Ordering World War I Trivia Quiz

The Battle of Mons took place on 23rd August 1914 in the area around the city of Mons in Belgium. The battle saw British soldiers tasked with trying to hold the advancing German 1st Army at the line of the Mons-Conde Canal. Despite having significantly fewer troops than the Germans the British were able to inflict significant casualties but were eventually forced to withdraw due to the Germans' superior numbers and a retreat by the French Fifth Army, which left the British flank open.

The Battle of Mons marked the first major battle of the war for the troops of the British Expeditionary Force.

The first air raid on Britain using Zeppelins took place on the night of 19th-20th January 1915. The German kaiser had authorised bombing of the UK mainland but he initially ruled out attacks on London for fear of injuring the British royal family to whom he was related.

The first attack was aimed at targets around the Humber estuary but due to strong winds the raid actually saw bombs dropped on the area around Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in Norfolk. The raid saw 4 people killed while 16 were injured.

The Gallipoli campaign was designed to defeat the Ottoman Empire which would allow for safe access to the Suez Canal and the Black Sea for allied ships. After some initial naval action the campaign moved to a land phase, which started with an amphibious landing of Allied troops on the Gallipoli Peninsular in modern day Turkey (which came to be known as the Gallipoli landings).

The landings took place on 25th April 1915 with British troops landing at Cape Helles while a force made of British Empire troops, particularly those from Australia and New Zealand landed at what became known as ANZAC cove after the abbreviation for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The landings resulted in heavy casualties and the ensuing land campaign failed to defeat the Ottoman Empire with troops being withdrawn in January 1916.

The Battle of Verdun was a major battle between French and German troops that took place from 21st February to 18th December 1916. The battle took place in the vicinity of the French city of Verdun and started when the German Army tried to capture the Meuse Heights, a series of hills to the north of the city. During the course of the battle various offensives took place which saw ground either gained or lost by the German Army.

By the end of the battle in December of 1915, the French had gained back the territory that had been lost at the beginning of the battle after the German defence collapsed, resulting in the French taking over 11,000 German soldiers prisoner.

The Battle of Jutland was a major naval battle of World War I that took place in the North Sea off the coast of the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. The battle saw the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet engage with the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet from 31st May to 1 June 1916.

The outcome of the battle was inconclusive with both sides claiming victory as the Germans sank more British ships but also withdrew from the fighting first. However, the long term effect of the battle was that the Royal Navy had contained the German fleet in their ports, thus denying them access to the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean for the rest of the war.

The Battle of the Somme was a major battle of World War I which has become infamous for the high number of casualties suffered by the British Army on the first day. The battle started on 1st July 1916 and lasted until 18th November of the same year. It was designed to be a major offensive by French and British forces against the Germans in the area around the upper portion of the river Somme in France.

The first day of the battle saw the British take 57,470 casualties of whom 19,240 were killed making it the largest loss of life on a single day by the British Army in its history up to this point.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge took place from 9th to 12th April 1917 and was one of the first engagements of the larger Battle of Arras. The battle was designed to draw German troops away from the area that French troops were going to attack later on. The majority of the allied troops involved in the battle were from Canada and it was the first time all four Canadian divisions fought together.

The battle was a victory for the allies who succeeded in capturing the whole ridge and inflicted significant casualties on the German troops.

The Battle of Passchendaele is also sometimes referred to as the Third Battle of Ypres as it took place near the village of Passchendaele located close to the city of Ypres in Belgium. The battle lasted from 31st July to 10th November 1917 and saw British Empire, French and Belgium troops in action against German troops.

The battle has been assessed by historians as being controversial given the coming of autumnal weather and the liability of the area to flooding. Historians have also questioned whether mounting an offensive at this time was sensible given that American troops had not yet arrived in France to boost the Allied numbers. The battle saw many hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides although the exact numbers are unknown. The battle had no clear victor although did weaken the German army and helped pave the way for the eventual Allied victory in 1918.

The Battle of Cambrai took place from 20th November to 7th December 1917 in the area around the French city of Cambrai. The battle is known for being an early use of large numbers of tanks by the British and French armies, although it was not the first time they had been used. The tanks initially helped the British make significant gains on the first day; however, their unreliability enabled the Germans to retake a significant portion of the ground gained in subsequent days.

The Battle of Cambrai was celebrated by the British Royal Tank Regiment in the name of their regimental military band which was known as the Cambrai Band (later Cambrai and Heavy Cavalry Band) until it became part of the Band of the Royal Armoured Corps in 2014.

The Battle of Amiens took place from 8th to 12th August 1918 and was the first engagement in what became known as the Hundred Days Offensive that led up to the end of World War I. The battle started with a surprise attack by British Empire, French and US troops.

In order to maintain the element of surprise the battle was not preceded by an artillery bombardment as was common for First World War battles and RAF heavy bombers flew over the German lines to disguise the engine noise of the advancing tanks.

The battle was a significant victory for the Allies who advanced over 7 miles on the first day alone.