[yhcln1]

The Great War, later known as World War One, was the most destructive war fought till its time. It was a tragic and sad time that affected people all over the world. More causality was left dead in this war than any other war in a century. Also the advance weapons that were used in World War One are still used throughout modern times. Weapons and machines such as tanks, machine guns, poison gas, and grenades were used in World War One also were carry into the Second World War. No man’s land and trench warfare were also invented in World War One; they then changed the face of war itself. Indeed the Great War had left a deep mark in history and it’s generations to come.
There were four important battles in World War One. Three of the battles were fought by the European nations. They were the Battle of Marne, Battle of Somme, and the Battle of Verdun. The United States of America was involve in the Battle of Belleau Wood, that battle is the first major one that the Americans fought in.
The Battles of Somme was fought on the western front. It was fought on 1916 that lasted from the first of July to the eighteenth of November. This battle was famous mainly because of the loss of the British troops. Great Britain lost one third of her troops (58,000) on the very first day of this bloody battle. It was also one of the allies’ major offensive. The Allies’ plan was supposed to be a joint Britain and French army, both armies attacking the Germans. Lt. Gen. Sir Douglas Haig called for a major bomarbond. Since the French were weakend by the Battle of Verdun, the battle’s responsibility mainly fell upon the shoulders of Great Britain.
750,000 men formed twenty divisions of the army. But 80% of the 750000 men were from the BEF (British Expeditionary Force). Against the Allies the German army formed seventeen divisions. The main strategy was to drain the Germans of it resources and then take over the German’s front line. In order to do that, the Allies plan an advance artillery bombardment. However, this plan fails badly for the Allies. The combination of 1,500 British guns and a similar number of French weaponry did little to damage the Germans’ front lines or even damage the Germans’ sturdy underground bunker. After the Allies crease their attack, the German’s would only then come out of their bunkers. Then the Germans used their machine guns to badly cripple the Allies’ troops. The British meanwhile expecting little or no opposition, and held down by heavy supplies were mowed down by German’s gunfire.
During The Battle of Somme, the British first introduce the tanks. The first tanks were unreliable and there were too few to make a difference. Only 24 out of 50 actually worked. The few that did work only successive got lost and even fired upon there own side. The o2nly thing that the tanks accomplished was to surprise the Germans. The Germans only saw tanks for the first time.
For the most part, the French achieved most of their objectives. They would travel in small groups to defeat their enemies. Finally the Battle of Somme ended on the 19th of November in the same year it all started in. Haig finally halted this useless attack because neither side was winning. At the end of the war the British and French casualties numbered 419,654 while the German suffered about 450,000 to 680,000 casualties. This battle did not accomplish something in WWI.
The first Battle of Marne was fought in 1914, Which last from September 6th to the 12th. It was fought on the western war front. The Schliffen Plan was the German’s plan of attack. The plan called on attacking the French army. First the Germans will defeat powerful French army who is located in the west and then focus their attention to the Russians in the east.
First the Germans invaded Belgium and North-Eastern France, with their rapid advance; the German quickly reached within 30 miles of France’s capital, Paris. As The German army came near Paris, the remainder of the French’s defending force with the British prepares for the German’s attack.
The British with France’s fifth and sixth army were at the point of exhaustion by their retreat and the German’s series of attack. The German first army was then instructed to surround Paris, ready to strike. The Allies formed a counter-attack to meet the German’s plan. The French under Joseph Joffe, with 150,000 men attacked the German First Army’s right flank. The German Army opened a 30 miles long gap while fight the French. Then the British under Sir John French will fill the gap between German First and Second Armies; next the British would strike the German Second Army.
For the next few days, the Germans were unable to successfully attack and defeat the Allies. But the French were lacking troops, only to be saved by 6,000 fresh reserved infantry. The reserved troops rode in a wave of 600 taxies from Paris to the scene of the battle, this was later known as the Golliappi taxi incident. Then on the night of September 8th, the French Fifth army launched a surprise attack against the German Second Army. The next day the Germans started to retreat, they after traveling 40 miles, which is just north of Asine river. From there on, the Germans dug trenches, gettin8g ready for many more battles in the near future. Because of the Allies’ expert strategists, the Allies won the Battle of Marne. The Allies suffered about the death of 263,000 troops, while the Central Power had 250,000 causalities. The Battle of Marnes proved to be significance since the Allies ended all German hopes of a quick and speedy war. It also showed that the French and British are willing to defend France’s land.
The Battle of Verdun was the longest and bloodiest battle in World War one. It began on February 21, 1916 and ended on the summer of July 1916. That battle was fought the western front, on French soil, in the ancient fortress of Verdun. It began when the Chief of the German Staff Erich Falkenhayn started on the concentration of obliterating the enemy troops. He wanted to “bleed France white,” in other words, Falkenhayn hoped that by destroying enemy soldiers, the Allies would lack the troops to continue on fighting the war. Falkenhayn chose to strike Verdun because he believes that the French would fight till the last man standing and he was right. Verdun was more then a strong and important fortes it was also symbol to the French. A French Commander in Chief knew that if Verdun was taken, the morals of French soldiers drop and unwilling to fight. The Germans planned to put Verdun into a series of bombardment.
The attack on Verdun was left with crown prince Wilhelm, commander of the German 5th Army. He planned to destroy the French defenders before attacking Verdun itself. The assault finally began on February 21st, the Germans lead by Wilhelm with 1,400 guns and a handy railroad facility nearby. On the first day of the battle 100,000 shells showered onto Verdun, each and every hour. By the first day, Wilhelm had successfully broken and captured France’s first line of trenches. On February, the Germans had broken into the French’s second line of trenches. Then in march 6th, the Germans with a new supply of artilleries, started pushing even further into Verdun. But with the French’s continuous counter-attacks, the Germans quickly started to retreat. After that, Falkenhayn immedity stopped his attack on Verdun in July 1916. He learned that by trying to that Verdun, the Germans had almost lost as many men as the Allies.
Paul Von Hindenburg replaced Falkenhayn because of his failure to captured Verdun. Hindenburg argued that the Central Powers lost a chance to defeat the Russian Army by assaulting Verdun.
Causalities were high on both sides. Historians predicted that the French totaled about 315,000 men. The Germans had somewhere around 280,000 casualties. The city of Verdun itself was practically destroyed. The Battle of Verdun later became a symbol of the terrible destructiveness modern war.
The battle of Belleau Woods is a small battle if compared to Marne, Verdun, or Somme. But it had much significance to it. It was the first major battle for the American troops. The battled showed the young energy of the fresh U.S. soldiers and the power of American itself. When the Americans won the battle, that actually gave the French a mortal boost.
Battle of Belleau woods began on June 6 in France; Belleau woods and ended on June1918. Belleau woods was masterly guarded and defended by the Germans who made it a lot harder to captured. On June 1st, the U.S. 2nd division Marines under James Harbard advanced to Belleau woods. Which caused many casualties since they had to move through an open wheat field. The Germans mowed the Americans down with their machine guns. Then 3 days later, on June 9th, the U.S started to bombard the Germans. On June 10th, the Marines went through the woods with little or no opposition since the Germans were devastated by the American’s gunfire. The Marines then used rifles, bayonets and grenades to clear out the rest of the Germans. Belleau wood was then first taken by the Marines and 3rd Infantry Brigade, next taken back by the Germans again for a total of 6 times. The American finally kicked the Germans out of Belleau Woods; the Germans were also expelled from the nearby villages of Vaux and Bauresche. U.S suffered a total of 9,777 casualties, and the Germans death toll was unknown. This battle is also the last German major offensive.
The effects of WWI lead to immeasurable destruction. Many nations’ economy and government had been left in ruins. More then 10 million soldiers had died. More people had been left dead in this war then any other war combine in the last 100 years. WWI also left hate and betrayal behind in the European countries, which will lead to the creation of WWII.