World War I: The Great War

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the causes, weapons, warfare conditions, home front mobilization, and peace settlements of World War I.

Militarism

An aggressive build-up of a nation's armed forces in preparation for war, accompanied by the military gaining greater political influence.

Alliances (WWI)

A complex system of mutual assistance agreements established among European nations during the late 1800s to support each other in times of war.

Imperialism (WWI)

Competition among European nations and emerging powers such as Japan to acquire and control colonial territories across Africa and Asia.

Nationalism (WWI)

The practice of countries acting strictly in their own national interest, often coupled with the view of nations as single ethnic groups.

Archduke Francis Ferdinand

The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne who was assassinated alongside his wife in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on June 28, 1914.

Gavrilo Princip

The Serbian nationalist who assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo, believing that Bosnia belonged to Serbia.

Mobilization

The process of assembling and preparing armed forces and military reserves for active service following a declaration of war.

Central Powers

The World War I wartime coalition consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire.

Allied Powers (Allies)

The World War I coalition initially composed of Russia, France, Serbia, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan, later joined by the United States.

Stalemate

A tactical deadlock in military conflict where neither opposing side can gain an advantage or advance against modern weaponry.

Western Front

The primary deadlocked theater of World War I located across northern France, characterized by extensive trench systems.

No Man's Land

The dangerous, barren area separating opposing enemy trench networks, lined with shell holes and barbed wire.

Trench Foot

A debilitating fungal infection of the feet caused by prolonged immersion in cold, wet, and unsanitary trench conditions, frequently resulting in gangrene and amputation.

Chlorine Gas

A chemical weapon that produces severe burning in the throat, chest pain, and death by suffocation, requiring favorable wind conditions for effective deployment.

Mustard Gas

The deadliest chemical weapon of WWI; a colorless gas smelling like mustard that caused skin blistering, internal and external bleeding, and vomiting, with death taking up to 5 weeks.

Tanks (WWI)

Armored combat vehicles propelled on continuous chain tracks, first introduced onto the battlefield by the British in 1916.

Baron Manfred von Richthofen

A premier German fighter pilot and ace credited with shooting down $80$ enemy aircraft before being killed in action by a Canadian pilot.

U-Boats

German naval submarines introduced in 1914 that waged unrestricted submarine warfare against Allied merchant and passenger shipping using self-propelled torpedoes.

Bangalore Torpedo

An explosive-filled metal pipe placed and detonated under barbed-wire entanglements to clear paths for attacking infantry.

Casualties

The total aggregate number of military personnel killed, wounded, captured, or reported missing during warfare.

Lusitania

A British passenger liner sunk by a German U-boat in May 1915, resulting in the deaths of 128 Americans and sparking U.S. outrage.

Sussex Pledge

A 1916 promise made by the German government to warn merchant and passenger ships before attacking, which was subsequently broken in February 1917.

Zimmermann Note

An intercepted telegram from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann offering Mexico an alliance to reconquer lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona if the U.S. entered the war.

Russian Revolution (March 1917)

An uprising that forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate, replacing the Russian autocratic monarchy with a republican provisional government.

Selective Service Act (1917)

A United States federal statute authorizing a draft lottery for military service, resulting in 24 million registrations and 2.8 million conscripted men.

American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

The formal name given collectively to all United States military personnel deployed to fight in Europe during World War I.

Committee on Public Information (CPI)

A U.S. government propaganda agency tasked with shaping public opinion and mobilizing civilian enthusiasm for the war effort through posters and rallies.

The Great Migration

The mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to Northern industrial cities in search of higher-paying factory jobs and to escape Jim Crow laws.

Liberty Bonds

Special government war bonds purchased by American citizens to finance Allied military actions and domestic war spending.

Espionage and Sedition Acts

Wartime laws penalizing speech or conduct critical of the government or war effort with prison sentences of up to $20\,\text{years}$.

Eugene V. Debs

A prominent American socialist leader convicted under the Espionage Act and sentenced to $10\,\text{years}$ in prison for giving an anti-war speech.

Lever Food and Fuel Control Act

Federal legislation granting the U.S. President the authority to regulate and manage the production, conservation, and distribution of foods and fuels.

Victory Gardens

Home vegetable gardens grown by American civilians to conserve commercial food supplies and direct more provisions to soldiers abroad.

Daylight Saving Time

The practice of shifting clocks forward one hour during the summer to maximize daylight hours and lower the consumption of electricity and fuel.

Convoy System

A naval defense strategy implemented in May 1917 involving unarmed merchant and troop ships traveling in groups encircled by armed destroyers and warships.

Armistice (November 11, 1918)

The cease-fire agreement between the Allies and Germany that concluded fighting on the Western Front on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson's blueprint for lasting post-war peace, advocating for freedom of trade, arms reductions, national self-determination, and a League of Nations.

Self-Determination

The principle that national groups and populations retain the right to govern themselves and decide their own political status.

Big Four

The principal leaders at the Paris Peace Conference: David Lloyd George (Great Britain), Georges Clemenceau (France), Vittorio Orlando (Italy), and Woodrow Wilson (United States).

League of Nations

An international organization proposed by Woodrow Wilson to promote collective security, mediate diplomatic disputes, and maintain global peace.

Article 10 (League Covenant)

A provision obligating League members to defend any fellow member against external aggression, which prompted U.S. Senate rejection of the Treaty of Versailles.

Reparations (WWI)

Financial damages totaling $\$33\,\text{billion}$ assessed against Germany under the Treaty of Versailles to compensate the Allies for economic losses suffered in the war.

Treaty of Versailles

The landmark 1919 peace treaty that formally ended World War I, forced Germany to accept war guilt, imposed harsh economic penalties, and established the League of Nations.