Military Alliances and Conflicts

defensive alliance

Military pact to defend each member from external attacks.

Triple Alliance

Defensive pact between Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary.

Triple Entente

Defensive alliance of France, Russia, and Britain against the Triple Alliance.

Alsace - Lorraine

Historic region between France and Germany, subject to territorial disputes.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Region in the Balkans with ethnic tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.

nationalism

Political ideology emphasizing national unity and pride.

Archduke Francis-Ferdinand

Austrian heir whose assassination sparked World War I.

blank check

Granting unlimited authority to someone.

ultimatum

Final demand with consequences if rejected.

mobilize

Prepare military forces for action.

von Schlieffen Plan

German strategy to defeat France and Russia quickly.

two-front war

Conflict fought on two separate fronts.

Allies

WWI combatants including Britain, France, and Russia.

Central Powers

WWI combatants like Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.

poison gas

Chemical weapon used in WWI.

U-Boat

German submarine in WWI.

HMS Lusitania

British ship sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915.

reconnaissance

Observing enemy movements.

dogfight

Aerial combat between airplanes.

genocide

Systematic killing of a specific group.

Armenian Genocide (1915 - 1917)

Mass murder of Armenian Christians by the Ottoman Empire.

total war

Conflict involving all aspects of a nation.

Canary Girls

Women munitions workers in WWI.

Easter Rebellion

Irish nationalist uprising in 1916.

unrestricted submarine war

German policy of sinking any vessel trading with Britain.

Zimmermann Telegram

German message to Mexico urging war against the US.

President Woodrow Wilson

US leader during WWI.

14 Points

Wilson's plan for peace after WWI.

League of Nations

International organization for peace.

armistice

Temporary truce during negotiations.

Treaty of Versailles

WWI peace treaty imposing harsh terms on Germany.

Big Four

Leaders of major Allied nations during WWI.

reparations

Payments by the defeated to victors after a war.

Russian Revolution of 1917

Overthrow of the tsarist regime leading to communist rule.

Provisional Government

Interim government after the Russian Revolution.

Duma

Russian parliament.

Bolshevik

Early Russian communist movement.

Vladimir Lenin

Bolshevik leader and first Soviet ruler.

Petrograd

Wartime name for St. Petersburg.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Harsh peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Central Powers.

Russian Civil War

Conflict between communists and anti-communists in Russia.

Reds

Supporters of the communists in Russia.

Whites

Opponents of the communists in Russia.

Red Army

Communist military force in Russia.

Leon Trotsky

Bolshevik leader and Red Army organizer.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

Lenin's economic reform to recover from war devastation.

kulaks

Wealthy Russian peasants under the NEP.

Josef Stalin

Soviet leader who succeeded Lenin.

totalitarian

Government with total control over citizens.

gulags

Soviet concentration camps for political dissidents.

politically incorrect

Originally a Soviet crime of dissenting from communist policies.

Old Bolsheviks

Early Bolsheviks targeted by Stalin for elimination.

Show Trials

Public trials to discredit political rivals in the Soviet Union.

counter-revolutionary

Opposing actions against a revolution.

5-Year Plans

Soviet economic growth strategy, mostly unsuccessful.

collectivization of agriculture

Communist policy of seizing private farms for state-owned collectives.