World War I Inclass Essay – Flashcards

1) June 1914 Assassination of Ferdinand -- Serbia assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (He was assassinated by a member of the black hand terrorist group --> many questioned whether or not the government supported this group) 2) Austrian Ultimatum -- Austria invaded Serbia to investigate the assassination -Triggered (secret) alliances 3) Russian Mobilization -- Russians mobilized to help Serbia 4) German Invasion of Belgium -- Germans backed Austria but had to go through Belgium to invade France (Schlieffen Plan) Britain declares war because they don't want Germany in Belgium (too close to their territory)1) cause and effect relationship

1) Militarism -nations built up their militaries and navies to compete against each other 2) Alliances: Secret alliances were created between countries; soon leading to an involvement of many nations 3) Imperialism -many nations competed for control over colonies in order to gain power, land, resources, and influence -Germany wanted lands in Africa where Britain and France had already established, but when attempting to take control of Morocco in 1911, Britain and France became closer allies to keep Germany out of Africa - Prevented Germany from gaining colonies in Africa and becoming a threatening power 4) Nationalism - Germany was proud of their military especially after winning the Franco-Prussian War. -France was embarrassed and wanted to regain that pride; led to massive militarism - the growth of the slavic peoples around Serbia became very unstable; the serbians were prepared to created their own independent slavic state supported by the russians naval battle between Britain and Germany

Central Powers- Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria Allies- Began with Russia France, Britain. Then Belgium, serbia, Italy, USA, Japan, Portugal, Romania, and Greece join and helped in financial aid and military.

-People were excited → they wanted change -People wanted to become war heroes → eager to fight -Countries were unified over idea of fraternity and heroism -women gave flowers to soldiers -people viewed the war as glorious -every country thought they were going to win easily

-Germany's plan to defeat Russia and France -Sent majority of troops into France -lead to massive casualties -Russia mobilized faster than Germany anticipated

Germany Germany's intervention in the conflict between Serbia and Austria led to the start of World War I because it forced other nations to get involved as well. The Schieffen Plan targeted Russia and France, forcing them to get involved. As a result, Great Britain was forced to mobilize because it was allied with France and Russia. -Great Britain mobilized to aid Belgium -Russia was forced to mobilize when Germany Began to attacked France

In spite of the extreme numbers of casualties, no land was gained by any country. Soldiers were fighting valiantly, but were doing so for nothing. They made no progress. Those who went into no man's land were easily decimated by the machine-guns that the enemy possessed. Generals lacked imagination. They continued their old tactics which got them nowhere. (did not use tanks)

3 years stuck in trenches coming out at night was no better because the enemy lit the fields with flares constant rotation between front line, support, reserve line, rest line

1) disease 2) people lost arms and legs 3) some went blind/got lung damage from poisonous gas 4)standing in knee deep mud (gangrene + hypothermia) 5) lice 6) rats, frogs 7) stench of bodily excrements, as well as rotting corpses, overwhelmed the senses

1) People watched their friends, neighbors, schoolmates, and coworkers die and decompose around them --> constant reminder of death 2) men were forced to listen to their comrades, screaming for help, while slowly dying in no man's land. "Shattered nerves of men in the trenches" 3) the conditions were so poor that it broke even the most mentally tough people 4) people became desensitized to death --> they viewed the bodies around them as obstacles

General never experienced the front line --> rather than listening to the complaints and paying attention to the fact that the current strategies were chasing huge casualty rates they refused to change tactics French soldiers ventured into no man's land and died in the thousands while the commanders sat back and let it happen. --> . Revolts and uprising occurred in the rest areas. --> shouted things such as "peace" and "to hell with war".--> message spread and soldiers took trains back to Paris and took control of the barricades, threatening to kill anyone who resisted. At the front line the soldiers told their officers that they would defend, but not attack.

1) the dead are sending the message to keep fighting --> continue our struggle, otherwise our sacrifice would have been for nothing 2) patriotic sentiment

1) the war was not what they expected it to be --> it was terrible not glorious "O Jesus, make it stop" 2) many people died by poison gas --> could not get their masks on in time --> not glorious way to die 3) older generations dragged us into the war, but we are the ones forced to fight it 4) government it convinces young men to go out in fight and die for their country, but it is not at all glorious 5) It's hard to go home to people who haven't experienced the was 6) "Who die as cattle" ppl. just being slaughtered and mowed down = not glorious 7) no funerals too many die 8) families won't get bodies and won't know what really happened

-Country mobilizes ALL resources for war effort -War prioritized over everything -Everyone was involved in the war, so everyone was at risk --> the enemy attacked non-combatants (blurred line between civilians and combatants) -Unrestricted (poison gas, no sense of a need for restriction)

1) dedicated lives to making combat better -grew their own food 2) Severely limited people's freedom of speech, press -no one could really know what was happening in the battle fields --> the government needed popular support in order to continue the war -letters sent back from soldiers were censored --> anything regarding the location of the troops, or the conditions were blacked out -the press was not allowed to publish things about the condition of the country --> if another country found out that one country was in poor economic condition, or the people were no longer motivated to fight they could take advantage of that opportunity 3) limited personal freedoms 4) forced people to stay in specific jobs/work for companies they would regularly not work for 5) with men out in the fields women's role grew --> they worked the factories 6) The defense of the Realm Act allowed the government to imprison without trial and suppress criticism if it aids the enemy/ brings down the state. It also let the government take over factories to produce supplies for the war and controlled civilians daily lives (when you could drink and food supplies → in order to improve the country as a whole in order to make it a more efficient war machine)

1) with blockades implemented countries were forced to ration -families were given ration ticked --> they could only buy food using these tickets 2) Government dictated jobs of specific civilians in order to ensure that the soldiers had enough supplies to fight longer 3) controlled where people worked, when they drank, what they ate 4) Defence of the Realm Act --> The legislation gave the government executive powers to suppress published criticism, imprison without trial and to commandeer economic resources for the war effort.

--> effect of total war 1) Germany used blockades of U boats to sink allied ships, carrying war materials and civilians 2) Allied Forces → used blackated to block German imports → this starved and killed many German Civilians (this weekend Germany mentally)

The War expanded beyond Europe 1) Armenian Genocide The Armenians were exiled from Turkey because they were thought to be in support of the Russians, which went against the Turkish support of the Germans -occurred in response to things happening in Europe -1 million died (put in concentration camps, marched into desert, open fire)

Ottoman empire changed their successful multicultural formula and instituted "Turkification" policy → Turkish became official language in schools, the army, and the government → this made the Arabs (60% of the population) very mad To prevent the Ottomans from providing military and economic aid, Britain encouraged the Arabs to revolt. → makes Ottomans weaker → essentially attacking the country from the inside using their own people Britain gave the Ottomans materials to fight and paid them Britain originally promised the Arabs the whole Arabian peninsula, but they actually went behind the Arabs back and sided with France and broke up the Arabian Peninsula with France weakened allies form within Total War --> not just attacking your enemies, but also allies of your enemies

Allied forces and Australia versus Ottoman Empire and Turkey fighting over the Dardanelles. Britain had 205,000 countries "senseless loss" Turkish → 250,000 casualties Last great victory for Ottoman Empire before crumbling Trenches = extremely close together → threw grenades from one trench to another Australian and New Zealand Army Core (ANZAC) fought in this battle and lost

Main purpose → use them to defend the colonies from attack while the country the colonies were conquered by were out at war British army brought in Indian troops French brought in North African troops Total War → countries are not only using soldiers from their mainland countries, but also their countries

1) encouraged civilians to participate 2) those not willing to fight = cowards -young men not in uniforms were publicly shamed 3) emphasis on need to help civilians in other countries 4) if you can't fight for your country work for it 5) made the enemy seem like animals/beasts/monsters -Germans = barbarians, uncivilized -makes people more okay with killing them

Allies (Britain, France, Italy, Russia) Failed offensives in Nievelle and Passchendaele Average daily advance = 68 yards (from 31 July → 7 Dec 1917) Huge casualties → with so little advance is it worth it? French Mutiny Many executed for their parts in mutiny 35,000 Men involved (3,000 punished (suspended, executed, ect.) Russian Revolution (Feb + Oct 1917) October → Bulsiewicz, communist group, take over and remove Russia from the war and make a separate peace with the war This revolt is a big deal because now the Allies don't have them → Russians have a ton of Soldiers → now Germany does not have to fight on multiple fronts Allies Ultimately won because the Treaty of Versailles humiliated and punished Germany. After being defeated on the Marne they were unable to continue fighting. This surrender is equivalent to losing. Additionally, their allies were essentially worthless in comparison to the strong allied system between France, Great Britain, and America. It was esstenially Germany vs. everyone else and with the statement tactic Germany had no choice but to stop

USA joins war when Russia Leaves Don't have resources to fight USA using stalemate system Germany's allies are crumbling from within Arab Revolt Crumble of Ottoman Empire

USA hasn't been fighting war for 3 years = more fresh → they are a huge industrial power and have a big population Added 2 million men to the war USA joining changes nature of the war → now all the allied powers are a democracy → now the allies are fighting for democracy Woodrow Wilson 4 points to eliminate the cause of war M → Military → disarmament A → Alliances → no secret treaties I → Imperialism → self determination, free navigation N → Nationalism → self-determination, give states independence

1) Land was taken from Germany and given to other countries 2) Germany's colonies were taken over by the League of Nations --> people could vote whether or not they wanted to stay in Germany 3) Territiories belonging to Austia-Hungary became independent states 4) Territories in the Ottoman Empire became "mandates" --> administered by countries in the League of nations, they could not govern themselves 5) had to return land taken from Russia

1) German Army reduced to 10,000 men + no tanks + no airfare + only 6 naval ships 2) West Rhineland became demilitarized zone

1) Germany was forbid from uniting with Austria -would keep her economic potential at a minimum 2) Germany couldn't rebuild economy; any attempts would result in the loss of industrial territory

1) war was Germany's fault 2) Germany had to admit full responsibility -therefore responsible for war damage 3) Germany had to pay 33 billion in reparations 4) league of Nations set up to keep world peace

Yes --> Germany started the war and lost the war, they needed to suffer the consequences of their actions.

1) Rhineland Buffer State incase Germany strikes 2) permante demilitarization of Germany 3) German Reparations 4) allies

1) To control Germany's navy 2) Maintain colonies 3) Maintain navy 4)Doesn't want Germany to be able to compete with them -Don't really want Germanys to rebuild too much

1) money 2) wanted territories in Africa that Britain had promised them

14 points 1) Stable peace 2)Free trade between nations 3) No secret Alliances 4) Self determination → Poland, Belgium should be independent 5) Decolonization → No teetering balance of power → don't want nations to be afraid of going to war against other countries with tons of power → want countries to reduce their military power

1) 19 Century --> with the industrial revolution there was lots of innovation + progress : with the rise of the middle class, the surge in job opportunities and the growing material world people anticipated a positive future. post WWI --> There was a period of anxiety --> there was no clear winner and the crisis never really passed --> the idea of another war lingered over peoples heads 2) during the 19th century people viewed war as glorious and necessary (everyone expected to easily defeat their enemies) --> post WWI people saw how destructive the war was and no longer saw it as glorious -- ppl. just slaughtered + gassed (killed like cattle = not heroic + not glorious) -- trench warfare = not glorious 3) 19th Century -->

Austria afraid that if they attacked Serbia Russia would attack them --> Austria had to talk to Germany to make they had support After Austria and Germany declared war France mobilized --> this initial declaration triggered big powers to get involved Germany declared war on France --> went through Belgium --> Britain declared war on Germany

Germany --> militarism --> treaty said they were guilty --> started WWII -- this shows the nature of their nation --> blank cheque : Germany would support Austria Hungary --> Austria-Hungary thought that Germany wanted a war, so they declared one --> Germany was hoping that their really was not going to be a war --> first to declare war on a major power, Russia --expanded where war was fought Russia --> militarism + glory --> Austria-Hungary declared war before they were ready to --> on harvest break, but Russia mobilized anyway --> AH wasn't even planning on attacking Russia --> had many humiliating experiences and needed to prove themselves

USA, France, Britain = all democracy's by the end of the war the powers were essentially fighting for democracy

Civilians vs. Enemies

1. deaths not proportional to severity of conflict 2. achieved nothing --> started as Austria wanting Revenge, but Austria lost --> grew World War I was unnecessary because hundreds of thousands of people died over the death of one person, and the conclusion of the war did not bring a sense of security to the people. --> motivated by the fact that they could win easily 1) Nations were eager to involve themselves in WWI to show off their military strength, yet the war they experienced was not what they anticipated and so many lives were wasted. --> During the 19th Century countries built up their military strength and developed technology that would help them in battle. --This gave people a false sense of what war was really like. They expected to win easily, making them more eager to join. --> eventually realized it was not glorious trench warfare = terrible --this proved that war was not glorious -nations could prove their strengths in a different way not necessary to go into a war just to fight TRENCH WARFARE + TACTICS The purpose of the war was pointless and the goal was not even achieved. --> Started with Austria-Hungary declaring war because they thought that Germany wanted a war. = miscommunication --lead to mobilization of several other countries -- the conflict could have been resolved otherwise --The start was really triggered by a conflict between two nations, this could have been resolved --> Age of Anxiety The conclusion of the war brought no resolution --> people were afraid that another war would occur --> Started with Austria needing Revenge led to the World fighting over this one small conflict

allowed the government to imprison without trial and suppress criticism if it aids the enemy/ brings down the state. It also let the government take over factories to produce supplies for the war and controlled civilians daily lives (when you could drink and food supplies → in order to improve the country as a whole in order to make it a more efficient war machine)