Conflict and tension, 1894-1918 - Key terms

Abdication

A king or emperor stepping down from their role. 

Agrarian

Based on farming.

Alsace-Lorraine

An area of France which had been captured by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War.

Armistice

A peace agreement.

Attrition

A strategy which focuses on wearing down the enemy with repeated attacks.

Balkans

An area of high tension in the southeast of Europe.

Black Hand Gang

A group of Serbian nationalists who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Blockade

Preventing supplies from reaching an enemy by blocking ports.

Bolsheviks

A Russian Communist Party.

British Expeditionary Force

A small well-trained force of British soldiers who were prepared to support France against German attack. 

Comradeship

A feeling of loyalty and friendship with fellow soldiers.

Court-martialled

Being put on trial in a military court. 

Creeping barrage

An artillery tactic which slowly moves the fire forward to provide a smokescreen for the infantry. 

Diplomacy 

Negotiation between countries.

Eastern Front

The area of fighting between Russia, Austria and Germany. 

Foreign policy

One country’s aims and dealing with other countries.

Fourteen Points

US President Wilson’s plan for a peace agreement to end WW1. 

Front line trenches

The trenches closest to the enemy.

Infantry

Soldiers who fight on foot.

Jutland

The main naval battle of World War One. 

Kaiser

The Emperor of Germany.

Ludendorff Offensive

A major German offensive in 1918. 

Mobilisation

Preparing an army for war. 

Mutiny

A rebellion by soldiers or sailors against their leaders

Outflank

To move an army around the enemy to gain an advantageous position to fight. 

Patriotic

Proud of one's country

Reconnaissance

Spying on enemy troops. 

Republic

A country without a monarchy

Sappers

Soilders who were specifically trained to mine under enemy trenches.

Sentry duty

Watching for enemy attacks.

Slavs

An ethnic group which united some Russians with people living in the Balkans.

Stalemate

A conflict in which neither side can win or make significant progress.

Storm troopers

Highly trained troops who specialised in breaking through enemy lines.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

A treaty signed by Russia to end the war with Germany.

Treaty of Versailles

The final peace agreement which ended war with Germany.

Trench raids

Small attack on enemy trenches to try to gain information.

Triple Alliance/Central Powers

A military alliance made up of Germany, Italy and Austro-Hungary.

Triple Entente

A military alliance made up of Britain, France and Russia.

U-boats

German submarines.

Ultimatum

A list of demands with consequences for not agreeing.

Unrestricted submarine warfare

The German policy of attacking all shipping across the Atlantic.