World War I Key Concepts and Events

Yeam WW1 World War 1 – Study Guide

Below is a list of the most important ideas from our unit. You are responsible for all information we covered in class.

Key Terms

The Causes of WWI
1. Militarism: when a country has a strong military spirit/policy
  1. Building up + making military stronger → militarism
  2. Examples:
    1. Gathering weapons
      1. Stockpiling weapons
    2. Getting more troops
      1. Enlistment to join the military
  3. Influential to others
    1. When one country starts building their military, others start to do the same
      1. Others start gathering weapons and troops
    2. Makes others believe that a war was going to happen
      1. Scared
      2. Need for preparation
        
        Started building up military power to prepare + protect
    3. One European country led to a domino effect of more military building throughout Europe
2. Alliances: a formal agreement between two or more nations to cooperate with each other for specific purposes
  1. Agreement to:
    1. Avoid going into war with one another
    2. Back each other up in the event of war
  2. Over time, Europe was full of secret alliances + agreements
    1. Alliances would drag everyone into war
      1. If Country A is Country B’s ally and is involved in war, then Country B would have to fight in war as well
  3. Triple Entente: France, Britain, and Russia
  4. Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy
  5. Serbia
    1. Located in the Balkans (powder keg)
      1. Serbia, Austria-Hungary, Bosnia Herzegovina
    2. Received help from Russia
      1. Would join Serbia if Austria-Hungary attacked
        
        If Russia was involved, their alliances would have to join as well
        
        France came to help
      2. Russia had a large Serbian population
      3. Didn’t want the empire of Austria-Hungary to grow in the Balkans
    3. Countries friendly with Serbia wanted Serbia to agree to the ultimatum
      1. Didn’t want to be dragged into the war
  6. Austria-Hungary
    1. Located in the Balkans (powder keg)
      1. Serbia, Austria-Hungary, Bosnia Herzegovina
    2. Received help from Germany
      1. Wanted an ally
        
        Didn’t want to be alone
      2. Wanted to counterbalance Russia and France’s alliance
    3. Countries friendly with Austria-Hungary wanted Austria-Hungary to concede
      1. Didn’t want to be dragged into the war
  7. Germany
    1. In between France + Britain and Russia
      1. Between the Triple Entente
    2. Faced a two front war
      1. Western front = France + Britain
      2. Eastern front = Russia
    3. Didn’t want to fight a two front war
      1. Meant Germany would have to:
        
        Divide their resources in half
        
        Divide their troops in half
      2. Would make Germany weaker
    4. Came up with the Schlieffen plan
      1. Plan to avoid fighting a two front war
3. Nationalism: a political idea that promotes having pride in your nation
  1. Nationalism’s pride → idea of independence + self-government
    1. Because of nationalism, people want freedom
      1. More so for imperialized colonies
        
        Want independence from Western rule
        
        Want to return to being an independent nation with self government
4. Imperialism: a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force
  1. Powerful and strong Western nations took over weaker nations in:
    1. Africa
    2. Asia
    3. Latin America
  2. When WWI broke out (1914) many countries were already imperialized by Western powers
    1. Colonies had to go to war if their Western colonizer nation went to war
    2. Led to a world war
5. Assassination: sudden murder of a politically prominent person
  1. Serbia was previously controlled by the Ottoman empire
    1. Gained national independence from the Ottomans in the 1800s
    2. Ended up being under the political and economical control of Austria-Hungary
      1. Imperialized by Austria-Hungary
    3. Serbia wanted independence from Austria-Hungary
  2. Black Hand Gang assassinated the Archduke
    1. Was on a state visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina with his wife, Sophie
      1. Archduke Franz Ferdinand spent the morning inspecting troops on maneuvers outside the city
        
        Starting to tour Sarajevo
        
        Wanted to drive in a open topped car + have no army
        
        Knew that people were hostile
        
        Tried to appear friendly
      2. Assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina
    2. Archduke and his wife were going to take a route for their parade on June 28, 1914
      1. Route was released to the public
        
        Black Hand made a plan based on that route
  3. After the assassination:
    1. Austria-Hungary issued Serbia an ultimatum
      1. Ultimatum: list of demands Austria-Hungary wanted Serbia to meet in order to avoid going to war with each other
    2. Serbia agreed to every item on the ultimatum except for one
      1. Would allow Austria-Hungary to come into Serbia to investigate the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
        
        Refused to compromise
    3. On July 28, 1914, one month after the assasination, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
1. Heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian empire
2. Was on a state visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina with his wife, Sophie
3. Assassinated by Gavrilo Princip
  1. Event that led to the series of events in Europe
Black Hand
1. Secret terrorist organization in Serbia
2. Supported by many Serbians
  1. Wanted freedom from Austria-Hungary
    1. Wanted the Slavic nations in the region to be united under one rule
      1. Wanted all Slavic nations to be united under Serbian rule
      2. Not Austria-Hungary
        
        Not a Slavic nation
3. Serbian government knew about the Black Hand’s plan
  1. Didn’t say anything against their plans
4. Had a plan to assassinate the Archduke
  1. Throw a grenade on their parade route and assassinate them
5. Events:
  1. 1st assassin forgot that there was a 10 second delay to the grenade
    1. By the time the grenade went off, the Archduke and his wife already drove off
    2. Caused the car to veer off of their route
      1. Wanted to head to the hospital
  2. Gavrilo Princip finished his sandwich and was standing outside of the deli
    1. The car, carrying the Archduke and Sophie, headed right here
    2. Shot the Archduke and Sophie at point blank
      1. Assassination was successful
Powder Keg of Europe
1. Balkans were known as the Powder Keg of Europe
  1. Powder keg: barrel filled with gunpowder that can easily be exploded
  2. So much political tension in the Balkans
  3. Any small event could cause huge chaos
    1. Assasination of the Archduke set off a series of events in Europe
Triple Entente
1. Alliance between France, Great Britain, and Russia
2. Entente = “alliance” in French
3. 1839: Franco-Russian Agreement
  1. Belgium gained its independence from the U.K.
    1. Treaty of London: name of treaty guaranteeing Belgium’s freedom
  2. Countries that signed this agreed to Belgium’s independence + neutrality:
    1. Germany
    2. France
    3. The Netherlands
    4. Russia
    5. Austria-Hungary
4. 1894: Franco-Russian Alliance
  1. Russia created their own alliance with France to protect itself from Germany and Austria-Hungary
  2. Was to remain in place as long as the Triple Alliance existed
5. 1904: Entente Cordiale
  1. France and Britain had their own agreement
    1. Settled the many disagreements the two had with each other
    2. Resulted in a friendship between the two nations
6. 1907: Anglo-Russian Entente
  1. Britain and Russia created their own alliance
7. 1907: Triple Entente
  1. France was included in the alliance
  2. Russia, France, and Britain worked together to counter the increasing threat from Germany
Triple Alliance
1. Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy
2. 1879: The Dual Alliance
  1. Germany and Austria-Hungary formed an alliance between themselves to protect themselves from Russia
  2. Partially formed over competing interests that they had with Russia in the Balkans
3. 1881: Austro-Serbian Alliance
  1. Austria-Hungary created an alliance with Serbia
  2. Wanted to prevent Russia from gaining control over Serbia
  3. Austria-Hungary did not annex Serbia until 1908
4. 1882: Germany and Austria-Hungary added Italy to their dual alliance to prevent Italy from taking sides with Russia
  1. Became The Triple Alliance
Central Powers
1. One side of the war
  1. Not the Triple Alliance
    1. Alliance
2. Countries that fought on the same side as the Triple Alliance
  1. Located in the center of Europe
    1. Austria Hungary
    2. Germany
    3. Ottoman Empire
    4. Bulgaria
    5. All of these nations’ territories
      1. Colonies from imperialism
Allies
1. One side of the war
  1. Not the Triple Entente
    1. Alliance
2. Countries that fought on the same side as the Triple Entente
  1. France
  2. Great Britain
  3. Russia
  4. Serbia
  5. Italy
    1. Broke their alliance (Triple Alliance) to join the Allies
      1. Should have been in the Central Powers if they honored their alliance
  6. United States of America
  7. Japan
  8. All of these nations’ territories
    1. Colonies from imperialism
Schlieffen Plan
1. Plan that was developed by Germany in order to prevent having to face a two front war
  1. Germany would defeat France
  2. After defeating France, they would fight and defeat Russia
    1. Defeat one first and then defeat another
      1. Preventing the possibility of fighting two wars at the same time
2. German general Alfred Grav von Schliefen developed the plan
  1. Wanted to help avoid Germany fighting a two front war
    1. Would cut the resources + troops in half
      1. Weaker
    2. Eastern front
      1. Border between Germany and Russia
    3. Western front
      1. Border between Germany and France
      2. Most of the battles in WWI occurred on the Western front
3. Wanted to fight France on the Western front before fighting Russia
  1. Once they knocked out France, they would focus on Russia on the Eastern front
  2. Germany believed they could easily knock out Russia easily because:
    1. Germany had a strong military
      1. After Britain, Germany had the strongest military out of the world
    2. Russia wasn’t fully industrialized
      1. Germany knew they should focus on France first
        
        France would be ready for war
      2. Russia would take a longer time to mobilize for war
        
        Longer to bring troops to the front lines
        
        Longer to get supplies
4. It wasn’t successful
  1. 1st problem: instead of Germany directly attacking France, they wanted to make a sneak attack
    1. Marched through neutral Belgium
      1. Belgium didn’t have an alliance, but for Britain, it looked like Germany was dishonoring the 1839 Treaty of London
        
        Treaty of London: declaring Belgium’s neutrality
        
        Britain came to Belgium’s aid
        
        Britain had the strongest military in the world
      2. By attacking France through neutral Belgium, Germany was now fighting France, Belgium, and Britain on the Western front
        
        Not just France
  2. 2nd problem: Germany greatly underestimated Russia
    1. Russia mobilized for war much faster than Germany thought
5. Schlieffen plan was a problem
  1. Germany ended up having to fight a two front war anyways
Western Front
Western side of Germany
1. France + Britain
Eastern Front
Eastern side of Germany
1. Russia
Stalemate
When neither side of the war seems to be able to win
1. Both the Allies and the Central Powers couldn’t gain any advantage
WWI Weapons and Technologies (Why is it important? You do not need to know specific details like how fast they moved.)
Tanks
1. Impractical
  1. Really slow
    1. Only goes 2-3 mph
2. People regularly died in the tanks
  1. Carbon monoxide poisoning
3. Broke down all the time
  1. People could shoot through tanks
4. Still used
  1. Had psychological damage to the enemies
    1. Intimidating
  2. Ex. horses for natives during exploration
Airplanes
1. Used for:
  1. Reconnaissance
    1. Spying on the enemy
    2. Seeing where enemies are storing things
  2. Drop bombs
  3. Dogfights
    1. Dogfighting: when airplanes fight each other
Machine guns
1. Rapidly fired bullets
  1. Trying to advance was difficult and costly
2. One of the deadliest weapons in WWI
Rifles
1. Most common weapon
  1. Standard weapon
2. Used in the Western front
Chlorine gas
1. Lighter gas
  1. Had to be careful when you used it
  2. So light that the wind could change the direction of the gas
    1. Gas would go back at you
      1. Would hurt your own team instead of the enemy
2. Kills by suffocation
  1. Burns the inside of the body
  2. Suffocate to death
Mustard gas
1. Heavier gas
2. Kills by burning
  1. Most severe chemical burn
  2. Slowly kills
Zeppelin
1. Zeppelin = German for “blimp”
  1. Moves really slow
2. Used for reconnaissance + dropping bombs
3. Quickly abandoned in WWI
  1. Very obvious
    1. Big balloons
  2. Easy to shoot down
Unterseeboat
1. Unterseeboot = German for “submarine”
2. AKA: U-boats
3. Shoots torpedoes
  1. Torpedoes: missles that ships shoot
4. Used for unrestricted submarine warfare
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
Campaign to attack enemy wartime ships and civilian ships
Attacked unannounced
1. A big problem because Germans kept attacking without announcing
  1. At the time, you would announce when you were going to attack
  2. Should have been given time to prepare + take out civilians from the ship
Mainly used by Germany in WWI
1. Trying to get an advantage
Trench Warfare (What is trench warfare? What were the conditions in the trenches like?)
People thought WWI would end in a month
1. Ended much later
2. Developed more weapons and technologies because WWI was taking so long
  1. Ended up making people even better at battling
  2. WWI was even further extended
    1. Needed new way to protect themselves
    2. Created trenches
Trenches were brought in WWI
1. Not invented in WWI
2. WWI was taking so long that they needed a new way to protect themselves
3. 3 or 4 trenches were usually dug out
Trenches were dug out in parallel zigzag lines
1. Zigzags were used because:
  1. If a grenade was thrown in the trench in a straight line trench, it would bomb the entire line
    1. Zigzags would protect from explosions
  2. Harder for enemies to shoot straight at others
    1. Zigzags would protect from enemies
Front line trenches
1. First trench in line
2. The less important people went in the front line trenches
  1. Front lines are closest to the enemies
  2. Most of the fighting occurs in the front lines
Support trenches
1. Second trench in line
2. Supported the front lines
  1. Had more weapons
  2. Had more soldiers
Reserve trenches
1. Last trench in line
  1. Furthest back you could be
2. Fighting doesn’t happen
  1. Brainpower
  2. Planning
3. Most important people would be in the back
  1. Generals, military leaders
4. Medics
  1. Injured people
5. Would receive protection from the trenches in front
Communication trenches
1. Perpendicular trenches
2. Used to:
  1. Send supplies back and forth
  2. Sending messages
    1. Plans
    2. War orders
Dug outs
1. Big holes in the trenches
2. Used for safety
  1. Bomb explosions
  2. Breaks for soldiers
No Man’s Land
1. Area between the two opposing trenches
2. If you were told to run across No Man’s Land to attack the enemy’s land, you would die
Barbed wires 1. Wires to prevent enemies from coming in
Conditions in trenches: 1. Dead bodies had to be buried directly into the trenches
1. If bodies weren’t buried, they would explode and burst
  1. Gasses in the body would get trapped 2. Trenches were filled with mud and water
2. Rain and snow 3. If you had to use the bathroom, you would just dig a hole in the trench
3. Trenches were filled with urine and feces 4. Trenches were filled with rodents and lice
4. Filled with rodents
  1. Rodents as big as kittens 5. Developed trench feet/foot
5. Develops to soldiers if they stand way too long in extremely wet and dirty conditions
6. Results in:
  1. Swollen feet
    1. 2 to 3 times its normal size
  2. Feet goes numb
    1. So swollen
    2. Blood cannot circulate
    3. Feet dies
      1. Need to amputate it off

  6. Soldiers wanted to go home

     1. If they were going to die, they would rather go home injured
        1. Would purposely injure themselves to go home

16. Propaganda

Issued by the government
Very one sided information
Related to the war effort and enemy
1. Advertisement about the war effort or the war enemy, but it was very exaggerated
Used in the form of posters
Four main purpose:
1. Rile up public opinion against the enemy
  1. Get you to hate the other side
2. Pay for the war
3. Recruit men/women to fight/work
4. Conserve resources
Germany:
1. Spiky helmet
2. Hun
  1. Derogatory term for Germans
3. Kaiser = German for “emperor”
4. Black cross = German’s flag
5. Black bird = Germany
Women and the war effort
Jobs
1. Women took over jobs that were traditionally held by men
  1. Men were mostly fighting in war
  2. Ex. factories
Supported the War Effort
1. War front:
  1. Worked as nurses
    1. Couldn't be a soldier
    2. Could serve as a nurse
2. Home front:
  1. Worked in factories
  2. Helped give supplies
Changed Attitudes on Women
1. Women are going to be seen as just as capable as men
  1. Filled in the roles of men when they left
2. Inspired women’s rights
  1. Because of WWI, the fight for women’s equality boosted
Government actions using propaganda
Controlled Production
1. Government took control of factories
  1. Switched the factories to start producing war-tied goods
Rationing
1. Government told the people what resources needed to be conserved
  1. Conserved by encouraging people to ration
2. Needed it for military use
  1. Soldiers were more important
Censorship
1. Government censored a lot of information
2. Told people what to think and believe in wartime
Propaganda
1. Propaganda would be issued through posters
War Front
Area of direct fighting
1. Men = soldiers/military leaders
2. Women = nurses
Home Front
Area of supplying
1. Helped give supplies to the war front
2. Women = worked in factories
Total War
Type of warfare used in WWI
1. ex. trench warfare, unrestricted submarine warfare
All of the civilians + civilians' resources are used to help with the war
Rationing
When you conserve your own resources so the additional resources can be given to the soldiers
1. You use less so more can be sent to the soldiers
Ex. planting food
1. If you eat the food you grow, the food you would have purchased can go to the soldiers
  1. Food is like munition
Rationing helped others
1. Soldiers
2. Other allies
  1. America had the most supplies of sugar
    1. By rationing their sugar, it could be sent to allies that don’t have as much food
Needed because of enemies
1. Germany practiced unrestricted submarine warfare
  1. Could shoot down Allied ships that might carry food resources (wheat)
2. If people rationed → less of a need to transport supplies → less sinking
Important Battles of WWI (Why is the battle important? You do not need to know specifics like dates.)
Battle of Verdun
1. In: Verdun, France
  1. Western front
2. Creator of battle plan: German General Erich von Falkenhayn
3. Purpose of battle plan: attack Verdun
  1. Verdun was a symbol of France’s military strength
4. Importance of battle: Germans were not able to conquer Verdun
  1. Seen as the start of Germany’s downfall of WWI
    1. Unsuccessful in capturing Verdun.
5. Victor: Stalemate
  1. Tie between Germany and France + Britain
Battle of Somme
1. In: Somme River, France
  1. Western front
2. Creator of battle plan: British General Douglas Haigs
3. Purpose of battle plan: Open up another battlefront at the Somme to weaken Germany
  1. Would force the Germans to take some of their troops
    1. Send them over to Somme
  2. Would weaken Germany’s resources and strength
4. Importance of battle: Created to alleviate the pressure on France in the battle of Verdun
  1. Germany was forced to split up their resources
  2. Weakened them
5. Victor: Britain
  1. Britain + France vs. Germany
Third Battle of Ypres
1. In: Ypres, Belgium
  1. Western front
2. Creator of battle plan: British General Douglas Haigs
3. Purpose of battle plan: Capturing Ypres would be turning point for the Allies
4. Importance of battle: First time anyone used chemical warfare in WWI
  1. Ex. mustard gas, chlorine gas
  2. Germans used it
    1. Used the gasses to force soldiers out of trenches
    2. Shot the soldiers
5. Victor: Britain
  1. Britain + France vs. Germany
Armenian Genocide
Took place in the Ottoman Empire
1. Ruled by the Young Turk government
2. Full of xenophobia
  1. Xenophobia: irrational fear and dislike towards a specific group of people
  2. Ottomans were xenophobic to Armenians
3. Purposely allied with Germany to get into WWI
  1. Germany had a strong military
    1. Respected them
  2. Used the guise of war to kill Armenians
    1. War = deaths
    2. Would cover up genocide
Armenians cooperated with their removal
1. Thought it was for their own protection
  1. Since Ottoman empire was part of WWI, it was going to war with Russia
2. Armenian men were drafted into military or sent to labor camps
3. Armenian, children, women, and elderly were sent to relocation camps in the middle of desserts
Armenian Death March
1. Women, children, and elderly were forced to relocation camps in the middle of deserts
  1. Forced to walk to death
    1. Had to walk in the middle of the desert without food, water, or shelter until you slowly died
  2. Children:
    1. If you were young, you would be put into non-Armenian non-Christian families
    2. If you were old, you would be forced to convert to Islam
International community failed the Armenian people
1. No laws were there that said countries had to protect people from their own country
  1. There were already international laws about how if one country did something to another country’s citizens, nations would come and help
  2. No international laws about nations having to help/intervene if citizens were being attacked/hurt by their own government
    1. Countries took full advantage of this
      1. Avoided + ignored Armenian genocide
      2. Didn’t want to get involved
Led to Hitler believing he could conduct genocides as well
1. Saw that the entire world ignored the genocide
2. Realized he could do the same with the Jewish people in Germany
  1. For most of WWII, Hitler got away with genocide
Lusitania
British passenger cruise/ship
1. Carrying British and American passengers
  1. Germany advertised an article on American newspapers
    1. Warned Americans to not travel on Allied ships
On May 7, 1915, Germany’s U-boat sank Lusitania in Ireland
1. Torpedoed the ammunition cargo area of the Lusitania
  1. Germany’s reason for sinking the ship
    1. Claimed the Allies were using passenger ships to bring supplies to teach other
      1. Allies shouldn’t be providing war supplies on passenger ships
        
        Before, navy ships that carried war supplies always got shot down
        
        Trying to find a new way
2. Example of unrestricted submarine warfare
  1. Attacking a passenger ship
Angered many Americans
1. 1,198 out of 1,959 died
  1. 128 were Americans
2. Americans wanted the president to declare war on Germany
  1. President forced Germany to promise not to practice unrestricted submarine warfare
Importance:
1. First event in WWI that involved Americans
2. Not the event that brought America into war
Zimmerman Note
On January 16, 1917, Arthur Zimmerman, a German general, sent a message to a German minister in Mexico
1. British intercepted the message
  1. Stopped it from reaching the German minister
  2. Decoded the message
  3. Sent it to the U.S.
    1. President took the note and gave it to Congress
      1. Congress officially declared war on Germany
        
        President can’t declare war
Note included how Zimmerman:
1. Told the German minister to create an alliance between Germany and Mexico
  1. Mexico was close to the U.S.
  2. In the event the U.S. joined WWI, Germany needed an ally that was physically close to the U.S.
2. Planned on bringing back unrestricted submarine warfare
  1. Originally stopped after the event of Lusitania
  2. Wanted to finally win and end WWI
3. Instructed the German minister to promise Mexico for their compromise
4. Would give Mexico the land it lost to the U.S. from war
  1. Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas
Germany was able to make these bold promises
1. For most of WWI, it looked like Germany was going to win
Russia’s involvement in the war – What was its significance?
Wasn’t fully industrialized
1. Russia was not industrialized, so it could not easily prepare for war and produce things
  1. War time production, boots, weapons, transportation
    1. Russia was always short on supplies
  2. They were able to stay in the war, regardless of supplies, because of their people
    1. Had a lot of soldiers
      1. Large population
2. Germany thought it would take Russia a long time to mobilize, so they fought France first
  1. Thought it would take:
    1. Longer to bring troops to the front lines
    2. Longer to get supplies
Battle of Gallipoli
1. Battle that Allies fought to try and get the Dardanelles Strait
  1. Wanted to get it because if the Allies gained control of the waterway, they could easily get supplies to Russia to keep them in the war
    1. Didn’t have a lot of supplies
      1. Not very industrialized
    2. Needed to keep Russia in the war
      1. Force Germany to fight a two front war
2. If the British knew that the Central Powers were low on supplies and ready to surrender, they would have probably gone forward with the plan and not given up
  1. British actually ended up giving up and surrendered first
    1. Central Powers won
    2. Could not gain control of the Dardanelles Strait
Eastern front
1. Allies wanted to keep Russia in the war to force Germany to fight a two front war
Russia left WWI early
1. Vladimir Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest Litovsk
  1. Russia was taken out of the war
    1. People agreed with Lenin because if they were taken out of war → less hardships → happy people
2. Punished
  1. Could not join the Paris Peace Conference
Russian Revolution
In 1905, Russia experienced a small revolution that intensified:
1. Food + fuel shortages and death of soldiers
2. Once Russia entered WWI, Russia wasn’t in a good position
3. Smaller revolution
  1. Precursor to the 1917 revolution
Russian Revolution = events of 1917
Russia was originally ruled by an emperor
1. Russia overthrew the emperor (imperial regime)
  1. Czar/Tsar Nicholas II
    1. Emperor of Russia
    2. Wasn’t helping Russia to make the situation better
  2. March 1917, Czar was forced to step down
    1. Provisional (temporary) government took place
2. Instituted communism to the nation
  1. Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party (Bolsheviks) were able to gain power
    1. The Czar is forced to step down
      1. Kept Russia in WWI
    2. Provisional government took power
      1. Kept Russia in WWI
    3. Once the Bolsheviks (new communist party) came into power, they faced a lot of social unrest
      1. People were very unhappy with the situation they were in
        
        Food shortages
        
        Fuel shortages
        
        Intensified problem because previous rulers kept Russia in war
      2. Didn’t like how the imperial + provisional government kept Russia in WWI
    4. Made it easy for the Bolsheviks to take over
3. Became a communist country
Once in power, the Bolsheviks:
1. Signed a peace treaty with Germany
  1. Treaty of Brest Litovsk
    1. Allowed Russia to peacefully withdraw from WWI
      1. Russians are eager to leave WWI
        
        All the shortages are amplified because of WWI
        
        Experiencing more hardships because of the war
2. Remaned Russia as the USSR
Allies did not want the communists to come into power/revolution to happen
1. Britain, France, the U.S., and Japan tried to help Russia and stop the revolution from happening
2. Wanted to keep Russia in WWI
  1. Wanted Germany to keep on fighting a two front war
3. Wasn’t helpful
  1. Bolsheviks came to power
    1. Made a lot of changes
    2. Took Russia out of WWI
    3. Renamed Russia as the USSR
      1. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
More information about Bolsheviks
1. Bolsheviks are in power in Russia
  1. Promising more civil rest
2. Russians want Russia out of the war
  1. Once Bolsheviks came into power, it was very easy for Germans to convince Russia to leave the war
3. Germany was very eager for Russia to sign the Treaty of Brest Litovsk
  1. Did not want a two front war
    1. Russia = east front
  2. Tried to get this done before the U.S. entered WWI
    1. U.S. has not entered the war
    2. Once they entered the war, the Allies are going to have a huge advantage
4. Vladimir Lenin (head of Bolshevik party)
  1. Germany made a deal with Vladimir Lenin
  2. If he was received help from Germany to get back into Russia (get back into power), he would sign the Treaty of Brest Litovsk
    1. Took Russia out of WWI
American Expeditionary Force
Newly designated force from the U.S.
1. Troops sent to Europe to help fight in WWI
Armistice
Armistice = agreement to stop the physical fighting
1. Not the end of the war
2. Peace treaty needs to be signed to officially end the war
Big Four
Leaders of the four dominating countries at the time
Britain
1. David Lloyd George
America
1. Woodrow Wilson
Italy
1. Vittorio Orlando
France
1. Georges Clemenceau
Fourteen Points
Woodrow Wilson’s 14 ideas that he brought to the peace conference to create the treaty that they were going to force onto Germany to sign
1. Goals he wants to achieve
2. Wilson brought these ideas to the peace conference
  1. Germany expected a treaty based on these ideas
  2. Most of the ideas were not enforced
  3. In France’s/other countries’ eyes, Germany was the villain
    1. Wanted to get revenge on Germany
Ideas:
1. Need for open diplomacy
  1. No more secret treaties
  2. Countries need to know what other countries are doing
  3. Secret alliances is what brought the entire world into WWI
2. Need to put an end to unrestricted submarine warfare
  1. Freedom of navigation for all countries
3. Free trade
  1. All countries should be able to freely trade with each other
4. Get rid of taxes
  1. Custom duties
5. No more militarism
  1. Countries should be disarmed if they are at peace
    1. No armies + no building armies if they are at peace
  2. If country A is building up their armies, country B would believe that they were preparing for war
    1. Country B would also start building their army to prepare for war
  3. Militarism → continuous cycle of war
6. Self determination
  1. Idea that countries should be allowed to govern themselves
    1. Trying to end imperialism
  2. ex. of Russia wanted to be a communist party, they should be allowed to be a communist party
7. Territorial changes:
  1. Germany should give up Alsace-Lorraine and any lands they took during the war
  2. Italian frontier should be readjusted
  3. Belgium should be evacuated
  4. Poland should be given an outlet to the sea
8. Defeated nations shouldn’t have to pay the whole price of war
  1. Austria-Hungary and Serbia started WWI
    1. Because Germany was an ally, they did most of the fighting for Central Powers
      1. Germany had the strongest army
    2. Germany shouldn’t be forced to pay/be blamed for WWI because they didn’t start it
9. A League of Nations should be formed to protect world peace in the future
  1. Need something like the modern-day United Nations
    1. Organization that would police the world to try to prevent things like WWI from happening
League of Nations
Only thing that Woodrow Wilson got from his Fourteen Points
A group of nations that would work together to keep world peace
1. Like today’s United Nations
The US never joined the League of Nations
1. Did not want to sign the Treaty of Versailles
  1. Didn’t want to get U.S. involved in European affairs
  2. Meant that they wouldn’t join the League of Nations either
    1. Part of the Treaty of Versailles
2. If the most powerful country did not join the League of Nations, no one else would
Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of 5 points that was enforced on Germany
1. Germany would have to be forced to pay for the damages of WWI
2. League of Nations were to be set up
  1. Only point in Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points that got accepted
3. Colonies under Germany’s control because of imperialism would have to be handed to other nations
  1. Other people got Germany’s land
4. All of the Central Powers and Russia had to have their land taken away
  1. Allies have to punish Russia as well because they left the war
5. Germany war making power had to be greatly reduced
  1. No more airforce and submarine
  2. Could only have a small army and navy
Paris Peace Conference
From the start of the Paris Peace Conference, Britain and France showed little sign of agreeing to Wilson’s vision of peace
1. Paris Peace Conference: meeting of main Allies on how to punish the Central Powers
2. Both nations are concerned with national security
3. Wanted to strip Germany of its war-making power.
  1. Wanted revenge on Germany even though it didn’t start the war
Despite numerous representatives from numerous countries, major decisions were made by Big Four
1. Britain, America, Italy, France
Land taken away from Germany
1. Lands taken away and given to other countries
2. Lands and colonies put under control of League of Nations
  1. Given to Allies or other nations in the League of Nations
3. Some lands were made into new countries.
German Army reduced
1. Not allowed tanks or air-force
2. Only 6 navy ships allowed, no submarines
Rhineland became a demilitarized zone
1. No German soldier or weapons allowed into the area
2. No country’s military was allowed to enter this area
Rhineland
1. Area in Germany that was demilitarized zone to increase the security of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands against future German aggression
  1. Trying to prevent another attack between the countries
Financial
1. Lost their industrial territory
  1. Lands with coal etc.
  2. Land that could make money were taken away
2. Had to pay financial penalties for starting the war
  1. Reparations
    1. Because they “started” the war they had to pay for the damages
3. Forbidden from combining with Austria to form one super state
  1. Attempt to keep economic potential down.
War Guilt Clause
1. Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the War
  1. Even though Germany did not start the war
2. Responsible for all damage caused during war
3. $33 Billion in reparations to be paid over a period of 30 years
  1. Took 50-70 years
League of Nations
1. Only thing that Woodrow Wilson got from his Fourteen Points
2. A group of nations that would work together to keep world peace
  1. Like today’s United Nations
A Peace Built on Quicksand 1. In the end, the Treaty of Versailles did little to build a lasting peace. 2. Did not last
1. Extremely flawed 3. The US: considered the most powerful nation after the war
2. Ultimately rejected the treaty
3. Congress rejected the treaty
  1. Didn’t want to involve the U.S. into another world war
  2. Americans believed its best chance of peace was to stay out of European affairs
4. The US never joined the League of Nations
  1. If the most powerful country did not join the League of Nations, no one else would 4. Treaty was viewed as faulty 5. War Guilt Clause
5. Germans were particularly angered by this
  1. Germany became solely responsible for the war, even though they did not start the war
    1. Germany did the bulk of the fighting for the Central Powers 6. Europeans imperialism possessions (colonies) in Africa in Africa and Asia were angry with treaty
6. Germany’s territories were given to Allied nations
7. Allies disregarded their desire for independence
  1. Colonies wanted independence
    1. Many countries were very upset because they thought they would have gotten freedom
  2. Westerners only talked about self determination 7. Members of the Allies were also bitter with outcome of WWI
8. Japan and Italy - both entered to gain territory.
  1. Thought they would be given more land
  2. Got less than they wanted.
    1. Wasn’t enough land
The Treaty of Versailles was just 1 of 5 treaties negotiated by the Allies. 1. Only for Germany 2. Separate treaties were made with other Central Powers nations
1. Each Central Power got their own peace treaty 3. Led to land losses for Central Powers
2. Austro-Hungarian Empire:
  1. Austria
  2. Hungary
  3. Czechoslovakia
  4. Yugoslavia
3. Ottoman Empire:
  1. Turkey
  2. British Control:
    1. Palestine
    2. Iraq
    3. Transjordan
  3. French Control:
    1. Syria
    2. Lebanon
4. Russia was an Ally but lost land
  1. Left WWI early (Bolsheviks + Lenin)
    1. Punished
  2. Not at the Paris Peace Conference
    1. Could not attend
  3. Treaty of Brest Litovsk
    1. Signed treaty with Germany
5. Romania and Poland gained Russian Territory
6. Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania became independent states
  1. Buffer nations
    1. Trying to create a buffer zone to prevent war

Transcript for:World War I Key Concepts and Events

Transcript for:
World War I Key Concepts and Events