world war I Flashcards
What are the causes of WWI in Europe?
Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism
Who was to blame?
all of the countries involved in the war were a part of the cause of the war, but Germany took all the blame and was the only one to appear guilty
What is militarism?
aggressively building up armed forces to prepare for war
What was Germany and Great Britain competing about?
building battleships
What was Germany competing about with Russia and France?
expanding their armies
What were the two groups of allies called and the countries involved in each?
allies: Great Britain, France, Russia (Italy joined in 1915)
central powers: germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire
What did alliances have to do with the war?
alliances made it more likely for the war to start
What did imperialism have to do with the war?
all the great powers were competing for colonies/territories
What was Alsace-Lorraine?
the area of land that France and Germany had switched off control over
- Germany had possession, but France wanted it back
What countries feared other countries?
- the British feared Germany in Africa
- Austria was fearful of Russia and Siberia in the Balkans
What are the two types of nationalism? Which countries showed each type?
- countries want to prove that they are great
- Germany
- Great Britain
- France - smaller nations/ethnic groups wanted to assert their independence
- the slavs (an ethnic group in eastern and souther Europe) wanted to be free of Austrian rule
What was the ethnic group of Great Britain called?
alto saxon
What was the ethnic group of Ireland called?
celtic
What was the ethnic group of Germany called?
germanic
What was the ethnic group of France called?
gaullic
What was the ethnic group of Russia called?
slavic
Who was Kaiser Wilhelm II?
the king of Germany
- built up German army and navy
- aggressive foreign policy
- determined to make Germany a top nation
- distrusted by other powers
Who was Franz Joseph?
emperor of Austria-Hungary
- old man, no male heirs
- nephew Franz Ferdinand to rule after his death
- Franz Ferdinand married a commoner woman and Franz Joseph never forgave him for it
What was the Black Hand group?
- believed in slav nationalism
- terrorists
Where and why does Franz Ferdinand visit?
- Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, which was recently taken over by Austria
- wanted to make peace with the slavs
When did the Crisis happen?
June 28, 1914
What did the Black Hand group try to do to Franz Ferdinand?
- attack the Arch Duke
- bomb attempt fails in the morning
- try to assassinate Ferdinand and his wife
Who killed Franz Ferdinand and his wife?
Gaurilo Princip
What events take place after Franz Ferdinand is assassinated?
- Austrians blame Serbia for supporting terrorists
- Austrians, supported by Germany, send Serbia a tough ultimatum (a final demand)
- Serbia cannot accept
What happens one month after the assassination?
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
What happens after Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia?
- Russia mobilizes their troops to support Serbia
- Germany demands that Russia stands their armies down
- Russia refuses
- within 2 weeks, most of major powers in Europe are involved in the war
What was the Schlieffen Plan?
- Germany’s idea of invading France by cutting through Belgium
- decision to go through Belgium brought Great Britain into the war because of an old treaty between Belgium and Great Britain
- Germany believed that they could defeat France in 6 weeks, then shift their focus to Russia
What happened when Germany invaded France?
- French and Britain forces stopped a German advance near Paris, and both sides holed up in trenches
- led to a stalemate that lasted for much of the remainder of the war
What was the area between the enemies trenches called?
no man’s land
What was the Western Front?
- area in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg
- symbolized by trench warfare, tanks, poison gas, airplanes, etc.
What were President Wilson’s initial thoughts about the war?
he declared that the United States would remain neutral
- Wilson’s cabinet and many business owners supported the Allies because of ties to Great Britain and France
What event caused the U.S. public to turn against Germany?
on May 7, 1915, a u-boat sunk a British liner Lusitania and 128 Americans were among the dead
What events motivated the United States to join the war?
- unrestricted submarine warfare
- Zimmerman telegram
What slogan helped Wilson get re-elected?
“he kept us out of war”
What was the Zimmerman Telegram?
secret offer to Mexico
- alliance of Germany, Mexico against U.S.
- Mexico will get territory in Southwest (TX, NM, AZ)
When does Germany resume unrestricted submarine warfare?
February 1917
- sinks 6 more ships
What did the United States need entering WWI?
- money
- soldiers/men
- materials/supplies
- food
- transportation
- fuel
- help at home –> homefront
What did businesses switch to and from?
consumer goods to war goods
Who overlooked the War Industry Board?
Bernard Baruch
Who was the Food Administration led by?
Herbert Hoover
What were Victory Gardens?
an encouragement by the government for people to grow their own food to increase food production and decrease food consumption
When does the United States enter the war?
1917
What causes Russia to drop out of the war and when?
Russia has two revolutions in 1917; the seconds one causes them to drop out of the war
Who takes over Russia after they drop out of the war?
Vladimir Lenin and the Communists
What do Russia do with Germany?
signed a ‘separate peace’
What do Russia do with Germany?
signed a ‘separate peace’
Who ordered to keep the United States soldiers independent in the war?
General John Pershing
Who quits and abdicates after the war?
Kaiser Wilhelm
When does WWI end?
November 11, 1918 @11am
What was the day called that the war ended?
Armistice Day
What countries made up the Big 4?
Italy, Great Britain, France, United States
Who was invited to the peace treaty meeting?
the big 4
What was the goal of the peace treaty meeting?
peace, land, money, United Nations, independence
Who was Georges Clemenceau?
prime minister of France
- the tiger
Who was David Lloyd George?
prime minister of Great Britain
Who was Vittorio Orlando?
Italian prime minister
Who was Woodrow Wilson?
president of the United States
What does the United States use to transport goods across the Atlantic?
convoys
- unarmed ships surrounded by navy boats
- merchant losses decreased by 50%
What were the US soldiers called who replaced tired British soldiers?
‘dough boys’
What did General John Pershing want for his troops?
to stay under his command and not follow the other Allies even though they were fighting with them
What did the French and American troops start to do?
- they pushed back German troops along the Western Front
- German troops retreated after the Battle of Argonne Forest
What was signed to stop the war?
an armistice, an agreement, was signed to stop the fighting on November 11, 1918
What did the British want to do with Germany after the war?
punish the Germans
What did the French want to do with Germany after the war?
permanently end the threat of German invasion
What did Wilson create to make a lasting peace in Europe?
the Fourteen Points
What did Wilson’s Fourteen Points include?
disarmament, Freedom of the Seas, self-determination, creation of a “general assembly of nations” to establish collective security
How did France and England feel about the Fourteen Points?
they felt it was too lenient, or merciful, towards Germany
What was done to discuss the idea of the Fourteen Points?
versailles was attended by 27 countries, but the big 4 dominated the conference
- defeated nations and Russia were not invited
What created the terms of which Germany was punished?
the Treaty of Versailles
According to the Treaty of Versailles, how was Germany going to be punished.
- reduced military and outlawed conscription (draft)
- could not manufacture weapons
- took away territory
- allied troops were also to occupy Rhineland for 15 years
- Germany forced to pay $33 billion in reparations
- also forced “war guilt clause” for starting the war
How did Wilson feel about the Treaty of Versailles?
disappointed but believed creation of the League of Nations would be worth it
What political mistake did Wilson make when going to Versailles?
he did not invite any Republicans to go with him
Who were the “irreconcilables”?
senators who objected to League of Nations
- believed going an international body goes against US freedom
Who were the “reservationists”?
people who supported the treaty if amendments were made to the League of Nations
How did Wilson respond to the “irreconcilables” and the “reservationists”?
- refused to allow any alterations to the treaty
- traveled around the US to try and build support for the treaty
What happened when Wilson tried to build support for the treaty?
had a stroke from the exhausting trip
- paralyzed, trouble talking
What happened after Wilson had a stroke?
- the Senate never notified the treaty and the US never joined the League of Nations
- US singed a separate peace treaty with Germany after Wilson left office
What empires were destroyed from the war?
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Russia
What did the United States want after the war
stability and peace
Why was Wilson not inviting any Republicans to Versailles a mistake?
he needed 2/3 of the Senate to pass the treaty, but did not discuss it with opposing voices
Who was Henry Cabot Lodge?
US senator from Massachusetts
- Republican
- Head of Foreign Relations Committee
- did not get along with President Wilson
- opposed Treaty of Versailles, especially Article X, the creation of the League of Nations
What were the three groups the Senate was divided into about the Treaty of Versailles?
“progressive internationalists” - supporters of the Treaty
“reservationists” - make changes to the Treaty
“irreconcilables” - reject the Treaty
What were France’s arguments to punishing Germany?
- invaded 2x in the last 40 years by Germany
- French people taken in by Germany tin Alsace-Lorraine
- had to give up territory when lost wars
How did economy affect France’s arguments against Germany?
farmland ruined, cities and factories destroyed, Germany owes us amends, need to keep colonies, need oil
How did security affect France’s arguments against Germany?
need a buffer zone, Germany needs to limit their military and arms
How did the 14 points affect France’s arguments against Germany?
gave colonies too much hope, we need Indochina and others
How was Britain affected by the war?
suffered terribly, over 1 million casualties
How did the 14 points affect Britain’s arguments against Germany?
freedom of the seas is a bad idea, the only thing that saved us was our Navy, need the colonies that we have and deserve new ones too
How did economy affect Britain’s arguments against Germany?
deserve money for disown and orphans in all corners of empire, also incurred large debts
How did security affect Britain’s arguments against Germany?
don’t want to destroy Germany but don’t want France to become too powerful either, need Germany to rebuild and be strong financially to ward off threat of Russian communism
How was Italy involved in the war?
- joined ini 1915 when approached by the Allies
- promised parts of Austria-Hungary
- suffered over 1/2 million deaths
How did history affect Italy’s arguments against Germany?
land that we were promised used to be ours (Austria-Hungary), many Italian speakers there
How did economy affect Italy’s arguments against Germany?
devastated, hue war debts, high inflation; we deserve financial compensation
How did the Italians feel after the war?
- they were mad that they went to war, there can be no delay in getting what we were promised
- f we had not joined, Allies would have been defeated early
How did the 14 pints affect Italy’s arguments against Italy?
- a Slovak homeland is a bad idea, we fought and died and deserve land
- they cannot govern themselves, it’s chaos with too many ethnic groups
- communists could take over if we don’t
How did the United States feel about the treaty?
- this is the most important treaty in history because of the horrible war
- old ways of doing things died in the trenches
- entered the war to make sure it was the last war ever fought
How did economy affect the US’s arguments against Germany?
- lost ships supporting Great Britain and France, loaned the money during the war and intend to keep doing it
- new economy will be based on trade, must have peace so that we can trade
- cannot force central powers to pay reparations, it will only cause bitterness
- Germany must be allowed to rebuild
How did the United States feel about self-rule?
boundaries should depend on self-determination of the majority
What did the United States want for other countries?
- need freedom of the seas
- neutral countries should be allowed to remain neutral
- we do not want any land or money, all we want is peace
