WW1 exam

Fundamental Cause

Long-term underlying factors contributing to war, including militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism (MAIN).

Immediate Cause

The spark that directly ignited the war: the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Nationalism

Deep pride and devotion to one's nation or ethnic group; a major source of tension in Europe before WWI.

Imperialism

The policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force / colonizing overseas territories.

Militarism

The belief or desire of a government to maintain a strong military capability and use it aggressively.

Secret Alliances

Treaties signed between nations pledged to support one another in war without public disclosure.

Newspaper Press

Mass media that fueled nationalism, jingoism, and war fever leading up to 1914.

Triple Alliance

Pre-war alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

Triple Entente

Pre-war diplomatic alliance between Britain, France, and Russia.

Anglo-German Naval Race

The naval arms race between Britain and Germany, primarily over the construction of dreadnoughts.

HMS Dreadnought

British battleship launched in 1906 that revolutionized naval warfare with its heavy guns and steam turbine propulsion.

Balance of Power

The diplomatic concept that equal military strength between alliances prevents any single nation from dominating Europe.

Gavrilo Princip

The 19-year-old Bosnian Serb nationalist who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie.

The Black Hand

The Serbian nationalist/terrorist group responsible for planning the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne whose assassination in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 triggered WWI.

Belgian Neutrality

Belgium's international neutral status, guaranteed by the 1839 Treaty of London, which was violated by Germany.

Two Front War

A war in which fighting takes place on two separate geographic fronts simultaneously (Germany facing Russia to the east and France/Britain to the west).

Schlieffen Plan

Germany's military plan to rapidly defeat France by invading through neutral Belgium before turning to face Russia.

Blank Cheque

Germany's unconditional pledge of military and diplomatic support to Austria-Hungary against Serbia.

Central Powers

The WWI coalition consisting primarily of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

Allied Powers

The WWI coalition initially consisting of Britain (and the British Empire), France, Russia, and later joined by Italy and the USA.

Prime Minister Borden

Sir Robert Borden; Prime Minister of Canada during World War I who introduced conscription and led Canada toward greater international autonomy.

War Measures Act

Canadian federal statute passed in 1914 granting the government sweeping emergency powers, including censorship and detention without trial.

Internment Camps

Canadian government detention facilities where thousands of immigrants from 'enemy countries' (mostly Ukrainians and Germans) were held.

Sam Hughes

Canada's controversial Minister of Militia and Defence early in WWI; known for patronage, poor equipment decisions, and cronyism.

Valcartier

Military training camp in Quebec where the first Canadian contingent (CEF) was hastily assembled and trained in 1914.

CEF

Canadian Expeditionary Force; the Canadian volunteer army sent to fight overseas in Europe during WWI.

Halifax

Critical Canadian Atlantic port city used as an assembly point for transatlantic convoys carrying troops and supplies to Europe.

Profiteering

Making excessive, unethical profits during wartime by overcharging governments or selling defective military supplies.

Ross Rifle

Canadian-manufactured rifle championed by Sam Hughes; accurate for snipers but notoriously jammed in muddy trench conditions.

MacAdam Shield Shovel

A combination spade and shield with a sight hole invented under Sam Hughes; completely useless and quickly scrapped.

Western Front

The 700-km continuous line of trenches stretching through Belgium and northern France where Canadian and Allied forces fought Germany.

Trench Warfare

Static warfare characterized by opposing armies fighting from fortified, dug-in trench systems separated by No Man's Land.

Tanks

Armoured combat vehicles first introduced by the British at the Somme in 1916 to break through barbed wire and trench stalemates.

Machine Guns

Rapid-fire automatic weapons (such as the Vickers and Maxim) that dominated the battlefield and caused horrific infantry casualties.

Barbed Wire

Defensive wire obstacle installed in No Man's Land to slow down attacking infantry and funnel them into machine gun kill zones.

Artillery

Heavy long-range guns used to bombard enemy trench lines, destroy wire, and provide creeping barrages.

Chemical Warfare

The tactical use of toxic gas (chlorine, phosgene, mustard gas) as a weapon; first deployed on a large scale at Ypres in 1915.

Airplanes

Aircraft used initially for aerial reconnaissance and artillery spotting, later developing into dogfighting and strategic bombing.

U-Boats

German submarines (Unterseeboote) used to attack Allied shipping and enforce naval blockades in the Atlantic.

No Man's Land

The barren, cratered terrain separating opposing enemy trench systems, exposed to artillery and machine gun fire.

General Douglas Haig

British Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front; heavily criticized for massive casualties at the Somme and Passchendaele.

General Julian Byng

British general who commanded the Canadian Corps and meticulously prepared the successful assault on Vimy Ridge (later Governor General of Canada).

General Arthur Currie

First Canadian commander of the Canadian Corps; known for thorough preparation, tactical competence, and minimizing casualties.

Life in the Trenches

Miserable everyday existence for soldiers defined by mud, lice, trench foot, rats, cold, disease, and constant artillery shelling.

Ypres

April 1915 battle in Belgium; Canada's first major engagement where troops held the line despite the first large-scale German chlorine gas attack.

Somme

July–November 1916 offensive in northern France; resulted in over 1 million casualties, including devastating losses for the Royal Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont-Hamel.

Vimy Ridge

April 1917 battle where all four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together for the first time and successfully took a heavily fortified German ridge.

Passchendaele

October–November 1917 battle in Belgium infamous for knee-deep mud and waterlogged craters; captured by Canadian forces at a cost of nearly 16,000 casualties.

Stalemate

A deadlock in which neither opposing side can advance or achieve a decisive victory on the battlefield.

Total War / Attrition

Total mobilization of an entire society and economy for war, aiming to gradually wear down the enemy's resources and manpower until they collapse.

Inflation

Rapid rise in the general price of goods and living costs on the homefront during wartime.

Shell Committee

Canadian government committee formed by Sam Hughes to coordinate munitions manufacturing; plagued by scandal and inefficiency.

Imperial Munitions Board

British board that replaced the Shell Committee in 1915, successfully overseeing Canadian munitions production.

Victory Bonds

Canadian government-issued savings bonds bought by citizens to help fund the war effort.

Income Tax

Introduced in Canada in 1917 as a 'temporary' measure to pay for the mounting costs of the war effort.

Red Cross

Humanitarian organization that provided medical relief, care packages, and hospital supplies to wounded soldiers and prisoners of war.

Propaganda

Information, posters, and media designed to influence public opinion, boost recruitment, promote food rationing, and foster anti-German sentiment.

Rationing

Government-controlled limitation of food, fuel, and materials on the homefront to conserve essential supplies for the military.

Halifax Explosion

December 6, 1917 disaster in which the French munitions ship SS Mont-Blanc collided with the SS Imo in Halifax Harbour, causing the largest man-made pre-atomic explosion.

Prohibition

The legal ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages, introduced during WWI as a patriotic efficiency measure.

Women's Suffrage

The movement granting women the right to vote in provincial and federal elections, gaining major momentum during WWI due to women's wartime contributions.

David Lloyd George

British Prime Minister during the latter half of WWI who attended the Paris Peace Conference and signed the Treaty of Versailles.

Conscription

Compulsory enlistment of citizens for state military service (the draft).

Conscription Crisis

Intense political and social division in Canada in 1917 between English Canadians (pro-conscription) and French Canadians (anti-conscription).

Military Service Act

The August 1917 federal law that officially introduced compulsory military service (conscription) in Canada.

Henri Bourassa

Quebec nationalist politician who fiercely opposed conscription, arguing Canada should not sacrifice its citizens for British imperial wars.

Military Voters Act

1917 law allowing all Canadian active soldiers (including overseas men and women nurses) to vote in federal elections, regardless of length of residence.

Election of 1917

The fiercely contested federal 'Khaki Election' fought almost entirely over the issue of conscription.

Wartime Elections Act

1917 legislation giving the vote to female relatives of serving soldiers while disenfranchising conscientious objectors and immigrants from enemy nations naturalized after 1902.

Union Government

The wartime coalition government formed in 1917 by Robert Borden combining Conservatives and pro-conscription English Liberals.

Russian Revolution

The 1917 revolution that overthrew Tsar Nicholas II and later brought the Bolsheviks to power, leading Russia to exit WWI.

Bolsheviks

The radical communist party led by Vladimir Lenin that took power during the October Revolution of 1917.

Operation Michael

Germany's massive final Western Front offensive in March 1918 (the Spring Offensive) intended to defeat the Allies before American troops arrived in force.

The Last 100 Days

The decisive Allied offensive from August to November 1918 (spearheaded by the Canadian Corps at Amiens, Arras, and Cambrai) that forced Germany to surrender.

Kaiser Wilhelm

Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany, whose aggressive foreign policy contributed to WWI and who abdicated in November 1918.

Armistice

The ceasefire agreement ending combat operations on the Western Front, taking effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (November 11, 1918).

Paris Peace Conference

The 1919 conference where Allied leaders met at Versailles to negotiate peace terms and redraw post-war international borders.

Treaty of Versailles

The primary peace treaty signed in June 1919 that formally ended the state of war with Germany and imposed severe penalties on it.

Reparations

Mandatory financial compensations Germany was forced to pay to the Allies under the Treaty of Versailles for war damage.

Woodrow Wilson

U.S. President during WWI who championed the Fourteen Points and the creation of the League of Nations.

Wilson's 14 Points

Woodrow Wilson's post-war peace proposal emphasizing national self-determination, freedom of the seas, free trade, and collective security.

League of Nations

International organization created after WWI at the Paris Peace Conference to promote international cooperation and maintain world peace.

Collective Security

The concept that an attack on one member state of an alliance or international body is considered an attack on all members.

Sanctions

Economic, diplomatic, or trade penalties imposed by nations against a target state to compel compliance with international law.

Spanish Flu

The catastrophic 1918–1920 influenza pandemic that killed tens of millions of people worldwide as soldiers returned home from the war.