WWI Flashcards
The Alliance System
The joining of countries’ forces to achieve a certain goal.
The goal of this system was, ironically, to prevent the outbreak of war. The alliances had the opposite effect by increasing the tension between all involved countries.
The Triple Alliance or Central Powers consists of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (the Ottoman Empire later joins them).
The Triple Entente was formed between Britain, France, and Russia.
Nationalism
A sense of pride in and a love of one’s country.
From around 1900, ethnic groups began fighting for independence from AH, including Bosnia-Herzegovina - most people there wanted to join Serbia to form their own nation.
Young Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914. Since Russia had been supporting BH to become independent and unite with Serbia, Russia was drawn into the following conflict.
Imperialism
A policy by which a country increases its power by gaining control over new territories to create an empire (e.g. the colonisation of Australia!).
There was a race for new colonies in Africa between Britain, France, and Germany.
Militarism
The belief that all nations should build and maintain strong armed forces, so they are prepared to defend themselves or promote their national interests.
In the lead up to WWI, many European countries competed with each other over the size of their empires and armies.
What was the short-term cause of WWI?
In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Archduke was heir to the AH throne and the whole Balkan area is loyal to Russia ethnically. The area is known as the “powder keg of Europe”, meaning it has very high tension.
When the Archduke is assassinated, AH asks Germany to support them in defeating the Balkan states.
AH presents 10 demands to Serbia, of which 9 are agreed to.
AH declares war on Serbia –> Russia promises to support Serbia.
Germany declares war on Russia and soon after on France, and invades Belgium as part of the Schlieffen Plan.
Britain declares war on Germany not only to support France but because neutral Belgium was invaded, automatically making Australia involved.
AH declares war on Russia.
Months later, Italy enters the war, allied with the Triple Entente.
WWI start/end dates?
28 July 1914 - 11 November 1918
The Schlieffen Plan - what was it for? Describe it and how it turned out.
The Schlieffen Plan was a military plan to defeat France, one of Germany’s major opponents.
The plan was made based on several assumptions, the main one being that Russia would take at least six weeks to mobilise their army - long enough for Germany to invade Belgium (a neutral country) and defeat France, so they could be on the east border in time to face Russia.
However, the invasion of Belgium violated its neutral stance as part of the alliance system, and Britain was forced to declare war on Germany as part of this agreement on 4th August.
This automatically made Australia involved in the war.
Australia enters the war. Why did Australian men enlist in the army? How many were initially recruited and how did recruitment progress over time?
Desire for adventure, good income, glory of heroism, showing loyalty to Britain, the “Mother Country”, proving Australia was capable, escaping responsibilities such as attending school or even leaving their wives and families.
80,000 enlisted by 1915, but as the war dragged on and the battles and horrible deaths were reported, less men joined.
What was one of the main influences on public sentiment and men’s decision to enlist?
Propaganda posters influenced young men to enlist and influenced public opinion on the war.
Which groups opposed war and why?
Pacifists (opposed to violence of any kind), including religious groups, opposed war, as well as conscientious objectors (opposed to war) - often women who did not want their sons or husbands killed in war.
List what you should think about and look for on a poster when analysing it.
Visual: salient image, foreground, background, colours, reading path, composition of poster - effect on reader, body language of any figures in the poster, symbolism.
Verbal: language used including generalisations, stereotypes, cliches, slogans, appeals to readers’ emotions (e.g. fear/safety, authority, tradition, love, adventure/challenge, etc.).
Contextual: what was going on in the country/world at the time, creator of the poster, purpose, and audience.
Describe how trenches were designed and constructed.
- Two-trench system
- Construction: soldiers dug out the main areas parallel to each other, sappers transformed them into full system
- Design: designed in three rows, offered some protection from artillery/infantry fire.
No man’s land sat in between the armies and could be km’s wide.
Describe the tactics of trench warfare.
Explosive shells were flung at the enemy trenches in the hope that this would force the defending troops underground so troops could cross no man’s land.
They may have been fired on if the explosive shells did not inhibit the enemy’s ability to charge forward.
If they did reach the other side: melee with bayonets, and pistols and grenades were used.
Discuss the new weaponry and machinery used in World War I.
Guns and artillery:
- Machine guns improved, up to 600 rounds of ammo/minute –> devastating, though heavy and difficult to move
Gas:
- Introduced by Germany in April 1915
- Blew over enemy trenches - burned and destroyed respiratory tracts of anyone without a gas mask –> terrible pain and death
- Chlorine, as well as mustard and tear gas
- These horrific poison-gas attacks were banned under a treaty signed in 1925 (The Geneva Protocol)
Tanks:
- Introduced by the British army in September 1916 at the Battle of the Somme in France
- Able to overcome barbed-wire obstacles and trenches
- Mechanically unreliable
- Crews inside could choke on the fumes
Aircraft:
- Large-scale aerial warfare was first conducted in WWI
- Small planes scouted enemy positions
- Planes were later armed with machine guns for dogfights
- Zeppelins were first used by Germany in the first air raid over England in January 1915
- Could fly higher than conventional aircraft, drifting silently over targets
- Difficult to shoot down with normal anti-aircraft guns
- Low accuracy shots against targets
- Vulnerable to strong winds that could blow them off course
- Were largely replaced by multi-engine bombers towards the end of the war (think of Narnia)
Naval warfare:
- The sea was important for transportation, trade, and comms. –> protecting the sea lanes in your own waters was essential
- Submarines were widely used during WWI
- German U-boats attacked and sank trade ships between allied countries
- Underwater mines in the North Sea narrowed ships’ route options - big problem for neutral nations of Norway and Sweden (they were heavily reliant on the North Sea for fishing and trade with the rest of the world)
Where is the Western Front geographically?
The trenches ran along the Western Front, which was on the borders of France from the Belgian coast to Switzerland.
