History WW1

Which was the most powerful empire in the world?

British Empire

What happened in 1882?

The Triple Alliance between Austria-Hungry, Germany and Italy was signed

What happened 1904?

The Triple Entente between Britain, France and Russia was signed

What happened 1908 - 1909?

The Balkan Crisis occured after Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Serbia threatened war

What happened 28th June 1914?

Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian terrorist group - Black Hand

What happened 23rd - 25th July 1914?

Austria issued Serbia with an ultimatum but it was rejected

What happened 4th August 1914?

Britain issued an ultimatum to Germany to withdraw its troops from Belgium by midnight and declared war when it was ignored

What happened 1916?

The Battle of the Somme

What happened 1917?

Russia left the war, US joined

What happened 11th November 1918?

The armistice that ended WWI

What happened 1919?

Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles

Why did empires lead to enemies?

The Great Powers had been building empires for centuries, leading to tension between them.

Germany was desperate to catch up and become a strong world power, making some European powers nervous.

Colonies provided access to raw materials, creating wealth.

How many soldiers did Great Britain have?

711,000 men

How many battleships did Great Britain have?

64 battleships

How large was Britain's Empire?

Largest overseas empire in the world

How many soldiers did France have?

1.25 million men

How many battleships did France have?

28 battleships

How large was France's Empire?

Second largest in the world

How many soldiers did Russia have?

1.2 million soldiers

How many battleships did Russia have?

16 battleships

How large was Russia's Empire?

did not have an overseas empire but it was the largest of the Great Powers

How many soldiers did Austria-Hungary have?

810,000 men

How many battleships did Austria-Hungary have?

16 battleships

How large was Austria-Hungary's Empire?

Large empire within central Europe, which contained Serbs and other nationalities. They did not have an overseas empire.

How many soldiers did Germany have?

2.2 million men

How many battleships did Germany have?

40

How large was Germany's Empire?

By 1914 - had the third largest empire in the world

What is imperialism?

Extending a nation's power and influence by colonizing other countries

Why was Germany seen as a threat by the other Great Powers?

It had just defeated France in a war, it had a large and powerful army and was growing its navy to compete with Britain's, it wanted its time in the sun and grew its overseas empire very quickly after the war to become the third largest imperial power

Which Great Power ruled Serbs?

Austria-Hungary

Which Great Power was threatened by Russian expansion into south-east Europe?

Austria-Hungary

Why did France want revenge on Germany?

For defeating France in the war in 1871 and taking Alsace and Lorraine

What are the main long-term causes of World War One?

M - militarism

A - alliances

I - imperialism

N - nationalism

True or False: Germany felt it was encircled by the Triple Entente

True. The Kaiser saw that the Triple Entente encircled Germany with hostile powers

True or False: Britain felt that the alliances preserved a balance of power

True. Britain felt that no one would provoke a power in the opposing alliance system as this would lead to a large-scale war between all Great Powers.

True or False: Italy was a powerful and emerging Great Power

False. Italy was small and unreliable.

True or False: Alliances ensured that any conflict between Great Powers would be kept local

False. Alliances meant that all the Great Powers would be dragged into war to defend their allies leading to a large-scale, general conflict.

True or False: The Great Powers entered into alliances to preserve peace

True/False (a matter for interpretation depending on how you argue it). The Great Powers were certainly looking for a security, a buffer from potentially hostile powers but some of those powers were more aggressive than others and may have been using the alliances to strengthen their position.

The Alliance system in Europe by 1914

Germany allied with Austria-Hungary, France, and Britain to form the Triple Entente, and Germany brought Italy into its alliance with Austria-Hungary but Italy was a small and unreliable ally.

Britain and France believed the alliances served as a deterrent to aggression, but also meant that war would be large-scale and general.

What were Germany's plans for war?

The Schlieffen Plan was devised by the Germans to quickly attack and defeat France, then turn their forces on Russia, which the Germans believed would be slow to prepare for war. This plan was seen as a solution to the problem of having to fight against both Russia and France at the same time.

What were France's plans for war?

It had a large and well-equipped army.

Its main plan of attack was known as Plan 17.

French troops would charge across the frontier and attack deep into Germany, forcing surrender.

What were Austria-Hungary's plans for war?

It knew it needed the help of Germany to hold back Russia.

It too relied on the success of the Schlieffen Plan, so that Germany could help it defeat Russia.

What were Russia's plans for war?

Its army was badly equipped, but it was huge.

Given enough time, it could put millions of soldiers into the field.

Russia planned to overwhelm Germany by sheer numbers.

What were Britain's plans for war?

Britain secretly collaborated with French commanders to create the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), consisting of 15,000 highly trained and well-equipped professional soldiers, which could go to France and fight alongside the French at short notice.

What is an alliance?

An agreement between countries that benefits each of them

Which alliance had Italy as a member?

The Triple Alliance along with Germany and Austria-Hungary

Which Great Power had the greatest number of battleships?

Britain

Why was the alliance system supposed to create a balance of power?

It was believed that the alliance system would deter one Great Power from declaring war on another as then all the Great Powers would have to fight

Which Great Power believed it was encircled by hostile powers?

Germany felt it was encircled by the Great Powers of the Triple Entente

What was the naval arms race?

A race between Britain and Germany to build the most dreadnoughts

Which powers were members of the Triple Entente?

Britain, France and Russia

What was the Schlieffen Plan?

A German plan to invade and defeat France quickly before turning its army to focus on Russia. Based on the idea that Russia would have a bigger army, be harder to defeat and take a lot longer to mobilise.

Which Great Power had the largest empire?

Britain

Which Great Power wanted its 'time in the sun'?

Germany

Why were the Balkans an unstable area?

•Different nationalities were mixed together

•The area had been ruled by Turkey for many centuries, but Turkish power was in decline

•The Great Powers Russia and Austria, bordered the Balkan region and both wanted to control the area.

Who were Serbia's enemies?

the powers of the Triple Alliance Germany and Austria-Hungary

When did Germany become a new nation?

In 1871, after her powerful army beat France in a bitter war

Were the Great Powers increasing or decreasing their armies and navies between 1913 and 1914?

Increasing

What was the Balkan Crisis?

The first Balkan Crisis happened in 1908 when Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia and Serbia protested, but Germany supported Austria. The Balkan Wars between 1912 and 1913 led to an increase in Balkan nationalism and a rise in Serbian nationalism. In 1911, a secret group of young Serbian army officers called the Black Hand was formed to unite all Serbs under Serbian rule and leadership. Austria-Hungary was afraid of revolt and suspected the Serbian government were involved with the Black Hand.

Describe the murder in Sarajevo

Six teenage terrorists swore to kill the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on Sunday, 28 June 1914.

They were stationed at intervals along the riverside route and had bombs and pistols in their pocket.

The Archduke was in a green open topped car with his wife Sophie.

At 10.15, Mehmedbasic, the first in line, escaped.

Cabrinovic threw his bomb and it exploded under the car, injuring several people.

Gavrilo Princip discovered the truth when he saw the Archduke's car turn in Franz Josef street.

He fired two shots at close range, piercing the Archduke's neck and Sophie's stomach, killing them both.

Princip was looking for an opportunity to end the war with Serbia.

What happened after the assassination?

Austria had been looking for a chance to crush the Serbs and with the 'blank cheque' offered by Germany, it felt confident to issue Serbia with an ultimatum.

Austria blamed Serbia for Princip's actions and this ultimatum would effectively turn Serbia into part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

The Serbs could not possibly accept it and asked for time to consider.

Austria refused and declared war on 28 July 1914 starting the descent to all out war.

Who was murdered in June 1914 and who did it?

Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the Black Hand/ Gavrilo Princip

Which country gave Austria-Hungary a 'blank cheque'?

Germany

Name the powerful battleship built by Britain and the race it launched.

The dreadnought which launched the naval arms race with Germany

Name the German plan for a quick war against France.

The Schlieffen Plan

Which two provinces did France lose to Germany in its war?

Alsace and Lorraine

Which Great Power was looking for more influence in south-east Europe?

Russia

Which terrorist group emerged in Serbia and what was its aim?

The Black Hand which sought to unify all the Serb people under Serbia's leadership

What was encirclement and which Great Power feared it?

To be surrounded by hostile powers and Germany feared it was encircled by the Triple Entente

What happened 28th June 1914?

The heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated

What happened 5th July 1914?

Germany promised to help Austria-Hungary in any action it wanted to take over the assassination.

This is known as the blank cheque.

What happened 23rd July 1914?

Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination and sent a list of demands to Serbia

What happened 25th July 1914?

Serbia agreed to most, but not all, of the demands

What happened 26th July 1914?

Russia promised to help Serbia

What happened 28th July 1914?

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and shelled Belgrade, Serbia's capital

What happened 29th July 1914?

German Kaiser warned Russia not to mobilise its troops. Tsar Nicholas refused and Russian troops prepared for war