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World

History

3201 Emily V. Walsh

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Unit 1: World War I

Vocabulary

1. Imperialism: the pursuit of an Empire; “economic rivalry”. All countries involved with the war

were concerned with imperialism at the time.

The 3 G'S of Imperialism: these are considered to be reasons for the expansion of

empires in the twentieth century.

i. Gold: economic value and depending on spheres of influence

ii. Glory: status, prestige

iii. God: the "white man's burden" to spread the Christian faith is "duty to

Christianize the masses"

Empire: social, economic, political sphere of influence; a large area controlled by one

nation.

2. Alliance: a group of countries that have come together to "help each other out" under a variety

of circumstances, including warfare.

Dual Alliance: Consisted of Germany and Austro-Hungary during the Franco-Prussian

War (1879)

Triple Alliance: Consisted of Germany, Italy (and its colony Libya), Austro-Hungary from

1882 and through WWI. Bulgaria, Turkey and the Ottoman Empire also joined at some

point during the war.

Triple Entente: Consisted of Britain, France and Russia during WWI. Belgium, USA,

Serbia, Albania, Greece, Romania, Egypt, Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Portugal

all joined at some point during the war.

i. More information on the formation of these alliances in Important Points section.

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3. Militarism: the arms race/building of armies in countries and empires. Although all countries

were involved in militarism, Britain and Germany were more than the others, and Russia was

the least due to the lack of industrialism.

4. Nationalism: pride in one’s country; patriotism; loyalty to one’s own country.

5. Isolationism: when a country that is able to sustain itself cuts itself off from all other countries

in terms of economy, trade and warfare.

This was practiced by Britain until the Triple Entente was formed

This was practiced by the USA until 1917

6. Schleiffen Plan: developed by German General Schleiffen to mobilize troops quickly to the East

in France to win an easy fight by invading neural Belgium, and then send huge numbers of

troops to the East to fight Russia with full force. This plan was developed because Germany’s

greatest fear was a war on two fronts. However, this plan didn’t work as Allied Forces backed

up France, and Germany HAD to fight a war on two fronts.

7. Franco-Prussian War: a war that took place in the late 1800’s between France and Prussia (what

we now know as Germany) whereby Germany overtook the Alsace-Lorraine region of France

into their territory. At this time, Germany was in a Dual Alliance with the Austro-Hungarian

Empire (1879) [Vocab #2].

8. Reinsurance Treaty: a deal between Germany and Russia formed after the Franco-Prussian War

(1882) as a promise that they will not fight each other. This deal failed under the power of Kaiser

Wilhelm, leader of Germany.

9. M-A-I-N Causes of WWI: these are the four main things that caused the war to happen. Because

nearly all countries participated in at least a few of these, it’s fair to say that the war was

everybody’s fault.

M: Militarism (Vocab #3)

A: Alliance System (Vocab #2)

I: Imperialism (Vocab # 1)

N: Nationalism (Vocab #4)

ALSO: Unrestricted submarine warfare (Vocab #12)

10. U-Boat: “Underseeboat”; a German submarine introduced in WWI.

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11. Blockade: the isolating, closing off, or surrounding of a place, sea lane, harbour or city by hostile

ships or troops to prevent entrance or exit. There was a blockade during the beginning of WWI

by the British to cut off Germany from its only pathway to the ocean. Germany reacted with

unrestricted submarine warfare.

12. Unrestricted (submarine) warfare: a military tactic whereby military forces are instructed to

destroy everything in sight that is not of their own military, including that of neutral countries.

Germany did this in response to the British blockades at the beginning of WWI, using the U-Boat

Submarines to sink every single non-German vessel in its path.

13. Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Rules: Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States of

America during WWI. He was an idealist, and came up with the following 14 rules that he felt

would allow all countries to finally live in peace:

1. End Militarism

2. End Alliances

3. End Imperialism

4. End Nationalism

5. End unrestricted warfare (Vocab #11)

6-13. Different territorial adjustments

14. Start the League of Nations [see Vocab #13] (similar to today’s United

Nations)

14. League of Nations: the world’s first attempt of global governance; a place to get together to

solve international problems. Nobody would go for it, not even Wilson’s own country, the USA,

as they were happy in isolationism. However, it was passed after the war after the Paris Peace

Conference (Vocab #24)

15. Colony: territory controlled by European power in “the new worlds”.

16. Ultimatum: a formal message delivered from one government to another threatening war if the

receiving government fails to comply with conditions set forth in the message. (i.e. after the

assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand in 1914, the government of Austria sent an

ultimatum to Serbia, the country held responsible for the assassination. It was this event that is

considered to have started the tension that led to WWI)

17. Armistice: a truce; a temporary suspension of hostilities by agreement of the warring parties.

(i.e. WWI ended with the armistice of 1918)

18. Battles of the Marne: (Marne is a river) not far from here was where the German offensive

stalled (not far from France) both sides “dug in” stalemate or static warfare ensued. It was the

beginning of trench warfare; the first Battle of the Marne was in 1914 when the Allied Forces

defeated Germany on the Western Front. The second Battle of the Marne in 1918 was a major

M-A-I-N

(Vocab #9)

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turning point in the war as it broke the string of German victories and started major Allied

victories that eventually defeated Germany in the war, ending the war entirely.

19. Battle of Tannenberg: a battle on the Eastern Front between Germany and Russia at the

beginning of the war. The German’s Eight Army of about 166,000 men managed to destroy both

the First and Second Russian Army’s that totalled 416,000 men [The German’s sustained about

12,000 casualties, while Russia was destroyed by 170,000 casualties]. Soon after, the German’s

further destroyed the Russians at the Battle of the Masurian Lakes. It is soon after this that

Russia pulls out of the war, Czar/Tzar Nicholas (leader of Russia) steps down, and the Treaty of

Brest-Litovsk is signed at the end of the war. This war lead to the extreme poverty in Russia,

which also lead to the Russian Revolution.

20. Battle of the Somme [Beaumont Hamel]: battle fought mainly by The Royal Newfoundland

Regiment in 1916. As they “went over the top” into “No Man’s Land”, German machine guns

shot down 26 officers and 658 men in less than an hour.

21. Zimmerman Telegram: a message that Germany tried to get to Mexico to help them declare war

on the United States, however Britain stopped it before it got there. Up until 1917, The United

States were officially neutral, until they heard about the Zimmerman Telegram, and that is part

of the reason why the United States joined the Allied Forces in 1917.

The USA also joined because of the unrestricted submarine warfare of Germany that

sunk the Lusitania earlier in the war. The USA warned Germany, and Germany pulled

out until it took the risk of continuing unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917.

The Zimmerman Telegram and the Unrestricted Submarine Warfare are the two reasons

why the USA joined the war in 1917.

22. Bolsheviks: and extremist wing of the Russian Democratic Party that opposed participation in

the First World War. Led by Lenin, the party plays a big part in the Russian Revolution (Chapter

2).

23. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk [1918]: the treaty between German and Russian governments that

brought an end to the fighting between them near the end of WWI.

24. Military Technology: as technology got better, casualties went higher and efficiency of armies

increased.

i. Machine Guns: machine guns were invented before the war, but were perfected by the

Germans for warfare. This made them able to kill multiple soldiers without needed

perfect aim from the safety of a trench.

ii. Tanks: tanks helped to mobilize troops, to protect them during battle, to give them

mobile cannon during battle, and could do more damage to a larger surface during a

battle and/or an invasion.

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iii. Submarines: submarines, particularly German U-Boats (Vocab #10), allowed for attacks

to come out of surprise from under water. Germans could advance on allies undetected,

meaning that the allies could not fight back because they did not know where the

submarine was.

iv. Aircraft: air attacks were also effective during the war. The dropping of a bomb could

wipe out huge areas very quickly, without anyone on the ground being able to attack

the plane itself. Aircrafts also led to “dogfights” – plane vs. Plane battles in the sky,

which added a whole new dynamic and challenge to war.

v. Gas: gas is now considered one of the most horrible weapons as you cannot fight it and

it kills soldiers slowly. Gas could be thrown just about anywhere to kill men within a

certain distance of a canister. (ex. Mustard Gas)

25. WWI Impacts: positive impacts that WWI had on Canada.

Social: changed the status of women as they had to do “men’s work” while the men

were at war. This led to women fighting for the right to vote.

Economic: stimulation of Canadian industry; almost like we had our own mini-industrial

revolution.

Political: Canada got prestige as a nation; greater Canadian role in international

relations.

26. Paris Peace Conference [1919-1920]: a multi-nation conference held at Versailles right after

WWI to try and solve international problems. It was here that the League of Nations was

accepted and was started.

British Objectives: they wanted Germany’s economy to recover quickly as it was one of

the largest economies in Europe and played a vital role in restoring all European

economies.

French Objectives: they wanted to cripple Germany’s economy in revenge.

Treaty of Versailles [1919]: a peace treaty signed between Germany and the Allied

Forces to end the war. This treaty’s terms included reparation payments from Germany,

limitations on Germany’s military force, the surrender of German colonies, and the

establishment of the League of Nations. This treaty is now seen as a very unjust (unfair)

treaty as it blamed Germany for the war, when it was in fact everyone’s fault. This led to

further tensions as Germany wanted revenge in World War II (Unit 3).

27. Trench warfare: nature of trench warfare was defensive; trenches remained stationary despite

massive battles fought; little or no cover in no man’s land leading to massive casualties. Machine

guns focused on gaps in wire (murder holes most troops were there); Snipers made exposure

deadly; Shells were dangerous to troops in the open because of shrapnel; The trenches

extended the whole length of western front, so no opportunity to outflank enemy. As a result

only frontal attacks were possible; Attempts were made to break the stalemate but technology

was not up to the task, nor was the strategy and tactics of the day.

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Important Points

Origins of the Alliance System

The Alliances were formed between 1871 and 1914, between the Franco-Prussian War and WWI.

While Germany is under Otto von Bismark’s Power:

o Germany won Franco-Prussian War, capturing Alsace-Lorraine Region of France

o Germany wants to isolate France out of fear of revenge, so creates Dual Alliance with

Austro-Hungary

o Italy Joins Alliance before WWI to form Triple Alliance

o At this point, Great Britain is practicing isolationism

o Germany and Russia sign Reinsurance Treaty (like “frenemies” – they’re scared of each

other, and know that they need to be on the same side)

Kaiser Wilhelm is now in power:

o Germany builds vast railway networks to support the Schleiffen Plan

o Wilhelm ends Reinsurance Treaty, raising tension between Germany and Russia

o Russia is angry with Germany, and therefore joins France in and “Entente” (French for

understanding)

o Britain comes out of isolationism out of fear that Germany’s Navy is growing, and joins

France and Russia, forming the Triple Entente.

Europe is now in two distinct groups to begin WWI: Triple Entente vs. Triple Alliance

Major Steps to War

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria assassinated in Bosnian city of Sarajevo by Serbia nationalist

group the Black Hand.

Austria gives Serbia a 48 hour ultimatum. Serbia agrees to all but one.

Austria Hungary gets a blank cheque from Germany.

Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Serbia turns to Russia for help and Russia mobilises.

Germany warns Russia to stop, Russia doesn’t and Germany declares war.

France mobilises and declares war on Germany.

Germany invades neutral Belgium, Britain promised Belgium protection.

Britain declares war on Germany.

German and British Attitudes to War

German attitudes to war. “War was regarded, especially in Germany as the supreme test of

spirit and as such, a test of vitality culture and life.” They wanted to break the powerful triple

entente that was blocking their road to becoming a major power” they wanted their time in the

sun”. The Germans were propelled by the thought of a changing the power balance in Europe

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British attitudes to war. Britain was the strongest power and wanted to maintain the status quo

with no nation dominating European affairs. Britain was propelled by legacy and preserving the

world to keep things the way they were in Europe.

Eastern Front

Very one-sided, Germany highly industrialized but Russia still using cavalry and 19th century

weapons. Using farm tools in some cases and not all Russian soldiers were armed.

War was dynamic (moving and offensive on the part of the Germans.

Losses on both sides but Russian suffered much more losses.

There were major German victories at Tannenburg and Masuria Lake.

Very poor leadership on Russian side

Western Front

Both sides/armies highly industrialized military

War on western front was static (stalemate) and defensive

Both sides (because of industrialized armies) suffered heavy losses.

Rarely were there major victories for either side.

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End of the War

Two major things happened that ultimately led to the end of the war:

Russia Withdrew: when Russia withdrew from the war in 1917, the war on two fronts was over

and the Allies could no longer attack Germany from two sides. This gave Germany an advantage

as they could focus on the Western Front.

America Entered: when the USA entered the war in 1917 (in response to Unrestricted

Submarine Warfare and the Zimmerman Telegram) there was a sudden and huge advantage for

the Allied powers as they now had a super industrialized country behind them. It didn’t take

long for the war to be won with the USA as an ally.

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Map Reading

Be able to identify: France, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Russia,

Austro-Hungary, Serbia, Ottoman Empire, Italy