world war one

nationalism

the belief that your nation or ethnic group is superior to all other nations or groups.

-gave established nations (Britain, France, Germany) the arrogance to believe they were unbeatable.

-Inspired ethnic groups in Europe who did NOT have their own country to fight for their independence.

Militarism

Nations (especially Germany) were building huge armed forces equipped with modern weapons (long-range artillery, machine guns, U-boats).

Alliance System

Many European nations have secret alliances with each other.

Schlieffen Plan

The schlieffen plan was Germany’s 1905 military strategy for WWI, designed to quickly defeat france by invading through neutral Belgium and netherlands before Russia could mobilize. Avoiding two front war → failed due to unexpected resistance, british intervention, russian mobilization→ prolonged trench warfare

neutrality

a country offically refused to take sides, not participating in combat or aiding with war goods, and aiming impartiality in thought and action.

trench warfare

when whistle blew→ run across land to other trench when people start running → shot with machine guns

barbed wire in no man’s land

Pretty much 0 people made it across → fight with bayonet

No man’s land

area between two trenches

new warfare technology

machine guns, poison gas, submarine warfare, zeplins, tanks, barbed wire, radio communication

battle of verdun

feb 21st- sept 19th, 1916 Germany vs. France- France won, longest battle of WWI- ¼ of a million deaths, line of fortification between verdun and toul- protect eastern french border, turned into a stalemate, germans started another battle- france won again

battle of the somme

british/french vs. german, 4 months, stalemate, allied forces broke through German lines on River of somme, purpose → draw germans away from battle of verdun, most famous for tank introduced → not effective, british 57,470 casualties lost, forced Germans to construct new military.

mustard gas

most lethal of all the poisonous chemicals used during the war, almost odourless and took 12 hours to take effect, remained active in the soil for several weeks, skin blistered, eyes became sore, vomiting, internal and external bleeding, and attacked bronchial tubes stripping mucous membrane. Took four to five weeks to die, first used by German Army in september 1917.

battle of gallipoli

allied forces (british, french, australia, new zealand) tried to capture the dardanelles start from the ottoman empire to open a supply route to russia but were repelled by turkish resistance.

u- boats

german submarines that devastated neutral ships by explding them using torpeods.

contraband

war materials- the british made almost all the contraband

lusitania

sunk may 7, 1915 (almost as big as titanic). approx. 124 americans die out of a total of over 1200. british hid weapons on board. US outraged- president wilson dends germany a note of protest. Germans promise to try to avoid neutral ships.

unrestricted submarine warfare

a naval tactic where submarines sink any ship they see

arabic and sussex pledge

agreements by germany during world war one to limit its unrestricted submarine warfare (u-boat attacks) to appease the united states

propaganda

media that is sued to influence people to think, act, or feel a certain way

treaty of brest-litovsk

peace treaty signed on march 3, 1918, between the new Bolshevik government of soviet russia and the central powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Ottoman empire), that ended Russia’s participation in World War one.

zimmerman note

secret german message in 1917, proposing a military alliance with mexico against the US during WWI, promising to help mexico reclaim Texas, new mexico, and Arizona; intercepted and decoded by the british, its public release outraged americans, becoming a key factor in the US declaring war on germany in april 1917.

armistice

a formal agreement between warring parties to stop fighting. 11/11/1918 signed by germany and allies- ended fighting until peace treaty could be signed

fourteen points

goals for lasting peace

1. open treaties- tried to end allience system

2. freedom of seas- portect neuatral ships and trade

3. lower tariffs/economic barriers to trade

4. reduce arms/ military- tried to end militarism

5. colonies should not be exploited- tried to lessen hardships of imperialism

6. -13. redraw the map of europe- create new nations based on ethnicity- tried to end turmoil caused by nationalism. 14. league of nations- nations can meet to work out world problems before they turn into open warfare.

treaty of versailles

1919 peace treaty that officially ended WWI between germany and allied powers. Harsh blame on germany → forced huge reparations, stripping of its colonies, severely limited military, created deep resentment that fueled hitler and ww2.

acheivements of 14 points

created 9 new countries in europe, created leaugue of nations

US reaction to treaty of versailles

worried that tge league would entangle the US in future wars, upset at the unfair treatment of germany, wilsom insuls republican senators *US senate rejects the treaty of versailles, US signs a separate treaty woth germany in 1921, US necer joins leageu of nations.

league of nations

based on the idea of collective security, a system in whcih a group of nations acts as one to preserve the peace of all the nations. He believed that if the League was in place, any mistakes made in Paris would be corrected in a good amount of time.

mandates

a system by the league of nations, granting allied powers (like britian, france) control over former territories of the ottoman empire and german colonies.

war guilt clause

forced germany to accept sole responsibility for starting WWI

reparations

massive payments and obligations imposed on germany by the allies via the treaty of versailled (1919) to cover war damages

Gavrilo Princip

Assasin- overslept and shot as running into parade, part of black hand terrorist group.

Francis Ferdinand

Archduke of Austria is assasinated by a serbian nationalist (June 28, 1914) the serbs wanted independence from the Austria- Hungarian empire.

Woodrow Wilson

President during WWI, served two terms in offics

david lloyd george

britiain’s prime minister, convy system (against u-boats) big 4 → treaty of versailles

geroges clemenceau

“The tiger”, france’s prime minister, big 4 → WWI, demanded harsh terms for germany, paris peace conference.

kaiser wilhem ii

germany’s emperor during wwI, helped trigger war with blank check support for Austria- Hungary but was sidelined by his generals during conflict, became figurehead who failed to control military’s decisions, Leading to his forced abdication in 1918 as germany collapsed.