Battle of Albert (1914)W
Battle of Albert (1914)

The Battle of Albert began on 25 September 1914, in what became known as the "Race to the Sea", during the First World War. It followed the First Battle of the Aisne as both sides moved northwards, trying to turn the northern flank of their opponent. The Second Army, began to assemble at Amiens in mid-September and was directed by General Joseph Joffre, the Generalissimo of the French Army, to attack near Albert.

Battle of the ArdennesW
Battle of the Ardennes

The Battle of the Ardennes was a battle of the First World War fought on the frontiers of France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg from 21 to 23 August 1914. The German armies defeated the French armies and forced the French armies to retreat. The battle was part of the larger Battle of the Frontiers, the first battle of the Western Front.

First Battle of ArtoisW
First Battle of Artois

The First Battle of Artois was a battle fought during World War I by the French and German armies on the Western Front. The battle was the first offensive move on the Western Front by either side after the end of the First Battle of Ypres in November 1914. The French assault failed to break the stalemate.

Battle of ArmentièresW
Battle of Armentières

The Battle of Armentières was fought by German and Franco-British forces in northern France in October 1914, during reciprocal attempts by the armies to envelop the northern flank of their opponent, which has been called the Race to the Sea. Troops of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) moved north from the Aisne front in early October and then joined in a general advance with French troops further south, pushing German cavalry and Jäger back towards Lille until 19 October. German infantry reinforcements of the 6th Army arrived in the area during October.

Battle of Arras (1914)W
Battle of Arras (1914)

The Battle of Arras, was an attempt by the French Army to outflank the German Army, which was attempting to do the same thing during the "Race to the Sea", the reciprocal attempts by both sides, to exploit conditions created during the First Battle of the Aisne. At the First Battle of Picardy (22–26 September) each side had attacked expecting to advance round an open northern flank and found instead that troops had arrived from further south and extended the flank northwards.

Battle of FlireyW
Battle of Flirey

The Battle of Flirey was a First World War battle fought from 19 September – 11 October 1914. It resulted in a German victory against the French army. The battle cut most of the roads and railways to the strategically important Fortified Region of Verdun and was to have a large effect on the course of the war.

Battle of Grand CouronnéW
Battle of Grand Couronné

The Battle of Grand Couronné from 4 to 13 September 1914, took place in France after the Battle of the Frontiers, at the beginning of the First World War. After the German victories of Sarrebourg and Morhange, pursuit by the German 6th Army and the 7th Army, took four days to regain contact with the French and attack to break through French defences on the Moselle.

Battle of La BasséeW
Battle of La Bassée

The Battle of La Bassée was fought by German and Franco-British forces in northern France in October 1914, during reciprocal attempts by the contending armies to envelop the northern flank of their opponent, which has been called the Race to the Sea. The German 6th Army took Lille before a British force could secure the town and the 4th Army attacked the exposed British flank further north at Ypres. The British were driven back and the German army occupied La Bassée and Neuve Chapelle. Around 15 October, the British recaptured Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée but failed to recover La Bassée.

Battle of LorraineW
Battle of Lorraine

The Battle of Lorraine was a battle on the Western Front during the First World War. The armies of France and Germany had completed their mobilisation, the French with Plan XVII, to conduct an offensive through Lorraine and Alsace into Germany and the Germans with Aufmarsch II West, for an offensive in the north through Luxembourg and Belgium into France, supplemented with attacks in the south to prevent the French from transferring troops to the greater threat in the north.

First Battle of the MarneW
First Battle of the Marne

The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 6 to 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German armies in the west. The battle was the culmination of the Retreat from Mons and pursuit of the Franco–British armies which followed the Battle of the Frontiers in August and reached the eastern outskirts of Paris.

Battle of LorraineW
Battle of Lorraine

The Battle of Lorraine was a battle on the Western Front during the First World War. The armies of France and Germany had completed their mobilisation, the French with Plan XVII, to conduct an offensive through Lorraine and Alsace into Germany and the Germans with Aufmarsch II West, for an offensive in the north through Luxembourg and Belgium into France, supplemented with attacks in the south to prevent the French from transferring troops to the greater threat in the north.

Battle of St. Quentin (1914)W
Battle of St. Quentin (1914)

The Battle of St. Quentin (also called the First Battle of Guise was fought from 29 to 30 August 1914, during the First World War.

First Battle of the MarneW
First Battle of the Marne

The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 6 to 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German armies in the west. The battle was the culmination of the Retreat from Mons and pursuit of the Franco–British armies which followed the Battle of the Frontiers in August and reached the eastern outskirts of Paris.

Battle of the Trouée de CharmesW
Battle of the Trouée de Charmes

The Battle of the Trouée de Charmes or Battle of the Mortagne was fought at the beginning of World War I, between 24 and 26 August 1914 by the French Second Army and the German 6th Army, after the big German victory at the Battle of the Frontiers, earlier in August.

First Battle of the MarneW
First Battle of the Marne

The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 6 to 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German armies in the west. The battle was the culmination of the Retreat from Mons and pursuit of the Franco–British armies which followed the Battle of the Frontiers in August and reached the eastern outskirts of Paris.

Battle of the Trouée de CharmesW
Battle of the Trouée de Charmes

The Battle of the Trouée de Charmes or Battle of the Mortagne was fought at the beginning of World War I, between 24 and 26 August 1914 by the French Second Army and the German 6th Army, after the big German victory at the Battle of the Frontiers, earlier in August.

First Battle of the MarneW
First Battle of the Marne

The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 6 to 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German armies in the west. The battle was the culmination of the Retreat from Mons and pursuit of the Franco–British armies which followed the Battle of the Frontiers in August and reached the eastern outskirts of Paris.

First Battle of the MarneW
First Battle of the Marne

The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 6 to 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German armies in the west. The battle was the culmination of the Retreat from Mons and pursuit of the Franco–British armies which followed the Battle of the Frontiers in August and reached the eastern outskirts of Paris.

Bois-le-Prêtre fightingW
Bois-le-Prêtre fighting

Bois-le-Prêtre fighting was a World War I theater of operation between September 1914 and July 1915, involving the French 73 and 128th Infantry Division and the German 121st Infantry Division.

First Battle of ChampagneW
First Battle of Champagne

The First Battle of Champagne was fought from 20 December 1914 – 17 March 1915 in World War I in the Champagne region of France and was the second offensive by the Allies against the German Empire since mobile warfare had ended after the First Battle of Ypres in Flanders (19 October – 22 November 1914). The battle was fought by the French Fourth Army and the German 3rd Army. The offensive was part of a French strategy to attack the Noyon Salient, a large bulge in the new Western Front, which ran from Switzerland to the North Sea. The First Battle of Artois began on the northern flank of the salient on 17 December and the offensive against the southern flank in Champagne began three days later.

First Battle of PicardyW
First Battle of Picardy

The First Battle of Picardy (22–26 September 1914) took place during the Race to the Sea (17 September – 19 October) and the First Battle of the Aisne (13 September – 28 September). The "race" was a Franco-British counter-offensive, which followed the Battle of the Frontiers and the German advance into France during the Great Retreat, which ended at the First Battle of the Marne (5–12 September). The term describes reciprocal attempts by the Franco-British and German armies to envelop the northern flank of the opposing army, through Picardy, Artois and Flanders.

First Battle of the AisneW
First Battle of the Aisne

The First Battle of the Aisne was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army and the Second Army as they retreated after the First Battle of the Marne earlier in September 1914. The Advance to the Aisne consisted of the Battle of the Marne (7–10 September) and the Battle of the Aisne (12–15 September).

First Battle of the MarneW
First Battle of the Marne

The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 6 to 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German armies in the west. The battle was the culmination of the Retreat from Mons and pursuit of the Franco–British armies which followed the Battle of the Frontiers in August and reached the eastern outskirts of Paris.

French Army order of battle (1914)W
French Army order of battle (1914)

This is the order of battle for the French Army on the outbreak of war in August 1914.

French entry into World War IW
French entry into World War I

France entered World War I when, after mobilizing on 1 August, its government declared war on Austria-Hungary on 11 August 1914.

Battle of the FrontiersW
Battle of the Frontiers

The Battle of the Frontiers was a series of battles fought along the eastern frontier of France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategies of the French Chief of Staff General Joseph Joffre with Plan XVII and an offensive interpretation of the German Aufmarsch II deployment plan by Helmuth von Moltke the Younger: the German concentration on the right (northern) flank, to wheel through Belgium and attack the French in the rear.

German invasion of BelgiumW
German invasion of Belgium

The German invasion of Belgium was a military campaign which began on 4 August 1914. Earlier, on 24 July, the Belgian government had announced that if war came it would uphold its historic neutrality. The Belgian government mobilised its armed forces on 31 July and a state of heightened alert was proclaimed in Germany. On 2 August, the German government sent an ultimatum to Belgium, demanding passage through the country, and German forces invaded Luxembourg. Two days later, the Belgian government refused the demands and the British government guaranteed military support to Belgium. The German government declared war on Belgium on 4 August, troops crossed the border and began the Battle of Liège.

Great RetreatW
Great Retreat

The Great Retreat, also known as the Retreat from Mons, is the name given to the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army, Allied forces on the Western Front in the First World War, after their defeat by the armies of the German Empire at the Battle of Charleroi and the Battle of Mons. A counteroffensive by the Fifth Army, with some assistance from the BEF, at the First Battle of Guise failed to end the German advance, and the retreat continued to and beyond the Marne. From 5 to 12 September, the First Battle of the Marne ended the Allied retreat and forced the German armies to retire towards the Aisne River and to fight the First Battle of the Aisne (13–28 September). Reciprocal attempts to outflank the opposing armies to the north known as the Race to the Sea followed (17 September – 17 October).

Skirmish at JonchereyW
Skirmish at Joncherey

The Skirmish at Joncherey was a clash in the Territoire de Belfort, on the border between France and Germany, and was the first military action of the Western Front of World War I. It occurred in the village of Joncherey near the 1871 French–German border in Alsace-Lorraine. The skirmish took place a day before the German declaration of war against France on 3 August 1914.

Battle of Le CateauW
Battle of Le Cateau

The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on the Western Front during the First World War on 26 August 1914. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army had retreated after their defeats at the Battle of Charleroi and the Battle of Mons. The British II Corps fought a delaying action at Le Cateau to slow the German pursuit. Most of the BEF was able to continue its retreat to Saint-Quentin.

Rearguard Affair of Le Grand FaytW
Rearguard Affair of Le Grand Fayt

The Rearguard Affair of Le Grand Fayt was a rearguard action fought at Grand-Fayt by the British Expeditionary Force during the Great Retreat on the Western Front in 1914.

Battle of LorraineW
Battle of Lorraine

The Battle of Lorraine was a battle on the Western Front during the First World War. The armies of France and Germany had completed their mobilisation, the French with Plan XVII, to conduct an offensive through Lorraine and Alsace into Germany and the Germans with Aufmarsch II West, for an offensive in the north through Luxembourg and Belgium into France, supplemented with attacks in the south to prevent the French from transferring troops to the greater threat in the north.

Marne MedalW
Marne Medal

The Marne Medal was a French medal awarded to soldiers who had fought in the First Battle of the Marne, the Second Battle of the Marne or both engagements, particularly those who took part in fighting between 6 and 12 September 1914 on the Senlis front at Verdun.

Battle of Messines (1914)W
Battle of Messines (1914)

The Battle of Messines was fought in October 1914 between the armies of the German and British empires, as part of the Race to the Sea, between the river Douve and the Comines–Ypres canal.

Battle of the ArdennesW
Battle of the Ardennes

The Battle of the Ardennes was a battle of the First World War fought on the frontiers of France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg from 21 to 23 August 1914. The German armies defeated the French armies and forced the French armies to retreat. The battle was part of the larger Battle of the Frontiers, the first battle of the Western Front.

Affair of NéryW
Affair of Néry

The Affair of Néry was a skirmish fought on 1 September 1914 between the British Army and the German Army, part of the Great Retreat from Mons during the early stages of the First World War. A British cavalry brigade preparing to leave their overnight bivouac were attacked by a German cavalry division of about twice their strength, shortly after dawn. Both sides fought dismounted; the British artillery was mostly put out of action in the first few minutes but a gun of L Battery, Royal Horse Artillery kept up a steady fire for two and a half hours, against a full battery of German artillery. British reinforcements arrived at around 8:00 a.m., counter-attacked the Germans and forced them to retreat; the German division was routed and did not return to combat for several days. Three men of L Battery were awarded the Victoria Cross for their part in the battle' the battery was later awarded the honour title of "Néry", the only British Army unit to have this as a battle honour.

Winter operations 1914–1915W
Winter operations 1914–1915

Winter operations 1914–1915 is the name given to military operations during the First World War, from 23 November 1914 – 6 February 1915, in the 1921 report of the British government Battles Nomenclature Committee. The operations took place on the part of the Western Front held by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), in French and Belgian Flanders.

Bombardment of PapeeteW
Bombardment of Papeete

The Bombardment of Papeete occurred in French Polynesia when German warships attacked on 22 September 1914, during World War I. The German armoured cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and Gneisenau entered the port of Papeete on the island of Tahiti and sank the French gunboat Zélée and freighter Walküre before bombarding the town's fortifications. French shore batteries and a gunboat resisted the German intrusion but were greatly outgunned. The main German objective was to seize the coal piles stored on the island, but these were destroyed by the French at the start of the action.

Race to the SeaW
Race to the Sea

The Race to the Sea took place from about 17 September – 19 October 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne (5–12 September) and was followed by the First Battle of the Aisne (13–28 September), a Franco-British counter-offensive. The term describes reciprocal attempts by the Franco-British and German armies to envelop the northern flank of the opposing army through the provinces of Picardy, Artois and Flanders, rather than an attempt to advance northwards to the sea. The "race" ended on the North Sea coast of Belgium around 19 October, when the last open area from Dixmude to the North Sea was occupied by Belgian troops who had retreated after the Siege of Antwerp. The outflanking attempts had resulted in a number of encounter battles but neither side was able to gain a decisive victory.

Siege of MaubeugeW
Siege of Maubeuge

The Siege of Maubeuge took place from 24 August – 7 September 1914, at le camp retranché de Maubeuge the start of World War I on the Western Front. The Entrenched Camp blocked the railway from Thionville to Luxembourg, which had also been cut by the demolition of the rail bridge over the Meuse at Namur in Belgium to the north. Until Maubeuge fell, the German armies in the north could use only the single-track line from Trier to Liège, Brussels, Valenciennes and Cambrai, which could accommodate a maximum of forty trains a day.

First Battle of YpresW
First Battle of Ypres

The First Battle of Ypres was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the First Battle of Flanders, in which German, French, Belgian armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fought from Arras in France to Nieuport on the Belgian coast, from 10 October to mid-November. The battles at Ypres began at the end of the Race to the Sea, reciprocal attempts by the German and Franco-British armies to advance past the northern flank of their opponents. North of Ypres, the fighting continued in the Battle of the Yser (16–31 October), between the German 4th Army, the Belgian army and French marines.

Battle of the YserW
Battle of the Yser

The Battle of the Yser was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns of Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a 35 km (22 mi) stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee Canal, in Belgium. The front line was held by a large Belgian force, which halted the German advance in a costly defensive battle.

Zeppelin LZ 23W
Zeppelin LZ 23

The Zeppelin LZ 23 was the 2nd improved L-class Zeppelin, and the eleventh airship of the Imperial German Army, first flown on 21 February 1914 and shot-down by ant-aircraft fire on 23 August 1914.