History Flashcards
Why did France go to war with Prussia
Because of a deliberate insulting telegram from the Prussians who wished to create a “unified Germany”
What did the Prussian victory in the Franco Prussian war lead to
The creation of Germany which was now considered a great new power upsetting the balance of power previously in Europe
What was dented in the proclamation made by Kaiser Wilhelm I at the palace of Versailles outside Paris fueling french resentment towards Germany
French Pride
What did Germany wish to do
Create an Empire like that of other great European powers (e.g., Britain) and this threatened British politicians into believing that Germany wanted to overtake them in naval supremacy.
Britain and Germany embarked upon an arms race in creating the most powerful navy. The primary weapon of which
was called the… What did this lead to?
It was called the Dreadnought. This subsequently led to better relations between Britain, France and Russia who had also begun to build up their armed for ces
What was Europe split up into by 1907
Two armed defensive alliances. These were the Triple Entente, made up of Britain, France and Russia, and the Triple Alliance, made up of Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy.
What did the fall of the Ottoman Empire create
An unstable situation in the Balkans region of Europe. This threatened the
Austro-Hungarian Empire who faced resistance from The Black Hand who wished to unify all Serbs under the country of Serbia
Who killed archduke of Austro-Hungary Franz Ferdinand and what did it trigger
Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand, assassinated the Archduke of Austro-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo subsequently triggering the alliance systems in Europe into an all-out World War.
The British army wasn’t big enough so how did they recruit more people
By using propaganda
By 1916 conscription was introduced by the British government to do what?
make it compulsory for single men between 18 and 41 to join the army
the First World War was fought in several theatres around the world including…
Western and Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East
the Schlieffen Plan failure led to…
a stalemate in Europe whereby both sides dug long trenches facing each other. Thousands were killed and wounded taking and re-taking a few kilometers at a time
What were the conditions in the trenches like?
Poor for many soldiers living in dirty, wet trenches surrounded by death, lice, and rats
Why was the Battle of the Somme bad for the British
There were 57,470 Soldiers dead or wounded on the first day. 620,000 Allied Soldiers for the gain of 15km of land
When was the first day of the battle of the Somme
1st of July 1916
