Unit 2: WW|

Kaiser Wilhelm ||

Emperor of Germany during WWI. Adopted the policy of Weltpolitik.

Tsar Nicholas ||

Leader of Russia during WWI. Eventually he was forced to abdicate from the throne.

King George V

Leader of England during WWI.

Raymond Poincare

Leader of France during WWI. His main goal was to defeat Germany and regain Alsace-Lorraine.

Total War

A type of warfare where a nation uses all its human, economic, and military resources to fight the war and ensure total victory.

Limited War

A type of warfare that is confined in geographical area, target, the use of weapons, or the degree of mobilization

Civil War

Conflicts between two factions or regions of the same country.

Guerrilla Warfare

A type of warfare where small groups of fighters use tactics such as ambush and small-unit raids against a larger formal army.

Gavrilo Princip

A Black Hand terrorist responsible for assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand, 19 year old Bosnian Serb; member of the Black Hand (a serbian terrorist organization that wanted Bosnia to be free of Austria- Hungary and to become part of a large Serbian kingdom); succeeded in fatally shooting both the archduke and his wife.

Franz Ferdinand

He was assassinated by a Black Hand terrorist in Sarajevo. His death was the spark of WWI.

Blank Cheque

Germany's decision to give Austria unconditional support.

Central Powers

The alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria during WWI.

Triple Entente

The alliance of Great Britain, France, and Russia prior to and during WWI

Stalemate

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

Trench Warfare

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

Mustard Gas

A poisonous gas was first used by the Germans in 1915. It can cause blindness, blisters, damage to the lungs, or death.

Battle of the Somme

A 1916 battle between German and British forces. Ending in a stalemate, the bitter three-month conflict is notable for the high number of casualties and the first use of tanks in warfare.

Battle of Verdun

10-month long battle in which over 400,000 Germans were killed trying to overrun French lines. Even more French soldiers were killed.

U-Boats

German submarines.

Zeppelin

A German floating airship.

Land Army

Organization created when there was a lack of young men to work on the farms, and so the government called upon the women to fill the gap.

Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg

German Chancellor during WWI.

Schlieffen Plan

Germany's military plan at the outbreak of World War I, according to which German troops would rapidly defeat France and then move east to attack Russia.

Battle of Jutland

In 1916 the Germans and British navies met for the only major naval engagement of the war. Although the British actually suffered more losses than the Germans, the German navy was so damaged that it retreated and was unable to challenge Britain's highly effective blockade.

Ferdinand Foch

Commander in Chief of Allied armies who stopped German advance in France.

Paul von Hindenburg

German commander of the army. Fought at the Battle of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes. Received a hero's welcome in Germany

Erich von Lundendorff

German army commander. Fought at the Battle of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes. Later on he takes control of Germany's army during WWI.

No Man’s Land

A strip of land between the trenches of opposing armies along the Western Front during WW1.

Treaty of Brest-Litvosk

Treaty between Russia and Germany; Russia withdraws from WWI. The treaty was harsh for Russia. Arable lands, Poland, Baltic states, and Ukraine were lost. Russia had to pay a large war indemnity.

Council of Four

Comprising the Allied heads of state. Woodrow Wilson, Vittorio Orlando, Georges Clemenceau, and David Lloyd George. Met up for a Peace Conference to determine peace treaties.

Fourteen Points

A series of proposals in which U.S. president Woodrow Wilson outlined a plan for achieving a lasting peace after World War I.

League of Nations

A world organization first proposed in 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson. Established in 1920 to promote international cooperation and peace. The U.S. did not join.

Treaty of Versailles

Peace treaty created by the leaders of the victorious nations: France, Britain, US, and signed by Germany to help stop WWI. The treaty was designed for Germany. Germany had to acknowledge responsibility for war, German army was reduced to 100,000 men, they had to pay a huge reparation, lands were lost, and colonies were placed under the control of the League of Nations

Treaty of St. Germain

Peace treaty designed for Austria. Austria was separated from Hungary. Its land size was reduced to 25% of its pre-war territory. Austrian armed forces was reduced to 30,000 men.

Treaty of Trianon

Peace treaty designed for Hungary. Hungary was to recognize the independence of the new states of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia and Austria. It lost 75% of its pre-war territory. Hungarian armed forces was reduced to 35,000 men.

Treaty of Neuilly

Peace treaty designed for Bulgaria. Bulgaria lost territory to Greece and Yugoslavia.

Treaty of Sevres

Peace treaty designed for Turkey. The Ottoman Empire was disintegrated.

Treaty of Lausanne

Revised the Treaty of Sèvres. Turkey regained land, foreign troops were withdrawn from Turkish territory, and Turkey no longer had to pay reparations.

Battle of Tannenberg

Battle between Russia and Germany, was one of the first battles of WWI. Russia was badly defeated.

Brusilov Offensive

A massive Russian attack against Austro-Hungarian positions in June 1916. Alexei Brusilov who commanded the attack used innovative tactics of a massive, short but accurate artillery attack and a swift attack catching Austro-Hungarians off guard.

Gallipoli Campaign

Triple Ententè plan to take a peninsula near the Dardanelles to lock the Ottomans out of the war and make an easy travel route to supply Russia. This was a huge failure.

Siege of Tsingtao

Battle fought between the Japanese, the British, and the Germans over the German port in China.

Battle of the Marne

A major French victory against the invading German army at the start of WWI. German army came within 30 miles of Paris, but lacked the strength to overtake the French capital.

Tanks

Heavy armored vehicle which could travel over barbed wire and across enemy trenches first used by the British.

Gas Warfare

In April 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans used this for the first time. It was subsequently used by both the Germans and the Triple Ententè for the rest of the First World War.

Spring Offensive

Germany goes all out in an attempt to break the stalemate before America arrives.

Weimar Republic

New German government established after WWI and the downfall of the German Empire's monarchy.

Armistice

An agreement to stop fighting created on November 11, 1918 at the 11th hour officially ending WWI.

Prince Maximilien of Baden

Chancellor of Germany. Requested armistice.

Woodrow Wilson

President of the U.S. He was part of the peace conference, and his goal was to create the League of Nations to maintain peace.

David Lloyd George

Prime Minister of Great Britain. His goal was to punish Germany but not to cripple its economy. He also wanted to preserve Great Britain's naval supremacy.

Georges Clemenceau

Prime Minister of France. His goal at the peace conference was to punish Germany severely. He also demanded the return of Alsace-Lorraine.

Sidney B. Fay

A revisionist historian who argued that all the European countries were responsible for the start of WWI. Responsibility does not only fall on Germany.

Samuel Williamson

Historian who argued that the factors and conditions that led to the First World War were a shared responsibility and that no one nation can be blamed for its genesis

V.R. Berghahn

Historian who argued that although all of Europe's major power played a part in the onset of WWI recent evidence still indicates that Germany's role in the process was the main factor responsible for the conflict.

Fritz Fischer

German historian who argued that the responsibility for the outbreak of WWI rested solely on Imperial Germany.

Plan XV||

French plan for war. Rapid attack. Sent armies to Alsace-Lorraine and wanted to engage Germans in combat and drive them back. The way to Berlin would be open while they were doing this.