First World War Flashcards
causes of first world war
- nationalism and imperialism
- race for armaments
- division of europe into two hostile groups
- sarajevo crisis
define nationalism
refers to the sense of unity felt by the people, who share a common history, language, and culture
define aggressive nationalism
love for one’s own country and hatred of other countries
define imperialism
the state policy or practice by which a powerful nation establishes its control over another country, either by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control
race for armaments
every major power began stockpiling armaments in the name of self defence and preservation of peace
filled atmosphere with fear, apprehension, mutual hatred
britain and france were concerned with germany’s growing strength
division of europe into two hostile groups
single nation-states: france, holland, germany
imperial states: austria-hungarian empire, russian empire
germany entered into alliance with austria-hungary. italy joined, forming TRIPLE ALLIANCE
triple entente
france, russia, england, and later japan also joined
sarajevo crisis (immediate cause)
assasination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to through of austria-hungary at Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia
assassination organised by ‘black hand’ or ‘union of death’ formed by extremist serbian nationalists
when was archduke assassinated/ when did WW1 start
June 28, 1914
Austria declared war on serbia on July 28, 1914
how did triple alliance break
Italy remained neutral after sarajevo crisis, and later joined the war AGAINST germany in 1915
allied powers
Britain, france, russia and their allies
axis powers/ central powers
germany, austria, their allies
western front
germany and france
eastern front
germany and russia
entry of USA in war
in 1915, german U-Boats sunk british ship Lusitania
128 american passengers were killed
on 6 april, 1917, USA declared war on germany
end of the war
- britain, france, USA launched a military offensive in July 1918 and germany and her allies began to collapse
- bulgaria withdrew from war
- turkey surrendered
- emperor of austria-hungary surrendered on 3rd november
- germany became a republic
- german emperor Kaiser William II fled to Holland
- new government signed an armstice on November 11, 1918
results of the war
- treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919)
- territorial rearrangements
- formation of the league of nations
treaty of versailles
- june 28, 1919
- allies met in conference first in Versailles, a suburb in paris, then later in paris between january and june 1919
- russia was excluded
- treaty was designed to prevent germany from going into war again
people involved in treaty of versailles
- president of USA- Woodrow Wilson
- PM of Britain- Lloyd George
- PM of france- George Clemenceau
terms of treaty of versailles
- declared germany guilty of aggression
- germany was required to pay for the loss and damages suffered by allies during the war (33 billion dollars)
- area of Rhine valley was demilitarised and the german territory west of Rhine was to be occupied by allied troops for 15 yrs
- the coal mines in german area (Saar) were ceded to france for 15 years and the area was to be governed by the League of Nations
- the german army was restricted to 1,00,000 soldiers, navy limited to 15000 men and 24 ships
- air force and submarines were banned
- complete independence of Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia
germany lost what regions
- Alsace Lorraine to France
- Eupen-et-Malmedy to Belgium
- Schleswig to Denmark
- Danzig became free port in Polish territory
territorial rearrangements after the war
- beginning of he end of european supremacy
- USA surpassed europe to emerge as world power
- Romanov in Russia, Hohenzollern in Germany, and Hapsburg in Austria-Hungary were destroyed
- austria and hungary became separate states
- Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia became independent states
- independent states like finland, estonia, latvia, lithuania emerged
formation of league of nations after war
- horrors of the war convinced the leaders of the world that there must be a mechanism to prevent war and promote international cooperation
- created on Jan 20, 1920
reasons for failure of league of nations
- germany and soviet union were not allowed to become members for many years, while india which was not a member, became a member
- USA which set up the league did not join it
- rise of dictatorship in italy and germany
- league ended when Hitler committed aggression on Poland
what did Germany do during race of armaments to protect her colonies in africa
built powerful navy to achieve parity with britain
built the IMPERATOR ship which was the largest in the world
Germany dug the Kiel Canal deeper so battleships could enter its waters
Triple alliance
Germany, Austria Hungary, italy
