World War I Vocab

Gavrilo Princip

Serbian nationalist who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Triple Entente

Alliance of Britain, France, and Russia

Triple Alliance

Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy

Allies

Countries fighting against the Central powers in WWI

Central Powers

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria

Pan-Arabism

Movement to unite Arab peoples under shared identity

Pan-Slavism

Movement promoting unity or Slavic peoples

Serbs

Slavic ethnic group involved in Balkan nationalism

July Ultimatum

Austria-Hungary’s demands to Serbia after the assasination

Zionism

Jewish nationalist movement for a homeland in Palestine

The Great War (World War I)

Global war fought from 1914-1918

Nationalism

Strong loyalty and pride in one’s nation or people

Militarism

Belief in strong military power and readiness for war

Imperialism

Policy or extending a nation’s power through colonies

Diplomacy

Managing relations between nations

Self-determination

Right of people to choose their own government

Stalemate

Situation where neither side can gain victory

Lusitania

British ship sunk by Germany, killing civilians

Zimmerman Telegram

German message urging Mexico to attack the U.S.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Treaty ending Russia’s involvement in WWI

All Quiet on the Western Front

Novel showing the horrors of trench warfare

16th Amendment

Amendment allowing a federal income tax

Total War

War involving all of a nation’s resources and civilians

Posion gas (Mustard Gas)

Chemical weapon causing severe injuries

Machine guns

Rapid-fire weapons that increased battlefield deaths

Tanks

Armored vehicles used to break trench warfare

U-Boats

German submarines used to attack ships

Airplanes

Used for scouting and combat during war

Trench warfare

Fighting from long, dug in trenches

Conscription

Mandatory military service

Western Front

Main fighting area in France and Belgium

No-Man’s-Land

Area between enemy trenches

Eastern Front

Fighting area in Eastern Europe

ANZAC

Australian and New Zealand soldiers in the war

Battle of Gallipoli

Failed Allied invasion of Ottoman territory

Woodrow Wilson

U.S. president during this war who proposed peace plans

David Lloyd George

British prime minister during this war

Georges Clemenceau

French leader who wanted harsh punishment for Germany

Vittorio Orlando

Italian leader at the Paris Peace Conderence

Paris Peace Conference

Meeting to decide peace terms after WWI

Fourteen Points

Wilson’s plan for peace and preventing future wars

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty that punished Germany after WWI

Reparations

Payments Germany had to make for war damages

War Guilt Clause

Clause blaming Germany for starting WWI

Mandare System

League of Nations control over former colonies

Hague Conventions

International rules limiting warfare methods

League of Nations

Organization created to prevent future wars

Weimar Government

Democratic government of Germany after WWI

Balfour Declaration

British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine

Armenian Genocide

Mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire

Influenza pandemic

Deadly global flu outbreak after WWI

Lost Generation

Writers disillusioned by WWI’s destruction

Archduke Francis Ferdinand

Heir to Austria-Hungary whose death triggered WWI