First Year of War in the West Across Fronts
A historical summary of the early Western Front from September through spring. It details German breakthroughs around the Aisne and Meuse, battles at Mons Charleroi and Ypres, Belgian resistance, and later French English offensives including actions at Hartmannsweilerkopf and St Mihiel with the persistence of siege warfare and heavy losses.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ypres
Flanders
Calais
Silesia
Russia
Verdun
Meuse
St. Mihiel
Champagne
Aisne
Soissons
Vosges
Hartmannsweilerkopf
Neuve Chapelle
Hill No. 60
West Front Map Shows Shifting World War I Lines
The map traces the first general engagement in the West from August 20 at Mons Charleroi through the September 5 second engagement and the retreat to the Marne. It marks September 9 German retreat and the Aisne trench line near September 13, then September 30 positions, the Meuse drive at St Mihiel, and the October 15 siege line from the Alps to the sea with marked siege-line struggles.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Marne
Aisne
Oise
Luxemburg
Belgium
von Einem
Liege
Brussels
Antwerp
Ghent
Mons-Charleroi
Alps
Meuse
St. Mihiel
Francis of
Austria
Germany
Russia
England
Alsance
France
Serbia
Namur
Mons
Krasnik
Japan
Muelhausen
Louvain
Helgoland
Tuannenberg
Lemberg
the Marne Bering
Maubeuge
Reims
Ypres
Vistula
Ostend
Warsaw
Lodz
Radom
Turkey
Dardance
Tsingtau
Lipno
Kutpo
Vietslavek
Valjevo
Belgrade
Scarborough
Haiitlepool
Baurr River
Soissons
Janunary
North Sea
Bluecher
Tebriz
East Prussia
Great Britain
Bukowina
Neuve Chapelle
Paris
Przemysl
Dukla Pass
Hungary
Mihiel Salient
Sztrepka
Tarnow
Gallipoli
Lizerne Het Sas
Hartmannsweiler Kopf
Berlin
Galicia
Great War Timeline of Key 1914 1915 Events
A chronological collage of major World War I milestones from assassination of Archduke to late July 1915. It lists dates, places, battles, conquests, declarations of war, naval actions, and territorial changes involving Austria Hungary Germany Russia Britain France Italy Turkey and others.
French Hold Line as German Offensive Pauses in West
The German advance to Paris stalls as Von Kluck’s army faces French and British counterattacks near the Marne and Aisne. Verdun’s siege zone and Belgian coast battles shift momentum, with gas attacks near Ypres and heavy losses on all sides.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Marne
Paris
von Kluck
Foch
Verdun
Aisne River
Chalons
Argonne
Woevre
Flanders
Antwerp
Ostend
Aisne
Lille
Ypres
Belgium
Yser
Neuve Chapelle
Soissons
St. Mihiel
Arras
Crown Prince
Rupprecht
Bavaria
Souchez
Frederick William
Argonne Forest
Estimated casualties and costs of the war in its first year
The article estimates casualties by side with figures for Germany Austria-Hungary Turkey France Great Britain Russia and other nations totaling about 6.29 million dead wounded and missing. It notes secrecy by several powers and counts direct military expenditures around 16.5 billion dollars in the first year and ongoing costs about 45 million dollars daily.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
France
Russia
Austria- Hungary
Germany
Great Britain
Cracow
Vienna
Berlin
FIGHTING ON THE SEA AT WAR YEAR ENDS
At war year end no German surface craft remain outside the Baltic except submarines. Austrian ships stay in the upper Adriatic, Turkish fleet in the Sea of Marmara. Central powers’ merchant marine vanished from routes. German shipping valued at 60 million dollars idle in New York docks, with greater sums elsewhere. Submarines have caused heavy allied losses. a tabulated loss tally follows with battleships, cruisers, submarines, gunboats, destroyers, and auxiliary vessels listed for each side.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Baltic Sea
Adriatic
Sea of
Marmara
New York
Global Balkan Conflicts and World War I Alliances
A retrospective on widespread fighting across regions beyond France and Poland. Serbia, aided by Montenegro, repelled Austrian invasion with heavy losses on both sides, while Austria-Hungary pressed advance near Valjevo before a late Serbian counterattack. Turkey invaded Egypt, Britain and Japan besieged Tsingtau, and South Africa faced a Boer revolt. Italy entered war against Austria but its impact remained unclear.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
France
Poland
Servia
Montenegro
Franz Josef
Serbia
Jadar
Turkey
Egypt
Great Britain
Tsingtao
China
South Africa
Botha
Africa
Italy
Austria
Great German Maneuver Drives Russians Toward Warsaw
German forces push from East Prussia and Galicia in a vast offensive across Poland and Hungary. Hindenburg and von Mackensen drive west toward Warsaw Ivangorod Brest Litovsk as Russian resistance collapses, with major battles at Przasnysz Krasnik and Lemberg shaping a colossal campaign.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
France
Belgium
Nicholas
Sam$onoff
East Prussia
Rennenkampf
Gumbinen
Samsonoff
Tannenberg
Galicia
Tarnopol
Gaila-Lipa
Krasnik
Lublin
Grand Duke
Gaila- Lipa
Lemberg
Rawa Ruska
Poland
von Hindenburg
Tarnow
Hungary
Hindenburg
Silesia
Warsaw
Ivangorod
Grodno
Ossowetz
Pultusk
Mlawa
Przasnysz
Lodz
Carpathian
Przemysl
Przemysl von Mackensen
Mosciska
Grodek
Warsaw- Ivangorod
Brest - Litovsk
von Linsingen
Dniester
Galla- Lipa
Zlota-Lipa
Windau
Baltic
Radom
Vistula
Cholm
First Year of War in the East
A compact survey of the first year of fighting between Russia and the Central Powers. It notes harsh Russian losses between 2.5 and 4 million, Russia’s resilience, and German and Austrian setbacks around Lodz Warsaw and East Prussia, including massive battles and reversals.
Also Mentioned on This Page
West
Thionville
Lorraine
Upper
Alsace
Peronne
Guise
Brusses
Reims m
Liege G
Lusitania
Carpanthians
Libau Baltic
Slenawna
Washington
Halicz
Gottland
Tolmino
Bertn
Tukum
Blonde
Grobec
Lublin-Chelm
U. S
Tripoli
Warsawy
Austria-Hungary
Portugal
San Marino
Entente
Teutonic
Ger- Ausmdnytria
Csseeee
Cceeesesee
Trente
Erese
Posen
Danzig
Ibreslau
Loz
Iain
Berg
The
East
Thorn
Nicholas Nicholaievitch
Kovno
Novo Georgievsk
Iavangorod
Carpathians
Pleschen
Bzura
Rawa
Nida
Siever
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!