Study Guide 8 Flashcards
What was meant by “war by timetable” to describe the outbreak of WWI?
The countries involved in the war had produced implemented mobilizing strategies to ensure that they produced armed forces faster than the other countries in hopes of AVOIDING war and achieving their foreign policy goals, but the mobilization of forces backfired and caused the most deadly war in human history to date.
What was the initial response of the European populations to the announcement of war?
The war was welcomed! Everyone was extremely excited about it at first.
What was World War I originally called?
the “Great War” or just “World War”
What does it mean that in the First World War the “defensive weapons” were stronger than the “offensive weapons” — that is, what were the defensive and offensive weapons, and how did this affect the character of the war? What were the expectations of Europeans for the War in August 1914, and how did the War turn out differently? What was “trench warfare”?
The offensive weapons were rifles, grenades, etc. The defensive weapons though included barbed wire, artillery, mortars, mines, poison gas, and machine guns. This made it significantly difficult if not impossible for armies to storm any defensive settlement without incurring a great deal of casualties. The war was expected to be swift and brief, but because of these conditions, the character of the war quickly turned quite grim and gruesome, as conflict bloodshed dragged ever on. Trench warfare was a type of combat in which troops would dig down into the earth to create trenches and fight across the way from each other. The conditions were hell on earth.
Which countries were the “Entente” powers, and which ones were the “Central Powers”?
The “Entente” powers included France, Great Britain (and Ireland), and Russia. The “Central Powers” were Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire.
What happened to the German overseas colonies in Africa and the Pacific with the outbreak of war in 1914?
They were seized by the British, and the Germans couldn’t really put up a fight down there because their attention was focused on the conflicts happening in central Europe. (They were officially confiscated from Germany in the Treaty of Versailles.) Pacific colonies taken over by Japan.
Which 2 German generals became famous for their successful defense of East Prussia against an attempted Russian invasion?
Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff
What are contraband and non-contraband? What did international law (as late as 1909) state about supplies to countries at war? Which country openly defied this law in late 1914, and which countries led the protests against this policy (and why)?
Contraband: goods imported or exported illegally. (Non-contraband being goods imported or exported LEGALLY.)
Contraband: war materials
Stated that one could still bring non-contraband goods to countries at war. Significant for U.S. because they wanted to continue to trade with Germany (items such as food and clothing). Great Britain tried to prevent this. U.S. led protests against this.
What is the controversy surrounding the sinking of the Lusitania? Did the United States immediately declare war after this loss of American life? Explain.
Germany suspected that Great Britain was transporting munitions on board.
Theories have long been around that suggest that the British government had deliberately put the Lusitania in harm’s way in order to bring about the entrance of the United States into the war. However, the United States did NOT immediately declare war after this catastrophe. They used this as their reasoning several years later though.
To what degree did the great British and German navies participate in WWI? Why is this ironic?
They were hardly at all involved in WWI (one battle), as the conflict was primarily fought on land. This is highly ironic because Germany and Great Britain were racing against each other for years before the outbreak of the war to build the latest-and-greatest navies.
What were some of the ways that Britain and France on the one hand, and Germany on the other, tried to break the devastating stalemates on the war fronts?
- Search for new allies
- bribery - national independence (offering this to groups within various countries, such as the various ethnicities in Austrio-Hungarian empire offered independence by the British; Germans offer independence to the Irish against the will of the British).
Where did the “easter Rebellion” take place? Which foreign country supported it, and what was the outcome of this rebellion?
Took place in Ireland. The Rising was launched by Irish Republicans in an effort to end British rule. The outcome was that the British were able to suppress the uprising, force a complete surrender of rebel forces, and execute most of its leaders. Germany supported this and it failed, but it has two effects: 1. Irish continue to be sympathetic to Germans because Germans try to help them 2. Set stage for Ireland withdrawing from U.K.
a. what is propaganda?
b. what was its purpose during WWI?
c. to which emotions does propaganda appeal, and are these emotions hard to arouse?
d. what role did the press play?
e. what were some of the famous atrocity stories that circulated in the West?
f. what critical dangers did this propaganda create, especially for peace overtures?
a. Propaganda is information that is often of a biased or misleading nature that is used to promote and emphasize a certain political point of view. (Deliberate distortion of information for particular purposes to manipulate people into following certain actions or ways of thinking)
b. to sustain enthusiasm for the war and to make ever greater sacrifices for the war effort
c. it appeals primarily to fear, pride, and hatred, which are the easiest emotions to inspire.
d. the press played a role in mass-producing this propaganda and in slanting political issues. They willingly assist the government for reasons that one wants one’s country to win the war.
e. Babies without hands (cut off hands), etc.
f. Makes it hard to turn off the hatred and negotiate a peace
Why did women become an important new resource for the warring countries? What kinds of jobs did they now fill? Did this “emancipate” women?
Factory jobs, they are being put in there because the men are out fighting. They fulfill jobs such as factories, work in streets, etc. This does not emancipate women because they still can’t vote, and the social classes don’t matter because they are all thrown in together.
What was the significance of the battle of the Somme?
It was the bloodiest battle in world history up to that time, and its significance is that it made people realize more vividly how terrible the conflict would be and that this would NOT be a swift war. Came to be known as the “great fuck-up”.
