History 387: The First World War Midterm Study Guide

Complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, diplomatic crises, military operations, and strategic concepts for the History 387 First World War midterm study guide.

Nationalism (Three Dimensions)

The concept of the nation defined across three dimensions: civic (the nation as the seat of political authority), ethnic (the nation as a community with shared traits), and political (the principle that each nation should possess its own state).

Nation

A group of people with a common ethnicity, shared identity, and political aspirations, forming communities that are imagined as bounded and sovereign.

“Italia irredenta” (Unredeemed Italy)

Lands inhabited by Italians that remained under Austrian, Swiss, French, and British rule (such as Trentino, Gorizia, Istria, Trieste, Ticino, Nice, Corsica, and Malta) which 19th- and 20th-century Italian Irredentists sought to emancipate and unify with Italy.

“Yugoslavia”

Meaning “Land of the South Slavs,” a former federated country in the west-central Balkan Peninsula that existed in three successive federations between 1929 and 2003 before ultimately dissolving into independent republics.

Pan-Slavism

A 19th-century movement originating among West and South Slav intellectuals in Prague that recognized a common ethnic background among Slav peoples and sought to unite them to achieve shared cultural and political goals.

Imperialism

The process and politics of constructing an empire, which crucially involves intense international rivalry and competition for overseas dominion.

“Scramble for Africa”

The rapid late-19th to early-20th-century colonization of Africa by European powers, expanding European territorial control from 10 percent in the 1870s to roughly 90 percent by 1914, leaving only Ethiopia and Liberia independent.

Eastern Question

The diplomatic dilemma during the 19th and early 20th centuries created by the decline and disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the competing ambitions of European great powers to claim influence over its former territories.

Imperial Mindset

A worldview and set of shared values among European ruling elites that viewed territorial expansion, control, and dominance as essential markers of national prestige, justified through civilizing missions, strategic necessity, and economic gain.

Balance of Power

The diplomatic doctrine aimed at maintaining an equilibrium of military and political strength among European states so that no single nation could establish continental hegemony.

Otto von Bismarck

Prime minister of Prussia and the first chancellor (1871–90) of the German Empire who skillfully maintained peace across Europe for two decades through complex diplomatic alliances after establishing the empire.

Alsace-Lorraine

A border territory of 5,067 square miles comprising the départements of Haut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin, and Moselle that was ceded by France to Germany in 1871, retroceded to France in 1919, seized by Germany in 1940, and restored to France in 1945.

Triple Alliance

A secret defensive treaty formed in May 1882 between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, guaranteeing mutual support against French attacks and establishing Italian neutrality in the event of war between Austria-Hungary and Russia.

Three Emperors’ League

An alliance devised by Otto von Bismarck between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia to resolve Austro-Russian rivalries in the Balkans and diplomatically isolate France.

Wilhelm II

The German emperor (kaiser) and king of Prussia (1888–1918) whose reign featured aggressive naval expansion against Great Britain, imperial ambition in Africa and Asia, clashes with Otto von Bismarck, and leadership during World War I.

Nicholas II

The final Russian emperor (1894–1917) who was overthrown during the Russian Revolution and executed alongside his family by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Dual Entente

A mutual defense alliance formed between France and Russia against Germany, representing the exact encirclement scenario Otto von Bismarck had worked to prevent.

Weltpolitik (World Policy)

Germany’s aggressive pre-war foreign policy under Kaiser Wilhelm II that aimed to secure a “place in the sun” by transforming Germany into a premier global power via colonial acquisition and naval expansion.

Suez Canal

A vital waterway opened in 1869 that served as Great Britain’s strategic lifeline to India; its defense determined key British military operations against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Triple Entente

The loose diplomatic coalition formed among France, Russia, and Great Britain through the Franco-Russian Alliance (1894), the Entente Cordiale (1904), and the Anglo-Russian Agreement (1907) to counterbalance the Triple Alliance.

“Encirclement” (Einkreisung)

The pervasive German strategic fear that the diplomatic agreements among Great Britain, France, and Russia were designed to trap and isolate Germany, which was used to justify rapid rearmament and aggressive policies.

First Moroccan Crisis (1905–06)

An international confrontation initiated by Wilhelm II’s visit to Tangier to challenge French influence in Morocco, which backfired by leaving Germany diplomatically isolated at the Algeciras Conference and solidifying Anglo-French cooperation.

Turkish Straits (Bosporus/Dardanelles)

The crucial waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, essential for Russian commercial grain exports and naval mobility, which fueled Russo-Ottoman conflict and led to the Gallipoli campaign.

Bosnian Crisis (1908–09)

A major European crisis sparked by Austria-Hungary’s formal annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, causing intense fury in Serbia, diplomatic humiliation in Russia, and deepening nationalist radicalism among South Slavs.

First Balkan War (1912–13)

A conflict in which the Balkan League (Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro) conquered most of the Ottoman Empire's remaining European holdings, prompting acute alarm in Austria-Hungary regarding Serbian expansion.

Futurism

An Italian artistic and cultural avant-garde movement established by F. T. Marinetti’s 1909 manifesto that celebrated technology, speed, aggressive violence, and hailed warfare as the “hygiene” of civilization.

Social Darwinism

The application of biological theories of natural selection and “survival of the fittest” to human societies, nations, and races to rationalize imperial conquest and view warfare as a healthy biological necessity.

Militarism

The cultural and political ascendancy of the armed forces and military values within a society, expressed through mass conscription, naval and army arms races, and inflexible war mobilization plans.

British Navy League (1895)

A prominent British civic lobby group that pressured parliament for increased battleship construction during the naval arms race under popular slogans such as “We want eight and we won’t wait.”

German Navy League (1898)

A massive German nationalist organization supported by Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz that fostered broad public support for constructing a large high-seas fleet to rival Great Britain.

Second International (1889)

A global federation of socialist political parties that resolved to stop war via general strikes, which collapsed in August 1914 when constituent parties, including the German SPD, voted for war credits.

Hague Conferences (1899, 1907)

International peace summits convened to negotiate armaments limitations and codify the laws of war, which established the Permanent Court of Arbitration but failed to curb the pre-war arms race.

Gavrilo Princip

A 19-year-old Bosnian Serb member of the Black Hand who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.

Union or Death / Black Hand

A clandestine Serbian nationalist and irredentist organization formed in 1911 and headed by Dragutin Dimitrijević (“Apis”), which organized, armed, and trained the assassins of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf

The hawkish chief of the Austro-Hungarian general staff who persistently advocated for preventive military action against Serbia and pushed forcefully for war following the Sarajevo assassination.

Franz Joseph I

The Habsburg emperor of Austria and king of Hungary (reigned 1848–1916) who sanctioned the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia in July 1914 at the age of 84.

“Blank Check”

The unconditional pledge of military and diplomatic backing extended by Germany to Austria-Hungary on July 5–6, 1914, which encouraged Vienna to adopt an uncompromising stance toward Serbia.

British Expeditionary Force (BEF)

The professional standing army of approximately 100,000 British soldiers deployed to France in August 1914 that fought early delaying actions at Mons and Le Cateau.

“Cult of the Offensive”

A pervasive strategic doctrine embraced by European military leaders prior to 1914 holding that spirited offensive assault and morale would overcome defensive emplacements, underestimating firepower and resulting in massive early casualties.

“War Enthusiasm”

The popular myth of uniform, jubilant patriotism in August 1914, which modern scholarship shows was largely confined to urban middle-class sectors while many working-class and rural citizens felt profound anxiety.

Central Powers

The wartime coalition comprised of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire (joined late 1914), and the Kingdom of Bulgaria (joined 1915).

Allied Powers

The wartime alliance including Great Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, Belgium, Japan, Italy (1915), Romania (1916), and later the United States as an “associated power” in 1917.

Schlieffen Plan

The German strategic deployment plan, designed by Alfred von Schlieffen and revised by Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, to achieve rapid victory over France through neutral Belgium before redeploying against Russia.

Plan XVII

France’s primary military operational plan in 1914, which focused on a headlong offensive thrust into Alsace-Lorraine and failed to anticipate the scale of Germany’s enveloping maneuver through Belgium.

Francs-tireurs (Free Shooters)

Civilian irregulars and snipers whose suspected presence during the 1914 invasion led German soldiers to commit harsh reprisal killings and property destruction against Belgian civilians.

Louvain

A Belgian university city where occupying German troops destroyed historical buildings, executed civilians, and burned down the historic university library in August 1914, generating major Allied anti-German propaganda.

Joseph Joffre

The commander-in-chief of the French army from 1914 to December 1916 who orchestrated the counteroffensive at the First Battle of the Marne before being relieved after the high losses at Verdun and the Somme.

“Miracle of the Marne”

The critical Allied counteroffensive fought along the Marne River from September 5–12, 1914, which halted the German advance toward Paris and initiated entrenched static warfare on the Western Front.

Christmas Truce

Unsanctioned spontaneous ceasefires along sectors of the Western Front in December 1914, in which British and German troops met in no man's land, exchanged gifts, and sang carols.

Echelon B

The flexible contingent of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces designated to be deployed against either Serbia or Russia, whose late rerouting by Conrad in 1914 weakened Austro-Hungarian operations on both fronts.

Plan 19

Russia’s pre-war deployment plan that called for split simultaneous offensives directed against East Prussia (Germany) and Galicia (Austria-Hungary) upon mobilization.

Oskar Potiorek

The Austro-Hungarian military governor of Bosnia-Herzegovina whose security failures enabled the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and who was relieved after disastrous failed invasions of Serbia in 1914.

Serb Partisans

Armed Serbian irregulars whose feared presence led Austro-Hungarian forces to commit atrocities, summary executions, and harsh reprisals against Serbian civilians during the 1914 campaign.

Józef Piłsudski

A Polish nationalist leader who organized and commanded the Polish Legions fighting alongside Austro-Hungarian forces against Russia with the strategic objective of resurrecting an independent Polish state.

“Cossacks”

Fierce Russian irregular cavalry units whose reputation for brutality created mass panic, atrocities, and civilian flight during the Russian invasion of East Prussia in 1914.

Paul von Hindenburg

A retired German general recalled in 1914 who achieved fame at the Battle of Tannenberg, headed the Supreme Army Command alongside Ludendorff from 1916, and was elected president of Germany in 1925.

Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive

A joint Austro-German offensive in Galicia in May 1915 commanded by August von Mackensen that shattered the Russian lines and initiated the massive Russian “Great Retreat.”

Scorched Earth

The military strategy executed by the Imperial Russian Army during its 1915 retreat, involving the systemic destruction of bridges, railways, dwellings, and agricultural crops to deny them to advancing Central Powers armies.

OberOst

The expansive military occupation zone in northeastern Europe (encompassing Lithuania, Courland, and parts of Poland) administered with authoritarian and extractive control by Hindenburg and Ludendorff beginning in 1915.

Pact of London (April 1915)

A secret agreement by which Great Britain and France induced Italy to enter the war on the Allied side by promising extensive territorial gains in Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste, and Dalmatia.

“Sacred Egoism”

The foreign policy principle proclaimed by Italian Prime Minister Antonio Salandra dictating that Italy’s wartime alignment would be governed solely by self-interested calculation and territorial expansion.

September Program (1914)

A memorandum drafted by German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg outlining ambitious war aims, including territorial annexations in France and Belgium, colonial expansion, and a German-dominated economic sphere in Mitteleuropa.

Thirteen Points

Woodrow Wilson’s January 1918 outline of war aims and peace principles advocating national self-determination, freedom of the seas, open diplomacy, and the formation of a League of Nations.

Firepower Revolution

The transformative shift in battlefield technology—brought by rapid-firing rifled artillery, magazine-fed rifles, machine guns, and barbed wire—that made defensive warfare overwhelmingly superior to open frontal assaults.

Breakthrough

The elusive strategic objective of tearing open the enemy’s fortified trench systems to restore fluid mobile warfare, an ambition that repeatedly failed at terrible human cost until 1918.

Douglas Haig

The senior British general who took command of the British Expeditionary Force in December 1915 and directed major attritional offensives at the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917).

“Bite and Hold”

A tactical doctrine that abandoned deep breakthrough ambitions in favor of capturing small, well-defined enemy trench objectives under heavy artillery protection and repelling subsequent counterattacks.

Second Battle of Ypres (April–May 1915)

The Western Front engagement in Belgium where the German army carried out the first successful large-scale deployment of lethal chlorine gas, initiating modern chemical warfare.

New Armies

The massive British volunteer force raised through Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener’s recruitment campaign starting in August 1914, which saw extensive combat at Loos and the Somme.

Creeping Barrage

An artillery technique where a dense wall of shellfire moves forward in precise timed increments directly in front of the advancing infantry to suppress enemy defenders.

“No Man’s Land”

The lethal, barren, cratered terrain between opposing front-line trench systems that was continually covered by enemy artillery, machine-gun fire, and barbed-wire barriers.

Adrian Helmet

The first modern steel combat helmet, adopted by the French military in 1915 to protect soldiers from shrapnel and flying debris, later inspiring similar equipment across all major armies.

“Live and Let Live”

Informal, unspoken non-aggression understandings that developed between opposing front-line soldiers in quiet trench sectors to deliberately avoid initiating lethal fire.

“Over the Top”

The military action of climbing out of one's defensive trench parapet to charge directly into no man’s land toward the enemy lines under heavy fire.

Shell Shock

A debilitating psychological condition caused by prolonged exposure to artillery bombardment, causing mutism, uncontrollable tremors, and paralysis, which military authorities long treated with suspicion and stigma.

Pals Battalions

Special units within the British Army formed by recruits from the same local communities, sports clubs, or workplaces who enlisted together, whose catastrophic casualties on the Somme devastated entire British towns.

Erich von Falkenhayn

Chief of the German General Staff from 1914 to August 1916 who devised the strategy of attritional warfare at Verdun to “bleed France white” before being dismissed following its failure.

Attrition

A strategy focused on gradually wearing down an enemy nation's military personnel, economy, and material resources until they can no longer fight, rather than seeking a single decisive battlefield victory.

Operation Judgment

The operational code name for the massive German artillery bombardment and offensive launched against the French fortress complex of Verdun in February 1916.

Storm Troops (Stoßtruppen)

Specially trained elite German assault units that utilized infiltration tactics to bypass front-line strongpoints and strike deep behind defensive networks, featuring prominently in the 1918 Spring Offensives.

Chantilly Conference (Dec. 1915)

A supreme Allied military summit where British, French, Russian, and Italian commanders agreed to carry out synchronized, simultaneous mass offensives on multiple fronts during 1916.

Brusilov Offensive (June 1916)

A Russian offensive launched in Galicia under General Aleksei Brusilov using wide-front simultaneous assault tactics, which shattered Austro-Hungarian forces but cost Russia tremendous casualties.

Somme Offensive (July–Nov. 1916)

A massive joint British-French offensive launched to relieve pressure on Verdun, infamous for 57,000 British casualties on its opening day and totaling over one million casualties for minimal territorial gains.

Mark I Landship

The original British combat tank introduced into battlefield action in September 1916; “tank” and “landship” were chosen as cover designations to conceal the weapon's true purpose.

Indian Expeditionary Force

Over one million soldiers and laborers mobilized by the British Indian Army who deployed to the Western Front, Mesopotamia, and East Africa, suffering approximately 74,000 fatalities during the war.

Dreadnought

A revolutionary British battleship launched in 1906 whose “all-big-gun” armament and steam turbine propulsion rendered all prior battleships obsolete and intensified the Anglo-German naval race.

Sub-imperialism

The process by which self-governing British dominions and regional allies (such as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan) pursued their own regional territorial conquests by seizing German colonies.

Qingdao / Tsingtao

A fortified German leasehold port located on the Shandong peninsula in China that was besieged and captured by the Imperial Japanese Army and British forces in November 1914.

21 Demands (1915)

An aggressive ultimatum delivered by the Japanese government to China seeking extensive political, commercial, and territorial hegemony over Shandong, South Manchuria, and Inner Mongolia.

Askaris

African colonial soldiers recruited to fight within European colonial forces, notably those led by General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck in German East Africa as well as those serving in British and Belgian formations.

Congo Act

The Berlin Conference Act of 1885 that pledged free trade and potential wartime neutrality for the Congo Basin, a commitment that was ignored by European belligerents as fighting expanded across Africa.

Jan Smuts

A prominent South African general and statesman who led Allied campaigns against German forces in East Africa and later served as an influential member of the British Imperial War Cabinet.

John Chilembwe

An American-educated Baptist minister in Nyasaland who organized an armed uprising in January 1915 against colonial mistreatment, forced labor, and wartime recruitment of Africans before being killed.

Committee of Union and Progress / Young Turks

A nationalist modernization movement and political faction led by the triumvirate of Enver, Talaat, and Djemal Pashas that dominated Ottoman governance and led the empire into World War I alongside Germany.

Jihad (Holy Struggle)

A religious decree issued by the Ottoman Sultan-Caliph in November 1914 with German encouragement, urging Muslims worldwide to rise up in holy war against the Entente powers.

Winston Churchill

The British First Lord of the Admiralty who vigorously championed the naval forcing of the Dardanelles and the amphibious assault on Gallipoli, and resigned from the cabinet following their disastrous failure in 1915.

Constantinople Agreement (1915)

A secret diplomatic agreement in which Great Britain and France promised Russia post-war possession of Constantinople, the Bosporus, and the Dardanelles in the event of an Allied victory.

Gallipoli Campaign (1915)

An Allied amphibious military operation begun in April 1915 to capture the Dardanelles, knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war, and open a sea route to Russia, which ended in stalemate and evacuation.

ANZACs

The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps that spearheaded the landings at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, an event that became commemorated as Anzac Day and served as a foundational pillar of their national identities.

Armenian Genocide (1915–16)

The systematic deportation, starvation, and mass murder of an estimated one million or more Armenians organized by the Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress regime under the pretext of wartime national security.