Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby
Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby was the last great British leader of mounted cavalry. He directed the Palestine campaign in World War I.
David Beatty
Beatty, Sir DavidSir David Beatty.Photos.com/JupiterimagesDavid Beatty commanded Britain’s battle cruisers in the Battle of Jutland (1916).
Tasker Howard Bliss
Bliss, Tasker HowardTasker Howard Bliss.Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.Tasker Howard Bliss directed the American mobilization effort when the United States entered World War I.
Aleksey Alekseyevich Brusilov
Novosti Press Agency Aleksey Alekseyevich Brusilov directed a Russian offensive on the Eastern Front against Austria-Hungary (June–August 1916), which aided the Western allies at a crucial time during World War I.
Julian Hedworth George Byng
Library and Archives Canada/Rice Studios/Canadian Intellectual Property Office fonds (Negative no. C-033995) Julian Hedworth George Byng was a British field marshal who conducted the first large-scale tank attack in history (at Cambrai, France, November 20, 1917).
Luigi Cadorna
Cadorna, LuigiLuigi Cadorna.Photos.com/JupiterimagesLuigi Cadorna completely reorganized Italy’s ill-prepared army on the eve of World War I.
Sir Arthur William Currie
Currie, Sir Arthur WilliamSir Arthur William Currie, June 1917.Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada (Photo Number: PA-001370)Sir Arthur William Currie rose through the ranks from enlisted militiaman to lieutenant general and commander of the Canadian Corps. He was one of the most-gifted general officers in any army during the war.
Armando Diaz
Diaz, ArmandoArmando Diaz, 1921.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.After the catastrophic Italian defeat at Caporetto (October 1917), Armando Diaz stabilized the Italian army and mounted a strong counteroffensive. His decisive victory at Vittorio Veneto, Italy (October 24–November 3, 1918), signaled the defeat of the Austrian forces.
Ferdinand Foch
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. French general Ferdinand Foch commanded the Allied forces during the closing months of World War I and is generally considered the leader most responsible for the Allied victory.
John French
French, John, 1st earl of YpresJohn French, 1st earl of Ypres.George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-22111)John French commanded the British army on the Western Front between August 1914, when World War I began, and December 1915.
J.F.C. Fuller
Bassano and Vandyk, London J.F.C. Fuller was a British army officer and military theoretician who became one of the founders of modern armored warfare.
Joseph-Simon Gallieni
H. Roger-Viollet As military commander of Paris, Joseph-Simon Gallieni directed the counteroffensive that checked the German advance at the Marne and saved the French capital.
Douglas Haig
Sir Douglas HaigSir Douglas Haig, portrait by John Singer Sargent; in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.Courtesy of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh. Purchased 1925Douglas Haig was commander in chief of the British forces in France during most of World War I. His strategy of attrition (tautly summarized as “kill more Germans”) resulted in enormous numbers of British casualties but little immediate gain.
John Rushworth Jellicoe
Jellicoe, Sir John RushworthSir John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1915.Project GutenbergJohn Rushworth Jellicoe was a British admiral of the fleet who commanded at the crucial Battle of Jutland (May 31, 1916) during World War I.
Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre
Joseph-Jacques-Césaire JoffreJoseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre, detail of a portrait by H. Jacquier, 1915.H. Roger-ViolletJoseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre, commander in chief (1914–16) of the French armies on the Western Front in World War I, won fame as “the Victor of the Marne.”
Horatio Herbert Kitchener
BBC Hulton Picture Library As secretary of state for war at the beginning of World War I, Horatio Herbert Kitchener organized armies on a scale unprecedented in British history and became a symbol of the national will to victory.
Louis Alexander Mountbatten
Bettmann/Corbis As British admiral of the fleet and first sea lord, Louis Alexander Mountbatten was responsible, with Winston Churchill, for the total mobilization of the fleet prior to World War I.
Sir John Monash
Monash, Sir JohnSir John Monash.Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesSir John Monash was commander of the Australian army corps in France during World War I.
John J. Pershing
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. John J. Pershing commanded the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in Europe during World War I.
Philippe Pétain
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Philippe Pétain was a national hero in France for his victory at the Battle of Verdun, but he was discredited as chief of state of the French government at Vichy in World War II.
Radomir Putnik
H. Roger-Viollet Radomir Putnik commanded the Serbian army to victory against the Austrians in 1914.
Hugh Montague Trenchard
Trenchard, Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount, Baron Trenchard of WolfetonHugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard; statue in London.GreenshedHugh Montague Trenchard helped lay the foundations of the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Enver Paşa
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Enver Paşa played a key role in the Ottoman entry into World War I on the side of Germany.
Erich von Falkenhayn
Erich von FalkenhaynErich von Falkenhayn, 1916.Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, BerlinErich von Falkenhayn was Prussian minister of war and chief of the imperial German General Staff early in World War I.
Colmar, Freiherr von der Goltz
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesitz Colmar, Freiherr von der Goltz was an imperial German field marshal who reorganized the Turkish army (1883–96) and served as commander in chief of Turkish forces against the British in Mesopotamia (Iraq) during World War I.
Paul von Hindenburg
Culver Pictures Paul von Hindenburg won a crushing victory for Germany on the Eastern Front, but he was unable to translate that success to triumph in the West.
Max Hoffmann
Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin Max Hoffmann was the architect of several striking German victories on the Eastern Front in World War I, most notably at the Battle of Tannenberg (1914).
Alexander von Kluck
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesitz Alexander von Kluck commanded the First Army in the German offensive against Paris at the beginning of World War I.
Erich Ludendorff
Erich LudendorffErich Ludendorff, c. 1930.Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, BerlinErich Ludendorff was mainly responsible for Germany’s military policy and strategy in the latter years of World War I.
August von Mackensen
August von MackensenAugust von Mackensen, 1915.Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Preussischer KulturbesitzAugust von Mackensen was one of the most successful commanders in World War I, leading German armies to a string of victories on the Eastern Front.
Helmuth von Moltke
Helmuth von MoltkeHelmuth von Moltke, c. 1907.Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, BerlinHelmuth von Moltke’s modification of the German attack plan in the west and his inability to retain control of his rapidly advancing armies significantly contributed to the halt of the German offensive on the Marne in September 1914 and the frustration of German efforts for a rapid decisive victory.
Józef Piłsudski
Culver Pictures Józef Piłsudski deftly utilized support from Austria-Hungary and Germany to bring about a postwar independent Poland.
Reinhard Scheer
Scheer, ReinhardReinhard Scheer.Reinhard Scheer commanded the German High Seas Fleet at the Battle of Jutland (1916).
Alfred von Tirpitz
Tirpitz, Alfred vonAlfred von Tirpitz, 1915.Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, BerlinAlfred von Tirpitz was the chief builder of the German navy in the 17 years preceding World War I.
Military Commanders of World War I
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