Facts and figures

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What is a website without some facts and figures? Well, we're not going to disappoint you. Here are some facts and figures about The Western Front in chronological order.

The Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the "contested armed frontier" between lands controlled by Germany to the East and the Allies to the West. After the first few months of World War I (WWI) which started in August 1914, until the last few months during the summer of 1918, the Western Front consisted of a relatively static line of trench systems which stretched from the coast of the North Sea southwards to the Swiss border. To try to break through the opposing lines of trenches and barbed wire entanglements, both sides employed huge artillery bombardments followed by attacks by tens of thousands of soldiers. Battles could last for months and lead to casualties measured in hundreds of thousands for attacker and defender alike. After most of these attacks, only a short section of the front would have moved and only by a kilometer or two. The principal adversaries on the Western Front, who fielded armies of millions of men, were Germany to the East against a western alliance to the West consisting of: France and the United Kingdom with sizable contingents from the British Empire and British Dominions. The United States of America entered the war in 1917 and by the summer of 1918 had an army of around half a million men which rose to a million by the time the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918.

The Alpine Front between Italy which was a member of the western alliance and Austro-Hungarian Empire which was allied to Germany and Turkey, is usually considered to be a separate front.

The Eastern Front refers to a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Both terms refer to Continental Europe. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theaters strongly influenced each other. The geography of Eastern Europe in general has played a key role in how both World Wars' Eastern Front conflicts played out. Eastern Europe is, for the most part, physically similar to Western Europe as both belong to the same European plain. The key difference was the level of economic development. While Belgium and Northern France were among the most industrially advanced areas in the world, with excellent road and rail networks, Eastern Europe was undeveloped in comparison. Furthermore, the length of the front in the East was much longer than in the West. The theatre of war was roughly delimited by the Baltic Sea in the West and Moscow in the East, a distance of 1,200 kilometers, and Saint Petersburg in the North and the Black Sea in the South, a distance of more than 1,600 kilometers. This had a drastic effect on the nature of the warfare. While World War I on the Western Front developed into trench warfare, the battle lines on the Eastern Front were much more fluid and Trench War never truly developed. This was because the greater length of the front ensured that the density of soldiers in the line was lower so the line was easier to break. Once broken, the sparse communication networks made it difficult for the defender to rush reinforcements to the rupture in the line to mount a rapid counteroffensive and seal off a breakthrough. In short, on the Eastern front the side defending did not have the overwhelming advantages it had on the Western front.

• 14-18, De Eerste Wereldoorlog a ten-book series.
• Battlefields of the First World War by Mr. and Mrs. Holt.
• The Battle Book of Ypres by Beatrix Brice.
• Before Endeavours Fade by Rose E.B. Coombs.
• The Cockpit of Europe by Howard Green.
• In Flanders Fields by Leon Wolff.
• Flanders Then and Now by John Giles.
• Gedenkboek van den Europeeschen Oorlog in 1914 by W.A.T. de Meester.
• Gedenkboek van den Europeeschen Oorlog in 1915 by W.A.T. de Meester.
• Gedenkboek van den Europeeschen Oorlog in 1918-1919 by W.A.T. de Meester.
• Het Laatste Bedrijf by Barrie Pitt.
• A Military Atlas of the First World War by Arthur Banks.
• De Slag bij Verdun by Georges Blond.
• The Somme, The Day-by-Day Account by Chris McCarthy.
• The Somme Then and Now by John Giles.
• Sporen van een Slag by Dr. H. Jonker.
• Op Leven en Dood by M. van der Staal.
• When the Barrage Lifts by Gerald Gliddon.

1 9 1 4

1914	August	2	Luxemburg	German invasion and occupation
		4	Belgium	German invasion
		5-16	Belgium	Battle against the Fortresses of Luik
		7	Germany	France invading Elzas and Lotharingen
		12	Belgium	Resistance Belgium troups at Halen and Dinant
		17	Belgium	German occupation of Luik
		19	Belgium	German occupation of Leuven
		20-23	Germany	German counter-attack on Lotharingen
		20	Belgium	German occupation of Brussels
		21-22	Belgium	Battle on the Sambre
		22-25	Belgium	Battle in the Ardenne
		22	Belgium	German occupation of Dinant
		23-24	Belgium	Battle at Bergen. First time BEF (British Expeditionary Force) gets into action
		24	Belgium	German occupation of Namen
1914	September	6-9	France	Battle at the Marne
		14-21	France	Battle at the Aisne, heavy fighting in Champagne
		14	France	Front stabalized, beginning of trench warfare
		19	Belgium	Race for the coast
		20-21	France	German attack on Côtes Lorraines
		27	France	Battle of Arras (till 9 October 1914)
		28	Belgium	Battle against the fortresses of Antwerp
1914	October	10	Belgium	Occupation of Antwerp
		11	Belgium	Occupation of Gent
		18	Belgium	Battle at the IJzer (till 4 November 1914)
		27-29	Belgium	Inundating the area around the IJzer
		30	Belgium	Flanders, First Battle of Yper (till 4 November 1914)
1914	November	10	Belgium	Occupation of Diksmuide
		17	Belgium	Stabilization of the front, start of trenches
1914	December	14	Flanders	Start of French offensive (till 28 Januari 1915)
		16-27	France	Artois, French offensive
		20	France	Argonne, French offensive (till 28 Februari 1915)
		20	France	Champagne, French offensive (till 15 Januari 1915)

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1 9 1 5

1915	January	19	France/Elzas	French are being driven from Hartmannsweilerkopf by the Germans
1915	February	16	France	Champagne, French offensive (till 17 March 1915)
		26	France	Argonne, first use of flametrowers by the Germans
1915	March	10-12	France	Neuve-Chapelle, offensive of the BEF
		23	France	Elzas, battle of Hartmannweilerkopf (till 26 April 1915)
1915	April	5-14	France	Woëvre, French offensive
		22	Belgium	Second Battle of Yper (till the end of May 1915)
		22	Belgium	Flanders, first use of poissoness gas by the Germans
		24-30	France	Woëvre, German offensive
1915	May	9-15	France	Artois, French offensive at Vimy
		9	France	Artois, British offensive at Aubers
		15-26	France	Artois, British offensive at Festubert
1915	June	16-18	France	Artois, French offensive at Vimy
		23	Italy	Isonzo, 1st. Ialian offensive (till 7 Juli 1915)
		18	Italy	Isonzo, 2nd. Italian offensive (till 3 August 1915)
1915	September	25-29	France	Artois, French-British offensive at Vimy
		25-29	France	Champagne, French offensive
1915	October	18	Italy	Isonzo, 3rd. Italian offensive (till 4 September 1915)
1915	November	10	Italy	Isonzo, 4th. Italian offensive (till 2 December 1915)

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1 9 1 6

1916	February	21	France	Verdun, German offensive
		25	France	Verdun, Fort Douamont captured by German troups
1916	March	11-16	Italy	Isonzo, 5th. Italian offensive
		14	France	Verdun, German attack on Mort-Homme
1916	May	3-7	France	Verdun, heavy fighting on Hill 304
		15	Italy	Austrian-Hungarian offensive (till the end of Juli 1916)
1916	June	1-7	France	Verdun, German attack on Fort Vaux
		7	France	Verdun, Fort Vaux captured by the German troups
1916	July	1	France	Somme, British-French offensive (till 18 November 1916)
		12	France	Verdun, German offensive halted
		14	France	Somme, British-French attacks renewed
1916	August	6-17	Italy	Isonzo, 6th. Italian offensive
1916	September	14-17	Italy	Isonzo, 7th. Italian offensive
		15	France	Somme, First time British tanks were used in action
1916	October	10-12	Italy	Isonzo, 8th. Italian offensive
		24	France	Verdun, French troups recaptured Fort Douamont
		31	Italy	Isonzo, 9th. Italian offensive (till 2 November 1916)
1916	November	2	France	Verdun, French troups recaptured Fort Vaux
		18	France	Somme, offensives stopped
1916	December	15	France	Verdun, offensives stopped

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1 9 1 7

1917	March		Northern France	German troups retread to the Siegfried Line
1917	April	9	France	Artois, British offensive at Arras (till 21 May 1917)
1917	May	14-31	France	Chemin-des-Dames, Nivelle offensive
1917	May/June		France	Part of the French Army mutinied, threw down their guns and refused to fight. French trenches were empty for miles. Luckely the German did not know this. Fifty-five French soldiers were executed. At the same time General Pétain said soldiers must have more leave, better food and more rest the mutiny was ended.
1917	June	7	Belgium	Flanders, British troups recaptured hillsites at Mesen
1917	July	4	France	Paris, First American Battalion marches through the streets
		31	Belgium	Flanders, Third Battle of Yper (till 6 November 1917)
1917	August	18-29	Italy	Isonzo, 11th. Italian offensive
1917	October	24	Italy	Battle at Caporetto (till 3 November 1917)
1917	November	6	Belgium	Flanders, British and Canadian troups recaptured Passendale
		10-16	Italy	Italian troups maintained position at Piave
		20	France	Cambrai, British tank offensive and German counter-attack (till 7 December 1917)

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1 9 1 8

1918	March	21	France	German Spring-offensive (till 10 June 1918)
		23	France	Paris, bombardment by German long distance guns (till 8 August 1918)
1918	May	28	France	Castigny, first appearance of American troups
1918	June	9	France	Metz, German offensive
		10	France	Metz, French counter-attack
		15-19	Italy	Austrian-Hungarian offensive at Piave
1918	July	15-17	France	Marne, Peace offensive of Ladendorff
		18	France	Marne, Allied offensive
1918	August	8-11	France	Amiens-Montdidier, Allied offensive
		8	France	Amiens-Montdidier, Black Day for the German Army
		11	France	Allied offensives along the whole of the front
		21	France	Oisne-Aisne, French offensive
1918	September	12-14	France	St. Michiel, American offensive
		26	France	Argonne, French-American offensive (till 11 November 1918)
		28	Belgium	Flanders, Belgium-British offensive
		29	Belgium	Flanders, Diksmuide liberated by Belgium and British troups
1918	October	8	France	Artois, Allied offensive (till 11 November 1918)
		9	France	Cambrai liberated by allied troups
		16	Belgium	Flanders, Allied troups crossed the IJzer
		17	Belgium	Flanders, Belgium King and Queen visited the liberated town of Oostende
		24	Italy	Italian offensive at Piave
1918	November	11	Belgium	Flanders, Belgium troups liberated Gent
		22	France	Elzas, French troups entered Strassbourg
1918	December	1	Germany	Allied troups crossed the German border
		17	Germany	Allied troups occupied the left bank of the River Rijn and all the bridge-heads at Kõln, Koblenz and Mainz

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WAR DEATHS

Country	Killed
Australia	54.000
Austria-Hungary	1.290.000
Belgium	44.000
Bulgaria	90.000
Canada	57.000
France	1.400.000
Germany	1.800.000
Great Britain	700.000
Greece	5.000
India	62.000
Italy	615.000
Japan	300
Montenegro	3.000
New Zealand	16.000
Newfoundland	1.000
Portugal	7.000
Rumania	335.000
Russia	1.700.000
Serbia	45.000
Turkey	325.000
Union of South Africa	7.000
United States	116.000

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2nd Batallion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders wearing primitive gas protection
Bois Grenier sector, June 1915.

GAS CASUALTIES IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Country	Non-fatal injuries	Deaths	Total
Austrian-Hungary	97.000	3.000	100.000
British Empire	180.597	8.109	188.706
France	182.000	8.000	190.000
Germany	191.000	9.000	200.000
Italy	55.373	4.627	60.000
Russia	419.340	56.000	475.340
United States	71.345	1.462	72.807
Others	9.000	1.000	10.000
Total	1.205.655	91.198	1.296.853

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Soldiers of the 55 West Lancashire Division at a dressing-station
Béthune 10th. April 1918.

POISON GASES

Category	Type	Date of	Used by
		introduction	GB	F	G	A
Acute lung irritants	Chlorine	1915	×	×	×	-
	Phosgene	1915	×	×	×	-
	Chlormethyl-chloroformate	1915	×	-	×	-
	Trichlormethyl-chloroformate	1916	×	-	×	-
	Chloropictrin	1916	×	×	×	-
	Stannit chloride	1916	×	-	-	-
	Phenyl-carbylamine-chloride	1917	-	-	×	-
	Cyanogen bromide	1918	-	-	-	×
	Dichlor-methyl-ether	1918	-	-	×	-
Lachrymators (tear producers)	Benzyl bromide	1915	-	-	×	-
	Xylyl bromide	1916	-	-	×	-
	Ethyl-iodoacetate	1916	×	-	-	-
	Bromacetone	1916	×	-	-	×
	Monobrom-methyl-ethyl-ketone	1916	-	-	×	×
	Dibrom-methyl-ethyl-ketone	1916	-	-	×	×
	Acrolein	1916	×	-	-	-
	Methyl-chlorsulphonate	1916	-	-	×	-
Paralysants	Hydrocyanic acid	1916	×	×	-	-
	Sulphuretted hydragon	1916	×	-	-	-
Sternutators (sensoryirritants of eyes, nose and chest)	Diphenyl-chlorarsine	1917	-	-	x	-
	Diphenyl-cyanarsine	1918	-	-	x	-
	Ethyl-dichlor-arsine	1918	-	-	x	-
	Ethyl-dibrom-arsine	1918	-	-	x	-
	N.ethyl carbazol	1918	-	-	x	-
Vesicants (blister producers)	Dichlor-ethyl-sulphide (mustard gas)	1917	x	x	x	x

Abbreviations:

GB	= Great Britain
F	= France
G	= Germany
A	= Austria-Hungary

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