The Western Front was the main theatre of war in the west during the First World War, a line of trenches running from the North Sea through Belgium and northeastern France to the Swiss border. Germany's plan for a quick victory over France collapsed at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914, and the armies then dug in, beginning more than four years of deadlock. Huge offensives, such as the German attack at Verdun and the British and French assault on the Somme in 1916, cost hundreds of thousands of lives for very small gains of ground. New weapons, including poison gas, tanks and aircraft, were used. The German spring offensive of 1918 failed, and the Allied counter-attacks led to the armistice in November.
Before and after
- from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918World War I
- from 28 July 1914 to 3 November 1918Serbian campaign
- 31 July 1914Birth of Louis de Funès
- from August 1914 to October 1918Kurdish rebellions during World War I
- from 3 August 1914 to 11 November 1918Western Front
- from 3 August 1914 to 11 November 1918Balkans Theater
- from 6 August 1914 to 10 March 1916Kamerun campaign
- from 7 August 1914 to 13 September 1919Battle of the Frontiers
- from 8 August 1914 to 1 January 1917Expedition Endurance
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 8 March 1917 to 16 March 1917February Revolution
- from 7 July 1937 to 9 September 1945Second Sino-Japanese War
- from 30 November 1939 to 13 March 1940Winter War
- from 22 June 1941 to 7 May 1945Eastern Front
- from 22 June 1941 to 5 December 1941Operation Barbarossa
- 7 December 1941Attack on Pearl Harbor
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.