Fort Vaux, Fort Thiaumont, and Fort Douaumont had been reclaimed for France. By December the French had advanced to their original February 1916 lines.
+The Battles of the Marne, 1914, 1918+
*On September 4, 1914 Germany advanced through Belgium and Northern France which caused panic in the French army and troops were rushed from Paris in taxis to halt the advance.
*By the end of May, 1918 Germans were back where they started and those 4 years of war costed many lives.
+The Battles of Ypres, 1914, 1915, 1917+
*There were three battles in Ypres in 1914,1915, and 1917.
*The first was in 1914. There was an attempt by the BEF to halt the rapid advances made by the Germans.
*The second was in 1915. It was notable for the first use of poison gas by the Germans.
*The third was in 1917. Men drowned in liquid mud. On both sides there was 250,000 causualties.
+The Battle of the Somme, 1916+
*This battle had the infamous "Big Push" attack across the river Somme. The French Army was hard-pressed to the south at Verdun the British and intended to break through the German defences in a matter of hours.
*There were also many causualities in this war.
+The Battle of Cambrai, 1917+
*On November 20, 1917 the British launched an big offensive attack unveiling the tank. 476 tanks gave the British big gains but they were still unable to take advantage.
