Conflict and Tension: The First World War 1914-1918 Flashcards

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1
Q

What countries formed the Triple Alliance?

A

Germany, Austria - Hungary and Italy

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2
Q

What year was the Triple Alliance formed?

A

1882

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3
Q

What countries formed the Triple Entente?

A

Britain, France and Russia

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4
Q

What year was the Triple Entente formed?

A

1907

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5
Q

When were the Moroccan Crises?

A

1905 and 1911

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6
Q

What happened in the 1905 Moroccan Crisis?

A

At the Algeciras Conference, TE stood united so that France got special rights in Morocco. Germany was ignored and humiliated.

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7
Q

What happened in the 1911 Moroccan Crisis?

A

Germany accused France of invading Morocco and sent the ‘Panther’ to Agadir port. Again, TE stood united and Germany backed down, receiving little TA support. France took full control over Morocco and Germany was given Central African compensation land.

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8
Q

Why was there tension in the Balkans/Bosnia?

A

Slavs wanted to unite the Balkans under Serbian rule. Lots of Austro - Hungarian Serbs agreed. In 1908, Austria - Hungary annexed Bosnia. Serbia appealed to Russia for support. Germany backed Austria - Hungary unwillingly, forcing Russia to back down.

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9
Q

What did the Balkan tension/Bosnian Crisis lead to?

A

Serbian government formed the Black Hand Gang, the TA weakened, the tension between TE and Germany grew.

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10
Q

What was ‘Splendid Isolation’?

A

Britain’s policy in the late 1800’s. Britain didn’t need allies as it was strong and didn’t want involvement in European affairs. Kept navy on the ‘two-power-standard’.

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11
Q

Why did Britain come out of ‘Splendid Isolation’?

A

Britain and France grew close over African colonies = Entente Cordiale in 1904. German navy growth threatened Britain. Formation of TA in 1882 and the 1892 Franco-Russian alliance left Britain in danger.

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12
Q

What was ‘Weltpolitik’?

A

Germany’s world policy. Believed to be a world power, they’d need a great army, a great navy, and a great overseas empire.

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13
Q

What was the Arms Race?

A

Britain and Germany built up large navies in the early 1900’s. By 1914, Britain has 29 Dreadnoughts and Germany had 17 Rheinlands.

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14
Q

What military plans were drawn up by the TE?

A

Britain: send troops to France. France: Plan 17 - French troops march through Alsace - Lorrain to Berlin. Russia: attack Germany’s Eastern border.

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15
Q

What military plans were drawn up by the TA?

A

Germany: Schlieffen Plan. Austria - Hungary: several plans depending on countries.

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16
Q

Who were the Black Hand Gang?

A

A gang born from the strong Serbian nationalist movement. Led by the Serbian government. 2500 members inc. professors, lawyers, and army officers.

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17
Q

When was Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated?

A

28th June 1914

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18
Q

Who carried out the assassination?

A

Gavrilo Princip, by chance, had the opportunity to shoot the Archduke and his wife, Sophie.

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19
Q

How did the July Crisis start?

A

Austria - Hungary sent Serbia an ultimatum and 48 hours. Serbia accepted all but one demand. On the 28th July 1914, Austria - Hungary declared war on Serbia.

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20
Q

How did Russia become involved during the July Crisis?

A

On 29th July 1914, Russia began mobilising their army to support Serbia. On 30th July, Germany asked Russia to stop; they didn’t. On 1st August, German declared war on Russia.

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21
Q

How did Germany start a world war?

A

On 2nd August, Germany invaded Belgium. On 3rd August, Germany declared war on France. On 4th August, Britain delcared war on Germany.

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22
Q

Why did Britain get involved?

A

Apart from their allies involvement, they got involved as Germany violated the 1839 Belgian Neutrality Treaty.

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23
Q

Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail?

A

The Belgians held them up by 5 days, the British Expeditionary Forces fought them in Belgium, and Russia only took 10 days to mobilise (needed to take 6 weeks for the plan to work).

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24
Q

What happened during the Battle of the Marne?

A

Britain and France forced Germany to retreat from the Marne to the Aisne. 500,000 men between both sides were killed or injured. The German plan had failed.

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25
Q

What did the Battle of the Marne lead to?

A

A stalemate - war of movement stopped.

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26
Q

What was the difference between German and Allied trenches?

A

German officers recognised it may be for a while so tried to provide comfort. Allied officers believed it would be temporary, so the conditions were poor.

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27
Q

What is war of attrition?

A

Wearing the enemy down by men/supply loss into submission.

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28
Q

What is artillery?

A

Large guns that fired bombs or shells over large distances, accounted for 60% of all wounds.

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29
Q

How many bullets could machine guns fire?

A

10 bullets a second.

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30
Q

When, and who, first used gas attacks?

A

Germany in April 1915.

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31
Q

When, and who, first used tanks?

A

Britain in 1916 during the Somme.

32
Q

When, and for how long, was Verdun?

A

1916 for 10 months.

33
Q

What are the death numbers for Verdun?

A

France - 315,000/Germany - 280,000.

34
Q

What were the caused of Verdun?

A

Falkenhayn wanted to ‘bleed France white’ (into surrender), and Verdun had historic sentiment, affecting morale.

35
Q

What happened at Verdun?

A

German artillery bombardment on France, Germany easily captured Fort Douamont. Troops could only get down to Verdun via one road - the ‘Sacred Way’. French commander Petain was refused more men, but eventually they re-captured Douamont.

36
Q

What were the consequences of Verdun?

A

British launched attack on the Somme to ease pressure of the French. 9 French were completely destroyed by shells.

37
Q

When, and for how long, was the Somme?

A

1916 for nearly 5 months.

38
Q

What are the death numbers for Somme?

A

Allied - 620,000 (60,000 British troops on the first day)/Germany - 500,000.

39
Q

What were the causes of the Somme?

A

Relief at Verdun.

40
Q

What happened at the Somme?

A

British used artillery bombardment on the Germans, who hid in bunkers. CO’s told British to advance across no-man’s-land at walking pace - Germans mowed them down with machine guns. CO’s kept sending in waves of men. 25km of land was gained by the Allied troops.

41
Q

What were the consequences of the Somme?

A

CO’s heavily criticised, so frontline officers were given more authority. The futility and horrors of war clear.

42
Q

When, and for how long, was Passchendaele?

A

1917 for 7 months.

43
Q

What were the death numbers at Passchendaele?

A

British empire - 310,000/Germany - 260,000.

44
Q

What were the causes of Passchendaele?

A

Haig wanted to break through Flanders, using low German morale to their advantage.

45
Q

What happened at Passchendaele?

A

The worst rain the region had had in 30 years led to mud and filled artillery craters. Men were drowning in mud and decaying. After Britain captured Passchendaele, Haig stopped the battle.

46
Q

What were the consequences at Passchendaele?

A

Haig’s reputation discredited, morale worsened, only a few km gained.

47
Q

When, and how long, was Gallipoli?

A

1916 for 8 months.

48
Q

What are the death numbers at Gallipoli?

A

Allies - 200,000/Turkey - 300,000.

49
Q

What were the causes for Gallipoli?

A

Russia needed supplies on the Eastern Front, to isolate Turkey and gain support from Turkey’s neighbours to invade Austria - Hungary, to isolate Germany.

50
Q

What happened at Gallipoli?

A

Allied troops landed on Turkish shores and ANZAC troops were shot at from cliffs. ANZAC + Allies dug trenches, experiencing sweltering heat, dysentry and frostbite. 80,000 troops evacuated on 12th December.

51
Q

What were the consequences of Gallipoli?

A

Churchill’s reputation damaged, Russia remained low on supplies, but naval attatck on Constantinople affected the Turkish war effort.

52
Q

When, and for how long, was Jutland?

A

1916 for 2 days.

53
Q

What was the death numbers at Jutland?

A

Britain - 6,000/Germany - 2,500.

54
Q

What were the causes of Jutland?

A

Germany wanted naval supremacy over Britain, so formulated a plan to send a small bait fleet to the North Sea and then send the full fleet.

55
Q

What happened at Jutland?

A

Britain intercepted German meassages, so Beatty led a fleet of ships to meet Hipper’s bait fleet, then Jellicoe would meet with the whole fleet. Whilst Britain lost more, Germany fled.

56
Q

What were the consequences of Jutland?

A

Britain proved naval supremacy.

57
Q

How many citizens drowned on the Lucitania?

A

1000, including 128 US citizens in May 1915.

58
Q

How many Russians had died by 1916?

A

over 1 million

59
Q

When did Tsar Nicholas 3rd abdicate?

A

15th March 1917 due to Russian revolution.

60
Q

When did Russia sign a peace treaty with the TA?

A

March 1918.

61
Q

What did Russia’s exit mean for Germany?

A

They could focus their troops on the Western Front.

62
Q

Why did the US enter the war?

A

Public outrage towards Lucitania and the sinking of 8 American cargo ships, as well as US interception of a German message to try to get Mexico to invade the US.

63
Q

What did the US entry mean?

A

Allied troops Russian loss was balanced, Germany had to quickly attack before the US arrival.

64
Q

What was Ludendorff’s plan in late 1917?

A

Gamble all they had left in a final all-out war. Hurricane bombardment, stormtroopers, attack in multiple points on the enemy line and break through the stalemate.

65
Q

When did the hurricane bombardment begin?

A

21st March 1918.

66
Q

How did the Germans break through?

A

Stormtroopers carrying lightweight machine guns attacked, causing many British troops to flee. In some places, the Germans had pushed the Allied back 60km.

67
Q

How many men did Germany lose?

A

220,000 in a month.

68
Q

At what rate were US troops arriving?

A

50,000 men a week, and Foch kept reserves.

69
Q

What was the Hundred Days?

A

Allied counter - attack, 100 days of Allied advances.

70
Q

When was the Battle of Amiens and how many were lost?

A

8th August 1918, Allies - 6500/Germany - 30,000. Ludendorff said it was the ‘black day of the German army’.

71
Q

What was the Kiel Mutiny?

A

Sailors in Kiel refused to fight on 28th October 1918. Mutiny spread onto land and soldiers sent to deal with the protests joined in.

72
Q

What was the Turnip Winter?

A

British naval blockades stopped food from getting into German, causing starvation. The only food in abundance in the winter of 1918 was turnips.

73
Q

When did the Kaiser abdicate?

A

9th November.

74
Q

Who signed the Armistice on 11th November?

A

Freidrich Ebert.

75
Q

What were the conditions of the Armistice?

A

Germany was to pay reparations, evacuate French territory, give France the Alsace - Lorraine and other land, accept to not have a large army and that the naval blockade was to continue.