Ch. 27: World War I and the Russian Revolution

Triple Alliance

An alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in the years before WWI.

Triple Entente

A military alliance between Great Britain, France, and Russia in the years preceding World War I.

Militarism

A policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army always prepared for war

Long term causes of World War I

nationalism, imperialism, militarism, creation of alliances (Central and Allied Powers)

Gavrilo Princip

The assassin of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria

Short term cause of World War I

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The Black Hand

Serbian nationalist/terrorist group that wanted to create a Greater Serbia

stalemate

A situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible

The Western Front

A line of trenches and fortifications that were the scene of most of the fighting between Germany, on the one hand, and France and Britain, on the other.

poison gas

Introduced by the Germans and was used by both sides during the war; caused vomiting, blindness, and suffocation

zeppelins

Long airships similar to modern blimps; Germans used to bomb England and London

U-boats

German submarines

trench warfare

A form of warfare in which opposing armies fight each other from trenches dug in the battlefield.

Eastern Front

In WWI, the region along the German-Russian Border where Russians and Serbs battled Germans, Austrians, and Turks.

T.E. Lawrence

British colonel sent to encourage and support the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire

total war

A conflict in which the participating countries devote all their resources to the war effort

conscription

A military draft

Lusitania

American boat that was sunk by the German U-boats; made America consider entering WWI

propaganda

information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

Zimmerman Telegram

A telegram Germany Sent to Mexico to convince Mexico to attack the U.S.

Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson's post WWI plan, most of which was rejected by European leaders following the war.

self-determination

The concept that groups have the right to govern themselves.

armistice

An agreement to stop fighting, asked for by the Germans in November, 1918

reparations

As part of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was ordered to pay fines to the Allies to repay the costs of the war.

Paris Peace Conference

The peace conference that decided the terms of WWI peace and created the Treaty of Versailles.

Treaty of Versailles

the treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans

The Mandate System

Allocation of former German colonies and Ottoman possessions to the victorious powers after World War I

The League of Nations

An organization of nations formed after World War I to promote cooperation and peace.

Czar Nicholas II

Russian Czar during WWI; unpopular with Russian people; overthrown in March 1917; executed by Bolsheviks after November Revolution (1917)

Vladimir Lenin

Russian founder of the Bolsheviks and leader of the Russian Revolution and first leader of the Soviet Union

Provisional Government

A temporary government created after the abdication of the czar; it made the decision to remain in World War I, costing it the support of the Russian people.

November (1917) Revolution

The Bolsheviks fought under Lenin to overthrow the provisional government and begin a Communist government in Russia

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Treaty in which Russia lost substantial territory to the Germans. This ended Russian participation in World War I

New Economic Policy

Lenin's 1921 plan that permitted some capitalist activity in Russia in order to increase food production

Stalin

Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition.

Soviet Union (USSR)

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) Formed in 1922 from most of the former Russian Empire. The Soviet Union was controlled by the Communist Party.

Red Army

The Soviet Union's military

White Army

The armies that opposed the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War of 1918-21.

Sykes-Picot Agreement

Secret agreement made between the British and the French regarding control of the Middle East after WWI. France got Syria and Lebanon, and Britain got Iraq, Palestine, and Transjordan.