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Home , Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Caporetto, Battle of Tannenberg, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Verdun, Brusilov Offensive

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World One Chronology By Don Hanlin

1914

Western Front

’s August offensive overran massive fortress of Liège but in 10 days instead of 48 hours as envisioned by ; Germans marched through neutral Belgium and then southwest toward , Britain, & , replacing pre-war understandings with formal alliance, signed Pact of London in September, but lacked coherent strategy  France responded to German invasion with full-scale offensive into Alsace-Lorraine as well as attack on German forces stretched across Luxembourg & Belgium; but underestimated extent of German advance into northeastern France  German forces in Alsace-Lorraine drove French into difficult terrain of Ardennes region; heavy losses forced French withdrawal & “” of Anglo-French forces to the River of the Marne: German offensive across Belgium & northeastern France approached Paris in August; Germans slowed advance & then lost initiative during French & English counter-attack along Marne River & retreated retreat northwest  Allied forces suffered damage & organizational confusion as their movements frustrated by inertia, doubt, & German maneuvers; German central command had difficulty communicating with far-flung German armies  In , both sides deployed troops from south & central lines to north & began to settle into defensive trench systems  An October German offensive in northern Belgium stopped by BEF which was essentially destroyed in First Battle of  By late November, entire front from Switzerland to , had stabilized; Paris was safe but French army had suffered nearly 300,000 casualties in just August  Germans occupied most of Belgium & valuable industrial departments of northeastern France

Eastern Front

 Russian offensive in began in August after Austro-Hungarian armies defeated by Serbs; typhus epidemic hit Belgrade & spread across Serbia  Germany & sign secret treaty in October & Turks used two German battleships to attack Russia’s Black Sea coast; Britain & France declared war on Ottomans  Russians took Austrian fortresses at Lvov (modern ) in & Przemysl (modern Poland) in ; by September, Austro-Hungarian army broken  German senior officers panicked after Russian offensive threatened to cut off from rest of Germany; Russian officers, however, failed to coordinate movements or to press advantage 2

 Under new commanders, German forces destroyed Russian armies in several including & First Battle of Masurian Lakes & then moved toward  In October, Greek & Italian forces occupied portions of Albania  In November, Anglo-French naval forces bombarded forts guarding the Dardanelles

In Asia

 Turkish forces suffered heavy losses resisting Russian offensive into northeastern Anatolia; in December, Turks responded with a failed counter-offensive & suffered more than 60,000 casualties; New Turkish commander & additional divisions contain Russian advance around Lake Van  Anglo-Indian troops landed in Shat el Arab, quickly overran southern Mesopotamia, reached Basra by November & Tigris-Euphrates confluence in December  Turkish invasion of Persia successfully resisted by Russian forces

In Africa

 French & British troops quickly overran German Togoland but faced greater resistance in Kamerum & South West Africa where German forces surrendered in 1915  German commander in East Africa retreated with 3,000 German troops & 11,000 African askari into southern Tanganyika & continued a guerrilla war against British until late

At Sea

 British & French immediately established a distant blockade cutting off German access to outside world, German & Austrian shipping was quickly driven from seas; German naval commanders left without effective strategy  In August, loss of three cruisers & one destroyer in naval action of war in August in a shallow bay on the German coast convinced Kaiser that fleet should avoid offensive operations  First British warships sunk by German submarines in September  Austrian Adriatic fleet rejected German request to sail to Constantinople & avoided battles with superior French navy; Austrian submarine attack on one of its dreadnought convinced French to establish a distant blockade across the Strait of Otranto  In May, Austrian navy bombarded Italian Adriatic ports & defended empire’s Adriatic coast  Russia navy tasked with protecting Gulf of Finland & Petrograd; Germany maintained trade with Sweden despite activity of British submarines in Baltic Sea  In August, Russian navy shared recovered code books from abandoned German warship with British  Ottoman attack on Russian Black Sea ports resulted in declaration of war & blockade of Bosporus  Japan entered in August on side of Allies, immediately took control of Yellow Sea & besieged Germany protectorate on Shantung Peninsula of China; commander of Germany’s East Asiatic Squadron began to disrupt Allied shipping in Indian & Pacific oceans  Battles of Coronel (in the Pacific) & the Falklands (in the Atlantic): British navy suffered first defeat in 100 years as German East Asiatic Squadron lost two armored cruisers with no survivors off the coast of Central Chile in November; German ships sailed into Atlantic to raid Falkland Islands, British naval forces in the Falklands sank every German ship with heavy loss of life in December 3

 In December, German High Seas Fleet bombarded British coastal towns in attempt to draw British Grand Fleet into battle but signaling and reporting errors prevented confrontation

Strategic situation at end of 1914

 Western Front was stalemated  Allies success on the Western Front had saved Paris & kept France in the war  German had failed to achieve a quick victory but remained in control of much of northeastern France & most of Belgium  German chief of general viewed Britain as Germany’s most dangerous enemy, believed France could be checked only as long as Germany maintained Western Front & was convinced that could not defeat Allies by military means

1915

On the Western Front

 Britain raised it first mass army in history & deployed it on Western Front in France  France, determined to retake occupied territory, started year with major offensive east of Paris in Champagne but frustrated by shortage of shells  Second in May achieved nothing of significance; Germans introduced weaponized gas but exhausted ammunition reserves  Another Allied offensive in fall included new divisions of BEF & suffered heavy losses but made no significant gains

On the Eastern Front

 British failed in attempt to take Constantinople in order to relieve Russian troops in the Caucasus  British & French failed to force passage through Dardanelles & lost several battleships in March; British, French, Australian, and New Zealand troops landed & began Battle of Gallipoli in April, unsuccessfully challenged Ottoman defenses, began to withdraw in December  In May, Austrian-German Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive in devastated Russian army forcing Russia to abandon Russian Poland, Central Powers entered Warsaw in August; military defeats began to undermine czarist regime  Italy declared war on Austria- in May with British & French promises of Austro- Hungarian territory & canceling Central Power advantage over Russia  Austro-Hungarian troops overran Serbia in September & October but Serbian army escaped & joined Anglo-French forces in Salonika  Encouraged by Serbian defeat, Bulgaria joined Central Powers in October  Austro-Hungarian forces took control of most of Albania

In Asia

 Turkish January offensive failed to take Suez Canal 4

 Russian Caucasus Army begin surprise offensive in February took cities in northeast Anatolia including Black Sea port of Trabzon, Turkish reinforcements halted Russian advancements by end of year  In April, Turks began deportations & massacres of Armenians in western Anatolia  By year’s end Turkish-German counter-offensive in Mesopotamia trapped 8,000 British soldiers in of Kut al Amara just 100 miles southeast of Baghdad

At Sea

 In January, Germans lost one cruiser as other ships escaped from a running battle in the North Sea with British battleships  Germans began submarine attacks against merchant ships supplying Britain in January & declared waters around to be war zones in February; sinking of RMS Lusitania in May & SS Arabia in August outraged & led to official USA government protests that encouraged Germany to abandon “sinking without warning” policy  After Allied withdrawal from Dardanelles & Gallipoli, German submarines entered Mediterranean forcing revision of British tactics but greatest success would be against merchant shipping

Strategic situation at end of 1915

 Lack of coordination by Entente had undermined strategy on all fronts; on Western Front, Germans had stopped all attacks by British & French; in December; allied military leaders meet in Chantilly to coordinate war plans but disagreements continue  On the Eastern Front, Central Powers had defeated Russia, conquered Russian Poland, gained control of Balkans & supply lines to Constantinople, Allies on verge of abandoning Gallipoli.  Austro-Hungarian army strained to its limits & mobilization of German resources had done nothing but sustain status quo  Military defeats seriously undermined legitimacy of Russia’s czarist state as well as German efforts to negotiate separate peace  Naval stalemate developed as both German & British officials were determined not to risk battleships  All belligerents had suffered enormous losses without significant gains; both Entente & Central Powers believed that victory could be achieved by a decisive battlefield victory as they planned bigger offensives

1916

Allies’ & Central Powers’ Strategy

 Allies decided to break Central Powers’ ability to shift resources quickly by rail from one front to another by simultaneous attacks on all fronts; Battle of would delay attack 5

 Germans decided to wage offensive against fortifications at Verdun on the River near the German/French/Luxembourg border; hoped to lure France into battle of annihilation & divide Allies

On the Western Front

: After initial success in February, German advances slowed; French counter-attacks began constant bombardment of German positions in March & attacks in May regained territory but lost momentum that was never recovered; without hope of overall success, German counter-attack pushed French back to within 2.5 miles of Verdun citadel in June; German offensive failed after artillery & infantry were sent to front; French regained lost areas in August & December; battle became the longest & one of the most costly in with estimated 714,000 to 976,00 casualties  In April, Irish republicans unsuccessfully stage uprising against British domination  : First day (July 1) of Anglo-French offensive successfully drove back German forces along the River Somme (100 miles northeast of Paris) as British suffered horrendous casualties; Allied advance continued with ever-increasing casualties until German bombardments began on July 23 followed by massive German counter-attack in August; British advanced as huge French attack captured more ground & caused 130,000 German casualties; Allies failed to apply lessons learned at Verdun & failed to breakthrough German lines in September, October, & November, operation degenerated into battle of attrition; Allies had advanced only six miles along the Somme front of 16 miles at the cost of estimated 620,000 Allied casualties and more than 500,000 German casualties; battle one of the bloodiest and biggest in human history with 3,000,000 soldiers and more than one million wounded or killed

On the Eastern Front

 Czar overthrown in February, new Provisional Government believed victorious Allied offensive would restore army’s morale & preserve new regime  As part of , Russians started heavy & prolonged artillery bombardment on Galician front in northeastern Austro-Hungarian Empire in early June; Austro- Hungarian army disintegrated; Germany was forced to send reinforcements from Western Front just as Battle of Somme began  Russian offensive against Germans quickly collapsed when faced with forces transferred from Western Front; Germans remained on defensive as revolution spread across Russia  Italian offensive aimed at Vienna failed nine times to break through Austro-Hungarian lines along the Isonzo River; Italians suffere 600,000 casualties  In August, officers loyal to pro-Entente prime minister of Greece staged coup against king; Allied troops clashed with Greek forces near Athens but established major base of operations at Salonika  Romania entered war as ally of Britain & France in August but was overcome by Central Powers which occupied Bucharest in December

In Asia

 In April, encircled British forces in Kut al Amara surrendered to Turks  In June, grand sharif of Mecca joined Allies & declared independence of Hijaz; Arab insurgents led by British officers raided Turkish army posts & Hijaz railroad as Turkish garrison in Media refused to until end of war 6

 In July, second Turkish attempt to take Suez Canal failed & Allied push Turks back into Sinai

At Sea

: Largest naval battle of , last major battle fought primarily by battleships in world history; Germans intended to lure out, trap, and destroy a portion of Britain’s Grand Fleet in order to break British ; 250 ships battled in the evening & night of May 30 & June 1; delays as well as British intercepts of their signals disrupted German plans; 14 British & 11 German ships sunk, with great loss of life; after sunset & throughout night, British maneuvered to cut Germans off from their base but German ships broke through British lines & returned to port; battle has no significant impact of British naval superiority or blockade of German ports

Strategic situation at end of 1916

 Russian offensive in Galicia & Anglo-French attack on Somme failed to defeat Central Powers which won significant defensive victory on both fronts  Morale of Russian army & people had begun to collapse amid increasing casualties, inflation, and food shortages  Facing stalemate on the seas & the Western Front, the Central Powers were exhausted & aware of material advantages of Allies; leadership adopted a new & radical war agenda o High-explosive shells, not or poison gas, would be weapon of victory o Shut the door on separate peace with Russia by reestablishing Polish kingdom o Risked intervention by , with declaration in February of 1917 of unlimited submarine warfare designed to force Britain to negotiate end to war  British & French generals convinced civilian leadership meeting at Chantilly to continue with plans for coordinated but separate offensives & mistakenly believed that Allied forces had adequate supplies of shells & guns as well as adequate skill to us them

1917

On the Western Front

 French commander-in-chief proposes to breach German line using massive artillery bombardments; British generals opposed plan & wanted to attack coast of Belgium but new British prime minister agreed  In February, Germans withdrew to shorter & more defensible Hindenburg/Siegfried Line; British & Canadian troops attacking German defenses at Vimy Ridge (southeast of the ) in April made longest advance since had begun but Germans recovered within days & battle became costly stalemate for both sides  Farther south, the failure of Nivelle Offensive & another 100,000 casualties caused morale of large part of French army to collapse; army experienced largest front-line of war as 35,000 to 40,000 soldiers commited acts of “collective indiscipline”  Germans launched to create 90-mile-long defensive Hindenburg/Siegfried Line in northeastern France; land within 10 miles of Line laid waste  In April, United States enters war siding with Entente as associated power, not as an ally 7

 In June & July, British staged offensive in against Messines & Ypres but initial gains bogged down; British continued to advance across swamps & began Third Battle of Ypres; Germans suffered enormous casualties but new “defense in depth” tactics forced British withdrawal  In October & November, British attacked at without any significant results but made good use of tanks & used sound detection to pinpoint enemy artillery  In May & June, Italian forces hammered Austro-Hungarian positions along Isonzo River forcing plea for German help; in October , Central Powers attacked with gas & artillery shells followed by infantry advance; offensive broke the Italian front line as 280,000 Italians surrendered & 350,000 fled in panic  New French commander-in-chief paused offensives to reestablish military discipline & to build up reserves of munitions & tanks as well as to await arrival of AEF

On the Eastern Front

 In February, popular uprising forced abdication of Russian czar; weak democratic government of liberals and socialists established in competition with radical left-wing soviets of workers, soldiers, & sailors  In July, Russians launched which was stopped by German counter- attack that took & several Baltic Sea islands  Allied pressure forced king of Greece into exile in June; prime minister joined Entente in building up military forces at Salonika  In July, Romanians stopped German offensive in northeast Romania but sought ceasefire after Bolshevik takeover in Russia  In November, Bolshevik coup d’état overthrew Provisional Government & Soviets took control signing armistice with Germany in December

In Asia

 In March, reinforced Anglo-Indian forces moved northward into Mesopotamia taking Baghdad as well as other major cities  Starting in March, Allied forces including Arab troops moved through Gaza & overrun all of Palestine & Lebanon as well as most of Syria by October & taking Jerusalem in December

At Sea

 During , Russian sailors at Kronstadt naval base west of Petrograd mutinied & murdered commander & other officers  Stalemated naval war convinced German government in February to resume unrestricted submarine warfare with spectacular successes by April while alienating USA  Allied powers countered with convoy system that would eventually reduce losses to acceptable levels; efforts to build barrages of drifting nets or fixed nets with mines were generally unsuccessful except nets at Strait of Dover; network of mines in North Sea proved to be ineffective

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Strategic situation at end of 1917

 French army (dealing with significant unrest of which Germans were unaware) needed time to prepare for another offensive & American forces had not yet arrived in significant numbers; Italian front had all but collapsed; only British had effective force in field  Russia, slipping into civil war, withdrew from war, signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk abandoning huge western portions of ; Romania left with no choice but to seek armistice with Germany  Defeated in Palestine & threatened by Allied troops advancing in the Balkans, the Ottoman government agreed to armistice in October though scattered resistance continued in Arabia & Mesopotamia; Ottoman Empire disintegrated

1918

Allies’ & Central Powers’ Strategy

 Determined to crush the French & British armies before the arrival of bulk of AEF, Germany planned five spring time offensives  Allies forced to set up unified command under leadership of French Supreme Allied Commander ; 800,000 Americans arrived during May & June allowing Allies to confront Germans with more experienced Anglo-French troops assisted by some of most experienced American divisions

On the Western Front (January through July)

 Initial massive artillery of gas & explosive shells & new “defense in depth” tactics led to German successes in spite of a lack of strategic plan & shifting lines; by June, German forces had cut rail link between Paris-Nancy, advanced to Château-Thierry in Second Battle of the Marne & began to Paris as civilians began to flee from city; German commander began effort to widen Marne & storm Paris but strained army’s resources & effectiveness; influenza pandemic hit German troops in June & July  With American troops pouring into France & German offensive slowing, French counter- offensive began to shift balance of war against German army; Americans played key role in stopping German advance at Belleau Woods in June

On the Eastern Front

 Following Bolshevik coup in Russia & start of armistice discussions, German offensive moved into Russia & Ukraine in February; Russians accepted Brest-Litovsk Treaty in March & withdrew from war; 1,000,000 troops remained to occupy eastern conquests, 500,000 troops transferred to Western Front  After Russian withdrawal, Romania signed peace agreement with Central Powers; punitive Treaty of Bucharest approved by Romanian parliament but king refused to sign it  By summer, Bulgaria’s front-line troops & civilians faced critical food shortages; in August, Allied offensive launched from Salonika forced Bulgarian forces to retreat; armistice signed with Allies in September  In June, Austro-Hungarian offensives to take & ended in disastrous defeats

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At Sea

 In February, Austro-Hungarian sailors mutinied & briefly took control of cruisers based at Cattaro on the coast of Montenegro  British efforts to build net barrage at Strait of Dover & raids on Belgian seaport canals leading to German submarine pens at effectively kept submarine traffic out of English Channel  Germans were unable to disrupt movement of American troops & supplies to Europe or supplies to Allied forces in Palestine & Salonika  At the end of October, sailors of German High Seas Fleet mutinied & refused to join suicide mission against British Grand Fleet; civilian workers & other servicemen joined protests which became more revolutionary and spread across Germany & Berlin

In Asia

 Ottomans offensive overcame resistance in Caucasus Mountains and along Caspian Sea in February; reached pre-war borders of Persian & Russia by April and then advanced into Transcaucasian regions taken by Russia in 1878 including oil-rich Baku, Azerbaijan  Following British taking of Damascus in September, Ottoman government signed armistice on 30 October and withdrew from all Transcaucasian regions of defunct Russian Empire in November  British took Mosul in mid-November

On the Western Front (August through November)

 Allies’ began with Battle of on 8 August o Carefully planned coordination of infantry, artillery, tanks, and airplanes as well as secrecy & good intelligence; spearheaded by premier Australian & of BEF, Allied forces included increasing number of newly arrived American troops o Amazingly successful on first day, advancing 6 to 8 miles, thereafter offensive slowed as casualties mounted; British, French, & American forces crushed remaining German salient, German leadership regarded battle as worse defeat of entire war o Trench warfare came to an end as German army was in full retreat  Allied commanders prepared to break German’s Hindenburg & other defensive lines, agreed on British-French September offensive against center of lines with converging offensives on the northern & southern flanks o During largest & bloodiest American operation in war, AEF reduced Saint-Mihiel salient to the south but offensive became bogged down in Meus-Argonne Offensive; operation did prevent Germans from reinforcing other areas of the battle field o Australians captured Mont Saint-Quentin as Canadians took Drocourt-Quéant in the center o In massive drive from the Meuse River to the North Sea, French & Belgian forces attacked near Ypres in the north; attack slowed after initial successes o With heavy losses, Canadian forces broke line & took Cambrai o Australians, Brits, & Americans stormed across Saint-Quentin canal with heavy losses o In early October, Allies breached Hindenburg Line; German leadership had no alternative but to retreat o In early November, American breached German fortifications in Argonne- Meuse region  In last weeks of war, 385,000 German soldiers surrendered, often under leadership of exhausted junior officers 10

Armistices

 Hindenburg & Ludendorff decided that armistice was necessary to save dwindling German army, informed Kaiser of hopelessness of German war effort on 29 September  Offensive in Macedonia by combined force of French, British, Italian, Serb, & Greek troops forced Bulgarian czar to agree to armistice on 30 September  In October, Italian-French-British offensive in northeastern Italy forced Austrians to accept armistice on 3 November  Allies agreed to negotiations with Germany on 5 November; on 9 November, spreading revolution led to abdication of Kaiser & establishment of a German republic  Armistice between Germany & Allies went into effect 11 November  Austrian Republic declared on 12 November

Major Postwar Conflicts in Europe

 1917-1920, German Freikorps fought with & against Latvian & Estonian nationalists  1917-1922, turns into civil war with five to nine million deaths  1917-1930’s, Jews persecuted across Eastern Europea  1918, over 36,000 (1% of population) died in six-month revolution & civil war in Finland  1918/19, Weimar government, with help of German army & Freikorps, crushed Sparatacist Uprising by German communists & radical socialists  1918-1921, Poland successfully fought border against Bolshevik Russia, Czechoslovakia, , Ukraine to insure national independence  1919, revolution established short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic which was overthrown by counter-revolutionary forces aided by Romanian & Czechoslovakian military  1919-1923, Ireland first gained independence in bloody guerrilla war against British forces & then plunged into civil war  1919-1923, War of Independence guaranteed independent Turkish homeland amid persecution &/or expulsion of ethnic minorities  1919-1930’s, violent paramilitary groups played important political role in Central & Eastern Europe