Chapter 25 - World War 1 and Russian Revolution

brinkmanship

going to the brink of confrontation/war in response to enemy aggression and to maintain national interests

MAIN reasons for war

Militarism: large mass armies heightened tensions and peasant conscription was regular. military officials had lots of power and grand military plans/supplies

Alliances: necessary to support allies at all costs (blank check)

Imperialism: competition instead of cooperation over colonial and commercial interests

Nationalism: internal problems of minorities who haven't achieved nationhood like the Irish, Poles, and Slavs

franz ferdinand

archduke who was assassinated by a Serbian terrorist group. Austria used this assassination to declare war on Serbia with German support, pulling in Russia and then England and France

Schleiffen Plan

German military strategy of taking France out quickly then moving to fight Russia so they didn't have to fight on two fronts. However it was ruined by Britains quick mobilization to the Western front

blank check

German swore to Austria-Hungary that they could rely on Germany's full support even if it turns into a big war. this allows Austria to feel comfortable in declaring war on Serbia and fighting Russia

initial attitude to war

both sides believed war would be quick and were excited and had a rush of patriotic enthusiasm. nationalism surged as well as sense of adventure.

first battle of the marne

germany underestimated how quickly Britain would be able to mobilize and was stopped 20 miles from Paris. German troops fell back and became the Western Front

western front

Locked in a giant stalemate of trench warfare, with trenches running down the entire length of France and continuous but pointless fighting to get more territory

eastern front

Russia not doing so well as they were kicked by Germany and Austria and had 2.5 million losses in deaths, injuries, and captures. Italy joined the allied side but was also not very successful. Bulgaria joins and takes Serbia out leaving Germany able to go back west.

Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff

the power couple of the German military who had great initial successes and worked veryyy well together.

"no man's land"

the area between trenches which is filled with barbed wire, artillery shells, and is extremely dangerous to cross as their were machine guns ready to shoot you down

battle of verdun

longest battle of the war, with millions of lives lost and a symbol of the senseless nature of trench warfare

trench warfare/machine guns

Machine guns were one of the main killers in the war and protected no mans land. conditions were unsanitary, people began to use chemical warfare, and soldiers were shell shocked

"shell shock"

many soldiers got shell shock, or PTSD from the constant noise, fear, and terror in the trenches. however it was seen as a sign of weakness back then

Gallipoli campaign

a failed British campaign which tried to open the Balkan front. they pulled out of the area

Lawrence of arabia

British officer who convinced Arab princes to revolt against their Ottoman rulers and overthrow the Ottoman empire

colonies in the war

Japan took over German territories and British used their millions of colonies as soldiers. Made it a world war. African soldiers were also trained to fight and used in labor

total war

war that affects the lives of citizens and everyone in the country, with conscription, government interference in everything from the economy, prices, and public opinion.

Walter Rathenau

Made the shift to Total War in Germany and was very successful with the War Raw Material Board (not as successful with rationing)

war raw materials board

Created by Walter Rathenau which allocated raw materials and produced the most needed goods to amek teh shift to world war 1

ministry of munitions

government rationed food and controlled rent in britain

rationing

amount of food was restricted so soldiers had enough to eat at the lines

censorship

Governments used censorship and propaganda to convince people to fight and prevent loud dissent to war. they also shut down protests and strikes. basically, they suspended civil liberties

Easter uprising

irish revolt against British rule after the Home Rule act was suspended. it was quickly crushed

women in the war

new roles because men were busy fighting such as banking, factory working and drivers. however they were seen as temporary workers and were paid lower wages

rasputin

A common monk who healed the only male heir to Nicholas II with magic and ruined the Romanov's reputation. Combined with the czar's leadership issues, even Rasputin's assassination could not stop the March Revolution

march revolution 1917

working women in Petrograd started a riot over bread which spread throughout Russia causing Nicholas to abdicate. the provisional government and petrograd soviet struggle for power

soviets

a council composed of workers and soldiers which represent the interests of the working class (radical) and were mostly socialists

Bolsheviks and Mensheviks

two sections of the Russian Marxist party

Bolsheviks: radical and led by Lenin who wanted Peace Land and Bread.

Mensheviks: moderate and larger groups of soviets

leon trotsky

Chairman of the Petrograd soviet and organized the Bolsheviks so well he got them into the Petrograd Soviet and into a majority where they could take control of the Winter Palace. Very good at military things and war communism, revolutionary terror

treaty of brest-litovsk

Signed by Lenin were Russia lost lots of western territories to Germany. causes civil war to break out against the reds and whites (everyone who does not like the bolsheviks)

war communism

Seized peasant's land and grain, industries taken over, banks nationalized, and kulaks (prosperous peasants) had to submit or be executed

cheka

secret police who led revolutionary terror that claimed to kill only bourgeois but really killed more proletariat and anyond who opposed the Reds

unrestricted submarine warfare

declared the area around Britain a warzone and that they'd sink any ships in it. however when they sank the Lusitania, with american passengers on board, it led to US declaring war

2nd Battle of the Marne

the last major offensive in the western front but with fresh US troops and germany out of reserves, Austria-Hungary surrendered and Germany lost

Weimar Republic

new republic in Germany that was weak and not well supported. an attempt at communists to take over Germany but was shut down and created a fear of Communism among the Germany middle class

treaty of versailles

dominated by Britain, France, and the US, it basically led Germany at fault. Germany lost land, was demilitarized, and had to take guilt for the war and pay reparations. all powers feared Bolshevik expansion and communism and expanded eastern european countries

14 points

Woodrow Wilson's idealistic plan of wanting self determination, free trade, and a league of nations

woodrow wilson

Was an idealist who wanted the 14 points and world peace but no one else really cared including the senate

david lloyd george

prime minister who promised Germany wuld be punished

georges clemenceau

leader of France who wanted revenge on Germany since they took the brunt of the war. they wanted a buffer zone in the rhine land.

league of nations

league of nations was weak because it was not ratified by the US senate and so people didn't really feel much enthusiasm to keep it going