WWI Flashcards
28th June 1914
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo
4th August 1914
Britain declares war on Germany. WWI officially starts
What is militarism
An emphasis on military ideas and strength. Wanting your country to have a strong army and navy. This leads to the development of an arms race, which Europe was having before the First World War.
What is nationalism and how did it help cause WWI
Nationalism is great pride in your country and the belief that your country is better than other countries. This made the other countries aggressive and they also thought that the war would be over in a few months.
What are alliances
A group of countries that promise to support and protect each other. Rival groups have rival alliances. This made a much smaller war between Serbia and Austria become a much bigger war involving the whole world.
What is imperialism
Imperialism is the desire to conquer colonies to create an empire. Germanys empire was much smaller than other countries which made Germany want to fight other countries so they could have a bigger empire
Sarajevo
Capital of Bosnia where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated
Who was Kaiser Wilhelm II
The emperor of Germany at the time of the First World War. He wanted to make Germany an important country in the world
What does conscription mean?
When a country makes it compulsory to join the army.
Enlist
To join the military
Pals Battalion
Groups of British men who enlisted together in a local area. They were often friends or family.
Trench
A long narrow ditch that men fought in in WW1
No Mans Land
A piece of land between the two opposing armies that belonged to neither side.
What is a conscientious objector
A person who refused to join the army for moral reasons
24th December 1914
The Christmas Truce. Enemies stopped fighting for a day and played football on No Mans Land.
January 1916
Conscription introduced in Britain
1st July 1916
First day of the Somme
April 1917
America joins the allies
December 1917
Russia surrenders and leaves the war
11th November 1918
Germany surrenders.
1919
Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles
1919
Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles
What is shell shock (PTSD)
A mental disorder which soldiers got from serving in the trenches. They could never recover.
Why did men want to fight?
Men wanted to fight to protect their country and do their duty to the King. They also would be shamed and be labelled as cowards if they didn’t so it was basically bad either way
What happened at the Somme?
The Germans dug their trenches deep and when Britain bombed their trench for a week the bombs had little effect. When the British soldiers went to loot the trench Germany came out and killed them all. This lasted for 141 days and there were over a million casualties overall.
