To the Major Battles of World War I were the Battle of Tannenberg, fought between Russia and Germany, the First Battle of the Marne and the Second Battle of the Marne, the latter fought between France and Germany. The Battle of Tannenberg opposed the German armies (belonging to the Triple Alliance, also called Central) and Russian (belonging to the Triple Entente, also called Aliados) in the period from 26 to 30 August 1914.
The First Battle of the Marne, fought between 5 and 12 September 1914, was a counter-offensive to the German advance. The Second Battle of the Marne took place from 15 July to 5 August 1918 and was also decisive for the Allies.
Read too: Balkan War—a conflict that led to World War I
Summary of the main battles of the First World War
- They were: the Battle of Tannenberg, between Russia and Germany, the First Battle of the Marne, and the Second Battle of the Marne, the latter between France and Germany.
- The Battle of Tannenberg pitted the German and Russian armies from 26 to 30 August 1914.
- The First Battle of the Marne, fought between 5 and 12 September 1914, was a French counter-offensive to the German advance, which, until At that moment, it was successful in invading French territory towards the capture of its capital, and was victorious in repelling the invasion. German.
- The Second Battle of the Marne took place from 15 July to 5 August 1918 and was also decisive for the Allies, whose troops battled the last German forces occupying French soil.
- Other important battles of World War I were: Battle of Liège (1914); Battle of the Frontiers (1914); Battle of Ypres (1915); Battle of Warsaw (1915); Battle of Verdun (1916); 100 Days Offensive (1918); and Batalha das Toninhas (1918).
- One of the bloodiest engagements of World War I was the Battle of the Somme, fought between the British and French armies against Germany in the Somme River region of France between July and November 1916.
What were the main battles of World War I?
The First World War (1914-1918) it was a conflict that involved the main powers of the world at the time and developed through hundreds of battles. From a strategic point of view, considering the consequences for the course of the war, the main battles can be pointed out as the Battle of Tannenberg and the Battles of the Marne.
→ Battle of Tannenberg
As the beginning of the First World War took place in the Balkan region, the main forces in combat took some time to position their troops on the main fronts. This first phase, which took place between August and November 1914, is called by historiography the “war of movement”, whose main objective was to move the troops to the regions strategically relevant.
One such region was Allenstein (present-day Olsztyn, Poland), near the Prussian city of Tannenberg, where the first major clash between the Allied forces and the Central Powers took place: the Battle of Tannenberg.
Broadly speaking, the Battle of Tannenberg opposed the German armies (belonging to the Triple Alliance, also called the Central Powers) and Russian (belonging to the Triple Entente, also called Aliados) from 26 to 30 August 1914. The German strategy consisted of quickly defeating the Russian forces and then concentrating on the western front (border of France).
To that end, the German Eighth Army, consisting of 150,000 men, faced the Russian Second Army, consisting of 230,000 men. During the battle, the tactical and military superiority of Germany was evident, as well as the precariousness of the Russian army, which even led to greater internal tensions in the country, which contributed to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1917. As a result, Germany won the battle, leaving 78,000 Russian troops dead and wounded and 92,000 captured, while their casualties were less than 12,000 men.
→ First Battle of the Marne
The Marne River region is close to Paris, France, and is strategically important in the border area with Germany. The First Battle of the Marne, fought between 5 and 12 September 1914, it was a French counter-offensive to the German advance, which, until that moment, had been successful in invading French territory towards the capture of its capital.
Faced with the apparent inevitable taking of Paris, the military Joseph Simon Gallieni organized an attack on the German forces located near the Marne River. A few days later, British troops reinforced the French advance, and as a result, German troops were forced to retreat., signifying a decisive Allied victory.
→ Second Battle of the Marne
The Second Battle of the Marne took place from July 15 to August 5, 1918 and was also decisive for the Allies. French, English, Italian and newly incorporated American troops battled the last German forces invading French soil. Using a large infantry of armored tanks, especially the French Renault FT-17 and the British Mark IV, the troops Allies mobilized more than 1,160,000 troops, against the numerous and well equipped German troops, which numbered more than 1,300,000 soldiers.
Despite the apparent German advantage, their attempt to attack Allied troops in French territory failed., which gave the Allies the necessary opportunity to mobilize even more troops, with the important support of soldiers and equipment Americans, which, added to the meticulous strategy of the commander of the allied troops, the French general Ferndinand Foch, resulted in a great allied victory.
List of major battles of World War I
- Battle of Liège (4 to 16 August 1914): marked the beginning of World War I, in which Germany successfully invaded Belgium.
- Battle of the Frontiers (August 14 to 24, 1914): fought between Germany, which was invading Belgian and French territory, and France, which tried unsuccessfully to repel the invasion.
- Battle of Tannenberg (August 23 to September 2, 1914): fought between Germany, which moved its troops to invade Russia, which was defeated.
- First Battle of the Marne (5 to 12 September 1914): the first major victory of the English and French against the Germans, was decisive for the turning point of the conflict.
- Battle of Ypres (April 22 to May 25, 1915): fought between France, England, Australia and Canada against Germany, which was defeated. It was the first battle of the war in which the Germans used asphyxiating chlorine gas against their enemies.
- Battle of Warsaw (17 August to 14 September 1915): fought between Germany and Russia. The Russians were again defeated and withdrew from Polish territory.
- Battle of Verdun (February 21 to December 19, 1916): the longest battle on the western front, between France and Germany. The French were victorious and expelled the entrenched Germans in the region.
- Second Battle of the Marne (6 July to 8 August 1918): the last Allied offensive against the Germans near Paris. The Allies won an important and decisive victory.
- 100 Day Offensive (August 8 to November 11, 1918): the last and decisive battle of World War I, in which the Allies defeated the German army, forcing its retreat and the collapse of the western front.
- Battle of Toninhas (November 10, 1918): carried out by the Brazilian Navy in the region of the Strait of Gibraltar, in which Brazilian troops, thinking they had identified a German submarine, decimated a school of porpoises.
See too: Battle of Stalingrad — one of the main battles of World War II
What was the bloodiest battle of World War I?
In historiography, there is no consensus on which was the bloodiest battle of the First World War, mainly due to the difficulty of objectively analyzing the data available on all the battles that took place.
However, can be pointed the Battle of the Somme as one of the bloodiest, fought between the British and French armies against Germany, in the Somme River region of France, between July and November 1916. In addition to the pioneering use of war tanks and machine guns, the battle added almost a million dead, with equivalent casualties for each side.
Aftermath of the main battles of the First World War
- Aftermath of the Battle of Tannenberg: the German victory and the near destruction of the second Russian army, which ended Russian plans to advance into the Prussia region and increased internal tensions that contributed to the outbreak of the Revolution Russian.
- Aftermath of the First Battle of the Marne: the failure of the main German offensive strategy, the so-called Schlieffen Plan, and the beginning of the Trench War phase.
- Aftermath of the Second Battle of the Marne: the drastic reduction of its occupation on the western front; the end of offensives on allied territory; and the beginning of Allied attacks on German soil, which would mean the end of the war and the defeat of the Triple Alliance less than 100 days later.
Sources
HOBSBAWN, Eric. The Age of Extremes: the brief twentieth century (1914-1991). São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1995.
SONDHAUS, Lawrence. the first world war: Complete History. São Paulo: Context, 2013.
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/principais-batalhas-da-primeira-guerra-mundial.htm