World War One Flashcards
(18 cards)
Why was WW1 known as the ‘Great War’?
The world had never experienced such a big war before.
Give a brief description of WW1.
Millions of men split into two sides, known as alliances, and spent over four years brutally fighting each other using the deadliest weapons the world had ever seen.
In total, how many people were killed?
Around 9 million people were killed, and on average, over 5000 deaths every day for four years.
What was WWI known as due to its enormous death toll?
The war to end all wars.
World wars begin for several reasons, so what two categories do historians divide these reasons into?
Long-Term and Short-Term Causes
What is the abbreviation used to remember the four main long-term causes?
M.A.I.N
(Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism)
What is Militarism?
Building up Armed Forces
What are Alliances?
Countries on the same side agree to fight together.
What is Imperialism?
Expansion of an Empire
What is Nationalism?
The thought that your country is the best.
What were the two alliances in WWI?
Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia)
Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy)
What are allies?
People who are on the same side, i.e: in war.
What is an arms race?
A race between countries to build up the biggest armed forces.
What is a death toll?
The number of people who died during a particular event.
What is a long-term cause?
A reason that built up over several years.
What is a short-term cause?
A recent reason which triggers an event.
What caused militarism to take place?
People and countries across Europe wanted the biggest armies and navies as they took great pride in their armed forces, so to ensure theirs was the best, they spent more money on bigger and bigger armies, as no one wanted to have the smallest one. This caused an arms race to start. Many citizens felt there was no point in having a big, expensive army if they weren’t going to use it, so if countries fell out (collapsed), the temptation was most likely to use their weapons.
Why were alliances created?
