WW1 vocab part 1

Militarism

Definition: The buildup of military power and glorification of military strength

Example: Germany's massive naval expansion to challenge British naval supremacy

Alliances

Definition: Secret treaties binding countries to support each other in conflict

Example: Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) vs. Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia)

Nationalism

Definition: Extreme pride in one's nation and desire for national independence

Example: Pan-Slavism in the Balkans, driving tensions between Austria-Hungary and Russia

Imperialism

Definition: Extending a country's power through territorial acquisition and colonial expansion

Example: Germany's late but aggressive pursuit of African and Asian colonies

Archduke

assassination in Sarajevo triggered the chain of events leading to World War I

Triple alliance

• Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) vs. Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia)

• 3 countries team up against another country group

Triple entante

• Informal

• Great Britain, France, and Russia

• 1894 - 1907

Balance of power

Nations formed alliances to prevent any single country to dominate

Armistice

• November 11, 1918

• Ceasefire to create time for peace negotiations

• Stop fighting Western Front between the Allied powers and Germany

No man’s land

• Open area between the trenches 

• wasteland of mud, craters, and barbed wire

• Almost always died there

Conscription

The draft