Untitled Flashcards Set

Militarism

The belief in building up strong armed forces to prepare for war.

Triple Alliance

A military alliance before WWI between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

The German emperor during World War I who pushed for a stronger military and more aggressive foreign policy.

Triple Entente

An alliance between France, Russia, and Britain before World War I.

The Balkan Region

A politically unstable area in Southeast Europe known as the 'powder keg' of Europe due to nationalist tensions.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I.

Ultimatum

A final demand or threat, such as the one Austria-Hungary gave Serbia after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.

Central Powers

The alliance during World War I that included Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

Allies

The alliance of Britain, France, Russia, and later the U.S. and others during World War I.

Armenian Genocide

The mass killing and forced deportation of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Western Front

The line of battle in Western Europe, mainly in France and Belgium, where trench warfare was common.

Trench Warfare

A type of fighting where soldiers dug and fought from deep trenches facing the enemy.

Eastern Front

The battle zone between Germany and Russia during World War I, with more mobile and less entrenched fighting than the Western Front.

Gallipoli

A failed Allied campaign in Turkey meant to secure a sea route to Russia.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

A German military policy of sinking any ship, including civilian ones, without warning.

The Lusitania

A British passenger ship sunk by a German U-boat in 1915, killing civilians and angering the U.S.

The Zimmermann Note

A secret German message to Mexico proposing an alliance against the U.S., which helped draw the U.S. into the war.

Total War

A war strategy in which countries use all available resources and people to support the war effort.

Propaganda

Biased information used by governments to shape public opinion and maintain support for the war.

Armistice

An agreement to stop fighting; the WWI armistice was signed on November 11, 1918.

Treaty of Versailles

The peace treaty that ended World War I and placed harsh penalties on Germany.

Woodrow Wilson's 'Fourteen Points'

A plan by U.S. President Wilson for lasting peace that included ideas like self-determination and the League of Nations.

League of Nations

An international peacekeeping organization formed after WWI to prevent future wars.

Self-determination

The right of people to choose their own government and political status.