First World War Flashcards
How was alliances a cause of the first world war?
the effect of alliances was to make countries feel more ready to go to war…safety in numbers
How was militarism a cause of the first world war?
this was a cause of war because if one country started building up their resources, so would others thinking that the first was going to go to war. This means that all countries were prepared.
What was the trigger of the first world war?
The trigger was the shooting of Franz Ferdinand in Bosnia by Serbians. He was the nephew of the grand-duke of austria-hungary, so they went to war with Serbia. Then Russia came to the aid of Serbia, as they are both slavic countries. Russia had alliances with France and England, and Austria-Hungary had an alliance with Germany, and so they all went to war.
What was the aim of the Schlieffen plan and how would it be done?
The aim of the Schlieffen plan was to avoid a war on two fronts. This was to be done by marching through Belgium, defeating France quickly, and then coming back to russia to defeat them. In France they would have a few armies holding the french in place, then the rest of the army would move around in a hook formation to capture Paris.
How was imperialism a cause of the first world war?
the effect of imperialism was that the germans were resentful that they didn’t have an empire to increase their power. Although they were the largest country in Europe, they had a much smaller empire than Britain, and thought Britain didn’t have a right to that land.
What assumptions did the schlieffen plan rely on?
- Britain would remain neutral
- two armies would be enough to hold out against the french
- Russia would take at least six weeks to get ready
- Austria would easily defeat Serbia.
- Belgium would easily be marched through.
How did the Schlieffen Plan go wrong?
Russia was ready quickly.
Belgium had a stronger resistance than anticipated.
Britain came to the aid of Belgium
The armies turned south before Paris, as they thought delays would make it to risky
