The Great War

Balkan Wars

Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria took Macedonia from the Ottomans in 1912. Serbia then fought Bulgaria in the second Balkan War in 1913 Austria intervened to stop the war.

Black Hand

Ultra Nationalist, Serbian Society. Secretly supported by members of the Serbian government.

Conscription

Forced recruitment into the army to meet the needs of war.

Charles I

(1887-1922) Last Austrian Emperor abdicated Nov. 1918. The next day Austria was declared as a Republic as was Hungary

Entente Cordial

Britain gained control of Egypt. France gained control of Morocco. But not a written alliance only and agreement. Basically against Germany.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

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

David Lloyd George

British Prime Minister and representative to the Treaty of Versailles.

Isolationism

Not becoming involved in global or regional events

Joseph Joffre

French general led the French at the Battle of the Marne

Kaiser Wilhelm II

Germany. Dismissed Bismarck in 1890. Did not renew Bismarck’s treaty with Russia and “Forced” Russia to look for another ally, France.

Kruger Telegram

William II sent Kruger of the Transvaal a congratulatory telegram upon hearing the failure of the Jamison Raid. Alerted Britain of the dangers from Germany.

Vladimir I. Lenin

Believed in Marxist Socialism

1) Believed capitalism must be destroyed.

2) A social revolution was possible in backward Russia.

3) The need for highly trained workers partly controlled by revolutionaries like himself.

League of Nations

Allies worked out terms for peace with Germany, 1919, precursor to the United Nations

Lusitania

Sunk in 1915 by a German submarine. 139 Americans were killed. Forced Germany to stop submarine warfare.

Battle of the Marne

A major French victory against the invading German army at the start of WWI. In reality, it lost Germany the whole war.

Morocco Crisis, 1911

After the French received Morocco, Germany demanded an international conference-German bullying forced England and France closer. Germany gained nothing.

Nicholas II

The last tsar. Wanted supreme rule of army and government. Led the armies to defeat. Forced to abdicate in 1917 by the Duma.

Gavrilo Princip

The assassin of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria, a member of the Black Hand

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Treaty between Bolsheviks and Germans to get Russia out of the war.

1) Russia lost 1/3 of its population.

2) During the height of German success in WWI.

3) Signed by Lenin.

Treaty of Versailles

Negotiated by the Big Three: Germany was stripped of colonies, Alsace and Lorraine were given back to France, Poland was reconstituted as a state, Polish corridor would split Prussia from Germany, the Saar region would be French for 15 years—heavy repercussions (not specified until later)

Battle of Verdun

1916 German assault on the French fortress—turned into a battle of attrition and France won.

Triple Entente

1914, Great Britain, France, and Russia

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

President Wilson’s Peace proposal in 1918, stressed national self-determination and the rights of the small countries. Freedom of the seas and free trade. Clemenceau said, “God only had ten.”

Woodrow Wilson

U.S. President, who led USA into WWI. He proposed the 14 points. He attended the peace conference at Versailles.

Zimmerman Telegram

German Arthur Zimmerman sent a telegram to the German minister in Mexico City telling him to promise the Mexican President German help if Mexico went to war with the U.S.

The telegram was intercepted and decoded by the British, shocking the American public.