{"id":921,"date":"2015-09-03T22:36:10","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T22:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=921"},"modified":"2026-03-23T07:29:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T07:29:23","slug":"western-front-of-world-war-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/western-front-of-world-war-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Front of World War I: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Western Front of World War I<\/a> was the line of fighting that occurred in the trenches<\/a> that stretched through parts of Belgium and northern France.\u00a0\u00a0World War I\u00a0was a global conflict that was fought on several fronts, including the Western Front,\u00a0Eastern Front<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Italian (Alpine) Front<\/a>.\u00a0 The Western Front developed following the failure of the German plan of attack (Schlieffen Plan<\/a>) at the beginning of World War I, which forced Germany to fight a two-front war against the Allied Powers<\/a>.\u00a0 The Western Front was the major scene of fighting between Germany and the\u00a0Allied Powers\u00a0of France and Britain.\u00a0 Other Allied forces that participated on the Western Front included Australia<\/a>, Belgium, Canada<\/a>, United States, and New Zealand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FORMATION OF THE WESTERN FRONT OF WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The line of trenches that became the Western Front stretched from the English Channel in the north to the Swiss Alps Mountains in the south.  In total, the trenches were about 475 miles long (765 kms) and ran through much of Belgium and northeastern France.  With that said, the line of trenches was broken up in parts and not a continuous line.  Regardless, the trenches of the Western Front were created following the failure of the Schlieffen Plan.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Map of the Battles of the Western Front in World War I. (Created by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The\u00a0Schlieffen Plan<\/a>\u00a0was the German plan of attack at the beginning of World War I in 1914.\u00a0 Since Germany was facing both France and Russia in World War I, Germany had to deal with a two-front war and the possibility of its total armed forces being split to fight on both its western and eastern borders.\u00a0 The Schlieffen Plan was Germany\u2019s response to this problem.\u00a0 In fact, the basis of the Schlieffen Plan was that Germany was going to attack France first, and then turn its attention to Russia next.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, the Schlieffen Plan failed to deliver the result that the German\u2019s hoped for.  The overall plan failed for several different reasons.  First, Germany did not plan on the British forces (British Expeditionary Force) arriving in time to help the Belgium forces defend against the German offensive.  This slowed the German push towards France and allowed France to prepare for war in the north.  When the Germans finally did push into France they failed to capture Paris and were stopped at the First Battle of the Marne.  At the same time, Russia was able to mobilize its war effort in the east in less than 2 weeks, and forced Germany to begin to fight a two-front war.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Schlieffen Plan – Map (Created by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In the end, the Schlieffen Plan failed to bring a quick end to World War I and instead led to trench warfare<\/a> in Northern France.\u00a0 For instance, following the First Battle of the Marne<\/a> in 1914, the Allies raced against Germany to \u2018outflank\u2019 the other in an event known as the \u2018Race to the Sea\u2019.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018Race to the Sea<\/a>\u2019 occurred throughout September and October of 1914.\u00a0 The German Army was successfully stopped at the First Battle of the Marne in early September and each side raced north in an attempt to flank the other.\u00a0 British and French forces countered the German push north throughout September and October until the two sides reached the North Sea in Belgium on October 19th.\u00a0 What resulted was a line of trenches that extended throughout much of northern Belgium and France.\u00a0 It was along this line of trenches that some of the most significant battles of World War I took place.\u00a0 The Western Front was established and remained a relative stalemate for the rest of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A German trench on the Western Front in 1915. (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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BATTLES OF THE WESTERN FRONT OF WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u200bThe Western Front was the site of some of the most significant battles of World War I.  In fact, the Western Front was the most famous line of fighting in the war, and saw fighting from 1914 until 1918.  For example, the most significant battles of the Western Front are included in the list below.  In these battles, the Allied Powers (Britain, France, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, etc.) faced off against the German Army.  Click on the links below to learn more information about each battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n