World War One Flashcards
Before the war (1914) there were six great powers:
Britain France Germany Russia Austria-Hungary Italy
To be considered great you had to have…
- a large population
- a large overseas empire
- a large European empire
- a great army
- a great navy
- wealth (trade and industry)
What countries were involved in the triple alliance?
Germany
Italy
Austria-Hungary
What countries were involved in the triple entente
Britain
France
Russia
What is the rivalry over the balkans?
- The Black Sea is Russia’s entry to the Mediterranean.
- an enemy could access Russia through the straights of the Black Sea
- Russia must control this area
Name 7 reasons why World War One started
- Austria and Russia competing fir influence in south east Europe.
- naval rivalry between Germany and Britain
- arms between Germany and France
- French unhappiness at the loss of Alsace and Lorraine in 1887
- two alliance systems in existence
- Germany attempts to gain colonies which annoys and frightens France, Britain and Russia
- the assassination at Sarajevo sparked off World War One
By the end of 1914, from where to where were the trenches and how many miles was that?
The channel coast to Switzerland
over 370miles
How were trenches linked?
By communication trenches
For every 1 and a half kilometres of front how many miles of trenches were there?
30
What was in front of the trench?
Barrier of barbed wire (15m thick)
How close might 2 enemy trenches be?
Two trench lines could be as much as 800m apart, in a few places the enemy was just 20m away.
What was the area that was being fought for?
No mans land
What did the ordinary soldier carry?
A bayonet and a rifle which fired up to 25 shots per minute. These were no match for machine guns which fired 600 rounds per minute.
How many miles of trenches were there?
400
What were the trenches like?
Vermin + disease
Rats in particular were a problem as they ate soldier’s food as well as the actual soldiers while they slept, they were the size of small cats from feeding of dead soldiers. Lice also caused a disease called Trench Fever that made the solders’ itch terribly and caused a disease called Trench Fever that made the solders’ itch terribly and caused fever, headache, sore muscles, bones, and joints. Many soldiers living in the trenches suffered from Trench Foot.