Events of WWI

3 Important Battle Sites

The Somme
Verdun
Ypres

The Somme

The Somme
On 1st July, 1916, after a week of
artillery bombardment the British
launched the now infamous "Big
Push" attack across the river
Somme. They intended to
breakthrough the German defenses
in a matter of hours. The battle
however, lasted four months.

The Somme

The Lochnagar
Crater

The Somme

The Somme
The troops marched in uniform
lines towards the enemy across
no-man's land. The failure of the
artillery bombardment to dislodge
much of the German barbed wire,
or to destroy machine-gun posts,
led to one of the biggest
slaughters in military history.

The Somme

The Battle of the Somme

When the attack began the
Germans dragged themselves
out of their dugouts, manned
their posts and destroyed the
oncoming waves of British
infantry.

The
Somme

The Somme

The Somme
When the offensive was
eventually called off the British
were still 3 miles short of their
objectives.

The Battle of the Somme

Total losses on the Allied side
numbered 419,654 with German
casualties between 450,000 and
680,000.

First Aid Post Somme

The Somme

The Somme

The Somme

Verdun
The Battle of
Verdun was a
ten month long
ordeal between
the French and
German
armies.

Verdun
The battle was
part of an
unsuccessful
German
campaign to
take the
offensive on the
western front.

Verdun
Both the French
and German
armies suffered
with an estimated
540,000 French
and 430,000
German
casualties and no
strategic
advantages were
gained for either
side.

Verdun
The Battle of Verdun
is considered one of
the most brutal
events of World War
I, and is
remembered as the
"battlefield with the
highest density of
dead per square
yard.

Verdun
The German attack began on February 21, 1916
with an intense artillery bombardment of the
forts surrounding Verdun.

Verdun
Although three French forts near Verdun had
fallen to German forces, Verdun itself remained
undefeated. The Germans were eventually
removed from the three forts.

Verdun Today

Ypres
There were three significant battles fought
around Ypres during the War.

Ypres
Ypres is notable for the first use of poison gas by
the Germans.

Ypres
The Battle of Passchendaele, one of the most
famous of WWI, was fought here for four
months.

Ypres
By the time the offensive was called off total
casualties for both sides had been
approximately 250,000.

Ypres
One of the central objectives, the village
of Passchendaele (taken on November 6
by Canadians), lent its name to the whole
conflict.

Ypres

Ypres