Unit 2: WW1 Flashcards
How did the alliance system keep the peace in Europe?
through the balance of power, kept the peace through europe
Who was part of the Triple Alliance? (also known as the Central powers)
Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungary
Who was part of the Triple Entente? (also known as the allies)
Britain, France, Russia
What were the main causes of WW1?
Trouble in Serbia and Bosnia (the spark) caused by nationalism, imperialism, the alliance system and militarism.
What is militarism?
Military competition between countries.
What is Imperialism?
The race to get colonies (ex. Canada, Japan, & South Africa are colonies of Britain)
What is Nationalism?
A strong feeling of loyalty and devotion to your home country (patriotism)
Who wanted to help Bosnia after it was taken over by Austria-Hungary?
Serbia (wanted to help the Slavic people) and Russia (saw Serbia and Bosnia as “little brothers”)
What assasination sparked WW1? When did it happen? Who shot them, where did it happen and why?
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (and his wife, Sophie) happened on June 28th, 1914. Gavrilo Princip, part of the terrorist group the Black Hand, set up the assassination while Franz was visiting the city Sarajevo in Bosnia, hoping it would convince Austria-Hungary to leave Bosnia alone.
How does the Alliance system kick in after the assassination? (4 points)
- Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
- Russia sides with Serbia
- France and Britain were forced to help Russia
- Germany and Italy were forced to help Austria
When does Britain declare war on Germany?
August 4, 1914
Why was Canada forced to help Britain?
Because Canada is part of the British Empire, and therefore automatically required to help
How did Canadians feel about joining the war?
Both English Canadians were eager to help the war effort, some French Canadians thought it wasn’t their war and shouldn’t have to fight
Who was Canada’s minister of the militia?
Sam Hughes
How many volunteers did Sam Hughes ask for/How many did he get?
Asked for 25,000, got 31,000
Where did Canadian soldiers train after joining the army? (+ for how long?)
They trained for 20 days in Valcartier, QC
What was the main weapon used by the Canadian army? Why was it a bad choice? (3 points)
The Ross Rifle was not properly tested, was too heavy and long for fighting, and would heat up/jam during battle.
Who was included in the Newfoundland regiment?
Inuit from Labrador.
Who was the Kaiser? What was his personality like?
William II, the emperor of Germany from 1889, was vain, boastful, moody and self-centred.
What was the Schlieffen Plan? (3 points)
- Von Schlieffen (German official) came up with a quick military attack plan to capture Paris, and then turn to Russia.
- Place German troops along the border of Germany/France (diversion from the real plan)
- Secretly go through Belgium and attack France and gain control of Paris.
Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail?
The Belgiums fight back, which gives France + Britain time to mobilize
How did the failure of the Schlieffen plan affect the war?
The war lasts 4 years instead of months; causes a stalemate
How did Trench Warfare work? (3 points)
- soldiers would go “over the top” of their trenches and run across No Man’s Land
- this was extremely dangerous, because of exposure + hazards
- often unsuccessful and resulted in stalemates; battles could last for months
Why were dogs implemented in WW1? (5 points)
- Hauled machine guns and supply carts
- Served as messengers under fire
- Used to help locate the wounded on battlefields
- Rat catchers in the trenches
- To build morale under war conditions
What alliance did the Ottoman empire join in order to gain political/economic stability (but still failed)?
The Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Germany, Italy)
Explain the Alsace-Lorraine situation. (2 points)
- After France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War, the Treaty of Frankfurt forced France to give up Alsace-Lorraine
- This was a huge blow to French national pride, so many vowed “revanche” (revenge) - desire to recover the region
Why didn’t Italy help the Triple Alliance in 1914?
-They argued that alliance is defensive (they shouldn’t have to join a war that they didn’t start)
-Waiting for better options (will join Allies in 1915)
What was the battle of Ypres? (4 points)
- Took place in Belgium, April-May 1915; first Canadian action
- Germans use poisonous chlorine gas for the first time (makes you skin bubble and lungs bleed)
- The French run, but Canadians stay put, earning them high praise
- Results in a stalemate, but the Allies control Ypres, however losing valuable high ground and results in many casualties
Who invented chlorine gas? What was he awarded for inventing it?
Fritz Harber (German chemist), awarded the iron cross
Explain the Battle of the Somme (5 points)
- France (Somme river), July-Nov. 1916
- Germany held this territory for 2 years
- attack led by British general Douglas Haig, used old military tactics
- 57,000 die in the first day, 600,000 die overall
- caused soldiers to distrust leaders
Explain the battle of Vimy Ridge (6 points)
- Took place in Vimy, France, in April of 1917
- Germans controlled Vimy Ridge, Arthur Currie (Canadian commander) was tasked with taking it back
- All 4 Canadian divisions (100,000 soldiers) take place, making it the greatest Canadian contribution to the war
- Arthur Currie uses the “creeping barrage” method - advance troops under a barrage of shelling - and made training grounds to practice/prepare the soldiers
- battle was a success, more land/troops/weapons were captured than at any point in the 2.5 years of war (first major victory for the Allies in 1917)
- Arthur Currie left British command
-Canada gains more indépendance, earns a seat at the table at the Versailles peace talks (earns a voice)
What was life like in the trenches?
- Dirty, boring and monotonous
- Problems included rats (they ran through the trenches and got into food), lice (a constant problem if you don’t keep clean), trench foot (extremely infected feet from the constant wet and unclean conditions), and shell shock (now known as PTSD)
Waa cavalry helpful in the war?
No, horses were no match for machine guns and got stuck in the trenches/mud
How was chlorine gas/mustard gas utilized in the war? What were advantages/disadvantages?
Used to burn the eyes and lungs, and causes psychological terror. However, it is dependent on wind direction and could harm your own side
What were advantages/disadvantages of Zeppelins?
Named after Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (the inventor), they caused psychological terror, could fly long distances, useful for bombing and spying. However, they were highly flammable and easy to take down
How were tank utilized in WW1? + advantages/disadvantages
First used by the British at the Battle of the Somme (scared German soldiers), but useless at the beginning because they would get stuck in mud. They became well-developed by the end of the war; were able to cross trenches and cut through barbed wire
What is an “Ace”? What was the average lifespan for a pilot?
A pilot who shot down 5 or more enemy planes. Avg. lifespan: 2 weeks
What were fights between pilots called?
Dogfights
Who was the most famous Canadian Ace? How many planes did he shoot down?
Billy Bishop, took down 72 planes
Who was the Red Baron?
Most famous German pilot, Baron Manfred von Richtofen
What was the naval blockade?
A blockade sent by the British in 1914 across the North Sea and the English Channel to cut off the flow of war supplies, food, and fuel to Germany.
What was the “Turnip Winter”?
When food was scarce in Germany, people were forced to eat primarily turnips - causing the winter of 1916-1917 to be known as the turnip winter.
What is a U-boat? Why did the Germans use them?
A new submarine invented by the Germans (created in response to the naval blockade) which allowed them to go underwater, sink supply ships and use unrestricted submarine warfare.
How did the British fight back against U-boats?
They used the convoy strategy - surrounding supply ships with battleships for protection
What is propaganda? How was it used?
An attempt to create support for a point of view, usually by distorting or exaggerating facts. In wartime, it was used by governments to persuade their own citizens, or it can be used to demoralize the enemy
What were the 5 different kinds of propaganda?
- Recruitment
- Fundraising
- Rationing
- Create hatred of the enemy
- Demoralize the enemy (“mwahaha you guys are losing give up now!!”)
Describe the Gallipoli Campaign (4 points)
- invasion at Gallipoli Peninsula by Britain and France to seize control of the Dardanelles (1915)
- led by Winston Churchill
- plan was to knock out the Ottoman Empire out of the war + secure supply route to Russia
- Result: an Ottoman victory, high casualties and the Allies evacuate in 1915
Describe the battle of Caporetto (3 points)
- Took place in 1917, with harsh fighting in the Alps and along the Isonzo River
- many casualties
- Germany and Austria-Hungary defeated Italy in one of the biggest setbacks of the war
What was happening on the Middle Eastern Front? (4 points)
- 1914-1918
- Britain fought the Ottoman Empire in Mesopotamia (Iraq), Palestine and Arabia
- British + Local Arab forces fought to destabilize Ottoman control in the region
- the Arab Revolt (1916-1918) was a key aspect, aimed at gaining independence form Ottoman rule
What was happening on the African Front?
- fighting between British/French troops and German colonial forces (German East Africa, German Southwest Africa)
How did women contribute to the war effort?
- 100s of Canadian women volunteered to work overseas as nurses/ambulance drivers
- joining the workforce, working in munitions factories, driving buses/streetcars, banks, police forces, etc., taking the place of men
Who were suffragettes?
Women who organized themselves to gain the right to vote
What was the Wartimes Elections Act?
Established in 1917, it granted sisters, wives and mothers of soldiers in the army the right to vote – however, it was extended to almost all women by the time the war ended (Indigenous, Black and Asian women still could not vote)
What were Victory Bonds?
Money lent to the government that could be cashed in at the end of the war for a profit
How many Indigenous soldiers served in the war?
Officially about 4,000, but thousands more volunteered without self-identifying as Indigenous
What was WW1 like for Indigenous soldiers? (3 points)
- Put in the same units as white soldiers, and were mostly accepted and respected
- There was some culture shock
- Many felt mixed/indifferent/hostile about contributing to the war effort, since it was not their war and had a difficult past relationship with the government
What was WW1 like for Black soldiers?
- tried to enlist during the first 2 year of war, but at least 200 were rejected and told it was a “white man’s war”
- some white men refused to serve with Black men
- Many volunteered for service in the CEF, and a large portion enlisted directly into No. 2 Construction Battalion (largest Black unit in Canadian history)
What was the War Measures Act?
- Passed in 1914, it gave the Canadian government special emergency powers during wartime or national crises
- the purpose was to allow the government to respond quickly to threats during war and protect national security
- includes censorship of civil liberties, control transportation and trade, and seizure of property
Describe the battle of Passchendaele. (5 points)
- July to November 1917
- Lead by Douglas Haig; extreme lack of preparation - was warned by Currie that the attack was bad, but he was overruled.
- Heavy bombing of area destroyed dams and drainage systems
- Battlefield is a wet, muddy disaster (quagmire)
- The battle wins 6 km of land at the expense of 16,000 Canadians
Describe the Conscription Crisis (3 points)
- By 1917, enthusiasm for the war was declining among Canadians (high casualties, horrible conditions in trenches, deadly tactics on battlefields)
- PM Robert Borden chose to conscript (force) men to enlist, in an act called the Military Service Act on August 29, 1917. All men 20-45 were subject to conscription
- politically explosive, opposed by French Canadians and Western farmers
What happened in the Halifax Explosion? (4 points)
- On December 6, 1917, a French munitions ship collided with a Belgian relief vessel, caught fire and exploded
- significant damage to Nova Scotia, shock waves felt as far away as PEI
- 1600 killed, 9000 injured, 25,000 made homeless, many buildings destroyed and damaged
- severe snowstorm made things worse
What caused the US to enter the war? When did they join the war?
Stayed out of WW1 b/c of its isolationism policy (stayed neutral), until 2 main events caused them to intervene:
1. Explosion of the RMS Lusitania (May 7, 1915)
- British passenger ship that was bombed by a German U-boat
- Killed 1,200 people, including over 100 Americans
- Angered many people (especially Americans) and caused Germany to lift its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare (for a bit)
2. The Zimmerman Telegram (January 1917)
- final straw for Americans that caused them to enter the war
- Secret message sent from Germany to Mexico by Arthur Zimmerman (German state secretary for Foreign Affairs), promising to help Mexico regain Texas, New Mexico and Arizona if they joined against the Americans
- British intercepted and decoded the message, told the US and they were outraged
Joined the war on April 6, 1917
What was the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
- After the Russian Revolution, the new Communist government immediately ended the expensive war against Germany
- The treaty (signed in March 1918 between the new Bolshevik government and the Central powers) gave significant territories to Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottomans (including Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia & Caucasus provinces)
- Russia (Now the USSR) stays Communist until 1991
What is Communism?
- Communists believe in full government control and total equality
- fair treatment and equal conditions for all workers
- no private ownership, free market or competition between businesses
- the problem: it is too easy to exploit/have total control over everyone
When was the armistice to officially end WW1 signed?
November 11, 11:00 am, 1918
What was the Soldier Settlement Act (1919)?
Gave free land and loans to returning soldiers in Canada so that they could start a farm or learn a trade
Wilson’s 14 Points (3)
- speech given to Congress in January 1918 from Woodrow Wilson (US Pres) , aiming for peace and to promote self-determination and was based on fair and just principles
- not fully accepted by the British + French (wanted to make Germany “pay”)
- did achieve setting up an international peacekeeping organization (now the UN)
What happened during the Paris Peace Conference (1919) (4 points)
- negotiated peace terms and how to re-structure Europe
- takes place at the Versailles Palace
- produces the Treaty of Versailles
- officially ends war, imposes punishment on (only) Germany, and establishes the League of Nations
- Canada gains a seat at the table + signature
What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles? (3 points)
- demands for Germany to accept FULL responsibility for causing the war
- the initially refuse, but end up agreeing under the threat of war
- Germany must pay $ 33 billion to affected countries, return all land (Alsace-Lorraine back to France, West Prussia back to Poland), demilitarize Rhineland, lose all overseas colonies, and disarm forces (no airforce or U-boats, shrink army to 100,000 soldiers)
