More actions
Great War events that took place on 20 December.
1914 (Sunday)
| Western Front | ▶ Battle of Givenchy continues. | ▶ Furious German attacks on Indian troops. |
| Eastern Front | ▶ Poland: Russians holding the Bzura River against heavy German assaults. | ▶ Galicia: Russians begin to counter-attack and to recover the Carpathian Passes. |
| Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres | Armenia: Russians defeat the Turks near Lake Van. | |
| Naval and Overseas Operations | South Africa: Captain Fourie shot; his brother's sentence commuted. |
Sources: Various material contemporary with the war have been used to compile The Great War On This Day and its associated Compendium.
Compendium entries form the central hub of (a) An index-like collection of places, people, ships, battles, political events, etc., and (b) Words and phrases of the Armed Forces of Great Britain during the Great War. The majority of these have been transcribed from Chronology of the War (1918-1920) and Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases (1925) respectively, the later which is reflected in the language used and some may seem derogatory by today's standards.
Images come from scans or photographs of original sources, Wikimedia Commons, and the Imperial War Museum's online collections under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence. Attribution is given separately to the latter and does not come under the general licence of this site. Please be aware that some images, although very few, may depict distressing scenes.
Advisory note: The information in these sources may not accurately represent updated histories, present-day spellings, or geographical borders. It is also written from a British perspective, and words such as "enemy" are used extensively. For further details and a full list of sources, click here.