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There were five great battles before large numbers of American soldiers reached Europe in 1917.  

There were five great battles before large numbers of American soldiers reached Europe in 1917.  

   

   

====First Battle of Marnes====

====First Battle of Marne====

The First Battle of the Marne was a key conflict from September 6-12, 1914, which halted the Germany effort to capture France quickly and forced Germany to fight on two fronts afterward.  The French losses were horrific: 250,000 men.  German losses were similar.  Still it was a victory for the Allied Powers in halting the German advance on the Western Front and thwarting the German Schlieffen Plan for winning the War.<ref>http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/plans.htm</ref>  Russia, meanwhile, was not doing as well holding its own on the Eastern Front.<ref>Though tenacious in battle, Russia was not as industrialized as the West and its military was inferior.</ref>

The First Battle of the Marne was a key conflict from September 6-12, 1914, which halted the Germany effort to capture France quickly and forced Germany to fight on two fronts afterward.  Known to the French as the "Miracle of Marne," this battle saved the nation and Paris from German capture near the outset of the war.  But the French losses were horrific: 250,000 men.  German losses were similar.  Still it was a victory for the Allied Powers in halting the German advance on the Western Front and thwarting the German Schlieffen Plan for winning the War.<ref>http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/plans.htm</ref>  Russia, meanwhile, was not doing as well holding its own on the Eastern Front.<ref>Though tenacious in battle, Russia was not as industrialized as the West and its military was inferior.</ref>

====Gallipoli====

====Gallipoli====

(Also known as the Battle of Passchendaele)

(Also known as the Battle of Passchendaele)

For 18 months the British hid 19 huge land mines underneath the German lines southeast of Ypres, Belgium, a location that had already seen battles in 1914 and 1915.  The British then detonated those massive mines, and charged the German positions in July 1917.  At first the strategy worked, as the Germans were confused and disorganized.  But the British did not pursue the Germans as quickly as they should have.  Rain began to drench the area in one of the wettest fall seasons there in years.  Soon the British forces were stuck in a mountain of mud, and this Allied plan was yet another failure.  

For 18 months the British hid 19 huge land mines underneath the German lines southeast of Ypres, Belgium, a location that had already seen battles in 1914 and 1915.  The British then detonated those massive mines, and charged the German positions in July 1917.  At first the strategy worked, as the Germans were confused and disorganized.  But the British did not pursue the Germans as quickly as they should have.  Rain began to drench the area in one of the wettest fall seasons there in years.  Soon the British forces were stuck in a mountain of mud, and this Allied plan was yet another failure.

===The United States===

===The United States===