World War 1 Timeline: from beginning to end By: Emmalee VanZyl Germany declares war on Russia, Luxembourg, France and the neutral Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. Canada follows suit and joins the war. First Battle of the Marne begins, and Masurian Lakes begins. First Battle of the Marne ends with a French Victory Russia loses the First Battle of Masurian Lakes. First Battle of Aisne begins. Troops starts to construct trenches across the entire length of the western front. Battle of Lemberg begins. Second Battle of Masurian Lakes begins. France, Russia, Italy and Britain conclude secret Treaty of London. The First Battle of Isonzo. The Second Battle of Champagne begins. Battlesof Artois starts. Battle of Loos starts. American Army starts sending in troops to Europe. Battle of the Somme begins and ends.

The British explode 19 large mines under the Messines Ridge. German troops break through the northernmost end of the Russian front during the Riga offensive. The United States declares war on Austro-Hungary. Germany and Austria send peace notes to US President Woodrow Wilson. The peace Treaty of St Germain- en-Laye is signed.

World War 1: The 5 Major Battles and 1918, The Battles of the Marne , 1915, and 1917, The Battles of Ypres , The Battle of Verdun , The Battle of Somme , The Battle of Cambrai Names Of The 5 Battles

The Battles of Marne The rapid advances of the German army through Belgium and northern France caused panic in the French army and troops were rushed from Paris in taxis to halt the advance. The Germans were eventually halted and the War settled into the familiar defensive series of entrenchment's. The intervening four years had cost hundreds of thousands of lives and the armies were still, literally, exactly where they had started.

The Battles of Ypres There were in fact three battles fought around the Ypres salient during the War.. The second, in 1915, was notable for the first use of poison gas by the Germans. Here, a combination of over-ambitious aims, appalling weather conditions, and misguided persistence by Haig led to horrific losses. The horrors of the battle, in which men drowned in liquid mud has become synonymous with the images of the War.

The Battle of Verdun A major military engagement of World War I, the Battle of Verdun was a ten month long ordeal between the French and German armies. The battle was part of an unsuccessful German campaign to take the offensive on the western front. In the years preceding World War I, Germany became Europe's leading industrial power. France felt increasingly threatened by German industrialization; and although France ruled the second largest colonial empire in the world, French leaders realized that France could not protect itself on its own from the burgeoning power of Germany.

The Battle of Somme After a weeklong artillery bombardment launched the attack across the river Somme. With the French Army being hard-pressed to the south at Verdun the British intended to breakthrough the German defenses in a matter of hours.

The Battle of Cambrai The British launched the offensive that was designed exclusively to accommodate the British secret weapon, the tank. Nevertheless, Cambrai demonstrated how a well-thought out attack, combining tanks en masse with surprise, could be used to break the trench deadlock.