7A World War I

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo, started World War I.

Armenians

Christians in the Ottoman Empire, who faced genocide during World War I.

Balfour Declaration

1917, Britain's support for the foundation of a Jewish state or nation in Palestine.

Black Hand

Serbian nationalist/terrorist group responsible for the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand which resulted in the start of World War I.

Central Powers

In World War I the alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary and other nations allied with them in opposing the Allies.

David Lloyd George

Britain's prime minister at the end of World War I whose goal was to make the Germans pay for the other countries' staggering war losses

Georges Clemenceau

French prime minister who wanted to ensure that Germany would never again threaten France; at the Paris Peace Conference.

Influenza Epidemic of 1918

A disease that killed more people than in World War One (3-5% world population), but largely overlooked due to the war

League of Nations

A world organization established in 1920 to promote international cooperation and peace. Essentially powerless, it was officially dissolved in 1946.

Lusitania

A British passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-Boat on May 7, 1915. 128 Americans died. The sinking greatly turned American opinion against the Germans, helping the move towards entering the war.

Mandate System

The plan to allow Britain and France to administer former Ottoman and German territories, put into place after the end of the First World War.

Reparations

As part of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was ordered to pay fines to the Allies to repay the costs of the war. Opposed by the U.S., it quickly lead to a severe depression in Germany.

Self-determination

the right of people to choose their own form of government

Stalemate

A situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Treaty in which Russia lost substantial territory to the Germans. This ended Russian participation in the war (1918).

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty that ended WWI. It blamed Germany for WWI and handed down harsh punishment.

Trench Warfare

A form of warfare in which opposing armies fight each other from trenches dug in the battlefield.

Triple Entente

A military alliance between Great Britain, France, and Russia in the years preceding World War I.

Weimar Republic

German government founded after WWI and the downfall of the German Empire's monarchy.

Woodrow Wilson

President of the United States (1913-1921) and the leading figure at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. He was unable to persuade the U.S. Congress to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or join the League of Nations.

Zimmerman Telegram

This was sent by Germans to encourage a Mexican attack against the United States. Intercepted by the British in 1917.