The Western Front
During The First World War of 1914-1918 the Allied Forces of Belgium, France, Britain, Commonwealth countries and America (from April 1918) made a stand against the advance of the Imperial German Army into Belgium and France.
- The German Army called it their Western battle front, 'die Westfront'.
- The French Army named it 'le Front Occidental'.
- To the British Army it became known as 'The Western Front'.
Battlefields of the Western Front
The battlefields of the Western Front are located along a thick line which runs from the Belgian coast in the north, through northern France and the provinces of Lorraine and Alsace to the Swiss border in the south.
This map shows the Western Front. The battlefields (shown in grey) are located along a 450 mile stretch and run across many different types of ground. The northern end of the front began on the sandy dunes of the Belgian coast. It continued south through northern France then east through the provinces of Lorraine and Alsace, both then occupied by Imperial Germany, finally terminating on the Swiss border in the south.
Ypres Salient
At it's northernmost end strongpoints and gun emplacements were built in the sandy dunes on the Belgian coast.
Running south-east the Front wound its way through the low-lying region of the Yser river and Dixmuide and on to the junction of the Yser-Ypres canal.
Turning to the east it followed the gentle rise of a ridge around to the east and then to the south of Ypres, forming a bulge in the front lines which became known as the Ypres Salient.
South of Ypres the view from the high ground of mount Kemmel dominated the area of the Ypres Salient, which left Ypres dangerously exposed.
Crossing the border into France the line continued south across the low-lying Flanders clay plain, which was criss-crossed with small waterways and canals. It ran to the west of the fortified town of Lille, which had been captured by the Germans in October 1914.
The Ypres SalientArtois
Continuing south the Front lines wound their way through the important French industrial coal mining region of Artois. In 1914 this region was supplying 80% of the coal to the French nation. This region was characterized by numerous pit-heads, slag heaps and clustered 'cities' of terraced miners' cottages.
Leaving the Artois plain the Front lines climbed onto the high ground of the spur of the Loretto Heights and the Vimy Ridge. The summits of these ridges afforded far-reaching views to the south-west and north-east into the rear areas of both the German and Allied Army fronts.
The south-eastern end of the Vimy Ridge dropped down again to follow a low ridge to the east of Arras.
The Somme
Continuing southwards the front crossed the rolling chalk downs of Picardy and crossed the marshy valley of the River Somme.
The British Army took over from the French Army in the Somme sector on the Western Front in August 1915. At that time the British line on the Somme Front ran from south of Arras to the Somme river. The British Army fought a major offensive here in the summer of 1916. It was attacked on this front by the German Army in March and April 1918. It remained in this sector until the Allied forces gradually pushed the German Army out of its defensive positions in the heavily fortified Hindenburg Line (Siegfriedstellung) during the Second Battle of the Somme beginning on 21 August 1918.
The SommeAisne
From the Somme the front line rose up again onto the heights of the Chemin des Dames ridge north of the River Aisne.
Heading westwards the line continued into the open plains of the Champagne region and north of the ancient city of Reims.
Verdun
Through dense forests of the Argonne the line then ran up onto high ground on the banks of the River Meuse, overlooking the city of Verdun, held sacred by the French nation.
Continuing south again it ran along the high ground of the eastern bank of the River Meuse before turning west to pass to the north of Nancy.
The Vosges
From there the line ran up the River Meurthe valley into the Vosges mountain region. High up on the rounded peaks of the mountains trenches and strongpoints were hewn out of the rock.
At the southern end of the Vosges mountain range the line dropped down onto the Belfort plain to reach its southernmost end at the Swiss border and the customs house at Pfetterhouse village.
Further Reading
Before Endeavours Fade
by Rose E.B. Coombs
From the Belgian coast, across the fields of Flanders, over the valley of the Somme and down the line to the Argonne: all the major battlefields of the First World War - Ypres, Arras, Cambrai, Amiens, St. Quentin, Mons, Le Cateau, Reims, Verdun and St. Mihiel - are criss-crossed in this book over more than thirty different routes, each clearly shown on a Michelin map.
The Western Front
by Richard Holmes
Best known for his BBC series presentations in War Walks and War Walks II, military history buff Richard Holmes chronicles the bloodiest days of World War I in The Western Front. This detailed compendium covers everything from how the front was created and the British Army in France, to the battle of Verdun and the last Hundred Days of the war.
War Graves
The scale of casualties caused by the fighting from the early months of the Great War of 1914-1918 confronted the warring nations with the question of what to do about the burial of the dead. As a result, war graves registration services were set up during or soon after the war.
War Graves