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Battle of Tannenberg
Marked a devastating defeat for the Russian army, effectively destroying a large portion of their Second Army and solidifying a major early victory for Germany, particularly boosting the reputations of Generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff. -
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First Battle of the Marne
It marked a crucial turning point in World War I, effectively stopping the German advance into France and preventing the capture of Paris, thus thwarting the German plan for a quick victory on the Western Front and leading to the establishment of trench warfare across the front lines. -
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Second Battle of Ypres
Marked the first large-scale use of poison gas in World War I, when the Germans unleashed chlorine gas against Allied forces, primarily French troops, near the Belgian town of Ypres, causing widespread panic and retreat. -
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Battle of Gallipoli
Allied forces attempt to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in Ottoman Turkey by landing troops on the shores in April 1915, aiming to gain control of the Dardanelles Strait and knock the Ottomans out of the war. -
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Battle of Belleau Wood
Saw the U.S. Marine Corps successfully defend against a major German offensive near Paris, halting their advance and marking a key turning point in the war, with the Marines engaging in brutal hand-to-hand combat within the dense forest against heavy German forces, ultimately pushing them back and solidifying the American presence on the Western Front at a significant cost in casualties. -
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Battle of Verdun
World War I engagement in which the French repulsed a major German offensive. It was one of the longest, bloodiest, and most-ferocious battles of the war; French casualties amounted to about 400,000, German ones to about 350,000. Some 300,000 were killed. -
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Battle of Jutland
Was the largest naval battle of World War I, taking place off the coast of Jutland, Denmark. -
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Battle of Jutland
A major Russian attack against the Austro-Hungarian forces on the Eastern Front during World War I, led by General Aleksei Brusilov, which began on, and is considered the largest and most lethal offensive of the war. -
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Battle of the Somme
Was a devastating and bloody offensive on the Western Front, marked by a massive initial artillery bombardment that ultimately failed to break German defenses, resulting in a prolonged battle of attrition with extremely high casualties on both sides, considered one of the most infamous battles of the war due to the sheer number of losses on the first day alone. -
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Battle of Passchendaele
Fought in Belgium from where Allied forces, primarily British, attempted to capture the high ground around the town of Passchendaele against heavy German resistance; the battle is infamous for the horrific mud conditions caused by heavy rain, resulting in immense casualties on both sides. -
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Battle of Caporetto
A devastating defeat for the Italian army, where a combined Austro-German force overwhelmed Italian troops along the Isonzo River, causing a massive retreat and leading to the collapse of the Italian front, resulting in significant casualties and desertions among Italian soldiers. -
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Battle of Cambrai
It was the first large-scale use of tanks in battle, and is known for the effective coordination of combined arms, including infantry, aircraft, artillery, and cavalry. -
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Spring Offensive
Germany's last attempt to defeat the British and French armies on the Western Front, and thereby win a total victory. Their failure by the mid-summer left the German army fatally weakened, demoralized and facing its own imminent and inevitable defeat through an Allied counteroffensive. -
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Second Battle of the Marne
Marked the final major German offensive on the Western Front, where Allied forces, including American troops, successfully halted the German advance near the Marne River, leading to a decisive Allied counterattack and effectively turning the tide of the war against Germany. -
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Hundred Days Offensive
A series of decisive Allied attacks on the Western Front during World War I, starting on August 8, 1918, and ending with the Armistice on November 11, 1918, effectively defeating the German army and bringing the war to a close.