S3 History Lesson Notes - Topic 9: The First World War

Vocabulary flashcards covering the causes, key crises, alliance systems, military developments, and major events of the First World War.

Franco-Prussian War (1871)

A war in which Prussia defeated France and established a unified German Empire proclaimed at the Palace of Versailles, resulting in France losing Alsace-Lorraine, paying huge indemnities, and becoming archenemies with Germany.

Alsace-Lorraine

A territory rich in coal and iron ore that France lost to Prussia in 1871 and was eager to recover, driving French hostility and desire for revenge against Germany.

Pan-Germanism

A form of extreme nationalism in Germany that advocated unifying all Germans in Europe to establish a 'Greater Germany'.

Pan-Slavism

A form of extreme nationalism supported by Russia claiming that all Slavs and their territories should be placed under Russian control.

Greater Serbia Movement

An extreme nationalist movement that initially advocated the unity of all Serbs in the Balkans as a nation-state and later advocated the rule of all Slavs in the Balkans under Serbia, winning Russian sympathy and conflicting with Austria-Hungary.

Triple Alliance

A rival military alliance formed in 1882 consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, established to prevent French revenge.

Triple Entente

A rival military alliance formed in 1907 by Britain, France, and Russia to counter the Triple Alliance and break French diplomatic isolation.

Dreadnought

A type of large-scale battleship that European powers, particularly Britain and Germany, fiercely competed to build during the pre-war naval arms race.

First Moroccan Crisis (1905-1906)

A confrontation in North Africa where Germany and France competed to control Morocco; Germany gained support only from Austria-Hungary, faced diplomatic disadvantages, and made concessions.

Second Moroccan Crisis (1911)

A renewed clash between France and Germany over Morocco in which Britain supported France, forcing Germany to back down for a second time and fueling German resentment.

Bosnian Crisis (1908)

A crisis caused by Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Russia and Serbia backed down when Germany backed Austria-Hungary, causing anti-Austrian sentiments to surge among Serbians.

First Balkan War (1912-1913)

A conflict in which Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and other Balkan states jointly defeated the Ottoman Empire, leading Austria-Hungary to create Albania to block Serbian westward expansion.

Second Balkan War (1913)

A war in which Serbia, Greece, Romania, and the Ottoman Empire defeated Bulgaria, leading to significant territorial gains that greatly strengthened Serbia and alarmed Austria-Hungary.

Open Door Policy

A policy put forward by the United States in 1899 demanding that all countries trade in China on an equal basis.

Sarajevo Incident

The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife by a Serbian radical in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, serving as the spark of the First World War.

Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum

A list of 10 terms sent by Austria-Hungary to Serbia on 23 July 1914 requiring a reply within 48 hours; Serbia's refusal to allow Austro-Hungarian representatives into Serbia triggered Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on 28 July 1914.

Central Powers

The wartime alliance originating from the Triple Alliance, consisting of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire in 1914, joined by Bulgaria in 1915.

Allied Powers

The wartime coalition originating from the Triple Entente, initially including Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, Belgium, and Japan, later joined by Italy (1915), Romania (1916), Greece (1917), and China (1917).

Trench Warfare

The primary mode of combat on the Western Front where soldiers hid in deep, unhygienic trenches facing machine guns, rifles, and poison gas to obtain cover and resist enemy assaults.

No-man's Land

The dangerous exposed area between opposing enemy trenches where anyone entering would be shot dead.

Schlieffen Plan

A German military plan devised after the 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance to invade France through Belgium to capture Paris in 6 weeks, before transferring troops by rail to face Russia on the Eastern Front.

Twenty-one Demands

A set of demands presented by Japan to China in January 1915 aiming to seize German rights in the Shandong Peninsula.

Lusitania

A British passenger ship torpedoed and sunk by German unrestricted submarine warfare in 1915, killing over 100 Americans.

Chinese Labour Corps

A contingent of about 140,000 Chinese labourers sent to Europe between 1916 and 1918 to dig trenches, construct roads, carry cargo, repair vehicles, and bury bodies, among whom over 10,000 died.

Armistice of 11 November 1918

The agreement signed between Germany and the Allied Powers following the abdication of Kaiser William II on 9 November, bringing an official end to the First World War.