World War One Flashcards
What factors contributed to the war being so deadly?
Because of the industrial revolution there were things like
Machine guns and more deadly weapons than ever before
Almost the whole world was drawn into the war and it affected all areas of life.
Causes of the war (8) rain necc
Rival alliances Arms race Industrialisation Nationalism Naval rivalry between Great Britain and Germany Economic rivalry Colonial rivalry Collapse of Ottoman Empire
Explain rival alliances
Countries came together to form alliances or opposing sides . In event of war they would help each other
Triple alliance - Germany , Austria Hungary, Italy
Triple entente - Great Britain , France and Russia
Explain nationalism
Pride in ones country . Countries wanted to be most powerful country in Europe , and also the pride they felt for their country made them want fight for it and defend it from enemies
Industrialisation
Great Britain was the first country to become industrialised and was rich because of manufacturing, but now Germany was catching up producing steel, iron, coal and cars.
Explain arms race
To prove their strength each side made more and more and more powerful weapons and larger armies increased national pride. Because of the industrial revolution , weapons could be made quickly and in big numbers
Naval rivalry explain
Naval rivalry between Great Britain and Germany. Great Britain had the largest navy since they needed a navy to defend their island and colonies and routes to colonies.
Germany was catching up and also making a large navy,and competing . Both navies increased in size because of the rivalry.
Britain built ‘dreadnought ‘ large battle ship with powerful guns
Germany responded by trying to build even bigger better war ships.
Explain economic rivalry
Germany produced more coal, iron and steel than Great Britain, so they became economic leader instead of Great Britain who w feeling threatened by this.
Explain colonial rivalry
One way of showing power was to have lots of colonies , large colonial empire was good because it gave them lots of resources , markets for their products, raw materials etc.
The rivalry over the colonies caused tension between European countries.
Collapse of Ottoman Empire explain
The Balkan countries broke away from the Ottoman Empire . Russia and Austria Hungary wanted the countries for themselves
Explain why there was tension in the Balkans
The small country of Serbia wanted to unite all the Balkan countries .austria Hungary dashed this hope by taking them over. Gavrilo princip from Balkans assassinated the visiting archduke frans Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia supported Serbia …this got all. Countries involved.
Synonym for the word imperial
Large in size
Who was the King of Germany?
Kaiser Wilhelm. 2
Who was the king of England?
King George 5
Scale of the war
It involved 30 countries ( including overseas empires)
Fighting took place in Europe Asia and africa
Fighting took place in 2 oceans Atlantic and Pacific
Large number fought 70 million men fought in the war
Large number of dead …10 million people killed, 20 million wounded
Besides the scale of the war how this war different?
The nature of the fighting
Involvement of large number of civilians including women
Use of propaganda
Deadliness of the weapons
Another name for the world war 1
The Great War
Explain what the trench warfare was about ?
Germany declared war on France , but they were equally matched. They dug trenches on either side to keep cover from the enemy fire.
Trenches stretched for 600km across northern France and Belgium - ( became known as the western front)
Trenches were protected by barbed wire and sandbags
Inbetween the opposing trenches was ‘No mans land’
To attack the men had to climb out of their trenches run into no,and land, cut through the wire on the other side and into the enemy trenches….almost impossible
What the battle of Somme?
A day of senseless slaughter in trenches. No ground was gained but 55,000 allied soldiers died.
What were some of the dangers soldiers faced in the trenches?
Noise of the shelling was unbearably loud , many soldiers were emotionally scarred for life
Trenchfoot - damp unsanitary conditions
Cramped conditions
Always wet
Were not allowed to write about bad conditions in letters sent home - letters were sensored
Results of the war
Conscription was introduced - men were forced to join t army to fight . Those that refused were put in prison
Laws limited people’s freedom - could arrest anyone, take anyone’s land property , censor news etc.
Food was rationed - Germany and Great Britain were trying to starve each other by sinking each other’s ships full of supplies.thousands died from starvation
List and explain some of world war1 weapons
German airship - Zeppelin Triplane , biplane, monoplane Submarines , Warships Battle cruisers
What is propoganda
Form of persuasive communication which influences people’s beliefs, opinions, and emotions
May be true or false but always tries to persuade
Appeals to heart and emotion- not reason
Uses fear ,exaggeration,and lies to get support for an idea
What did British propaganda posters tell people?
Germans were evil
Men had a duty to protect women and children
Men had a duty to fight for good ( England ) against bad ( Germany)
Propaganda posters appealed to
Sense of duty
Sense of patriotism
Love of adventure
Guilt
What is a conscientious objector
Person who refused to fight in the war because he thought it was morally wrong
How were conscientious objectors treated
Treated as traitors and cowards
Women were encouraged to give them white feathers to a shame them and identify them
How did women’s lives change during the war .
Jobs: Women had to keep the Economy going because no men around - bus drivers, plumbers, gravediggers, coal miners, shipbuilders ( typical men jobs before)
How did women’s lives change after the war?
Personal freedom - more freedom since they got more confidence from being contributing part of society. Women started wearing pants etc
Voting rights - women demonstrated, rioted, chained themselves to parliament buildings, hunger strikes etc for rights to vote
What were women who demonstrated and fought for the right for women to vote called?
Suffragettes
Leader of the suffragette movement
Emily parkhurst
What were some of the things suffragettes suffered ?
Hunger strike
Imprisonment
Chained to fences
Broke windows of government buildings
What the effect of world war 1 on South Africa?
South Africa was a British colony . Countries that were part of British empire were expected to help in the fight against Germany. So many southafricans were conscripted to fight
Did everyone in South Africa support the war?
No some of the Afrikaans speaking people were still upset with the British , they were not happy to fight and some even wanted Germany to win
Black South Africans were not allowed to fight in war, but may volunteered in other roles like stretcher bearers, drivers, labourers
What happened in Namibia and why?
Namibia was a german colony called German south west Africa
South Africa captured German farmers and put them into concentration camps in South Africa for the duration of the war
After the war they took control of Namibia until independence in 1990
Where did South African soldiers fight?
In Namibia - German colony
In Tanzania - German colony
In France - battle of delville wood
English Channel - sinking of the mendi
When did world war 1 start and how long did people expect it to last ?
1914
6 weeks
But lasted for 4 years
Serbia wanted to unite the whole ……population
Slav
Austria was ruled by which family ?
Habsburg family
What was the arch duchesses name?
Sophie
What were Princip’s views
He was a Slav nationalist, proud of his country, wanted to be free from Austrian rule and was angry at Austria and willing to kill to get freedom
Why was there such a long standoff between France and Germany.
Germany wanted to knock out France quickly and then attack Russia , but because they were equally matched it turned into years of trench warfare
Who helped win the war in the end
USA
Why did Russia withdraw from the war …and when
1917 , by then 2 million Russians had died in the war and more had died from starvation. The winters were severe, many people froze. In the end there was a civil war and the Tsar of Russia Nicholas 2 was overthrown. The new government of Russia withdrew from the war.
Why did Britain need conscription
Because the war had been going on for 2 years by the time they introduced conscription. 1916 They needed fresh soldiers because many had died
Which men were called up for conscription
Single men between 18-41
Except if they were widowed with children or ministers of a religion
What was another name for the Germans - and what does it mean.
Huns ….uncivilized
Several types of conscientious objectors
Pacifists who did not believe in fighting
Political objectors who did not consider Germany their enemy
Religious objector - who believed it was against their religion to fight
What was the white feather a symbol of ?
Cowardice
Who were given white feathers ?
Men who were not in uniform
In what way could a conscientious objector be considered brave ?
They were going against public opinion and standing up for what they believed in .
World War One was also called…
The war to end all wars
Why was the war called the war to end all wars
Because it had lasted so long and so many people had died, and there was so much horror and death that people were convinced there would not be another one.
Name one of the horrors of ww1
Trench warfare
What did the trenches look like?
2m deep 2 m wide
Sandbags to absorb enemy fire
and barbed wire on top
Duckboards to walk on keep off the mud
Dugouts into the sides for soldiers to rest
Machine guns at top could fire 600 bullets in a minute
Behind frontline trenches were more trenches up to 6km back for support, supplies and reinforcements
Describe what ,life was like in the trenches
Rats as big as cats fed on dead bodies Flies from horse manure Unwashed men Lice No sleep Mud Dead bodies Trench foot from wet feet...turn blue and numb basically feet rotting Shell shock , men going insane
Describe what shell shock is?
A mental breakdown caused by severe stress from experiencing so much death and noise and pain around you. Symptoms were Diarrhea Ticks on face Anxiety Sleeplessness Nightmares
What was Flanders field .
A poem written from the perspective of a dead soldier used as propoganda as it encouraged men to keep fighting , was written before people knew that war was going to last longtime - romanticized the war
What is worn on Remembrance Day ( day that war ended 11nov 1918)
Red poppy from the poem
What was the role of music during the war
Used to keep spirits up - piano at home
Used as propaganda to encourage people to join the war effort
Inspired patriotism, pride and sacrifice
When South Africa joined the war why did Indian and black men not fight - how did they serve the war instead
They were considered second class and not allowed to carry weapons. They served as non combatants - carry stuff, put up tents , dig trenches
Explain what happened with the boat the mendi?
The mendi was a ship full of 600+ black soldiers from South Africa which was sent to help at the western front. It sunk in the British channel because it was hit by a British ship the darro ( captain stump) because of heavy fog. The ship did not have their fog horns on and was traveling too fast. The mendi sank quickly and the darro did not help the drowning soldiers
Who could vote in England?
Men only…and only rich men only 3 out of 5 men could vote
When did women get the right to vote in Britain
1918
Who threw herself In front of the kings horse and died for her cause?
Emily Davison
What was the armistice
Agreement to stop fighting
After the war ended a new government in Germany came to power it was called
The Weimar government who formed the weimar republic
What usually happens after a war?
Leaders of Countries who fought in the war come together and sign a peace treaty
What peace treaty was signed after ww1
Treaty of Versailles
How was Germany punished
- Germany had no say in the terms of the treaty
- Germany had to pay for the cost of the damage of the war this is called reparation
- Germany lost land
- Germany had to admit they had caused the war by signing the war guilt clause
- They were not allowed to build up a defense force
