Battle of Liège 5–16 August 1914 Total 25,300 Central States 5,300 The Allies 20,000
Battle of Cer 15–24 August 1914 Total 64,500 Central States 44,500 The Allies 20,000
Battle of the Frontiers 7 August – 13 September 1914 Total 668,691 Central States 305,594 The Allies 363,097
Russian invasion of East Prussia 17 August – 15 September 1914 Total 357,000 Central States 37,000 The Allies 320,000
Battle of Galicia 23 August – 11 September 1914 Total 549,000 Central States 324,000 The Allies 225,000
First Battle of the Marne 5–12 September 1914 Total 519,000 Central States 256,000 The Allies 263,000
Siege of Przemyśl 24 September 1914 – 22 March 1915 Total 311,000 Central States 115,000 The Allies 196,000
Battle of Rufiji Delta October 1914 – 11 July 1915 Total 39 Central States 33 The Allies 6
Battle of Bita Paka 11 September 1914 Total 129 Central States 117 The Allies 12
Siege of Tsingtao 31 October 1914 – 7 November 1914 Total 2,765 Central States 703 The Allies 2,062
Battle of Coronel 1 November 1914 Total 1,573 Central States 2 The Allies 1,571
Battle of Tanga or Battle of the Bees 3–5 November 1914 Total 1142 Central States 147 The Allies 995
Battle of Sarikamish 1 December 1914 – 1 January 1915 Total 180,000 Central States 150,000 The Allies 30,000
Battle of the Faulkland Islands 8 December 1914 Total 2,129 Central States 2,100 The Allies 29
Gallipoli Campaign 28 April 1914 – 9 January 1915 Total 503,000 Central States 252,000 The Allies 251,000
Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive 5 May – 19 September 1915 Total 499,000 Central States 87,000 The Allies 412,000
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania 7 May 1915 Total 1,198 Central States The Allies 1,198
The Second Battle of Ypres 21 April – 25 May 1915 Total 105,000 Central States 35,000 The Allies 70,000
Battle of Verdun 21 February – 18 December 1916 Total 976,000 Central States 434,000 The Allies 542,000
Battle of Jutland 31 May 1916 – 1 June 1916 Total 10,003 Central States 3,058 The Allies 6,945
Brusilov Offensive 1916 4 June – 20 October 1916 Total 2,180,000 Central States 780,000 The Allies 1,400,000
Battle of the Somme 1916 1 July – 18 November 1916 Total 1,123,907 Central States 500,000 The Allies 623,907
Romanian Campaign August – December 1916 Total >800,000 Central States Unknown The Allies 800,000
Battle of Arras 9 April – 16 May 1917 Total 288,000 Central States 130,000 The Allies 158,000
The Nivelle Offensive 1917 16 April – 9 May 1917 Total 374 780 Central States 183 780 The Allies 191 000
Kerensky Offensive 1–19 June 1917 Total >60,000 Central States Unknown The Allies >60,000
Operation Albion 29 September – 20 October 1917 Total 20,516 Central States 386 The Allies 20,130
Battle of Caporetto 25 October – 12 November 1917 Total 725,000 Central States 70,000 The Allies 655,000
Battle of Jerusalem 17 November – 30 December 1917 Total 43,000 Central States 25,000 The Allies 18,000
Battle of Cambrai 20 November – 7 December 1917 Total 89,000 Central States 45,000 The Allies 44,000
Battle of the Piave Rive 15–23 June 1918 Total 218,000 Central States 175,000 The Allies 43,000
Battle of Amiens 1918 8–12 August 1918 Total 52,000 Central States 30,000 The Allies 22,000

Iconic Battles

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918

Fronts of the Great War

Perhaps no event epitomizes World War I’s destruction of the old world order like the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The empire and its predecessors loomed large over Europe for half a century, and at its height comprised some 50 million people over a land mass of 261,242 square miles stretching from Trieste to Krakow and from Prague to the gates of Belgrade.

Ruled by Emperor Franz Josef, Austria-Hungary had begun to industrialize by 1914 and boasted the intellectually freewheeling Vienna as its leading city. Yet it was an autocracy, and its ruling Habsburg regime was dominated by aristocrats and military officers, reflecting the empire’s conservative and militaristic tendencies.

Perhaps no event epitomizes World War I’s destruction of the old world order like the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The empire and its predecessors loomed large over Europe for half a century, and at its height comprised some 50 million people over a land mass of 261,242 square miles stretching from Trieste to Krakow and from Prague to the gates of Belgrade.