Footnotes to "How competent were Britain's First World War Generals?"

I appreciate that to those not immersed in the history of the First World War some of the events I referred to in my "How competent were Britain's First World War Generals?" posting may be something of a mystery. Let's see if we can clarify a few things here:

The Blockade was the Allied naval blockade of Germany that prevented any seaborne trade beyond the North Sea. As a consequence (along with internal German policy) the German people started to starve.

1 July 1916. The beginning of the Battle of the Somme and the greatest disaster in British military history with some 20,000 dead and 60,000 casualties. In some places (though, as I understand it, not all) British troops did, indeed, walk slowly towards the enemy. Further reading.

1st Battle of Ypres. October (or was it November?) 1914. Germans and the British met in Western Belgium. Stalemate. At one point German boy soldiers advanced singing and (I assume) walking. They were cut down in their hundreds. Further reading.

Serbia. In 1914, the Serbians managed to eject the far more powerful Austrian army.

Tanganiyka. Despite 4 years cut off from home, the Germans managed to run rings round the far more powerful British forces.

Palestine. British forces under Allenby (who had previously commanded British forces at Arras on the Western Front) defeated the Turks and captured Jerusalem. Further Reading.

The Middle East. Well, we won.

Ludendorff Offensive. Germany's final, 1918 attempt to win the war. The initial assault, against Britain's Fifth Army, gained an enormous amount of ground. Further reading.

German attack on Verdun. 1916. If memory serves the Germans took 330,000 casualties, the French 370,000. Further reading

Vimy Ridge. April(?) 1917. Canadians took a key piece of high ground. First use of a creeping barrage. Further reading.

Messines Ridge. Using over 20 mines (one of which is still there) tunnelled under German positions, British managed to dislodge Germans from key piece of high ground. As one officer said before the battle: "Gentlemen, I am not sure if we will change history tomorrow, but we will certainly change the geography." Further reading.

Storming of the Hindenburg Line. The Hindenburg Line was a well-fortified stretch of trenches, wire and other fortifications. The British stormed it in September 1918.

Nivelle Offensive. April 1917. French offensive. French army mutinied after the initial stages. Further reading.

Amiens. August 1918. Using over 400 tanks the British inflict massive damage on the Germans taking something like 10,000 prisoners and advancing some 6 miles. Ludendorff described it as: "the Black Day of the German Army". Further reading.

Georgette. German assault on British and Portuguese positions near Ypres. Regained Messines. Further reading.

14 July 1916. Successful British attack following equally successful night-time forming up in No Man's Land. Further reading.

Cambrai (initially). November 1917. First use of both massed tanks and a predicted barrage. Huge British success. Government ordered church bells to be rung for the first time in four years. Unfortunately, three weeks later the Germans counter-attacked and took back almost all the ground they had lost. Further reading.

Le Hamel. 4 July 1918. Australians along with some Americans under Australian general, Monash, and using such innovations as "peaceful penetration" and airborne resupply, do well. Further reading.

The French half of 1 July 1916. Yup, the French were there too.

Passchendaele. Despite the appalling conditions and being the attacking side, the British still managed to inflict about the same number of casualties (about 250,000) on the Germans as the Germans managed to inflict on them. Further reading.

"...the French spent an awful lot of time waiting for the British to get up to speed". At the outbreak of the First World War, the British were able to field an army only one sixth the size of the French and one eighth the size of the German. Despite an enormous recruitment drive it took another two years before the British became a significant fighting force.

All of the above on an "as I understand it" basis.