World War 1 was the first war that had a great number of deaths. Countries such as Great Britain, France, Germany, and their allies all had over 1,000,000 deaths from the war. Many of these deaths came from some of the bloodiest battles ever fought. The Battle of Verdun, the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Cambria,  and the battle near the Meuse-Argonne region were four major battles of World War 1.

The Battle of Verdun was a ten-month battle between France and Germany. Before the war began, France prepared itself for invasion by Germany. It built a line of sunken forts to prevent Germany from being able to move across the country. The line of forts ran from the Swiss border to the French city of Verdun. On February 21, 1916, Germany began invading forts surrounding Verdun in an effort to defeat the city of Verdun. Many forts surrounding Verdun were taken over by German troops but Verdun was never overtaken. At the end of the ten-month battle, Germany had been pushed back to where it had begun its attack in February 1916. Neither side gained any military advantage. However, both sides had a tremendous amount of deaths. France had 540,000 deaths and Germany had 430,000.                     

The Battle of the Somme is known mainly for the great loss of 58,000 British troops on the first day of the battle, 1 July 1916. This death total remains the highest one-day record for deaths in a battle. The attack started on July 1 and ran until November 18 when the British finally called it off. The British were still 3 miles short of reaching Bapaume The Battles of the Marne was another major battle of World War 1. Germany was marching through and Serre that were part of their objective for the first day of attack.

The Battle of Cambai began on November 20, 1917 when the British launched the first attacked designed for their new secret weapon the tank. 476 tanks moved against the German forces. The tank forces made great gains and moved 4-5 deep in to enemy lines in some places. The advancement surprised the British as much as it did the Germans. This battle showed everyone how a well-planned tank attack could be used to break through enemy lines.

The final battle of the war took place in the area around the Meuse-Argonne region in northeastern France. By now, the German forces were in a corner and the U.S. forces were south of them. More American fought in this battle than in any other single battle in United States history. The American forces had helped turn the tide of the battle and bring victory to the Allied powers. At 11:00 AM on November 11th, the battle ended with the signing of the cease-fire and the Armistice. 

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