1914 19th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Allenby leads cavalry during the fighting around Ypres.
First World War · permanent subject timeline
First Battle of Ypres
The 1914 struggle for Flanders during the final phase of the Race to the Sea. This page combines historical context with 15 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database World War I battle archive.
Historical context
First Battle of Ypres: overview and significance
What happened?
The First Battle of Ypres was fought in October and November 1914 as British, French, Belgian and German forces struggled for control of the approaches to Ypres. The fighting followed the mobile opening campaigns and the Race to the Sea.
Why was it important?
The battle helped establish the Ypres Salient and completed the transition to a continuous entrenched front from Switzerland to the North Sea. British regular formations suffered extremely heavy losses.
World History Database records
First Battle of Ypres timeline
The records below are selected from the 572-record World War I battles archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1914
1914 19th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Falkenhayn seeks decision in Flanders around Ypres.
1914 19th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Foch coordinates French support around Ypres.
1914 19th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
French directs the BEF during the First Battle of Ypres.
1914 19th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Haig commands I Corps in the Ypres salient.
1914 19th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Albrecht commands German forces at Ypres.
1914 19th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Smith-Dorrien holds part of the line near Ypres.
1914 20th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Rawlinson helps hold the line during First Ypres.
1914 30th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Byng commands cavalry at Ypres.
1914 30th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Commands the 3rd Cavalry Division at Ypres
1914 30th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
French forces support the Allied line at Ypres.
1914 30th October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Fabeck commands a German attack toward Ypres.
1914 31st October
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Gough commands cavalry near Ypres.
1914
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Leads the Cavalry Corps at the 1st Battle of Ypres
1914
Battle of Ypres, 1st
Spearheads the 1st major German offensive around Ypres
Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database.
Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database First World War records.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
Imperial War Museums · Commonwealth War Graves Commission · Australian War Memorial
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