Major Developments in the First World War Flashcards
The first world war
WW1 -> 4 years (1914-1918)
Allied Powers (Triple Entente; France, Britain, Russia) VS Central Powers (Triple Alliance; A-H, Germany)
Italy joined 1915 -> switched to Allies
spread throughout EU -> into far east
Central Powers defeated -> war end
How did WW1 end?
When the central powers (Austria-Hungary, Germany) lost in 1918.
WW1 time period
1914-1918
The Schlieffen Plan
feared attack on two fronts; France from west and Russia from east -> Germany’s clear plan for war by 1905
drawn by General con Schlieffen
1. strike France quickly
2. attack Russia on Eastern front
Russia needs 6 weeks time to mobilise army -> time to knock out France out of the war before fighting Russia
1914 declare war on France -> Germany carried Schlieffen Plan + attacked through Belgium
drawback:
Germany forces met Belgium resistance + advance to France was successfully resisted by the French and British forces
Trench Warfare
Failure of Schlieffen Plan -> each side dug long trench:
Belgian coast through Northern France to Switzerland
~600 miles of trenches
-» Stalemate: neither side could advance
Russia’s defeat to withdrawal
August 1914:
Eastern Front -> Russian armies invaded the East of German Province Prussia
-> Germans concentrated forces in East, trying to defeat Russia
1917
1. 2 million Russian soldiers dead
2. widespread dissatisfaction on the war
3. repeated defeats from Germany -> worsened Russia’s internal problems
March -> revolution -» czardom overthrown
New provisional gov decided to continue war
soldiers tired -> didn’t want to fight anymore
Lenin understood -> took leadership of the Bolsheviks (a group of revolutionaries) -> overthrew provisional gov
-> ended war against Germany
March 1918 -> Russia withdrew from war -> enable Germany to concentrate on Western front
reasons for Russian Revolution in 1917
- 2 million Russian soldiers dead
- widespread dissatisfaction on the war
- repeated defeats from Germany -> worsened Russia’s internal problems
March -> revolution -» czardom overthrown
Entry of Italy
April 1915 -> Britain + France + Russia (The allies) signed secret treaty with Italy
-> promise territorial gains
Italy was originally uninvolved in the war -> ally of Germany of A-H
switched sides (BETRAYAL) -> joined allies
entry didn’t help the war at all
Fighting at sea
1915 onwards -> Germans tried to break Britain naval supremacy;
cut supplies from other parts of world using submarines (U-Boats) -> sink ships bringing supplies to Britain
May 1915 -> German U-Boat sank passenger liner Lusitania
sailing between US and Britain -> killed over 1k people (most were Americans)
death of Americans -> anti German in US
kaiser promised it wouldn’t happen again -> US remained neutral
February 1917 -> Germany began new campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare on merchant ships trading with Britain + her allies -> threaten security of shipping that had neutral states (US)
April 1917 -> President Wilson declared war on Germany (last straw)
Us support -> sent large amounts of supplies and soldiers to the allies -> reenergised them
US entry to war
February 1917 -> Germany began new campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare on merchant ships trading with Britain + her allies -> threaten security of shipping that had neutral states (US)
April 1917 -> President Wilson declared war on Germany (last straw after sinking of Lusitania
Us support -> sent large amounts of supplies and soldiers to the allies -> reenergised them
the End of the War, 1918
Germany -> running low on men + supplies
US troops poured back into France -> decline German morale
German troops driven back everywhere -> Allies superior
Central powers defeated:
1. Bulgaria
2. Turkey + A-H
3. Germany (November 1918)
Kaiser William abdicated (resigned)
END
When did Germany surrender
November 1918
November 1918
Germany surrenders
April 1915
The Allies sign a secret treaty with Italy promising territorial gains
The Allies sign a secret treaty with Italy promising territorial gains
April 1915
