Especially at the beginning of the war, there was a lot of offensive movement, especially in the initial German strikes. Especially on the Eastern Front, where the Germans were very successful against the Russians, who had a large but pretty hapless army. Also for the blessed few of you who sat through all of Lawrence of Arabia, you'll remember that T.E. Lawrence's exploits took place in the context of World War I, with the British battling the Ottomans. This brings up an important point. World War I featured combatants from around the world. Britain's army especially included soldiers from India, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, who was just happy to be invited.