The First Battle of the Marne took place between the 6th -12th September 1914 at the Marne River between French/British and German forces who had invaded Belgium and northeastern France. The retreating French and British troops were exhausted by the advancing German army and the Germans plan to win the war in 40 days and occupy Paris was about to be destroyed. The French/British used for the first time during warfare, radio intercepts and aircraft to outsmart the Germans. The Germans were eventually pushed back towards the River Aisne where they dug the trenches for the first time. A major number of French forces were transported by taxis and buses to the front lines, making the victory possible for the Allies.  In France this battle is known as the Miracle on the Marne.

The Gallipoli campaign was an 

attack by the Allies on the Gallipoli peninsula between 25th April 1915 to 9th January 1916. The Allies were fighting the Ottoman Empire after the bombing of the Russian port and was hoping to break the stalemate on the Western  and Eastern Front. The campaign started with a naval attack along the Dardanelles but  naval mines sank or damaged several allied ships and the Turks fought back. A land invasion was needed and at dawn on 25th April 1915, Allied forces including Australian and New Zealand troops landed at various locations along the Gallipoli peninsula. Trench warfare took place immediately and much of the campaign was at a stalemate which lead to the decision to evacuate all Allied troops. The campaign is widely viewed as a failure by Winston Churchill.

The Battle of Ypres was multiple battles that took place around the town of Ypres, Belgium. After the first battle of the Marne ended both the Allies and Central Powers were racing northward towards the English Channel and in October 1914, they both met at Ypres. Fierce battles began as both sides tried to gain control of the town. The fighting halted in November when winter settled on the troops and began again in April 1915. The Germans released chlorine gas, destroying two French units. When the gas was aimed at Canadian troops, they quickly soaked handkerchiefs in urine to put over their faces and held their position.  The Allies invented gas mask and their own chemical weapons. The last two engagements around Ypres were in Passchendaele and Lys which led to an Allied victory on 14th October 1918.

The Battle of Verdun took place at Verdun in northeastern France from 21st February to 18th December 1916. The battle lasting 10 months and is considered to be one of the longest battles of the war. The Germans began the battle by launching artillery shells at the French and for the first few days, Germany advanced easily, then French reinforcements came and France counterattacked. In July the Germans realised their plan had failed. From October until the end of 1916, France managed to regain the forts and territory they had lost during the battle. By its end approximately 400,000 French and 350,000 Germans soldiers died. 

The Battle of the Somme took place at the River Somme in France and lasted from 1st July to 18th November 1916. It was one of the most bloodiest and horrible battles, thousands dead or wounded every single day. By its end there were over 1 million casualties on both sides. On the first day alone, the British lost over 50,000 men. Using tanks for the first time, the British thought they would steamroll over the German defense but unfortunately the tanks malfunctioned and the Germans responded to the attack, armed with machine guns. Overall the British suffered over 420,000 casualties, the French 200,000 and the Germans 500,000.

The Battle of Jutland took place over 2 days between the 31st May to 1st June 1916 off the North Sea, about 97 kilometres off the coast of Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle between the British and Germans of WWI. The British and German fleets met in a face-to-face encounter for the first time and ended as a major naval battle between the British Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy’s High Seas Fleet. After heavy losses of both ships and men (mostly British), the German fleet narrowly escaped in the dead of night.  No one really knows who was victorious  because both sides claimed victory!

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