WW1 + Russian Revolution Flashcards
Why might WWI and WWII be considered one war?
-many smaller and civil wars occured in between the two > fighting never stopped
-many countries were afraid of war from their wwi losses and this allowed other countries and hitler to gain in power
-some of the same people fought in both wars
Why didn’t democracy flourish after WW1?
Decision-making was slow and ineffective
Many countries had no history of democracy - absolute monarchy was all the people had known
How did Lenin get other countries to join the USSR?
promised elected legislature and voting rights
What was the name of the American boat sunk by Germany that involved the US in the war?
The Lusitania
Wilson’s point 1
No secret treaties - diplomacy should be open and transparent
England’s leader Treaty of Versailles
David Lloyd George: Prime Minister of Great Britain
What were the different kinds of shells used in WWI?
- high explosive
- incendiary (flammable)
- shrapnel (lead balls inside)
- gas
Director of 1917 war film
Sam Mendes
About his grandfather, Alfred Mendes
Why did Germany agree to the Treaty of Versailles?
they wanted to remain a country and keep their land (other empires were abolished/split up)
Categories of Wilson’s 14 points
1-5: Preventing future wars
6-13: Redrawing borders +self determination
14: League of Nations
How did the Industrial Revolution connect to WWI?
industrialization led to more imperialism and colonization (means + motives) > this lead to more national competition
What did France want from the Paris Peace Conference?
Premier Clemenceau: wanted to weaken Germany economically & militarilism so they were never a threat to France again
What was the meeting arranged to divvy up Africa to the European countries?
The Berlin Conference
Which country invented the tank?
Britain (Tritton and Wilson) > but Germany had best tanks
Who were the “Big Four”?
UK, US, France, Italy
Who was in power in Russia before the Bolshevik revolution?
Tsar Nicholas Romanov II and Tsarina Alexandria Romanov
Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail?
Russia mobilized too fast and Germany had to split army between W+E fronts
What does “Bolshevik” mean?
majority
Who were the two main “candidates” to replace Lenin?
Leon Trotsky (Lenin’s friend)
Joseph Stalin
What was the name of the Bolshevik secret police?
Cheka
What did the Sussex Pledge do? (1916)
Germany promised not to sink ships without warning (they broke this in 1917)
What was the significance of the Battle of Verdun? (1916)
French vs. Germans: stalemate where neither side won and 1/2 million troops lost for both Allied and Central powers
Which were the only African countries to remain independent during the Scramble for Africa?
Liberia and what is now Ethiopia
How were Alliances a cause of WWI?
-meant to deter attacks but increased tensions
-turned small conflict between few countries into all of europe being involved
Wilson’s point 9
No territorial gain for Italy - borders based on nationality
Wilson’s point 3
Free trade - removal of economic barriers
What were the 4 MAIN causes of WWI?
-Militarism
-Alliances
-Imperialism
-Nationalism
Where did most of the Eastern front fighting take place?
Russia
Wilson’s point 2
Freedom of the seas - unrestricted navigation in peace and war
Who was Germany’s leader at the time of the Berlin Conference?
Otto von Bismarck
Which side did Italy eventually join and why?
Allies because they wanted more land
What was the significance of the Battle of Jutland?
Germans vs British: naval battle
Wilson’s point 6
Russia’s sovereignty - foreign troops should leave Russia and allow it to determine it’s own future
What territories of France caused conflict with Germany?
Alsace and Lorraine
France’s leader Treaty of Versailles
Georges Clemenceau: Prime Minister of France
What does ANZAC stand for?
Australia and New Zealand Army Corps
What did Britain want from the Paris Peace Conference?
Prime Min. George: wanted Germany punished and unable to build strong military
Who killed Franz Ferdinand?
Gavrilo Princip (member of Black Hand terrorist group)
Ending date of WW1
11:00 AM, November 11, 1918
Allied powers
France
Great Britain
Russia
(USA later)
Known as the “triple alliance” or “Entente”
What was the proletariat?
the working class
Why were the Romanovs hated?
they were too influenced by Rasputin
What was the most common kind of gas used and why?
Mustard gas- lingers for a long time in trenches
Blisters, harms lungs
Gas masks couldn’t protect against
What were the two sides of the Russian Rev?
Reds: Bolsheviks
Whites: everyone against the Bolsheviks
What were Dreadnoughts and what were they used for?
British battleships
What was the difference between “restricted” and “unrestricted” submarine warfare?
in restricted warnings have to be given before sinking ships
What does USSR stand for?
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
What is Marx’s idea of a “dictatorship of the proletariat”?
a system where the working class has all power
Where was Franz Ferdinand murdered?
Serajevo (was there to try to calm slavic tension)
What was Lenin’s “vanguard party”?
Group of more qualified/intellectual revolutionaries to lead Russia through revolution
Who was the leader of the Bolshevik party?
V.I. Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov)
How did Lenin come into power?
He and the Bolshevik’s Red Guard staged a coup
What did the Hague Convention do? (1899 & 1907)
banned harmful gases in war
What effect did Social Darwinism have on Europe?
belief that the most powerful will survive and some societies are stronger/better (Europe thought superior to Africa)
What land did Russia lose in the Treaty of Versailles?
Estonia
How are Leninism and Marxism different?
Marxism is complete communism with everything equal and the working class has all power. Lenin corrupted this idea with his vanguard party> not “true” communism
What side was Japan on in WWI?
the Allies (was helping England)
Wilson’s point 11
Balkan independence - Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania should regain sovereignty
Why did totalitarian/fascist leaders grow in popularity after WW1?
Economic crisis - Germany, Italy, and Russia all faced war debts, inflation, and shortages fueling resentment and desire for change
National humiliation - Germany was punished severely and Hitler promised to restore German pride, Italy was promise more land and Mussolini took advantage of national resentment
Order and stability - people wanted a leader who could bring employment, stability, and national pride. Many accepted authoritarian rule as a necessary sacrifice for a stable government
Wilson’s point 5
Fair colonial policies - consider the interest of colonized populations
What was the Paris Peace Conference?
conference in Versailles after WWI (1919) to negotiate terms of peace
What was Stalin’s version of the Cheka?
KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti)
How were American mindsets changing after the end of WW1?
Americans believed that they should stay out of European affairs
Focus on self-reliance as a country, the US should not be bound by agreements
Economic individualism - popularity of capitalism and a self-made individual and limited government interference
New cultural movements like jazz encouraged individual expression
What spark ignited the “powder keg” that was WWI?
the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Austria-Hungary’s retaliation
Who was Franz Joseph’s son whose murder was a catalyst for WWI?
Franz Ferdinand
What happened to Leon Trotsky?
When Stalin became leader he fled to Mexico but still spoke against Stalin
Who were the Central Powers? (at the beginning of WWI)
Austria-Hungary
What is a “war of attrition”?
cutting off supplied/attacks deliberately meant to weaken
What was the significance of the Battle of Tannenberg (1914)?
Germans vs Russians: Germany tried Schliefen plan but Russia mobilized too fast >Germany won
What did Italy want from the Paris Peace Conference?
Prime Minister Orlando: wanted reparations for war and LAND from former Austria-Hungary (this was in the prior agreement)
How long did the battle of Verdun last
303 days
Stalemate in 1916
Who was Germany’s last emperor that led Germany in WWI?
Kaiser Wilhelm II
What impact did flamethrowers have on the war?
no huge impact
Gallipoli Campaign
President of the US during WW1
Woodrow Wilson
28th president
What was the Schlieffen Plan?
by General Schlieffen: to attack France first and then Russia because France was more advanced/mobilize faster
What Chinese region did Japan want from WWI?
Manchuria
What were the main two sides of WWI?
Allies vs. Central Powers
Which side of the Russian Revolution did the Allies support?
the “whites” (they want Russia back in the war)
Where was Lenin imprisoned?
a gulag in Siberia
Wilson’s point 14
Create an international organization called the League of Nations to resolve conflicts peacefully
Promise by Germany and USA not to sink ships w/o warning
Sussex Pledge
What was Wilson’s 14th point?
the creation of an international peace organization (League of Nations)
Why was there a stalemate on the Eastern front?
Russia had so many troops
What were the problems with the Treaty of Versailles?
-Germany lost colonies + had to pay reparations without their resources
-Italy doesn’t get new land
-Japan doesn’t get new land
-Russia loses land
Central powers
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Ottoman Empire
Bulgaria
What was the significance of the Battle of Gallipoli?
allied troops were sent to help russia + control Dardanelles
What year did WWI start?
1914
What was the name of the most used machine gun in WWI?
Maxim machine gun
Wilson’s point 4
Arms reduction - reduce military stockpiles to prevent war
Why was President Wilson unhappy after the Treaty of Versailles?
Wilson wanted reconciliation, but the treaty imposed strict punishment on Germany
He felt these terms would lead to resentment and future conflict
Wilson’s top priority, the League of Nations was rejected by the US senate due to concerns about national sovereignty
His American people began to isolate themselves - Wilson feared this would harm global peace
What is the capitol of the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Kinshasa
What did the Treaty of Bresk-Litovsk do?
-pulled Russia out of WWI
-Germany promises not to attack Russia (and vice versa)
-gave Germany most of Western Russia
Who was the leader of the Women’s Battalion of Death?
“Yashka” (real name was María Leontievna Bochkareva)
Wilson’s point 7
Restore Belgium - Belgium should be evacuated after heavy German destruction and independence restored
Wilson’s point 12
Self-government for the Ottoman Empire’s non-Turkish people
What was Lenin’s slogan?
Peace, Land, and Bread
Why did the scramble for Africa happen? (1880-1914)
all the countries were looking to get land first (especially aspiring industrial powers)
Which country did not join the League of Nations?
USA (became isolated and turned back on Europe- wilson angry and had had a stroke)
What did the Ottoman Empire do when they joined the Central Powers in 1914?
cut off the Allied (russian) supplies bc of access to bosphorus and dardanelles
When did WWI end?
11am Nov. 11
What is the League of Nations called now?
United Nations
Wilson’s point 13
Independent Poland - Poland restored with access to the sea
Wilson’s point 10
Autonomy for Austria-Hungary - different ethnic groups should have self-determination
How was Nationalism a cause of WWI?
-historic rivalry between France and Germany
-France wanted Alsace and Lorrain back
-German pride and confidence in military power + ind. growth
-slav independence movement to break away from Austria)
Who were the Allies? (at the beginning of WWI)
France
Who assassinated Rasputin?
Russian nobles who were fearing revolution
What was significant about Chlorine Gas?
smells like pineapples
Sinks into trenches
Harms lungs, eyes, and throat
Italy’s leader Treaty of Versailles
Vittorio Emanuele Orlando: Prime Minister of Italy
What happened in the Battle of the Somme?
British+French vs. Germans: Allies won
Wilson’s point 8
Return Alsace-Lorraine to France - adjust territorial borders
Why was there a stalemate on the Western front?
because of advanced weaponry
Why did Alexandria Romanov trust Rasputin?
he had supposedly healed her son of Hemophilia (blood won’t clot)
War from 1618-1648
Thirty Years’ War
How was Militarism a cause of WWI?
-war glorified and a source of pride
-arms race for military power
-military leaders very influential
What two books did Karl Marx write?
Communist Manifesto
Das Kapital
Which countries are still communist today?
China
How was Imperialism a cause of WWI?
-Germany growing in power- Britain and France concerned about competition for colonies
-economic rivalries between britain and france
-British and French desired to contain German claims in Africa
What was Big Bertha?
large German artillery gun that fired shells almost 6 miles
What was significant about Phosgene gas?
most lethal
85% of deaths from this gas
What did the Geneva Protocol do? (1925)
banned the use of all chemical weaponry in war
What were Blimps (zeppelin) used for in the war?
flyovers to drop bombs
Who was the USA’s representative during the Paris Peace Conf. and what did he want?
Woodrow Wilson: 14 point plan for peace (wanted no secret treaties
What was significant about Tear gas?
non lethal
Famous US ship sunk by German U-Boats
USS Lusitania
What was the German commanders slogan during the Battle of Verdun?
“Bleed French White” (goal was to take as many French lives possible)
Gateway to paris
What was the popular Allies slogan used after Wilson entered the US into WWI?
The Yanks are coming!
What was on the new Russian national flag?
hammer and sickle (to represent working class)
Who created the “red line” railroad that spanned across Africa?
Cecil Rhodes
How did Lenin change Russia?
-no private land
-workers controlled factory production
-collectivization: all earnings taken and distributed equally
German chancellor
Otto von Bismark
aka the Black Hand
Unity or Death
city, date, and country where assassination took place
Sarajevo, Bosnia
June 28, 1914
Battle that ruined the Schlieffen Plan
battle of the Marne
Italian lost battle
battle of corpetto
when did italy join the war
1915
Huge loss for Russia
battle of tannenberg
treaty that ended russian participation in the war
breast-litovosk
mandates
pacific asia
crazy man
gregory rasputin
