WWI Study Guide

1. Militarism

The belief that a country should maintain a strong military and be prepared to use it to defend or promote national interests. In the early 1900s, European nations competed in an arms race, building large armies and navies, which made war more likely.

2. Pan-Slavism

A nationalist movement aimed at uniting all Slavic people under one political organization or leadership. Russia supported this idea and used it as a reason to back Serbia, a Slavic nation, increasing tensions with Austria-Hungary.

3. Francis Ferdinand

Archduke of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 by a Serbian nationalist was the immediate trigger that started World War I. He was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip.

4. No Man's Land

The dangerous, muddy, and bombed-out land between opposing trenches. It was often filled with barbed wire, craters, and the bodies of fallen soldiers. Crossing it meant almost certain death.

5. Causes of WWI

Remember the acronym MAIN:

• Militarism

• Alliances

• Imperialism

• Nationalism
  The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the spark that ignited the war, but these underlying causes had been building for years.

6. Treaty of Versailles (1919)

The peace treaty that officially ended WWI. It punished Germany harshly:

• Germany had to accept full blame (war guilt clause)

• Pay $33 billion in reparations

• Lose territory and overseas colonies

• Limit the size of its military

• Led to the creation of the League of Nations

7. Ultimatum

A final demand or set of terms. Austria-Hungary gave Serbia an ultimatum after Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated. Serbia agreed to most, but not all, of the terms, leading Austria-Hungary to declare war.

8. Armistice

An agreement to stop fighting. WWI’s armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, effectively ending combat (though the Treaty of Versailles formally ended the war in 1919).

9. Trench Warfare

A form of warfare where soldiers dug long trenches to hide from enemy fire. This led to long stalemates and poor living conditions (rats, disease, mud).

10. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

Germany’s policy of sinking any ship, even civilian or neutral ones, that entered enemy waters. This led to the sinking of the Lusitania and contributed to the U.S. entering the war.

11. Mobilize

To prepare a country’s military forces for war. Once countries began to mobilize, it made diplomacy harder and war more inevitable.

12. Reparations

Payments made by a defeated country for the damage and losses caused during a war. Germany was required to pay enormous reparations after WWI, damaging its economy.

13. Propaganda

Information, often biased or misleading, spread to promote a cause or damage an opposing one. Used heavily during WWI to boost morale, recruit soldiers, and demonize the enemy.

14. Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson’s plan for peace after WWI. It included ideas like:

• Open diplomacy

• Freedom of the seas

• Self-determination for nations

• Creation of a League of Nations

15. Mandates

Former territories of the Central Powers (especially the Ottoman Empire) that were placed under control of the Allied powers by the League of Nations after WWI. These were supposed to be temporary, but many became long-term colonies.

16. Alliances

Agreements between countries to support one another in case of war. Before WWI, Europe was divided into:

• Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy (Italy switched sides later)

• Triple Entente: France, Britain, Russia
  These alliances pulled more countries into the conflict.

17. League of Nations

An international organization created after WWI to promote peace and prevent future wars. It was part of Wilson’s Fourteen Points but the U.S. never joined. The League was ultimately weak and failed to stop future aggression leading to WWII.