US studies WWI exam Flashcards
Even though America declared neutrality when the war broke out, many Americans felt personally involved. Why?
Everyone had roots in Europe due to immigration and still felt that their old home country should win. 1/3 of population was immigrants.
What were the two movements that emerged in the United States at the beginning of WWI
preparedness movement
Peace movement
What were the key features of the preparedness movement?
To be prepared “just in case”
Led by General Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson agreed to “armed neutrality”
Set up patriotic education camps
What were key features of the Peace Movement?
Former populists, some progressives, social reforms and women
Led marches and demonstrations for peace
List and describe the five reason the United States decided to enter the war
Sinking of the Lusitania - 128 dead Americans
German submarine warfare - called U-Boats, utilized the element of surprise, America thought it was unfair
British Influence - All US communication came through Britain so it was biased and exaggerated Germany’s actions
Zimmerman Telegram - an alleged intercepted telegram from Germany that said that if the US declared war and Mexico sided with them they would get Texas, Arizona and New Mexico
Tsar overthrown
Describe trench warfare
A form of land warfare where troops hide in trenches to be protected from small arm fire and artillery. Notorious for being incredibly slow and causing extremely long stalemates
At the start of the war, what were the three main components of armies?
Infantry - foot soldiers - rifle could fire 5-10 shots at 600 yard range
Calvary - soldier on horse - short rifle, sword/lance
Artillery - machine guns could fire 500 bullets/minute. Cannons could do 6 explosions/minute and had 2-5 mile range and were very inaccurate
List the four main battles of WWI
Battle of Marne
Battle of Ypres
Battle of Somme
Battle of Cambrai
Describe what happened at the Battle of Marne
1914 - German army advanced towards North France
France panicked and managed to stop them but created a stalemate
1918 - Germany tried again but failed again
hundreds of thousands of soldiers died for no reason
Describe what happened at the Battle of Ypres
1914 - Attempt by Britain to stop advances of Germans
1915 - First use of poison gas
1917 - over ambitious aims, bad weather and bad judgement and 250 000 million people died
Describe what happened at the Battle of Somme
1918 - “big push” attack across river Somme by British. Failed because soldiers didn’t follow orders
Artillery bombardment didn’t dislodge German wire or destroy posts of machine guns
Describe what happened at the Battle of Cambrai
1917 - First full scale tank offensive by British 476 tanks charged German lines
success surprised the Germans and the British because they didn;t expect tanks to work so well
Define Nationalism
pride of one country, belied that one’s country is more superior than others
Define imperialism
a policy of extending a country’s power and influences through diplomacy or military force. When countries rule smaller countries to build national wealth.
Define neutrality
The state of not supporting or helping either side in conflict
