Ending WWI Flashcards
When did fighting end on the Eastern Front during WWI?
15th December 1917
How many men had joined the Army in Russia during WWI?
Over 15 million
By 1916, how many Russians had been killed in WWI?
Over a million
When did the Tsar return from the front in Russia?
March 1917
When did the Tsar of Russia abdicate?
15th march 1917
When did the Russian Provisional Government order a new attack on Germany?
July 1917
When did Lenin and the Bolsheviks overthrow the provisional government?
November 1917
When did Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
March 1918
What percentage of its population, farmland, railways and coal and iron ore did Russia lose in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
26% of population, 27% of farmland, 26% of railways, 74% of coal and iron ore
How much money did American banks lend to Britain and its allies before American joined WWI?
Around 2 billion dollars
When did Americans discover that Germany was trying to forge a secret alliance with Mexico against the USA?
March 1917
When did America declare war on Germany and enter WWI?
April 1917
As part of the secret alliance Germany was trying to forge, which states would Mexico claim from the USA?
Texas, New Mexico and Arizona
What resources did the USA have huge supplies of?
Coal, oil iron, cotton and wheat
By the end of WWI, how much meat and how many horses had America sent to Europe?
Nearly 90,000 tonnes of meat, 600,000 horses
Since which date had some larger battleships carried floatplanes?
Early as 1912
When did an aeroplane first (think so) land on the deck of HMS Argus?
October 1918
Which ship was the first aircraft carrier?
British ship HMS Argus
Who invented the hydrophone?
Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden
When was the hydrophone invented?
1914
When did the sinking of the Titanic occur?
1912
How many British ships were painted in a “dazzle” style?
Over 2000
What was the “dazzle” painting style and what was its purpose?
Used bold shapes, lines and contrasting colours not to camouflage ship, but to distort submarine commander’s view of the ship and make it difficult to assess size, shape and range
Who developed the first synchronised mechanism to allow machine guns to fire between the propeller blades of an aeroplane?
Dutch engineer working for the Germans Anthony Fokker
By which date were pilots flying in large patrols or formations, and could communicate with ground troops by radio?
1917
Where were tanks first used and by who?
By British at Battle of the Somme in 1916
How many tanks crossed no man’s land in the Battle of Cambrai?
Over 400
How much land did Allied tanks gain in the Battle of Cambrai?
8 km
When did the Battle of Amiens occur?
August 1918
How many Allied tanks were used in the Battle of Amiens?
Around 600
How far did British and French troops advance in a tank-led attack in the Battle of Amiens?
32 km
By the fifth day of the Allied advance in the Battle of Amiens, how many Allied tanks were still working?
Fewer than 50
By which date had the Germans developed guns that could punch a hole through a tank’s side and developed anti-tank guns?
1918
By which date had the Germans developed “Paris Guns”?
March 1918
How far could a “Paris Gun” fire a shell of what mass?
Could fire a 106-kilogram shell up to 130 km
When were German Paris Guns in service?
March - August 1918
What was the core idea behind infiltration tactics?
Small groups of soldiers sneak towards enemy and attack key areas like artillery placements or control centres before main attack
What did the Germans call their small units of soldiers trained in infiltration tactics?
Sturmmann, means “storm man”, translated as “stormtrooper”
When did the Germans successfully use their stormtroopers at the Battle of Riga?
September 1917
Which battles did the Germans use their stormtroopers in?
Battle of Rige, Battle of Caporetto, Battle of Cambrai
When was a commander-in-chief of Allied forces chosen?
March 1918
When was Ferdinand Foch born?
1851
When did Ferdinand Foch die?
1929
Where was Ferdinand Foch born?
Southwestern France
Which war did Ferdinand Foch fight in and what did be become?
Fought in Franco-Prussian War of 1870 - 1871, becoming an artillery specialist
How did Ferdinand Foch command troops in WWI?
Commanded troops that halted German advance on French town of Nancy, commanded French troops at Battle of the Marne and led French troops taking part in Battle of the Somme
When did Ferdinand Foch retire?
1916
Who was chosen as the Allied commander-in-chief in WWI?
Experienced and well-respected French general Ferdinand Foch
What is a hurricane bombardment?
A short, intense artillery bombardment
How many shells did the Germans fire and how before the Ludendorff Offensive?
1,000,000 artillery shells fired from 6,000 guns in 5 hours
When did the Ludendorff Offensive start?
21st March 1918
When did the artillery bombardment for the Ludendorff Offensive begin?
4:40 am on 21st March 1918
How large of an area was hit by the bombardment before Germany’s Ludendorff Offensive?
150 square miles
Where was it planned that the main attack of the Ludendorff Offensive would occur?
Near Arras
In some regions where the Ludendorff Offensive occurred, how far did the Germans advance?
Over 60 km
How many men did the Germans lose between March and April 1918
Over 220,000
When did the Ludendorff Offensive end?
July 1918
By June 1918, how fast were American troops arriving?
50,000 per week
When did Ludendorff order one final major attack as part of the Ludendorff Offensive?
15th July 1918
When and where was Erich Ludendorff born?
1865 in Prussia
When did Erich Ludendorff die?
1937
When did the Hundred Days Offensive begin?
8th August 1918
How did the Hundred Days Offensive initially occur, and where?
Began at Amiens; British, Australian, Canadian and French forces broke through German lines supported by over 400 tanks, took 11 km of territory on first day
When was the “black day of the German Army”?
8th August 1918
How many men did the Germans lose or have taken prisoner on 8th August 1918, and how many German guns were captured?
Lost 30,000 men, 17,000 Germans taken prisoner, around 300 German guns captured
How many men did the Allies lose on 8th August 1918?
6,500
Which battles are collectively referred to as the Second Battle of the Somme?
British and Australian forces capturing Albert, French capturing Noyon, British taking Bapaume
What was the Hindenburg Line?
Line of concrete trenches build by Germans in 1917
When and how did French and American forces begin their attack on the Hindenburg Line?
In September 1918 with the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
How many US troops were involved and killed in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive?
Involved 1.2 million US soldiers, caused over 26,000 American deaths
Troops from which countries fought at the Fifth Battle of Ypres?
Belgian, British and French troops
Soldiers from which areas fought at the Battle of St Quentin Canal?
Soldiers from Britain, the British Empire, Australia and America
How many forces were mobilised in total by the Allied Powers in WWI?
42,188,810
How many men from the Allied Powers were killed in WWI?
5,142, 631
How many men from the Allied Powers were wounded in WWI?
12,800, 706
How many men were mobilised by the Central Powers in total in WWI?
22,850,000
How many men from the Central Powers were killed in WWI?
3,386,200
How many men from the Central Powers were wounded in WWI?
8,388,448
What facilities were taken over by governments in WWI?
Mines, railways, weapons factories and shipyards
Which winter in Germany was nicknamed the “Turnip Winter” and why?
German winter of 1916 - 1917 as turnips one of the only foods available after a very poor harvest
In Germany by 1916, which goods were unavailable or scarce?
Soap, cheese, butter, eggs unavailable; coal and shoes scarce
When was the blockade of Germany completely lifted?
June 1919
In France, how many people were made homeless because how many houses had been destroyed during WWI?
Over 2 million people made homeless because 750,000 houses destroyed
How many factories, bridges, breweries and how much road and railway had been destroyed in WWI (presumably in France)?
Over 20,000 factories; 1000 bridges; 48,000 km of road; 2000 breweries; 1600 km of railway line had been wrecked
When did General Ludendorff tell German politicians and generals that the war should be abandoned as “hopeless”?
29th September 1918
When did sailors in Kiel mutiny?
28th October 1918
Who was the leader of the German representatives Friedrich Ebert sent to negotiate an armistice with the Allies?
Matthias Erzberger
Where did the Allies and the German representatives meet when negotiating the armistice?
Railway carriage at Compiègne
What did the armistice ending WWI say about fighting?
All fighting on land, sea and in the air should end within 6 hours
What did the armistice ending WWI say about German-occupied land?
All land occupied by German troops in Belgium, Luxembourg and France, plus Alsace-Lorraine (held since 1870 by Germany), should be evacuated within 15 days
What did the armistice ending WWI say about the Allies occupying land?
The Allies are to occupy land in Germany to the west of the River Rhine up to a distance of 30 km
What did the armistice ending WWI say about German troops in other countries?
Germany troops have to withdraw from Austria-Hungary, Romania and Turkey
What did the armistice ending WWI say about the German navy and Germany’s weapons?
Germany must immediately hand over 10 battleships, 6 battle cruisers, 8 cruisers and submarines, give up its largest weapons and hand over railway trains, railway carriages and rail trucks
What did the armistice ending WWI say about the Allied blockade of Germany?
The naval blockade will continue
What did the armistice ending WWI say about Germany paying money?
Germany will pay a financial settlement for all damage caused
When did the German representatives sign to agree to the terms to end WWI?
At 5:10 am on 11th November 1918
How many people died of starvation in Germany in 1916?
Est. about 120,000
How many Germans died of starvation in Germany by 1918? (think so)
420,000
As early as 1915, what proportion of its goods was Germany able to import as compared with before the war?
Germany only able to import half the amount of goods as before the war
What goods did German industry and agriculture lack in WWI?
Industry short of fuel and chemicals for explosives and gas, agriculture short of fertilisers for crops
How many American soldiers arrived in support of the Allies in WWI?
Around 2 million soldiers
How many troops did Germany lose during the Ludendorff Offensive?
Around 800,000 troops
How many fresh troops did Ludendorff calculate would be needed each month to continue the war near its end?
200,000
How many troops was Ludendorff told he could be supplied with for the whole of the next 12 months near the end of the war?
300,000
Which battle were tanks first used in and when?
Battle of Cambrai in November 1917
When did the Bulgarian Army surrender in WWI?
29th September 1918
When did Turkish forces surrender in WWI?
Late October 1918
When did Austria-Hungary leave WWI?
3rd November 1918
Who was the last soldier to be killed in WWI and when was he killed and how?
American named Henry Gunther, shot whilst charging at a German machine gun post at 10:59 am
When was Douglas Haig born and where?
Born in Edinburgh in 1861
Where did Douglas Haig study at?
Oxford University and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst
When did Douglas Haig become director of British Army military training?
1906
Who was responsible for organising the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in case of war with Germany?
Douglas Haig
Where did Douglas Haig successfully command troops in 1914?
Battles of Mons and Ypres
When did Douglas Haig oversee a series of victories against German forces?
1918
What did Douglas Haig help set up?
Royal British Legion
When did Douglas Haig retire from the miliary?
1921
When did Douglas Haig die?
1928
