See Western Front (disambiguation) for other meanings.

Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the "contested armed frontier" between lands controlled by Germany to the East and the Allies to the West. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including A world war is a War affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose A "contested armed frontier" during a war is called a "front".

There was also an Eastern Front in both World War I and World War II. The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and primarily Eastern Europe. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign

World War I

Map of the Western Front and the Race to the Sea, 1914

Main article Western Front (World War I)

After the first few months of World War I (WWI) which started in August 1914, until the last few months during the summer of 1918, the Western Front consisted of a relatively static line of trench systems which stretched from the coast of the North Sea southwards to the Swiss border. The Race to the Sea was a name given to a period of World War I when on the Western Front, the two sides were still engaged in mobile warfare Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the German army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation To try to break through the opposing lines of trenches and barbed wire entanglements, both sides employed huge artillery bombardments followed by attacks by tens of thousands of soldiers. Battles could last for months and lead to casualties measured in hundreds of thousands for attacker and defender alike. After most of these attacks, only a short section of the front would have moved and only by a kilometer or two.

After Gallipoli, Australians were moved to fight in France on the western Front, in battles including the Battle of the Somme. On the first day of the 1915 Battle of the Somme, 60,000 Allies were casualties, including 20,000 deaths. The battles were a result of bad planning by the General in charge, consisting of artillery fire and then a charge. The same plan was used the next year, but with longer artillery fire.

The principal adversaries on the Western Front, who fielded armies of millions of men, were Germany to the East against a western alliance to the West consisting of: France and the United Kingdom with sizable contingents from the British Empire, especially the Dominions. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities under sovereign authority within the British Empire and The United States entered the war in 1917 and by the summer of 1918 had an army of around half a million men which rose to a million by the time the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare

The Alpine Front between Italy which was a member of the western alliance and Austro-Hungarian Empire which was allied to Germany and the Ottoman Empire, is usually considered to be a separate front. The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies in northern Italy between 1915 Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish

For most of World War I, Allied Forces, predominantly those of France and the British Empire, were stalled at trenches on the Western Front.

World War II

Main article Western Front (World War II)

Percentage of German Army: approximately 40% in 1944. The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, (Counting France and Italy in respect to the Eastern front-Source:Axis History Factbook Axis order of battle 1944. )Counting the Balkans-53%

In early 1943 (till July or September) 40% of all axis forces (not German Army) were deployed against the western allies. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. (The count includes all fronts except the Balkans, which would be counted as the western front. Allies of Germany are excluded in the 1944 statistic as a result of there being almost no foreign allies by this point in significant strength (strategically) on any front. ) -Same Source

The Western Front of World War II was generally restricted to the same geographic regions as during World War I. During the war the front moved much further, as far West as the English Channel and as far East as the line which would become the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. The " Iron Curtain " was the symbolic ideological and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II until the end Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Although fighting took place in Norway and Italy these are not usually included as part of the Western Front but as separate campaigns. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional

The Western Front had three distinct phases during the World War II.

The first phase lasted from September 1939 until 1940. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. It started with the Phony War with the allies taking up positions which created a front similar to that held during most of World War I. The Phoney War, also called the Twilight War by Winston Churchill, der Sitzkrieg in German ("the sitting war" a The first phase lasted until the Germans attacked and won a stunningly fast victory in June 1940. In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The British had to withdraw the British Expeditionary Force to Britain with an evacuation through Dunkirk Operation Dynamo and France was forced to capitulate. The British Expeditionary Force ( BEF) was the British army sent to the Western Front in France and Belgium on the outbreak of The Battle of Dunkirk was the defense and evacuation of the British and Allied forces that had been separated from the main body of the French defenses by the German advance

The second phase from the late summer of 1940 until the early summer of 1944 consisted of a stalemate along the English Channel where neither side were strong enough to invade the other's territory with anything more than commando raids. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In Military science, the term commando can refer to an individual a Military unit, or a raiding style of military operation. The main action during this period was happening in the Eastern Front. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign

The third and final phase started on June 6, 1944 with the invasion of Normandy on the D-Day of Operation Overlord, When an allied force consisting of American British and Canada Army Groups (with units from many other nations), successfully gained a beach head in Normandy in northern France. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. D-Day may also refer to Decimal Day in the United Kingdom. D-Day is a term often used in Military parlance to denote Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. By the early autumn of 1944 the front was approximately where the World War I front had been. It ended on May 8, 1945 with the unconditional surrender of Germany. Events 589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar By that time western allied forces were on a front which stretched from the Baltic east of Denmark, southwards along the river Elbe, through the German/Czechoslovakia border into Austria and North Italy. Baltic Seven Islandsgif|right|thumb|330px|A contemporary transnational Euroregion encompasses the islands of the Baltic countries The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich This was a great delay in the war.

See also

• Eastern Front