Chpt. 20, WW1 (The Great War)

Question 1

nationalism

Answer 1

a deep sense of pride in one’s nation; while in many respects a positive force, it also caused intense and oftentimes unnecessary rivalries among European nations

Question 2

militarism

Answer 2

as international rivalries increased, European nations attached greater importance to a strong military and to the maintenance of a standing army prepared for war at any time; by 1914, all major powers in Europe had created formidable armies that were constantly on alert for mobilization

Question 3

Dual Alliance

Answer 3

an alliance formed between Germany under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and Austria-Hungary in 1879; it was driven by Bismarck, who saw France as the greatest threat to Europe

Question 4

Triple Alliance

Answer 4

when Italy joined the powers of the Dual Alliance in 1882, this was born; in 1887, Germany also entered into an alliance with Russia

Question 5

Kaiser Wilhelm 2?

Answer 5

the leader of Germany, he fired Bismarck as Chancellor in an effort to augment his own influence, and in 1890 ended Germany’s alliance with Russia, prompting Russia to ally with France

Question 6

Triple Entente

Answer 6

by 1907, Great Britain had entered into an alliance with France and Russia, forming this; by 1907, the nations of Europe were aligned so that the slightest incident between rival powers could mean war

Question 7

Balkan rivalries

Answer 7

in the early 20th century, the once mighty Ottoman Empire was rapidly declining, resulting in the independence of the Balkans, which split into several fiercely nationalist new countries; these were the power keg of Europe; ethnically diverse, each had it’s own political agenda

Question 8

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Answer 8

the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne who was assassinated along with his wife while riding through the streets of Sarajevo, Bosnia

Question 9

Sophie Ferdinand

Answer 9

the wife of Archduke Ferdinand

Question 10

Gavrilo Princep

Answer 10

a young member of an organization devoted to the restoration of Bosnian self-rule; he was the assassin of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife

Question 11

Schlieffen Plan

Answer 11

a German attack plan that called for a war against France before turning against Russia

Question 12

Central Powers

Answer 12

one side of WW1; composed of Germany and Austria-Hungary, who were later joined by the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria

Question 13

Allied Powers

Answer 13

Great Britain, France, and Russia, who were later joined by Japan and Italy; Italy had left the Triple Alliance in opposition to Germany’s invasion of neutral Belgium

Question 14

trench warfare

Answer 14

the type of warfare that was fought during WW1; each side was dug in behind their lines, and it was very difficult to advance; in between them was barbed wire dotting an area known as “no man’s land”

Question 15

Battle of the Marne

Answer 15

France’s early victory here against Germany ensured that Germany would have to fight on two fronts

Question 16

Eastern Front

Answer 16

Germany and Austria-Hungary gained an early advantage over Russia, especially because Russia was not as heavily industrialized as them; while the Russians incurred a heavy death toll, they were able to press on because of their huge population

Question 17

Gallipoli

Answer 17

a failed attempt by the Allies to establish a supply line to Russia by controlling the Dardanelles (and thus allowing them access to the Black Sea); the Australian, New Zealander, and Canadian armies all incurred heavy losses here

Question 18

Mohandas Gandhi

Answer 18

a leader for Indian independence who encouraged Indians to support Britain in the war based on the belief that India would be freed after the war was over

Question 19

U-boat

Answer 19

submarine boats that the Germans would use to sink ships

Question 20

Lusitania

Answer 20

a passenger ship sunk by the Germans in 1915 based on the allegation that is was carrying ammunition; while this proved true, the loss of 128 US citizens among the 1,198 dead outraged Americans, leading Germany to announce a policy of neutrality towards passenger and neutral ships; after this, three more ships were lost

Question 21

German blockade

Answer 21

in 1917 Germans began unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters around Great Britain in response to a British blockade; this soon resulted in the sinking of 3 US ships, further souring the US-Germany relationship

Question 22

Zimmerman telegram

Answer 22

a telegram that was intercepted in 1917 by British intelligence in which the German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, told the ambassador of Mexico that if Mexico would enter the war on Germany’s side, Germany would assist Mexico in reacquiring the land that it had lost to the US

Question 23

armistice

Answer 23

representatives from opposing sides of WW1 discussed using this

Question 24

Russia withdraws

Answer 24

in March 1917, Russia under Czar Nicholas did this for domestic reasons

Question 25

opportunities for women

Answer 25

with the shortage of men on the home-front, women were given new opportunities to assume their jobs in businesses, factories, and offices; in most cases they received lower wages than a man would have; although they lost many jobs when the men returned, their wartime experience produced a change in attitudes concerning women in society

Question 26

Fourteen Points

Answer 26

a plan for peace outlined by Woodrow Wilson during the last days of the war; it’s major provisions included plans for altering national borders and creating new nations with the principle of self-determination; it involved the goal of allowing various ethnic groups to decide for themselves the government under which to live; the 14th and most critical point called for an association of nations that could negotiate a peaceful resolution to future international conflicts

Question 27

Treaty of Versailles

Answer 27

the treaty that ended WW2; it’s major provisions included:

• the German territory of Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
• Germany lost it’s colonies in Africa and the Pacific
• the size of the German army was limited
• Germany could not have submarines or an air force and could not manufacture or import weapons
• a “war guilt” clause placed sole responsibility for the war on Germany
• Germany was forced to pay reparations of $33 billion over a period 0f 30 years
• a League of Nations of Allied and neutral nations was created; Russia and Germany were excluded from membership; the US declined to join because of Congress

Question 28

Paris Peace Conference

Answer 28

this was the meeting where the Treaty of Versailles was ratified; it was held by the Allies in January 1918 to outline a plan for peace and how to move forwards; it was dominated by the “Big Four” (Great Britain, France, the US, and Italy); Great Britain and France wanted complete German disarmament, and France, whose land lay devastated, wanted to punish Germany; Wilson had a very different opinion, as found in his 14 Points; the eventual treaty reached a middle ground between the two sentiments; due to opposition at home, America never passed it

Question 29

mandate

Answer 29

a commission granted by the League of Nations to a member nation for the establishment of a responsible government over a conquered territory

Question 30

addition peace treaties

Answer 30

the victorious Allies negotiated 4 other peace treaties with the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Austria, and Hungary; additionally Russia, abandoned by the Allies for withdrawing early from the war, lost territory to both Poland and Romania; because the US had not ratified the Treaty of Versailles, it signed a separate treaty with the former Central Powers

Question 31

war casualties

Answer 31

roughly 9 million soldiers died and another 21 million were injured; genocide further reduced the population, due to the death of over 1 million Christian Armenians by the Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1919

Question 32

after the war

Answer 32

economic devastation plagued Europe after the war; the finances of European nations were depleted and farmland and towns were destroyed; in 1918, a powerful strain of influenza called the Spanish flu swept through Europe, Asia, and the US, killing around 20 million people