WWI Flashcards

World War I review.

Spark of WWI

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo.

Franz Ferdinand's assassin

Gavrilo Princip.

Assassin's organization

The Black Hand.

Black Hand's affiliation

Serbia.

Location of the Balkan Peninsula

Southeastern Europe.

Countries on the Balkan Peninsula

Serbia, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, and others.

Germany's 'blank check'

Germany's unconditional support to Austria-Hungary in whatever action it chose to take against Serbia.

First country to declare war

Austria-Hungary.

Protector of Serbia

Russia.

Why Great Britain entered WWI

Germany invaded neutral Belgium.

Major members of the Allied Powers

Great Britain, France, Russia (until 1917), and later the United States.

Major Members of the Central Powers

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria

Germany's Schlieffen Plan

To quickly defeat France in the west and then move to attack Russia in the east.

Why attack France First?

Germany believed they could quickly defeat the French before Russia's large army could fully mobilize.

Continent of major fighting

Europe.

Type of warfare on the Western Front

Trench warfare.

"No-man's land"

The space between opposing trenches on the Western Front.

Leader of the Bolshevik Revolution

Vladimir Lenin.

Central Powers country supporting Lenin

Germany.

Terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Russia lost substantial territory to Germany.

Year Russia dropped out of WWI

1917.

Side the U.S. joined in WWI

The Allied Powers.

Year U.S. joined WWI

1917.

U.S. president during WWI

Woodrow Wilson.

Define Neutral

Not taking sides in a conflict.

Why the U.S. remained neutral

Tradition of isolationism and to protect U.S. economic interests.

U.S. Favoritism

The U.S. generally favored the Allied Powers due to cultural and economic ties.

Define Blockade

The use of naval forces to prevent supplies from reaching an enemy country.

Effect of British Blockade

Severe shortages of food and other goods in Germany.

Define Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

The practice of attacking any ship, including civilian ships, without warning.

Effect of German Blockade

Disrupted trade and caused shortages in Great Britain.

Sinking of the Lusitania

A British passenger ship sunk by a German submarine, killing many, including Americans.

The Zimmerman Note

A secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico if the United States entered World War I against Germany.

Event that pulled the U.S. into WWI

Germany's use of unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmerman Telegram.

Why the U.S. Entered WWI

To protect freedom of the seas and make the world safe for democracy.

Major U.S. contributions to the Allied side

Fresh troops, supplies, and financial support.

Who won WWI?

The Allied Powers.

Year of the Armistice

November 11, 1918.

Years of WWI

1914-1918.

The Big Four

The Big Four were Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Great Britain, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France, President Woodrow Wilson of the United States, and Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy.

Exclusion from the Versailles Peace Conference

The conference excluded both the Soviet Union and the Central Powers.

Wilson's Peace Plan

The Fourteen Points.

League of Nations

An international organization to promote peace and prevent future wars; the United Nations is similar.

Stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles

Germany was forced to accept guilt for the war, pay heavy reparations, disarm, and lose territory.

New countries of Europe

Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and others.

Mandates

Territories administered by the League of Nations on behalf of Allied countries.

British Mandates

Palestine, Transjordan, and Iraq.

French Mandates

Syria and Lebanon.

New countries in the Middle East

Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine

Reasons why WWI was a global conflict

WWI involved countries from multiple continents, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, with colonies and territories worldwide. Battles were fought not only in Europe but also in Africa, the Middle East, and the Pacific. The collapse of empires, such as the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, led to significant global political restructuring. The war also influenced the rise of new global powers and shifts in international relations.

Reasons Germany and the Central Powers lost WWI

Germany and the Central Powers lost WWI due to a combination of factors: Strategic errors in military campaigns, such as the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, led to prolonged warfare on multiple fronts. The British naval blockade caused severe resource depletion within the Central Powers. The entry of the United States into the war in 1917 significantly increased the resources and manpower available to the Allied Powers. Internal political and economic instability, including rising dissent and shortages, further weakened the Central Powers' war effort. The cumulative effect of these factors led to their eventual defeat.