WWI Vocabulary Flashcards (Lecture Notes)

A comprehensive set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering key WWI terms and figures from the provided lecture notes.

Total War

Large-scale conflict using all resources in a war, including civilians on the homefront.

Attrition

Slowly wearing down the enemy's resources, rather than hoping for a quick win.

Balkan Wars

Conflicts that resulted in Serbia's independence from the Ottoman Empire; Serbian expansion threatened Austria-Hungary.

Battle of the Marne

Paris was saved from German invasion twice; early WWI battle between Central and Allied Powers.

Battle of Tannenberg

Huge Russian losses against Germany that sparked public outrage and led Nicholas II to take control of the Russian army.

Battle of Gallipoli

British naval failure in the Dardanelles campaign, led by Winston Churchill.

Battle of the Somme

One of the longest and deadliest battles of WWI; first use of British tanks.

Franco-Prussian War

Unified Germany took Alsace-Lorraine from France, sparking French desire for revenge and contributing to the alliance system.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

German monarch who desired an equal place in the sun among imperial powers.

Dual Alliance

Germany and Austria-Hungary teamed up against French revenge and Russian threat.

Triple Alliance

Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy allied together to prevent Italy’s turning to Russia.

Entente Cordiale

Friendly agreement between Britain and France to recognize colonial possessions.

Triple Entente

France, Britain, and Russia agreed not to settle a separate peace (1914).

Bosnian Crisis

Austro-Hungarian expansion into Bosnia angered Russia and pushed Russia toward Serbia.

Slav

Ethnic group/language family found in the Balkans; explains Russian assistance to Serbia.

David Lloyd George

British Prime Minister during WWI.

Treaty of Versailles

1919 agreement that ended WWI, largely blamed Germany and included harsh punishments, also created many new states.

Blank Check

Germany’s unlimited support for Austria-Hungary, a factor blamed in the Treaty of Versailles.

Karl I

Emperor of Austria.

Count Leopold Berchtold

Austrian foreign minister who recommended an invasion of Serbia and sent an ultimatum.

Second Battle of Ypres

German invasion of Belgium that introduced the use of poison gas.

Third Battle of Ypres

Passchendaele; stalemate in the trench warfare era.

Schlieffen Plan

German plan to quickly invade France via Belgium before turning on Russia; its failure led to trench warfare.

Moroccan Crises

Germany supported Moroccan independence in two events, angering France and isolating them from European powers.

Douglas Haig

British general seen as heartless due to disregard for loss of life.

Battle of Verdun

Longest single battle of WWI; German attempt to bleed France white through attrition.

Lusitania

British merchant ship sunk by German U-boats, killing 128 Americans and turning U.S. public opinion against Germany.

Vladimir Lenin

Marxist leader of Bolsheviks who led the Russian revolutions, established a communist state, and withdrew Russia from WWI.

Battle of Amiens

Last large-scale battle of WWI; start of the Hundred Days Offensive that pushed Germany toward armistice.

Russian Revolution

Two 1917 revolutions that removed the tsar and overthrew a provisional government before Russia withdrew from the war.

Nicholas II

Russian tsar who led his army personally in WWI and was overthrown and executed by Bolsheviks.

1919-ism

Spirit of idealism that the old capitalist imperial order would be replaced by lasting peace.

Woodrow Wilson

Idealist U.S. president whose 14 Points outlined a plan for permanent peace.

Gavrilo Princip

Serbian assassin of Franz Ferdinand, member of the Black Hand.

Armistice Day

November 11, 1919 – ceasefire.

Conscientious Objection

British concept excusing people who refused to fight on moral grounds, often punished by forced labor or prison.

Zimmerman Note

German proposal to Mexico to attack the U.S. and distract them from entering WWI; swayed U.S. public opinion against Germany.

HMS Dreadnought

Revolutionary British battleship launched in 1906 that initiated a naval arms race.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

1918 peace treaty between the Bolshevik government of Soviet Russia and Germany.