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Schlieffen Plan
(This date may not be 100% correct) General Count Alfred von Schlieffen thought of the "Schlieffen Plan". This was so that Germany did not have o fight a war on two fronts.
The Plan took nine years to develop. The plan was to go through neutral Belgium and encircle Paris thus knocking France out of the war before Russia could mobilise it's forces -
Schlieffen Plan Modification
(This date may not be 100% correct) Schlieffen retired in 1906 and Helmuth von Moltke became the German chief of staff. Moltke diagreed with parts of the Schlieffen Plan but decided not to scrap the plan entirely. Instead he modified the plan.- Moltke decided to pull significant numbers of troops away from the main force entering France from the north, in order to fortify the forces in Alsace-Lorraine, and the forces at the Russian border.
- The other significant change he ma
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The Schlieffen Plan in Action
Germany invaded Luxembourg and Belgium in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan.
The Belgium Army and the British Expeditionary Force held back the German Forces.
Russia mobilised their forces in just ten days and Germany had to withdraw from the Schlieffen Plan to defend the east border of Germany -
The German Advance
The Germans advanced through Belgium and were confronted by the British at Mons -
The British Retreat
The Germans were briefly stopped by the British but their overwhelming numbers caused the british to retreat.
During the retreat, half the British soldiers stopped and fought at Le Cateau, giving the rest of the soldiers a chance to retreat.
The retreat lasted for two weeks and the British were pushed back almost 200 miles (322km) to the river Marne -
Battle of the Marne
Germany was unable to capture Paris so they attacked east of the capital.
Germany was met by the French soldiers at Marne and their advance was halted.
The Battle of the Marne lasted six days from September 5 to Spetember 11. -
The Race to the Sea
The French joined the British forces in aid to drive the Germans back.
On 22 September both sides tried to out flank each other to the North. This became know as the "Race to the Sea". The 'race' ended on October 18, when both sides reached the English Channel -
First battle of Ypres
(This date may not be 100% correct) Ypres was a Belgian city and was located between the Germans and the ports of the English Channel. The Allies were determinded to hold Ypres at all costs.
The Germans launched an attack in attempt to break through but were beaten by the last reserved of the old regual British army aided by the Indian Army.
The first winter of the war came and the German offence on Ypres seised. -
Neuve Chappele
(This date may not be 100% correct) Both sides started to adjust to trench warefare in early 1915.
In March, the Allied forces made a successful attack on Neuve Chappelle. However, failure to send more troops to the rapid German responed prevented any further advance. -
The Second battle of Ypres
The Germans tried again to capture Ypres, this time coming in with heavy fire power.
Chlorine Gas (an agent of Chemical Warfare) was used against the allied forces for the first time. The Allies were completely unprepared for this.
The fighting continued for four days from April 22 to April 27. During this time, the Germans managed to push the Allied forces back 3 miles towards Ypres.
95,000 casualties occurred during this battle with 63% being British. -
Attack on Aubers Ridge
One May 9, the British Forces attacked Aubers Ridge in aid to the French attack in Artois. -
Allies Joint Attack: Loos and Champagne
The Allies launched a joint attack. The French attacked Champagne while the British launched at Loos. The Allies used Chemical Warfare for the first time.
After little success during this attack, the offence ground to a halt -
Battle of Verdun, Part One
The Germans tried to end the stalemate by launching a major offensive at Verdun.
The Germans shattered the French defences with the heaviest German bombardment of the war.
The attack at Verdun started on February 21. By July the German forces had only moved forward about 5 miles. -
The Battle of Verdun, Part 2
The Germans nearly broke through the French defences. However, the French were relieved by the Allied offencive on the Somme.
This offencive helped the French push the Germans almost back to their starting point. -
Battle of the Somme
In aid to relieve the pressure of the French at Verdun, the Allied forces launched a counter-attack to the Somme.
This attack was preceded by a week bombardment of the German territory.
This was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war resulting in almost 750,000 casualties. -
The Hidenburg Line
(Date may not be 100% correct)
The Germans pulled back to the 'Hidenburg Line'. An impregnable defence position.
However, this withdrawal shortened the German front by about 50 miles -
Arras and Vimy Ridge
The British lead an assult at Arras which gave the Canadian Corps a stratigic posion at Vimy Ridge. -
Nivelle's Offence
French Commander, General Robert Nivelle, launched an attack in Champagne. The attack failed and turned into a disaster. The French Amry had mutinies breaking out. Nievele was dismissed and replaced by General Phillipe Petain. -
Attack on Messines Ridge
The British launched an attack against the Germans forces at Messines Ridge. The British used 19 mines to literally blow the Germans off the Ridge. -
The Third Battle of Ypres Passchendaele
The British launched an attack on Ypres in attempt to capture the channel [ports used by the Germans for thier most dangerous naval weapon submarines. -
Cambrai
The British launched a suprise attack on Cambrai.
They used 476 tanks and broked through the German lines.
It was initially a successful attack but unfortunatly there were insugnificant reservers to hold the gained ground.
On November 30, the Germans launched a counter attack and regained most of their lost ground. -
Black day of the German Army
The Allies drove the Germans back with continueous attacks.
By early October they broke through the Hindenburn Line. -
Armistice
The Armistice document was signed at Compiegne and the war fell silent at 1100hrs. -
German Surrender
(Date may not be 100% correct) The Germans admitted defeat and looked for beneficial peace terms.
In November they accepted the Allies' harsh surrender conditions.