1914–1918

World War I

The war that was supposed to end all wars. Trenches, gas, and the collapse of empires.

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5 Entries

British Mark IV tanks advancing at the Battle of Cambrai, November 1917

Cambrai 1917: The First Mass Tank Assault and the Victory That Fell Apart in 48 Hours

On November 20, 1917, 476 British tanks rolled forward at Cambrai without a preliminary bombardment and punched a six-mile hole in the German line. Within two days, a German counterattack had taken most of it back.

Allied troops crossing the St Quentin Canal during the Battle of the Hindenburg Line, 1918

World War I

The Hundred Days: How the Allies Finally Broke the Western Front

From August 8 to November 11, 1918, the Allied armies conducted 100 days of continuous offensive operations that shattered the German army. This period—not the trench years—represents the zenith of WWI military art.

British troops in a communications trench, Battle of the Somme 1916

World War I

The Somme: One Day, 57,000 Casualties

On July 1, 1916, the British Army suffered 57,470 casualties—the worst single day in its history. The Battle of the Somme would continue for four more months. Understanding why requires understanding what the generals actually knew.

ANZAC troops landing at ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915

World War I

Gallipoli: The Anatomy of a Strategic Disaster

The 1915 Gallipoli campaign was designed to knock Ottoman Turkey out of the war and open a supply route to Russia. Instead it consumed 250,000 Allied casualties and accomplished nothing. Every failure was predictable.

World War I

The Battle of the Marne: How Paris Was Saved in a Taxi

In September 1914, six weeks into the war, the German army was within 30 miles of Paris and the French government had fled to Bordeaux. What happened next—the Miracle of the Marne—stopped the war from ending in German victory.