Key Terms – The Great War

1. Key Terms – The Great War • The Western Front • Trench Warfare • No Man's Land • The Eastern Front • Treaty of Brest-Litvosk • U-Boats • Lusitania • Zimmerman Note • Armistice • Treaty of Versailles • The Fourteen Points • War-Guilt Clause • Reparations • Weimar Republic • League of Nations

2. The Western Front • Most of the fighting took place within France. • The Germans attempted to capture Paris in 1914 but failed; this led to prolonged battles for control over small stretches of land. • The current technology forced each side to have to take defensive measures to win tracts of land and progress one way or another.

3. Trench Warfare • Trench Warfare → the digging of large trenches in which soldiers would camp and fight from. • The Maxim gun (machine gun) forced each side to avoid making large charges towards the other side. • The two sides would dig trenches and fight for control of small stretches of land. • The territory between the two trenches is known as no man's land → section where death is MOST likely.

4. Results on the Western Front • Trench warfare proved to be extremely difficult for troops to deal with. • Soldiers endured long stretches within the trenches attempting to avoid machine gun, rifle, and artillery fire. • Soldiers would also have to endure poison gas raids which would decimate troops quickly • This practice would later be banned by the Geneva Convention. • Neither side would give up, even though little to no territory was acquired by either side.

5. The Eastern Front • Serbia would be quickly absorbed in 1915 by the Central Powers. • An attempt to secure the Dardanelles by the British would be thwarted by the Ottoman Turks, prolonging the war and leaving Russia wide open. • Russia would be invaded in 1914 and the Russian army would be decimated which would force great change in Russia itself.

6. Results of the Eastern Front • The Russians would lose their will to fight and force the overthrow of the Romanov family. • The new temporary government chose to remain in the war even though supplies were limited and the heavy loss of troops. • The new government would be overthrown by the Communists during the Communist Revolution of 1917 led by V.I. Lenin. • Lenin would sign the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk in 1918, granting the exit of Russia from World War I. • Russia would cede large chunks of territory and leave the war ending the two front fight.

7. Africa and the Middle East • The Allies made a point of preventing German expansion in Africa, limiting them to Eastern Africa (now Tanzania). • The British successfully thwarted an attempt by the Germans to take the Suez Canal. • The British were unable to take the Ottoman Empire alone and decided to use the help of Arab nationalists.

8. Results in Africa and the Middle East • The Arab Nationalists would help weaken the Ottoman Empire in 1917 by assisting British forces. • The joint effort would allow the Allies to take forts in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Israel and take the major cities of Jerusalem, Damascus, and Baghdad.

9. The Battle at Sea • The British did well in containing the Germans and preventing ships from entering their harbors via a North Sea blockade. • The Germans did manage to slip their U-boats (submarines) past the British into the Atlantic preventing the British from acquiring supplies from the Americans and other groups.

10. The U.S. Enters the War • The United States maintained a policy of neutrality throughout the war and sold goods to both sides. • Eventually, the Germans would begin unrestricted submarine warfare and began to destroy U.S. ships bound for Europe. • The sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915 increased anti-German sentiment among Americans. • The U.S. would continue to lose ships even though Germany was warned not to shoot them down.

11. The Zimmerman Note • The German Foreign Secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, wrote a letter to the Mexican government offering assistance in acquiring New Mexico, Arizona and Texas in exchange for assistance against the United States. • The British intercepted the telegram and informed the Americans who promptly printed it in newspapers. • The U.S. entered the war on April 6, 1917.

12. The War Ends • The U.S. entry into the war provided the morale boost necessary for the Allies to push back the final major German offensive in France. • The Allies were able to take back the last German stronghold in France and could begin an invasion of Germany. • The Germans revolted against Kaiser Wilhelm II and created the Weimar Republic (a new legislative government). • The Germans would sign an armistice agreement (cease fire) on November 11, 1918 ending World War I.

13. The Paris Peace Conference • The major leaders of the world met in Paris to create a treaty providing conditions for peace in Europe. • The Treaty of Versailles would be signed in June 1919 and would be considered one of the more unfair treaties ever created.

14. The Treaty of Versailles • Woodrow Wilson had his own ideas as to how the Germans should be dealt with; he sought a means by which there would not be future warfare. • He stipulated in his Fourteen Points (outlines for how to deal with Germany) that: • There should be no secret treaties • Freedom of the seas • Reduction of militaries • A neutral body that could oversee future international disputes • The other countries felt that Germany should pay for their actions.

15. The Treaty of Versailles (cont.) • The major nations forced the inclusion of a war-guilt clause → places all blame for World War I on Germany. • The Treaty stipulated that: • Germany pay 6 billion dollars in reparations • Germany's colonies were to be divided among the Allies. • France is to re-acquire Alsace and Lorraine • German military is reduced • Allied control of industrial areas would occur if reparation payments were not satisfied on time.

16. Side Dealings • The empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia were all broken up into pieces. • The powder keg territory of the Balkans was turned into many independent countries: • Yugoslavia (formerly Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina) • Czechoslovakia • Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland • The Ottoman Empire would also be broken up into Turkey, Iran, and Arabia. • Britain would take over Palestine, Jordan and Iraq. • France would acquire Syria and Lebanon.

17. The League of Nations - As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, a new international organization was created with the intent of overseeing international conflicts and coming to peaceful resolutions. - League of Nations → international organization that could mediate disputes between countries. - The League of Nations, unfortunately, lacked the ability to be able to enforce the decisions that it came to, hence, it was not an effective solution to international disputes.

18. Results - World War I ushered in a new era of warfare with new technologies and strategies. Wars became significantly more deadly as a result. - The United States, even with its small contribution in terms of time, had a great impact on the aftermath of the war. - The United States, though it came up with many of the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles, would ultimately choose to not ratify it because of the war-guilt clause. - Germany would be plunged into a state of economic depression because of the war-guilt clause.