Name: ________ Class: ________ Date: ________

World war 1 battles Graphic Organizer

For this graphic organizer, Students will navigate to https://www.thoughtco.com/world-war-i-battles-

2361390 and read over the history of three battles during the First World War. Using the information

present on the website, Students will analyze each battle that took place there, each section must include

dates of battle, who was fighting, goal of the offensives, and the result of each battle. Students can

choose any combination of battles, including from different years, different fronts and different nations.

1.Name of 2. Dates 3. Who fought 4. What happened 5. Result of the

Battle the battle during the battle
First battle October Allies: British, Part of the “Race to the
of Ypres 19- French, Sea”, where each side
November Belgians was trying to outflank
22, 1914 Central the other. German army
Powers: launched attack on
Germany Ypres and the roads that
led to the channel ports.
German advance was
brought to a halt by the
Belgian army with the
flooding of the Yser
plain. The battle
lingered until
November, when a
severe winter
interrupted the battle.
Based on what you learned about the first battle, how is this battle characteristic of the nature of
World War 1?
Battle
Armies from both
sides had
constructed
fortified trench
fortifications
during their
maneuvers and
dug themselves in
along the Western
Front. This
entrenchment of
the “Race to the
Sea” turned the
war of movement
into a static trench
warfare which
would dominate
the Great War for
the years to come.

This battle is characteristic of the first world war because like many of the battles that were to
follow neither side could gain the upper hand, which would eventually lead to them finishing in a
draw. The battle also foreshadowed the static nature of the war with the creation of the trench
system that would come to define the war.
Second April 22- Allies: British Began on 22 April 1915 The fighting
Battle of May 25, Central as a German surprise ended with the
Ypres 1915 Powers: attack, witnessing for British in control
Germany the first time the use of of Hill 60. The
 chlorine gas on the Germans decided
Western Front. The to abandon their
Allies were forced to attempts to
withdraw for several capture Ypres,
miles, but the Germans, choosing instead
as surprised as the to reduce the town
Allied troops about the to rubble. The
devastating effect of the British would then
gas, failed to take full use gas attacks in
advantage of the September of
situation and no 1915
breakthrough was
reached. British decided
to retake this
strategically important
position through an
underground mine war.
On 17 April 1915, five
mines exploded under
the German position
which literally blew off
the top of the hill.
Based off what you learned from the second battle, what technological advancements changed the
nature of world war one?

This battle saw the first use of Chlorine gas on the western front, which proved to be brutally
effective against the allied lines. The creation of trench warfare changed the fluidity of the early
stages of war into a war of attrition with both sides grinding up against each other. This led to the
development of underground warfare in the form of digging tunnels and placing mines
underneath enemy trenches.
Third July 31- Allies: British, As part of the attack The following
Battle of November French plan, 19 mines were ‘Battle of
Ypres 10, 1917 Central detonated under the Passchendaele’,
powers: German lines at which ended with
Germany Messines Ridge, causing the capture of
explosions which could Passchendaele
be heard as far away as village, merely
London (Battle of widened the Ypres
Messines). waterlogged Salient by 8
conditions, caused by kilometers and
frequent periods of rain, resulted in
and the strongly fortified 400,000 killed,
German defense lines wounded and
enclosing the Ypres missing soldiers
Salient made an Allied on the British side
advance impossible. alone. German
troops made use
of mustard gas as
opposed to

2
 chlorine gas in the
Second Battle of
Ypres. It was also
named ‘Yperite’
after the city of
Ypres where it
was used for the
first time. It
blistered the skin,
eyes and lungs,
and killed
thousands of
soldiers in a most
painful and often
slow way.

Based on what you learned about all three battles, why was this war as static as it was and why
was the human price so high?

The rise of new military technologies far outstripped the creation of military tactics to counter
those new technologies. The development of trench warfare also lead to the development of
heavier artillery pieces, which in turn increased the cases of shell shock present in soldiers.

Scoring Guide:

First section: ____/5

Second Section: ____/5

Third Section: ____/5

Total: _____/15