WorldWarIWordList.pdf

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MANIA: A five-letter acronym that stands for the five main contributing factors that led to World War I:

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Alsace-Lorraine: A piece of French land that was conquered by Germany. The majority of French diplomacy was aimed primarily at getting Alsace-Lorraine back from the Germans up until the end of World War I.

Nationalism: One of the key reasons that began World War I, the development of nationalism caused a rift between the monarchs’ friendships. Because of von Metternich, monarchs would previously have fought for the “greater good” of monarchy as a whole; now, they are working for themselves.

System of Alliances: Everyone in Europe made secret alliances with each other; because of this, no one could definitively say what the ramifications would be if one country were to attack another.

Two-front war: One of Germany’s greatest fears, a two-front war would be a war between France (on the western border of Germany) and Russia (on the eastern border of Germany). This fear was realized during World War I.

Three Emperor's League: An alliance between:

 Germany

 The Austria-Hungarian Empire

 Russia

The creation of the Three Emperor’s League was a result of Germany’s fear of a two-front war.

Triple Alliance: An alliance between:

 Austria-Hungarian Empire

 Germany

 Italy

Bosnia-Herzegovina: A protectorate of the Austria-Hungarian Empire that wanted to merge with Serbia.

Kaiser Wilhelm II: He takes over as king of Germany before World War I. Unlike his

grandfather, Wilhelm II did not allow his von Bismarck to control matters of state, and was also mentally unstable. He allowed Germany’s treaty with Russia to expire, causing an alliance to be formed between France and Russia. This, in turn, caused the Triple Alliance (see above).

Militarism: The belief that the country is meant to serve the interests of the military.

HMS Dreadnought: In 1904, the HMS Dreadnought was set sail from England. It was the biggest battleship built, and ran on oil (not on coal). In response, the Germans simply built bigger and bigger ships, each one outdoing the other.

Reserves: A person who is not actively serving in the army, but is called back every so often for re-training and can be called from the reserves if a country goes to war. Many countries today, including Israel, have reserves.

Mobilization: A plan which dictates who should be sent to the army when a country goes to war. These plans included taking the younger soldiers (who are actually in the army) first, and then taking from the reserves. These plans were very specific, and could not easily be changed or reversed once set in motion.

Schlieffen Plan: The Schlieffen Plan was developed by Germany in case of a two-front war (see above), since Germany was surrounded by enemies. The plan was:

 Knock out France first

 Because Russia will take more time to mobilize its army, the Germans would deal with Russia after they defeat France.

Boer War: In 1904 (the same year that the HMS Dreadnought was released), the British fought a war in South Africa. Although the British won the war, the war exposed a number of the British navy’s inefficiencies and faults. Additionally, the British began to view their vast empire as a liability, not an asset.

Entente Cordiale: An agreement between France and Britain that eliminated all sources of conflict between the two countries. In addition to this agreement, a secret agreement was made between the two navies:

 The French would withdraw from their northern coast, and would allow England to protect them in the case of an invasion

 The French would protect the Mediterranean

That same year, a similar agreement was signed between England and Russia. The British did this for two reasons:

 They believed that Germany was a bigger threat than both Russia and France combined; this alliance would be stronger than Germany

Morocco: Between 1906 and 1907, Germany supported Moroccan independence from France, of which Morocco was a colony. This was because Germany wanted colonies just like France and England. However, Germany’s plan backfired because English backed the French, solidifying their political relationships.

Balkans: In 1908, the Ottomans become a constitutional monarchy. Seeing their weakness, the Austria-Hungarian Empire decides to move into an area called the Baltic; among these states was Bosnia-Herzegovina (see below).

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Originally part of the Ottoman Empire, this became an Austrian

protectorate, and was Slavic state was eventually annexed to Austria. This enraged the Serbs. This upsets everyone.

Serbia: A Slavic state that Bosnia-Herzegovina wants to merge with. Russia wants to annex Serbia because they’re Slavic and Christian Orthodox, like the Russians. (The Russians believed that they were the great Slavic power and must protect all of the other Slavic states, etc.)

Black Hand: A Serbian terrorist organization that was a puppet of the Serbian intelligence agency. They are responsible for the murder of Franz Ferdinand (see below).

Franz Ferdinand: An Austrian archduke. The Black Hand (see above) was tipped off that he would be visiting Bosnia-Herzegovina. As the heir to the Austrian throne, he was a prime target for the Black Hand. He was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip (see below), a member of the Black Hand.

Gavrilo Princip: The Black Hand member responsible for assassinating Franz Ferdinand.

Ultimatum: After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Austrians give the Serbs an ultimatum, saying that they have to accept a number of terms in three days or face war. The Serbs accept all of the terms except allowing Austrian investigators into Serbia to investigate Ferdinand’s death. The Austrians decide that this is a great reason to go to war, and begin World War I.

Elan: The belief that the only way to win a war was through a very strong offense. This caused the war to be extremely bloody and brutal.

Marne: The first battle between the German and the French. At the end of the battle, the battle, the Germans were forced back. At this point,

Germany realized its greatest fear: it was in a two-front war.

No Man's Land: The space in between two enemy trenches. Over time and due to the bombs and gunshots, the No Man’s Land between the trenches became desolate, crater-like land. In order to attack an enemy trench, you had to cross the No Man’s Land.

"Over the Top": The term used when soldiers would get out of their trenches to attack the enemy.

The following are types of weapons used during World War I:

 Machine gun: Originally used in war against the Africans, the machine gun was adapted for use in World War I.

 High-explosive artillery: explosives that were packed with ammunition that detonated upon impact.

 Barbed wire: Originally used for penning in animals, barbed wire was adapted to protect the trenches. Elaborate fields of barbed wire were laid out to trap enemy soldiers.

The generals of World War I lacked any ingenuity. Every time, they used the same variations of a (often failing) theme.

Ottoman Empire: The Ottomans entered the war to help Germany on the Eastern front against the Russians. At this point, the war began to expand to newer land.

Christmas Truce: On Christmas of 1915, the enemy soldiers got out of their trenches and fraternized with each other, playing soccer and making memory. The next day, they began fighting again.

Ypres: A city in Belgium, this was the first place that the Germans used chlorine gas (Cl2)

against their enemies. The gas would gag the enemies, and ultimately cause internal bleeding; the soldiers would drown in their own blood. Pretty soon, however, the English and French also began using similar tactics.

Fritz Haber: A Jew who thought up the use of gas against enemies.

Winston Churchill: A general in the British army, he proposed a way to end the war. He tried to attach the Ottomans, who he believed would surrender quickly and effortlessly.

Gallipoli: The place in the Ottoman Empire where the English invaded. The invasion did not really do anything for the war.

ANZACs: The Australian and New Zealand troops that fought at Gallipoli with the English.

Planned Economy:

and began shooting down all ships bound for England, whether naval or civilian. The Germans hoped that this would starve the English into surrendering.

Lusitania: A British civilian ship that the Germans u-boats sunk. In addition to numerous British passengers, the Lusitania also had a number of American passengers on board that were killed. This almost caused the United States to enter the war.

Ace: Someone who was able to shoot down five (5) planes (in the United States).

Propaganda: Any kind of advertising, whether true or false, to prove your point. During World War I, propaganda would serve to either boost morale or to make the enemy look bad.

“Rape of Belgium”: One of the main focuses of the Allies’ propaganda, the “Rape of Belgium” was the idea that poor little Belgium (who was supposed to remain neutral), was being ravaged and raped by the evil, nasty, greedy, and fat Germans. This depiction, however, was not entirely accurate.

Armenian Genocide: In 1915, all across Turkey, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed by the Turks. The Turks feared that, because the Armenians were Christians, they would side with the Russians and not with the Turks.

Verdun: A historically important city in France that the Germans planned to attack. When the fighting finally ended, many French were killed and the city was decimated.

Somme: A battle along a river of the same name, this battle was a brutal loss for the British, with approximately 60,000 casualties and approximately 20,000 dead. It was during this battle that the British unveiled their new secret weapon: the tank.

Tank: It was believed that the early tanks would end trench warfare. However, due to the British using them too early and not well enough, the tanks were a complete disaster.

Stosstruppen: The German commandos. These were specially trained officers who would perform sneak attacks on the enemy’s first line of defenses before the actual attack.

Zimmerman Telegram: A telegram from Germany addressed to the Mexicans. The Germans proposed that, if the Americans were to enter the war, the Mexicans would attack from the south. However, this telegram was intercepted by the British, who showed it to the Americans. This whole fiasco made Germany look very bad.

Liberty Cabbage: What the Americans called sauerkraut to make it sound more patriotic.

Woodrow Wilson: The president of the United States during World War I. In a speech to Congress, he issued the Fourteen Points, where he described what he felt should be a post-war world.

Fourteen Points: A speech given by President Wilson to Congress. In it, Wilson raised several key points:

 Openness: all treaties and international agreements will be made public. Markets, seas, and skies will be open to all, bringing the world closer together and reducing war.  Arms reduction: Counties will have smaller armies and will not be centered around the

military.

 Self-Determination: the belief that the people should decide who should rule them. This philosophy would bring down the Ottoman and Austria-Hungarian Empires, since they were composed of many smaller countries, each with their own national identity. The Fourteen Points was excellent propaganda that advocated for peace.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: A treaty signed between Germany and Russia. Russia was now officially out of the war, but had suffered a lot for it. They had to give Germany large amounts of land. With the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the French had a new incentive to fight.

Armistice Day: One the eleventh day of the eleventh month and the eleventh hour (November 11th at 11:00AM) the Allies and Germany declared an arminstice, or a ceasefire. After the

declaration of the armistice, the German army dissolved.

League of Nations: A group of diplomats from different nations that were supposed to work together to maintain world peace.

Shell shock: What would later be named to PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder), shell shock is a psychological sickness that was the result of the years spent in the trenches. While some recovered from it, others did not and had to be institutionalized.

Basket case: A quadruple amputee who had all four limbs cut off and had to be carried around in a basket (hence the name). Despite the rumors, there were never any such cases recorded in hospitals in the United States.

Treaty of Versailles: A meeting at the French city of Versailles in 1919. In it, the Allies and Germany discussed ramifications of the war:

 Indemnities: Germany would have to pay and pay and pay for the war that they apparently caused. The Treaty of Versailles, however, did not specify how much Germany should, or for how long they should pay.

 Military Limitation: The German army cannot exceed 100,000 members, and could not use any of the cool, big weapons. The army would be primarily used as a national guard, since Germany was currently facing a revolution.

 De-militarization Zone (DMZ): Certain territories will not be allowed to have protected borders on Germany’s side.

Germany and the rest of the world, so that they wouldn’t attack anyone. Germany also gave Alsace-Lorraine back to the French.

 Union with Austria banned: With the end of World War I came the dissolution of Austria-Hungarian Empire. The Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from joining with Austria.

 War Guilt Clause: This just added insult to injury, and did not really mean anything. The War Guilt Clause said that Germany had to acknowledge that it had caused the war

It is important to realize that, although this may seem all bad, Germany actually came out of the Treaty of Versailles pretty well off.

Georges Clemenceau: The leader of France during the signing of the Treaty of Versailles; the diplomats from Germany were at the mercy of Clemencau

Poland: Poland was separated from Russia to create a buffer between Germany and Russia. As a result of the creation of Poland, part of Germany was split off from the rest of it.

Polish Corridor: German land given to the Poles that allowed the landlocked country access to the Baltic Sea.

Yugoslavia: Yugoslavia was merged with Serbia as a reward for Serbia’s siding with the Allies.