Timeline
October-November 1914
The first battle of Ypres - the British stopped the Germans from capturing the port of Calais
April-May 1915
Second Battle of Ypres - A German attack using chlorine gas for the first time
July-November 1916
Battle of the Somme-Major attack led French and British to move German troops from Verdun
April-May 1917
Battle of Arras-large scale allied attack, very high casualties
July-November 1917
Third battle of Ypres - Aim to capture Passchendaele near Ypres. The ground turned to mud.
December 1917
Battle of. Cambrai - first use of a large number of tanks by the British. 40,000 British casualties
Spring 1918
The German spring Offensive - Large scale German attack to bring the war to an end before the Americans arrived
Summer-Autumn 1918
The final months - the allied army, reinforced by fresh US troops broke through German lines.
11 November 1918
Germany surrender and the war ended.
The British Sector of the Western Front
In Autumn 1914, Germans attacked the British positions around East and North Ypres. Ypres was held, but lost 50,000 troops. The Germans held Hill 60° South-East of Ypres which gave them a height advantage. In April 1915, British soldiers mined underneath the hill and blew up the German defense so the British were able to capture it.
Second Battle of Ypres
Between April to May 1915, the second battle began. It was the first time the Germans used Chlorine Gas on the Western Front. Britain lost 59,000 men and the Germans moved 2 miles closer to the town. The British finally pushed back the Germans in 1917 on Passchendaele.
Trench System
Trenches were first dug by the British and French Armies in Northern France in 1914 and acted like a barrier. At first trenches were temporary and built quickly using sandbags and shovels in existing ditches. They needed to be constantly repaired due to the weather and constant bombing. As the war went on, trenches became part of the "Stalemate', used to defend and launch attacks. Trenches became more complex with bunkers, drainage, hospitals, and accommodations.
Main features of the Trench System from the Western front
- Support Trench
- Communications Trench
- No Man's Land
- Frontline Trench
- Reserve Trench
