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Flashcards in The Great War Deck (72)
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1
Q

What are the four M.A.I.N. causes of World War I?

A

Militarism, Alliance System, Imperialism, and Nationalism

2
Q

What is militarism?

A

Countries’ focus on having giant, powerful militaries

3
Q

How did the fighting in WWI differ from previous wars in Europe?

A

Militaries are MUCH larger
Weapons were far more advanced due to industrialization
Civilians were targeted (total war)

4
Q

What were the complex web of alliances in Europe supposed to stop?

A

European wars that had been happening every few years

5
Q

Which countries were in the Triple Alliance/Central Powers?

A

Germany and Austria-Hungary

6
Q

Which countries were in the Triple Entente/Allied Powers?

A

France, Russia, England, US

7
Q

How did imperialism contribute to the start of WWI?

A

Germany wanted to get colonies, and England and France wanted to keep theirs. The winner would get control of all of them

8
Q

Which country had recently formed, and upset the balance of European power?

A

Germany

9
Q

What is nationalism?

A

Intense pride in your country

10
Q

How did nationalism contribute to the start of WWI? (two ways)

A

Made countries feel superior and were sure they would win a war
Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in an attempt to free Bosnia from Austria-Hungary

11
Q

What was the name of the terrorist organization that killed Franz Ferdinand?

A

The Black Hand

12
Q

Why did Gavrilo Princip assassinate Ferdinand?

A

He was trying to free Bosnia from Austria-Hungary, and thought they would join with his native Serbia

13
Q

How did Austria-Hungary respond to the killing of their prince?

A

They threatened Serbia, and then invaded them

14
Q

Which were the first two countries to go to war?

A

Austria-Hungary and Serbia

15
Q

When does WWI officially start?

A

July 28, 1914

16
Q

Describe the basic plan for the Schlieffen Plan?

A

Germany would focus on beating France first, and then focus on Russia afterwards

17
Q

What is the goal of the plan?

A

For Germany to avoid a 2-front war

18
Q

Why did England join the war?

A

Because Germany had invaded Belgium, who was a neutral country

19
Q

How close did the Germans come to winning the war in the first month of the war?

A

30 miles

20
Q

How many miles of trenches were dug in WWI, and where were they?

A

25,000 miles, ran along the French border from Switzerland to the English Channel

21
Q

Which front is known for its extensive system of trenches?

A

The Western Front

22
Q

Were the new weapons of war more defensive or offensive?

A

Defensive

23
Q

Why were machine guns important?

A

They were so good at defending, they forced soldiers to dig trenches to keep from getting shot.
THIS IS WHAT CREATED STALEMATE AND TRENCH WARFARE

24
Q

What is artillery?

A

Large caliber, long range gun. Similar to cannons, but much more advanced

25
Q

What was the purpose of artillery?

A

To destroy trenches and kill the people in them

26
Q

What was the original purpose for tanks?

A

To transport troops across no man’s land without getting shot

27
Q

What problems did the first generation of tanks had that stopped them from being effective in WWI?

A

Lacked guns, armor and speed

28
Q

What was the purpose of airplanes originally in the war?

A

To gather information about the enemy (reconnaissance)

29
Q

What is a zeppelin, and what was it used for?

A

A hydrogen filled blimp that was used to bomb London and for reconnaissance

30
Q

What city saw the first use of poison gas?

A

Ypres, Belgium

31
Q

How does chlorine gas work?

A

Creates hydrochloric acid when it contacts any moisture, such as in the eyes, mouth and lungs

32
Q

Which gas killed the most people in the war?

A

Phosgene

33
Q

How did Mustard Gas work?

A

Creates large blisters when it contacts any moist skin

34
Q

What are U-Boats?

A

German submarines

35
Q

What did Germany use submarines for?

A

Sinking supply ships

36
Q

What are ways that you could be killed in a trench? (5)

A

Sniper fire, machine guns, artillery attacks, cave-ins, poison gas, disease, shell shock

37
Q

Where were the trenches?

A

Western Front

38
Q

What is no man’s land?

A

The land between the trenches

39
Q

What is Trench foot?

A

A disease that happens when feet are too moist and get infected and rot

40
Q

Who fought on the Western Front?

A

France, England, the US vs. Germany

41
Q

Who fought on the Eastern Front?

A

Germany, Austria-Hungary vs. Russia

42
Q

Why did the Russians make such big gains originally?

A

The Russians arrived earlier than the Germans expected, and caught the Germans by surprise. The German army was still in France when Russia invaded

43
Q

Who pushed the Russians to enter before they were ready? Why?

A

England and France, because they needed Russia to put Germany into a 2-front war

44
Q

What was the biggest problem with the Russian war effort?

A

They were constantly undersupplied

45
Q

What reasons were there for the Russian soldiers to be undersupplied?

A

Russia hadn’t industrialized, and they weren’t able to have the allies ship them goods and weapons

46
Q

What was Russia’s main contribution to World War I, strategically?

A

They were a distraction to Germany and forced them into a 2-front war

47
Q

Why did Russian’s revolt halfway into the war?

A

Because Russia was doing so badly in the war

48
Q

What did the new Russian government have to do in order to quit the war?

A

Give Germany land

49
Q

How did unrestricted submarine warfare help to draw the US into the war?

A

Germans changed from targeting supply ships, to targeting passenger ships and trying to kill civilians, which turned Americans against them

50
Q

How did our loan amounts to Germany and the Allies help to draw the US into the war?

A

We loaned a lot more money to the Allies, that if they didn’t win and those banks would lose out on all that money

51
Q

What was the Zimmerman Telegraph?

A

A letter to Mexico, from Germany, trying to get them to attack us as a distraction. It was the final straw and it is what got us official to join the war

52
Q

What year did the US enter the war?

A

1917

53
Q

What happened to the Germans when the Americans entered the war?

A

The Germans lose quickly

54
Q

When did the war officially end?

A

11:00, November 11, 1918

55
Q

How many troops died overall? Which side had more killed?

A

8.5 million, the Allies

56
Q

Besides the death rate, what are two other effects of WWI?

A

Spanish Flu, Europe was mostly destroyed, European governments were broke, the end of all the old monarchies of Europe

57
Q

What treaty brought the war to a close?

A

Treaty of Versailles

58
Q

How did the European countries want to treat the Germans after the war?

A

They wanted to destroy and punish Germany so they wouldn’t ever be a threat to peace again

59
Q

How did Woodrow Wilson want to treat the Germans after the war ?

A

He wanted to treat them fairly

60
Q

What happened to Germany’s colonies?

A

They were taken by the Allies

61
Q

What happened to the German military?

A

It was reduced to 100,000 troops with no air force, navy or tanks

62
Q

What was the War Guilt Clause and why was it so important?

A

It made Germany admit they were fully responsible for WWI, and therefore had to pay to fix everything

63
Q

How much was the German government supposed to repay after the war?

A

$64 Billion

64
Q

What were three major problems with the League of Nations?

A

Needed a unanimous decision to do anything, Russia and Germany weren’t allowed in, and the United States didn’t join

65
Q

Why did the US vote against joining the League of Nations?

A

We didn’t want to be in another alliance because we were becoming very isolationist again

66
Q

Why did the League of Nations collapse without the support of the US?

A

It had no money or military

67
Q

Franz Ferdinand

A

Archduke

68
Q

Gavrilo Princip

A

Man who assassinated Ferdinand

69
Q

George Clemenceau

A

Big four, France

70
Q

Vittorio Orlando

A

Big Four, Italy

71
Q

Woodrow Wilson

A

Big four, US

72
Q

David Lloyd George

A

Big Four, England