Military History Flashcards
The Great War years
1914-1918
Unintended consequences of the war
- Bolshevist Revolution
- Cold War
- Fascism
- Creation of new nations and nationalism
Social changes because of the war?
Expedited the idea of equality between sexes
Reason for war
GER was competing with UK to build battleships
GER was competing with France and Russia to expand their Armies
UK feared and attack from GER
Why was it obvious that the war was inevitable?
The creation of all major powers forming a system of alliances
What were all major powers competing for?
Territory (imperialism)
Why was the U.S the most powerful industrial nation in the world?
World leaders in:
- Coal
- Steel production
- Raw material production (wheat and cotton)
Which president came up with a policy of strict neutrality and when?
President Woodrow Wilson 19 AUG, 1914
Why did tension escalate in Europe (WW1)?
The Arch Duke and wife were shot. Austrians (Allies: Germany) blamed Serbia (Allies: Russia). GER declared war on Russia
What were UK’s worries after GER declares war on Russia?
That GER would defeat France and dominate Europe. Then UK would be next
The Schlieffen Plan
German War plan to attack passing through Belgium to capture Paris
When did UK declare war on GER?
4 AUG 1914
Why did the U.S get involved?
- Unrestricted submarine warfare
- American propaganda stressed German barbarism
- German dictatorship- “making the world a safe place for democracy”
- U.S business interests
- Zimmerman Note: GER asked MX to enter the war against the U.S
Who led the American Expeditionary Force ?
General John Pershing
What was the select service act?
Authorized president wilson to raise a volunteer infantry force
Age of who was required to register for military service
Males; Ages 21-30
How many Soldiers were deployed to France by July 1918?
Over a million
How many casualties in the AEF during WW1?
264,000
112,432 died
Of the deaths that the AEF had, how much died from disease? (Percentage)
About 50% (mainly influenza)
How many African Americans served?
About 200,000
How many African Americans were considered combat troops?
42,000
What is significant of the “Harlem Hell Fighters”
An American 369th regiment fought besides French 16th division, the longest fighting American unit
How many Croix de Guerre decoration did the 369th reg receive?
171
What was a significant element of WW1?
The trenches
Diseases in WW1
- trench foot
- tench mouth
What was the battle where it was the first use of poison gas?
Battle of Ypres 22APR-25MAY 1915
How many Canadians died of poison gas during the battle of Ypre
6000
How many died and why during the battle of Somme ?
57,470 Canadian and British troops died because German machine guns posts were assumed to be distorted by British artillery but weren’t and their inability to adjust doctrine to modern technology.
Total number of death on both sides during the Battle of Somme?
1,250,000 Soldiers
What was the line of fortifications
Extended from the Swiss frontier to the French city of Verdun
When did the Battle of Verdun begin?
21FEB1916
When did the Battle of Verdun end?
25FEB1916
Who did General Joseph Joffre, the French commander and chief, assign to command after his defeat in Verdun?
General Henri Philippe Petain
In which battle did the Canadian General, Arthur Currie, manage to defeat the German’s strong position in only a few days?
Battle of Vimy Ridge 9-12 APR 1917
Which Battle was once beneath the North Sea?
Battle of Passchendaele
During which battle did American operate their first operation?
Battle of Cantigny 28MAY1918
The last time American infantry division fought under French command?
Chateau-Thierry MAY-AUG1918
When did the Marine Corps get their “Devil Dog” name?
During the first noble attacks in the Battle of Chateau-Thierry, 6-29JUN stormed the wooden area of Belleau Wood
When was the second noble battle during the battle of Chateau-Thierry?
15JUL-5AUG, American held of German advances at the Marne River… aka “Rock of The Marne”
The battle where General Pershing’s American Army was put to the test? When and how?
ST. Mihiel Salient 12-16SEP1918
Pershing persuaded the Allied command to operate as a stand alone army. First time on foreign soil. First time American used armor on the battlefield
The battle where it was the final American offensive of WW1?
Meuse-Argonne 26SEP-11NOV
Became the largest American Tun offensive of WW1
What was the name of Wilson’s peace program?
Fourteen points peace program
Where was the Armistice signed and what came about it?
Signed at Compiegne, France on 11NOV1918.
All territorial conquests achieved by central powers were abandoned
German Army surrendered 30k machine guns, 2k aircraft, 5k locomotive, 5k lorries and all submarines
When and where was the Versailles treaty?
Paris peace conference opened 12 JAN 1919 in varied locations in Paris until 20JAN.
Main terms of Versailles Treaty
- Surrender of all German Colonies
- Return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
- Cessions Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium, Memel to Lithuania, Hultschin district to Czechoslovakia; Poznania, parts of East Prussia, and upper Silesia to Poland
- Danzing to become a free city
- plebiscites to be held in northern Schleswing to settle the Danish-German frontier
- occupation and special status for the Saar under French control
- demilitarization and a 15 year occupation of the Rhineland
- German reparations of 31.4 billion US dollars
- A Bañón the union of German and Austria
- An acceptance of Germanys guilt in causing the war
- Provisions for the trail of the former Kaiser and other War leaders
- limit if 100k men for German Army with hardly any equipment
- limited Navy
What technology advancements produced the most significant change than any other war in modern Army?
Improvements of weapons, aircraft, and other technology
When did the German Army first used Chlorine gas and on who?
APR1915 against the French in the battle of Ypre
Popular aircraft during the early years of the war?
The Farman MF-7 and MF-11
Which aircraft was used for the first night bombing mission?
MF-11
Other successful aircraft designers?
Hugo Junkers - The Junker D-1 (first all medal) & CL-1 (best German ground attack plane)
Gabriel Voisin - The Voisin III, first allied plane to shoot down enemy aircraft. First to be armed with cannon instead of a machine gun
The first airship
The first Zepplen , LZ-3
The Zeppelins characteristics
Accepted into army service March 1909:
- max speed 136 kph
- reach the height of 4,250 meters
- 5 machine guns
- Could carry 2k kg of bombs
Which battle was a tank first used in? WW1
Battle of Somme
Main equipment that was considered to be the primary mode of transferring Soldiers through no man’s land?
The tank
Name of a mobile howitzer that could fire 2,200 lb shell of 9miles?
Big Bertha
Who invented the first machine gun?
Hiram Maxim in 1884
The most popular rifle in U.S Army in WW1
M1903, Springfield
