Upgrade to remove ads
Only $35.99/year

World War I - Modern Wld His.

Terms in this set (53)

Four MAIN causes of WWI
Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism
Militarism
development of large armed forces and their use as a diplomatic tool
conscription
forced military service; draft
rigid war plans
no flexibility in the plan for what happens if war starts. no "off ramp." once war starts it does not stop.
Alliance System
defense agreement among nations
Triple Entente
Britain, France, Russia. an alliance.
Triple Alliance (Central Powers)
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire. alliance.
Imperialism
competition for colonies around the world
Balkan Peninsula
European countries are in competition for Balkans because it is unique, cross road of 3 continents (good for trade). Russia sees itself as protector of Slavic people here. Russia wants access to warm-water ports to avoid being trapped by Ottoman Empire.
Dardanelles strait & Bosphorous strait
narrow water pathways
Nationalism
pride in one's country
Powder Keg
a barrel of gunpowder; a dangerous situation that could escalate. Europe is a metaphorical powder keg because these strong countries make it seem balanced, but all the competition and imperialism is causing conflict.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
nephew of emperor, his assassination set off the spark that led Austria-Hungary to blame Serbia, make demands of Serbia, cause Russia to defend Serbia, Austria-Hungary declares war with backing of Germany, and Germany tries to mediate crisis between A.H & Russia.
The Black Hand
group of Serbian nationalists that killed Ferdinand. Gavrilo Princip shot him.
poison gas
introduced by Germans but used by both sides. blindness, severe blisters, choking. chlorine & mustard gas.
machine gun
a rapidly firing automatic gun (often mounted)
tank
An enclosed armored military vehicle used by British in WWI. Helped end the war.
submarine
a submersible warship usually armed with torpedoes
planes
first war using aircraft. no air force, used for scouting trenches. planes that would fight in the sky were called "dog fights."
trench warfare
A form of warfare in which opposing armies fight each other from trenches dug in the battlefield. land in between is called "no man's land."
zeppelin
large gas-filled balloon (used by Germany to bomb England)
Big Bertha
German cannonball that fired 1800 lb shells 75 miles
Schlieffen Plan
attack plan by Germany, sneaking through Belgium to get to France. a quick defeat of France to focus attention onto Russia later. wanted to avoid 2 front war, knew Russia military was slow and disorganized.
British Blockade
blockades all the german ports, choking off germany's imports, including food. guns, food, fertilizer (to make bombs) was on contraband list.
German Blockade
Blockade of the area between Great-Britain and France by the use of German U-boats. The Germans did not want Britain sending supplies to the other Allied Powers
(possible long answer) Compare ships & naval blockades.
U.S decided to join British side because Germany was sinking ships. Define contraband (guns, food, fertilizer). What was the difference in blockades (surface ships used to block vs u-boats used to sink ships). British confiscate ships, Germans sink them for stealth.
Battle of Somme
Jul. 1st 1916 - Nov. 18th 1916. fought by British and French against Germans. took place on both sides of the upper reaches of the Somme, a river in France. one of the most bitter and costly battles. British suffered 57,000+ casualties, Germans lost 450,000+. 60,000 British soldiers dead in one day. Neither side won.
Battle of Tannenberg
Aug. 26th - 30th 1914. Russians pushed into Prussia, massive defeat caused them to retreat. Hand grenades and machine guns. 30,000 Russians lost, 13,000 Germans lost
Sam Somov (Russia)
Russian General in Battle of Tannenberg. Killed himself after the loss of the battle.
Paul Hindenburg (German)
German commander in Battle of Tannenberg. Captured Belgium fortress of Liege and authorized counter attack.
Battle of Verdun
Feb 21st 1916 - Dec 18th 1916. longest battle of WWI. took place in Western Front of France. Germany vs. France. Verdun lost 350,000 soldiers. stalemate. neither side won.
Battle of Gallipoli
1915, happened on Gallipoli peninsula. started by Allies because they wanted an upper hand on Russia. wanted to take the Dardanelles and establish supply line to Russia. Turkish soldiers defended peninsula. 250,000 casualties. considered Turkey's greatest victory in WWI.
Three Battles of Ypres
first battle in 1914 in Belgium city of Ypres. attempt by Germany to take French ports. opened access to North Sea and beyond. second battle April 22nd - May 25th 1915 fought in Western Flounders. first time Germany used poison gas as weapon. Canada's first major engagement in WWI. third was Passchendaele.
Battle of Passchendaele
(Third Battle of Ypres) one of the worst slaughters of World War I. July - Nov 1917. rainy battlefield made trenches a swamp. very costly, lots of death, not a good victory. Britain and Canada occupied Passchendaele, Belgium, in early November. Allies only gained 5 miles of territory.
What caused the end of the war?
Russia was losing so bad they have a civil war, the people overthrow the Russian government and they exit the war. allows Germany to focus on the Western front.
(possibly long answer) How did the war go from one front war to two front war and then back to one front? Schlieffen Plan.
Germany didn't want to fight France and Russia at once, so they focused on France first because Russia has a slower military. Once Russia exited they could fully focus on defeating France.
U.S joins the war?
United States joins on side of Allies. sends 250,000 troops a month to push Germany out of France. combined troops are too much, Germany is losing. Wilhelm steps down as Kaiser.
Abdictation
giving up control authority. Wilhelm steps down as Kaiser Nov. 9th 1918.
Weimar Republic
German republic founded after Wilhelm stepped down. On November 11th they sign Armistice with Allies.
Armistice
in between peace treaty and cease fire, they are done fighting they just don't know what a peace treaty to officially end the war would look like.
Paris Peace Conference
meeting of the Allied leaders to determine the conditions of the peace treaty. "Big Four" had all power at negotiations.
Big Four
Woodrow Wilson (US president), Georges Clemenceau (french premier), David Lloyd George (British prime minister), Vittorio Orlando (Italian prime minister)
Woodrow Wilson (U.S)
wanted a just peace. 14 points (League of Nations, self-determination, lasting peace). wanted to fix the problems that led to WWI.
Georges Clemenceau (France)
wanted to punish and weaken Germany, afraid of being invaded again.
David Lloyd George (Britain)
wanted to punish Germany but not weaken them, wanted a buffer country between Britain and Russia.
Vittorio Orlando (Italy)
least involved, agreed to join the war in return for Austrian land.
Self-determination
Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves
League of Nations
an international group designed to resolve conflicts and try to prevent future wars, U.S never joined, Russia and Germany were never invited to join.
Treaty of Versailles
440 articles but we only focused on 4 of them: territory, military, war guilt clause, and reparations.) Germany didn't want to sign but had no choice. U.S never signed treaty.
Territory Treaty of Versailles
Germany lost 13% of land and 10% of population, France regained Alsace-Lorraine, Poland was created from German and Russian land, all German territories go to the temporary control of France and GB
Military Treaty of Versailles
limited the size of Germany's military, 100,000 troops, no heavy artillery, no submarines, limited surface ships, no air force, no troops allowed in Rhineland (border region between Germany, Belgium and France)
War Guilt Clause/Reparations
Germany was forced to accept all responsibility for causing WWI, Germany had to pay reparations (had to pay for cost of war) to the allies $31 billion, France allowed to mine the Saar valley for coal as part of payment
Tsar Nicholas II
Tsar of Russia until the government got overthrown
Other sets by this creator