World War I Flashcards
Who was Billy Bishop?
A “flying ace” (5 kills) Canadian WWI pilot, credited with 72 kills–30 challenged–, and awarded the Victoria Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross, served in both world wars.
What was “No Mans Land”?
A narrow, muddy, treeless stretch of land separating the two warring armies.
What were trench mouth/foot?
Medical conditions caused by prolonged exposure to damp, unsanitary and cold conditions. The British army alone treated 20,000 cases.
What are “dugouts”?
Shelters dug on the side of a trench in the ground and used as living quarters, for the storage of supplies or protection.
What is “shelling”?
Artillery fire.
Explain the term “over the top”.
Looking over the top of the trenches to assault the enemy.
Define “digging in”.
Digging a trench to hold land.
What is militarism?
An arms race; policy of building up military forces and threatening armed aggression.
What is imperialism?
The belief in the necessity of building up an empire by dominating other nations and by establishing colonies.
What are alliances?
Agreements or treaties to ensure the cooperation between two countries, intended to keep Peace in Europe.
What is nationalism?
Having pride in your country; willingness to defend it and the belief that it is destined for greatness.
Who was General Ludendorff?
The German General who created the Schlieffen plan.
Explain the Schlieffen plan and what went wrong.
Germany would send forces in a claw like motion in a surprise attack against France through Belgium. The Generals misread the maps and turned south too soon, Belgium resisted, Britain joined the fight, and the Germans were caught at Marne River. This began 4 years of trench warfare.
What did war artists do?
They depicted life and death in warzones.
What were “u-boats”?
German submarines.
What was “mustard gas”?
Chemical warfare first used by the Germans in the second Battle of Ypres.
What was the “Paris gun”?
A German long-range siege rifle?
What was the “Ross rifle”?
A rifle that originated in Canada.
What was the Western front?
An area of military operations which ran through Belgium, Northern France, and to the Swiss border.
What was propaganda?
Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, intended to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view, mostly through posters.
Who was the Arch Duke Ferdinand?
The heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, assassinated June 14, 1914 by Gavrilo Princip of the Black Hand Serbian terrorist group.
What happened in the Conscription Crisis?
Conscription was drafting soldiers to fight.
Borden (C PM) promised not to at the beginning of the war, but needed the 500,000 Canadians he promised Britain, and soldiers were dying before they could be replaced.
He called an election to prove it was the will of the people, but French Canadians were strongly opposed.
Winifred Laurier (L OO) urged them to volunteer, but was against conscription.
What was the Treaty of Versailles? (8)
The treaty that ended WWI, signed in June 1919 in Versailles.
Germany lost all its colonies, part of eastern Germany was given to Poland, they had to pay for war damages, not allowed to have an air force, tanks or artillery, army restricted to 100,000 men, and they had to admit the war was their fault.
Explain the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
June 14, 1914, Ferdinand and his wife went to Sarajevo in Bosnia.
After one failed assassination attempt, the car stopped and Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand Serbian terrorist group, shot and killed him and his wife, thus starting the war.
