Causes Of The First World War Flashcards

Question

Italy profile

Answer 1

Strength: 750,000 troupes, 36 warships, 12 submarines Aims: **Gain Territory** - Italy wanted to complete its unification by gaining “Italia Irredenta” (unredeemed Italy), South Tyrol, Trentino, Istria, and Dalmatian coast — these were under Austro-Hungarian control. Italy also hoped for colonial land after the war (in Africa or the Balkans). **Becoming a Great Power** - Italy wanted to be seen as a strong European power, like Britain, France, and Germany. **Breaking Away from the Triple Alliance (secretly)** - Although Italy was part of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, it didn’t trust them — especially Austria, its historical enemy. Worries: **Austria-Hungary** - Austria controlled land Italy wanted (like South Tyrol and Trentino). Italy worried that Austria’s success would block its expansion. **Public Opinion at Home** - Italy was divided on whether to go to war. Many Italians wanted peace. Others, especially nationalists, wanted war to gain land.

Answer 2

Strength: 711,000 troupes, 122 warships, 64 submarines Aims: Wanted to ally with Russia Worries: Very worried about Germany’s industrialisation

Answer 3

Strength: 1.25 million troupes, 46 warships, 29 submarines Aims: - Wanted to win back the rich industrial region of Alsace-Lorraine, after the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) Worries: -Germany’s industrialisation, wanted to protect itself and colonies from it

Answer 4

Strength: 1.2 million troupes, 26 warships, 29 submarines Aims: - Long rivalry with Austria-Hungary (why Russia helped Serbia) - Wanted influence over the Slavs in Austria-Hungary - Wanted the Balkan region Worries: - worried of Germany - could not afford to lose another war since Japan (Russo-Japanese War (1904-05))

Answer 5

Ships that are not royal navy, but supply ships, for ammunition, food, etc.

Answer 6

Alsace-Lorraine was rich in coal and iron, making it economically valuable for industry and weapons. It also held national pride for both France (who lost it in 1871) and Germany (who wanted to keep it), causing long-lasting tension.

Answer 7

The Balkans were seen as the gateway between Europe and the Middle East, with key trade routes and access to warm-water ports. They were also full of ethnic groups and nationalist movements, which major powers like Russia and Austria-Hungary wanted to control or support.

Answer 8

Africa was rich in natural resources like gold, rubber, and diamonds, making it a prime target during the “Scramble for Africa.” European powers also wanted it to boost their empires and show off global dominance.

Answer 9

On Water - Triple Entente, as they had more merchant ships, foreign trade, warships and submarines On Land - Triple Alliance Bit more about each situation: - Germany has really built their empire in steel production - Russia had a lot of potential for conscription - Russia had a lack of industrialisation

Answer 10

1870 to 1914 - The age of New Imperialism

Answer 11

During the scramble for Africa, European countries competed with one another for control of African territories. Africa gave them potential to exploit forced labour, extract resources, and become more powerful, strengthening their empire. This created a rivalry between the countries even before WW1.

Answer 12

- Austria-Hungarian Empire - Russian Empire - Ottoman Empire - weakest, had declined

Answer 13

All countries wanted Morocco, leading to a lot of disagreements. Hence, to achieve peace, they held a conference. During the first conference, Germany was humiliated by France and Britain. During the second, a compromise was made, where France had control of Morocco, and Germany was given some control elsewhere in Africa. However, this showcases Britain and France’s arrogance, as that land was not theirs to give. In the end, they all succumbed to their desire for an empire, and were willing to cooperate to avoid conflict.

Answer 14

**The Marseillaise:** Sacred love of the Fatherland, Guide and support our vengeful arms. Liberty, beloved liberty, Fight with your defenders (repeat) Under our flags so that victory will rush to your manly strains; That your dying enemies shall see your triumph and glory! To Arms, citizens! Form your battalions, Let us march, let us march! That their impure blood should water our fields. Symbol: they state ‘dying enemies’ and ‘impure blood’ showing horror, the use of ‘us’ as a possessive, ‘Fatherland’ with a capital F

Answer 15

**Deutschland Über Alles:** Germany, Germany over all, over everything else in the world, When it steadfastly holds together, offensively and defensively, with brotherhood... Symbol: ‘over the world’ shows the idea of world domination, repeat of ‘Germany’ shows strong patriotism, ‘offensively and defensively’ suggests that they invade, not only protect, showing it with no shame

Answer 16

**Land of Hope and Glory:** Land of hope and glory, mother of the free. How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee? Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set; God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet (repeat) **Rule Britannia:** Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves; Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. Symbol: signs of religion or God (influential), ‘mother’ is protective or less violent, ‘ethol’ shows defence, ‘rule over waves’ shows power of the Royal Navy, ‘mightier yet’ shows acknowledgment of their power

Answer 17

Poisonous pills

Answer 18

On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie visited Sarajevo to inspect military exercises and assert Austria-Hungary’s control over Bosnia on the symbolic Vidovdan. As their open-top car drove through the city, with seven assassins of the Black Hand scattered around the route, Nedeljko Čabrinović threw a grenade at 10:10 a.m., but it bounced off and injured 20 people; Čabrinović swallowed an old cyanide pill—which only caused him to vomit, and he jumped into a canal only 10cm deep—before being captured. Later, when the Archduke insisted on visiting the hospital, the authorities switched to a new driver who, confused by Sarajevo’s layout, took a wrong turn onto Franz Josef Street around 10:45 a.m., where Gavrilo Princip, who was 19, was waiting. The car stalled within 1.5 metres, and Princip fired two close-range shots: one hit Sophie in the abdomen and the other struck the Archduke in the neck; as he bled, Franz Ferdinand reportedly cried, “Sophie! Sophie! Don’t die! Stay alive for our children!” Both died within minutes, setting in motion the events that led to World War I. Princip was arrested, but not killed, as he was too young for the death penalty, and was sentenced 20 years in prison.

Answer 19

The Black Hand was a secret Serbian nationalist group, officially called Unification or Death, founded in 1911. Its aim was to unite all Slavic people, especially Serbs, under one nation — free from Austro-Hungarian rule. Many of its young members, including Gavrilo Princip, were willing to die for the cause and were terminally ill or believed they had no long future; for example, Princip and others were malnourished, some had tuberculosis, and they carried cyanide pills to avoid capture (though the pills were old and ineffective). The group secretly trained assassins and had strong links to elements of the Serbian military, which made Austria-Hungary suspect official Serbian involvement in Franz Ferdinand’s assassination.

Answer 20

ENTENTE CORDIALE. In 1904, France and Britain entered a ‘friendly agreement’. It was a number of agreements between Britain and France, and by signing this treaty, the two nations ended a century of hostility. It should be noted that the Entente was not a military alliance, and neither nations pledged military support to the other. It, however, felt like a step forward.

Answer 21

DUAL ALLIANCE. In 1879, a military alliance formed between Germany and Austria-Hungary, stating that should Russia attack either country, they would unite forces and defend the other. It was signed after the collapse of the Three Emperors’ League and when there was unrest in the Balkans.

Answer 22

The July Crisis was the 4-week period between 28 June and 28 July 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Austria-Hungary, backed by Germany’s “blank cheque”, gave Serbia a harsh ultimatum on 23 July. Serbia mostly accepted, but Austria-Hungary still declared war on 28 July. Russia began mobilising to protect Serbia, triggering a chain reaction: Germany declared war on Russia and France, and when Germany invaded Belgium, Britain declared war on 4 August. The crisis turned a local conflict into World War I through alliances, miscommunication, and rising tensions.

Answer 23

The Schlieffen Plan was Germany’s strategy to quickly defeat France by invading through Belgium, then turning to fight Russia, to avoid a war on two fronts, created by Alfred von Schlieffen, Germany’s Chief of General Staff in 1905.

Answer 24

1. Britain would not interfere 2. Russia would be slow to mobilise 3. France would not expect the attack, as it would be easy to get through Belgium

Answer 25

Just 6 weeks

Answer 26

- Belgium held out eg. Liege could only be taken with heavy artillery, for about 3/4 weeks - Britain mobilised to help Belgium - due to the Scrap of Paper - French launched on offensive, having enough time to mobilise due to Belgium - Belgium blew up bridges and railways in order to hold Germany up further - Russians mobilised in the east a lot faster than expected - Lack of German communication as they approached Northern France - Lack of supplies and ammunition in the Race to the Sea (where Britain could easily bring many merchant ships across the channel) - Battle of Marne won by Britain/France

Answer 27

The end of mobile war, prolonging the war beyond any expectations

Answer 28

If one place exploded, the rest survived

Answer 29

- pay (King’s shilling) is better than prior jobs - travel, most had never left England - posters (played with guilt, bravery, patriotism, nationalism, revenge) - order of the white feather - women would pin feathers on men who didn’t sign up for war, to humiliate them - sports club/schools - peer pressure/ glory for their family - military bands/parades/uniform - nationalism, pride, women would offer gifts

Answer 30

It was hard to decipher someone’s age, hence they sometimes forced very young men to sign up for war.

Answer 31

That the war would be over by Christmas, as all the recruits were oblivious to the horrors of an industrial war. Some were even worried about missing the war.

Answer 32

Chlorine gas: colourless (sneak up on soldiers), had a distinct smell of bleach or swimming pools Mustard gas: yellow gas (could see it coming) Gas masks were very uncomfortable and hard to breathe in

Answer 33

1915 - 160 tonnes of chlorine gas - successful use of gas on the Western front, sent by the Germans to the French in Ypres. There was incredible panic, where 5000-6000 were killed or wounded, as they had no protection. They did realise that the ammonia in urine neutralise the chlorine gas to some extent, hence they urinated on their cloths and held them up to their faces. 1915 - Luce (failed attempt) —> danger of using gas when the wind was in the wrong direction, the British let the gas out, and it came back to their soldiers

Answer 34

British used 60 000 tonnes, while the Germans used 70 000 tonnes of gas.

Answer 35

Pouches of ammonia

Answer 36

Psychological or moral harm was great, if not greater. The soldiers had an unresting fear of death in their sleep if gas is let out

Answer 37

• Effects: Burning eyes, throat irritation, coughing, chest pain, choking, vomiting, and difficulty breathing. • How fast: Effects began within seconds to minutes. • Death: If exposed in high concentrations, it could kill in 1–3 hours, usually by suffocation due to fluid in the lungs.

Answer 38

• Effects: Similar to chlorine, but 15 times more deadly — tight chest, coughing, and fluid in lungs. • How fast: Delayed onset — symptoms could appear up to 24 hours later. • Death: Often 12–24 hours after exposure, as lungs slowly filled with fluid (pulmonary edema).

Answer 39

• Effects: Severe skin blisters, blindness, internal bleeding, and lung damage. • How fast: Symptoms took several hours (2–24) to appear. • Death: Rarely instant — most died days or even weeks later from infections or lung damage.

Answer 40

Gas was **never** used in World War II, but fear and psychological terror led all civilians to be issued gas masks. Only Zyklon B was used in the Holocaust, as a very fast acting gas.

Answer 41

Effects: Headache, dizziness, nausea, then seizures, unconsciousness, and death by cellular suffocation. Time to kill: Victims lost consciousness in 1–2 minutes, and died in 5–15 minutes, depending on gas concentration and airflow.

Answer 42

Canisters and grenades

Answer 43

- first used in the Battle of the Song - classroom-sized - invented by a British farmer - initially rejected

Answer 44

- helps to advance out of the trenches - protection - boost morale - cause panic to enemy - help soldiers avoid mines

Answer 45

- obvious - easy to spot - very slow - operational problems - no one can operate it (tank drivers was not a job) - cannot see out of it properly - easily breaks down - hard to manoeuvre and turn around - difficult to cross no man’s land - mud, mines, barbed wire, craters

Answer 46

Armour-piercing machine-gun bullets to deadly effect

Answer 47

- machine guns - 400/500 bullets a minute - rifles with bayonets - all men had them for close warfare (going out on no-man’s land), bayonets were spikes or spears to impale people on - bombardments - heavy artillery, sometimes used as a distraction before going over the top of the trench - hawitser - fires shrapnel, bits of metal

Answer 48

- danger to pilots (breathing - high altitude with no protection, intense) - who was a pilot? lack of training - poor navigation system - runways? - for landing - limited range, engine power lack

Answer 49

- supplies - reconnaissance - dropped bombs/gas

Answer 50

Reconnaissance refers to the military practice of gathering information about an area, enemy forces, or terrain, usually through observation or survey.

Answer 51

- The Arms Race (fighting to get the best weapons, especially, Germany and Britain, who wanted the largest navy) - The Assassination of Arch Duke Frank Ferdinand - Poor communication (in the Schlieffen Plan) - Crises Before the War (the Bosnian Crisis (1908), Balkan Wars (1912-13) - Decline of the Ottoman Empire (leaving the Balkans empty) The failure of the Schlieffen plan prolonged the war, but didn’t cause the war.

Answer 52

(1912-13) Serbia grew stronger, worrying Austria-Hungary

Answer 53

(1908) Austria-Hungary took over Bosnia, angering Serbia and Russia

Causes Of The First World War Flashcards

(80 cards)