Battle of Tannenberg - August 1914 - 182,000 casualties - Following the failed Russian invasion of East Prussia, the Russians managed to inflict a defeat on the Germans at Gumbinnen and make a push toward the West. The Germans quickly moved to consolidate the German Eight Army to halt the Russian advance. Despite being outnumbered, the Germans managed to inflict a huge defeat on the Russians at Tannenberg, considered by some to be the most lopsided defeat in the war. The Russians suffered 170,000 casualties to the Germans 12,000, highlighting the ineptitude of the Russian commanders and the ineffectiveness of the Russian army.
First Battle of the Marnes - September 1914 - 483,000 casualties - In early September of 1914, the German army had overrun Belgium and was pushing through France, threatening Paris. British and French forces had already taken heavy casualties trying to stop the Germans, and it seemed that Paris would fall to the German forces. Desperate to stop the German advance, British and French forces consolidated on the Marnes River, just outside Paris. The Allies were finally able to halt the German push into France in a counterattack against the Germans by six French field armies and one British army, causing heavy casualties to the German army and forcing them to abandon the Schlieffen plan and retreat, in an event that came to be known as the “Miracle on the Marnes”. Despite the Allied victory, the battle was a costly one; the Allied forces suffered 263,000 casualties, and the Germans 220,000. Also, the battle forced the Germans to retreat and they began building fortifications, causing the Allies to respond and leading to the bloody trench warfare that would characterize the Western Front.
Battle of Gallipoli - April 1915 - January 1916 - 473,000 total casualties - By 1915, the war in the West had bogged down into a stalemate. Both sides had constructed massive trench networks and were losing men in futile assaults against the fortified positions. Additionally, the shocking defeat at Tannenberg had put Russia’s back to the wall, risking the Allies losing a valuable contributor to the war effort. With the casualties mounting, the Allies decided on a gamble; open up a second front. Sir Winston Churchill decided on an attack on the Dardanelles in modern-day Turkey to threaten the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. The allies hoped the second front would help break the deadlock on the Western Front, and bring relief to the beleaguered Russians by opening up a sea route for resupply. When initial naval attacks failed, the Allies decided on an amphibious assault to crush the Ottoman army. The allies believed that the Turks would simply fold up and collapse with minimal casualties (the Ottoman Empire was called the “sick man of Europe” in that time and was viewed as being weak) However, the exact opposite happened. The Turkish troops dug in and resisted, stymieing the Allied landings. The result of this, along with poor planning on the part of Allied commanders, was the Allied troops were bogged down on the beaches and failed to achieve their objectives, and the Gallipoli front eventually bogged down into the same trench warfare as seen on the Western Front. The allies ended up losing 220,000 men to the Turks 253,000, and the Ottoman Empire earned a stunning victory.
Battle of Verdun - February 1916 - 976,000 casualties - As the battle of the Somme was being planned, the Germans staged a massive attack against the French fortress near the town of Verdun. Though the German goal was to capture the town, a much simpler one was even more apparent; simply kill so many French soldiers that it would break the French morale and force them to abandon the fight. The French stubbornly defended Verdun and inflicted horrific casualties on the Germans, while suffering horrific casualties of their own in return. Nearly 40 million artillery shells were exchanged during the battle, pock marking the area with craters, some of which are still visible to this day, and popularized the French battle cry “They shall not pass!” Verdun came to be for the French and Germans what the Somme was to the British; a symbol of the horrors of war in general, and of the futility of war. The French lost some 542,000 casualties, while the Germans lost some 435,000.
Using Tanks in Combat
Battle of the Somme - July - November 1916 - 1,219,201 casualties - One of the two great slaughterhouse battles of World War I, the Somme still rings in the minds of the British as an example of the senseless slaughter of the war. Planned in 1916, the goal of the battle was to be a massive Anglo-French effort to create a rupture in the German lines that could be exploited with a decisive blow. The British prepared for the offensive with a massive several day artillery barrage on the German lines, which they hoped would damage the German defenses enough to allow British forces to break through. On the opening day of the battle, they learned that it in fact failed to do so when the British suffered 60,000 casualties in one day; the greatest single day loss of life in the history of the British Army. Attacks continued all along the Somme area until 13 November, 1916 when the offensive finally petered out. The battle, though ultimately indecisive as there was no breakthrough, was strategically important to the allies, as it forced the Germans to withdraw 40 miles and later set the stage for the final Allied victory in 1918. The Allies paid for it dearly, however; the Allies lost a total of 623,906 casualties, including 100 tanks and 782 aircraft. The Germans lost nearly 600,000 men.
Spring Offensive - March - July 1918 - 1,539,715 casualties - The Spring Offensive was launched, as its name suggests, in the Spring of 1918. Germany’s back was against the wall; the country was suffering from a British blockade of its ports, and it had lost so many men that the German army was forced to recruit old men and young boys to fight at the front lines. In addition, the arrival of thousands of fresh troops from the United States was paving the way for a certain Allied victory. The German high command knew the only way to win the war was to defeat the Allies with a major offensive before the Americans could be fully deployed. The plan was for a major push against the Somme front held by the British, with three other attacks intended to divert Allied attention from the main push. It was hoped the attack against the Somme would break the Allied lines, breaking the British army and forcing the Allies to seek armistice terms. Using fast moving “stormtroopers”, the Germans initially made significant advances, pushing the Allies back and gaining a huge chunk of land in World War I terms. However, the operation lacked clear goals, and the Germans ended up moving so fast that they were unable to transport enough supplies to maintain the advance. The Allies eventually dug in and halted the German advance, ending the offensive with the Germans in a weak position to defend when the final push of the war was made. The Germans lost over 680,000+ casualties in the push, mostly to the storm trooper units leading the assaults, while the Allies lost a combined 850,000+. The attack failed in its goal to break the Allied forces, and combined with fresh American troops, the Allies were ready to make the final assault against the Germans.
Side Note: One of the most famous battles in American military history occurred during the Spring Offensive. A force of US Marines and infantry engaged the Germans in the Battle of Belleau Wood, stopping a German advance and contributing to the overall defeat of the Spring Offensive. During the battle, it is said that the Marines fought so fiercely that the Germans began to call them “Teufel Hunden”, which translated into English reveals one of the Marines more famous nicknames; “Devil Dogs”.
Side Note: One of the most famous battles in American military history occurred during the Spring Offensive. A force of US Marines and infantry engaged the Germans in the Battle of Belleau Wood, stopping a German advance and contributing to the overall defeat of the Spring Offensive. During the battle, it is said that the Marines fought so fiercely that the Germans began to call them “Teufel Hunden”, which translated into English reveals one of the Marines more famous nicknames; “Devil Dogs”.
Hundred Days Offensive - August - November 1918 - 1,855,369 casualties - With the failure of the Spring Offensive, the Germans were left in a weak position, having gained ground that they could not adequately defend and having spent most of their best troops trying to break the Allied lines. The Allies, on the other hand, were battered but not broken, and had the advantage of thousands of fresh troops from the United States, under the command of General John “Blackjack” Pershing. The Allies launched a series of offensives, including the battles of Second Somme, Second Noyons and Second Arras. The result was a spectacular success; the German lines were eventually broken and the Germans were forced to retreat back to the Hindenburg Line, a series of defensive works protecting the German homeland. The Allies then started attacking the Line with a series of offensives directed at achieving final breakthrough. The weakened, exhausted Germans put up a fight, but were unable to defend the lines, and eventually, the Allies broke through the Hindenburg Line at the Battle of Cambrai. The Germans eventually sued for peace, and an armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, bringing the bloody battles of World War I to an end. The Hundred Days offensive was a spectacular success for the Allies, but they paid for it dearly; the Allies lost a total of 1,069,636 casualties, including 127,000 Americans. The Germans lost 785,733 casualties, but perhaps the greatest loss was the collapse of the German Empire and the crushing peace terms the Germans were later forced to accept.