World War I (1914-1918) Flashcards
Dual Alliance
a secret treaty between Germany and A-H, lasted from 1879-1918
Algeciras Conference
-1906, Germans tried to persuade France to turn against Great Britain
-Brought Britain and France closer together
==> hostility towards Germany
Militarism
Arms race between Great Britain and Germany, Germany wanted to rival British navy
==> worsening pressures
Balkan Crisis
First Balkan Crisis
- 1874-1878
- Bosnia and Herzegovina rebelled against Ottomans, Serbia declared war on Ottomans, Russia (protector of the Balkans, pan-Slavism) declared war on Ottomans as well
- Britain supported Ottomans
Second Balkan Crisis
- 1885
- territorial disputes between Serbia and Bulgaria
- A-H supported Bulgaria, Germany supported A-H
- ended Alliance of the Three Emperors
Third Balkan Crisis
- 1912-1913
- Italy in conflict with Ottoman Empire over holdings along Adriatic Sea
pan-Slavism
aimed at the unity of all Slavic peoples, Russia was sympathetic to this
Balkan Wars
First Balkan War
-Serbia took Macedonia in 1912
Second Balkan War
- 1913
- Serbia attacked Bulgaria in hopes of getting a seaport
- Russia supported Serbia, A-H supported Bulgaria
- Serbs angry at A-H support of Bulgaria and its continued occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina
Third Balkan War
-a.k.a World War I
Imperialism
see Kruger Telegram and Moroccan Crisis
Moroccan Crisis
- 1911, German gunboat sent to Morocco to protest French occupation of the city of Fez
- Britain supported France
- Germany backed off
Schlieffen Plan
Strategy: defeat France quickly, hold off Russia, invade France through Belgium
Failed because: Belgians resisted, Russians mobilized quickly and thus drew Germans to the Eastern Front, the French counterattacked at the BATTLE OF THE MARNE to stop the German drive towards Paris
Galliope Campaign
British campaign to knock Turkey (became a Central Power) out of the war by landing at the Dardanelles, it failed
Lusitania
sinking of this American passenger ship helped turn American public opinion against Germany
The Fourteen Points
Wilson 1. end to secret treaties 2. freedom of the seas 3. free trade 4. arms reduction 5. just settlement of colonial claims 6-13. evacuation of occupied territories and national self-determination 14. the establishment of a League of Nations
Treaty of Versailles
BIG FOUR: Wilson, David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, Vittorio Orlando (US, Britain, France, Italy) made all the decisions; the Central Powers were excluded
- Certain German territories were ceded to Allies (Alsace ==> France, Schleswig ==> Denmark, West Prussia ==> Poland, (the mineral rich) Saar ==> France_
- Germany given the guilt for the war
- German navy and army reduced
- demilitarization and occupation of the Rhineland
- Germany had to pay indemnities totaling $33 billion
Command economy
an economy in which production, investment, prices, and incomes are determined centrally by a government.
World War I- general/ impact
-empires that fell: German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman
-Britain and France’s economies in shambles after war
-first “total war”- effort of civilian populations; rationing, both sexes in war plants, propaganda
-triumph of communism in Russia
-basis for smaller nation states (Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary)
==> US becomes greatest producer
-unresolved issues ==> WWII
Long Term Causes of WWI
MILITARISM
ALLIANCES
IMPERIALISM
NATIONALISM
Progression of alliances
- Three Emperors League of 1873 (Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary)
- didn’t last because Russia left
- conflict in Turkey - Dual Alliance (Germany and A-H)
- Alliance of the Three Emperors (1881, Germany, Russia, and Austria)
- Triple Alliance (1882-1915, Italy, Austria, and Germany) ==> the CENTRAL POWERS (+ Bulgaria) (Italy switched sides in 1915)
- ————————-
- Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902-1915)
- Anglo-French Entente
- Anglo-Russo Alliance
- Triple Entente
- ALLIED POWERS: Russia, England, France, and eventually US
Bismarckian Alliance System
in this system no one declared war because they knew the alliances would make war too costly
Boer Wars
- Great Britain lost to South Africans
- Kruger Telegram- Germany congratulated the Boers, increased international tensions
Outbreak of WWI
Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
- Serbian officials had plotted the murder
- Austria wanted to crush Serbia with German help
- Kaiser Wilhelm II issued the BLANK CHECK, promising backing Austria for any action it might take
Austrian ultimatum to Serbia
Austria declared war on Serbia
Germany declared war on Russia
France declared war on Germany
Britain declared war on Germany after it violated Belgian neturality
Western Front vs. Eastern Front
WESTERN FRONT:
-stalemated into trench warfare
EASTERN FRONT:
-remained a mobile war
