Militarism: The late 1800s saw a rise in militarism. Militarism is the glorification of the military. Under militarism, the armed forces and readiness for war came to dominate national policy.
Ultimatum: An ultimatum is a final set of demands. Austria sent Serbia an ultimatum in efforts to avoid war. It said that Serbia must end all anti-austrian agitayion and punish any Sebian official involved in the murder plot.
Mobilize: To mobilize is to prepare your military forces for war. When Russia’s plea failed it began to mobilize and Germany declared war on Russia when they did this.
Neutrality: Neutrality is a policy where a country does not pick a side in a way. In the beginning of the war, both Italy and the US remained neutral. In the end however they were both drawn in to the war.
Total war: Total war is where a country puts all of its resources toward a war. Total war is usually a result of stalemate. Governments raise taxes, rationed goods, and other economic control such as forbidding strikes and setting prices.
Propaganda: Propaganda is the spreading of ideas to promote a cause or damage an opposing cause. In WWI, Allied propaganda showed Germany’s invasion on Belgium as a barbarous act.
Atrocity: Atrocities are horrible acts against innocent people. Often, these stories were greatly exaggerated versions of misreported incident, Many of them however were completely made up.
Armistice: An armistice is an agreement that ends fighting. On November 11, 1918, Germany sought an armistice with the Allies, which eventually ended the war.
Reparations: Reparations are payments for war damage. The Allies tried to blame the conflict on their defeated foes and insisted that they make war reparations and pay in full for the damages caused during the war.
Mandate: Mandates are territories that were administered by western powers. The German colonies in Africa and Ottoman lands in the Middle East were gained by Britain and France after the war.
Edith Cavell: After the German invasion, Edith Cavell ran the Red Cross program in Belgium. When the Germans found out that she was helping Allies escape, she was shot.
Georges Clemenceau: One of the “big three” at the Paris Peace Conference. He strongly opposed Wilson’s 14 point system and soon became known as the Tiger because of his fierce war policy.
Alfred Nobel: Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, and was disappointed when he learned that it was being used in warfare. He soon established the Nobel Peace Prize to award those who did well each year.
Gavrillo Princip: Gavrillo Princip grew up under Austrian rule. He felt like he had to take action against the oppressors, so he joined the Black Hand and eventually assassinated Francis Ferdinand.
Sarajevo: Sarajevo is where Gavrillo Princip assassinated Francis Ferdinand on June 28. It is the capitol of Bosnia.
Woodrow Wilson: In February of 1917, Wilson declared war on Germany for their unrestricted U-boat warfare. He also drew up the 14 points of peace, which he showed at the Paris Peace conference.
(Wilson's Fourteen Points): Wilson’s fourteen points were basically part of a list of terms for resolving World War I and any future wars. He presented these 14 points at the Paris Peace Conference.
Francis Ferdinand: Francis Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne. He was assassinated by Gavrillo Princip.
Kaiser William II: The leader of Germany that advised Francis Joseph to attack Serbia. He also told Austria that Germany would support them 100%.
Bertha Von Sutner: She worked for peace and wrote a novel titled “Lay Down Your Arms,” which was a bestseller all over Europe. She was the first person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Triple Alliance: In 1882, Germany formed the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy. They did so because a previous treaty with Austria-Hungary and Russia was very weak.
Ottoman Empire: Ottoman Turkey felt threatened by new nations on its borders, such as Serbia and Greece. This is why it joined the war.
Trench warfare: Trench warfare was a major part of WWI fighting. On the Western Front the warring armies burrowed into a vast system of trenches. Underground networks linked bunkers, communications trenches, and gun emplacements. The area in between a bunker was known as no man’s land.
Machine gun (role it played in WWI): Machine guns made it possible for few gunners to mow down waves of soldiers on the opposing side. This made it difficult for soldiers to advance across no man’s land.
Airplane (role it played in WWI): In the beginning, airplanes were used for observation only. Later on in the war, flying “aces” engaged in individual combat, although such “dogfights” in the air had little effect on the war.
Role of women in WWI: Women played a huge part in WWI. While the men were off at war, women took over all the essential jobs that they had previously not been allowed to do. For instance, women ran hospitals, manufactured guns, and did many other things that helped assist the war efforts.
Nationalism (ie. tension between France and Germany): Nationalism was one of the causes of WWI. German’s were proud of their new empire’s military power, and the French wanted to regain its position as Europe’s leading power.
Paris Peace Conference: At the Paris Peace Conference, Woodrow Wilson was one of the Big Three who dominated the meeting. Here, Wilson presented his Fourteen Points for Peace. The two other major figures at the conference included British prime minister David Lloyd George and the French leader Georges Clemenceau.
American neutrality: The Americans remained neutral for the majority of the war. One major reason why they were dragged into the war was the continue attacks by German submarines on merchants and passenger ships carrying American citizens. In 1917, the US joined the war against Germany and its allies.
Black Hand: Black Hand was a terrorist group organized by Bosnia Serbs. Principe joined this group before the assassination of Francis Ferdinand. This group, who was also involved in organizing all South Slav people into a single nation, was also known as Unity or Death.
Treaty of Versailles: In 1919, representatives of the new German Republic were summoned to the palace of Versailles outside Paris. The Germans were ordered to sign a treaty that restricted them from many things. They were forced to limit the size of their army and had to pay over $30 billion worth of damage, as well as take full responsibility for the war.
Self determination: Self-determination is the right of a people to determine their own form of government. The Allies used this principle to add to their existing overseas empires by creating a system of mandates.
Shleiffen Plan: the Shleiffen Plan was developed by General Alfred von Shleiffen, and allowed Germany to avoid two-front war. He realized that Germany’s military would be slow to mobilize. Under his plan, Germany had to first defeat France quickly.
U boat: U boats were used to launch torpedoes at enemy ships. U boats led many attacks on innocent merchant ships, which was one major reason the US joined the war.
Lusitania: Almost 1,200 people, including 128 Americans, were killed on the British liner the Lusitania. The Germans, after torpedoing the ship, justified the attack by arguing that it was carrying weapons.
Armistice: An armistice is an agreement that ends fighting. On November 11, 1918, Germany sought an armistice with the Allies, which eventually ended the war.
Mandate: Mandates are territories that were administered by western powers. The German colonies in Africa and Ottoman lands in the Middle east were gained by Britain and France after the war.
War reparations: Reparations are payments for war damage. The Allies tried to blame the conflict on their defeated foes and insisted that they make war reparations and pay in full for the damages caused during the war.
Western front: On the western front, both sides burrowed in a vast system of trenches. No man’s land was the area in between trenches. With the new developments, such as machine guns, not very many men made it past this area.
Eastern front: On the eastern front, battle lines swayed back and forth, usually over large areas. However, there were fewer casualties than in the west.
Verdun: The Battle of Verdun was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Over 2 million people fought in the war in the town of Verdun on February 21, 1916.
Battle of Marne: In the first battle at Marne on September 6, 1914, advances made by the Germans to Paris were stopped by the Allies, and the Germans retreated and abandoned the Schlieffen plan. On the second battle in July of 1918, the German army took a major blow before they were destroyed by the Allies.