List of military engagements of World War I

This list of military engagements of World War I covers terrestrial, maritime, and aerial conflicts, including campaigns, operations, defensive positions, and sieges.

Campaigns generally refer to broader strategic operations conducted over a large bit of territory and over a long period of time.

From 5 to 16 August 1914, the Belgians successfully resisted the numerically superior Germans, and inflicted surprisingly heavy losses on their aggressors.

The German Second Army, comprising 320,000 men, crossed into neutral Belgium in keeping to the Schlieffen Plan, with the ultimate goal of attacking France from the north.

Liège was key strategically as it held a position at the head of a pass through the Ardennes, which made it the best possible route into the heart of Belgium itself.

[citation needed] The next day, rather than confront the forts in battle, the German commander Erich Ludendorff attacked the city through the back, through a break in the line of fortresses that the Belgians had intended to fortify, but never did so.

[2] The unprecedented Belgian resistance seriously prolonged the opening German assault at the outbreak of World War I, allowing France and Britain time to organize themselves and a defense of Paris.

The capture of the area, preordained by the French Plan XVII, was to boost national pride—and to provide a guard force for the flank of subsequent invasions.

Realizing the psychological magnitude of the loss, he assembled a force, led by Paul Pau, which tried unsuccessfully to recapture the province.

Both towns were well fortified, and the task of defending them fell to Crown Prince Rupprecht, who had overall control of the German Sixth and Seventh armies.

Conditions worsened, and by the time the two armies met, the forest was covered in a deep fog, resulting in the two forces stumbling into one another.

However, what emerged was totally opposite; the French eagerly charged at German positions in the woods, and were mowed down by machine-gun fire.

However Joseph Joffre, chief-of-staff, rejected any such idea; after much persuasion, Lanrezac finally convinced him to move the Fifth Army northwards.

He preferred to wait for reinforcements, however that same day the Germans attacked across the river and established two beachheads, neither of which fell despite several French counterattacks.

With news of his situation, and the fact that his flanks could give and be completely enwrapped, Lanrezac ordered a general retreat into northern France.

As well as disrupts the Schlieffen plan, forcing Germany to fight on two fronts)[8][9][10] Campaign of 1915 (Central powers victory, however, the Germans are unable to bring Russia out of the war.

Battles: See also the following articles: These conflicts are considered part of the First World War because one or more of the combatants were aligned with a main belligerent power which may have provided materiel, military, financial, or political support.

List of Canadian battles during the First World War on the Western Front plaque in Currie Hall , Royal Military College of Canada
A diagram showing a city, surrounded by a ring of 12 fortresses, represented by red triangles. They are spaced out beyond the city, which is a gray area in the center. A river flows through the center, diagrammed in blue.
A diagram of the fortifications surrounding the city
A long row of heavy cavalry stretches down a street, taking up most of the space. A woman in the foreground is reaching out and giving flowers to one of the men. They are wearing plate armour around the chest, and a crested hat on top.
French heavy cavalry on the way to battle, Paris, August 1914.
W Beach, Helles, on January 7, 1916, just prior to the final evacuation of British forces during the Gallipoli Campaign .