World War One Notes

1. The Four MAIN Causes of WWI

a. M- Militarism
i. Militarism is the
______________________________________________.
ii. European countries began sizing each other up to see how
quickly each country could ready their troops
(____________________).
iii. In 1870, all powers except for Great Britain adopted
_________________ (the involuntary call of citizens to the
military).
b. A- Alliances
i. Alliances are the
_____________________________________________.
ii. The Triple Alliance, later known as the Central Powers,
consisted of
___________________________________________________________.
(Italy was formerly a part of this alliance).
iii. The Triple Entente, later known as the Allied Powers,
consisted of
___________________________________________________________.
c. I- Imperialism
i. Imperialism is the
____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________.
ii. When western nations began to industrialize each wanted
economic growth. In order to do this, countries needed to
____________________
__________________________________________________________.
d. N- Nationalism
i. Nationalism is
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
often with the belief that it is better and more important
than other countries.
ii. Ethnic groups began looking to bigger nations for
protection.
1. Russia agreed to protect the Slavic people. (Slavs)
2. The Slavs were under the rule of Austria-Hungary.
iii. Nationalism in Austria-Hungary created the
________________________
in Europe.

iv. Slavs believed in Pan-Slavism which was the belief that

Slavs had a historic mission to develop their culture and
unite and empire. (wanted their own country)
v. Serbia called on Russia to help the Slavs but Russia could
not help.
2. The Spark
a. The assassination
i. _________________________, Archduke Francis Ferdinand
visited Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia- Herzegovina.
ii. He intended to give Slavs
_______________________________________ in order to diffuse
the situation.
iii. Ferdinand and his wife were killed by Gavrillo Princip (19
years old) who was a part of a nationalist group in Serbia
called the Black Hand.
iv. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on
________________________.
b. The alliance system pulled one country after another into the
conflict.
c. August 1- Germany declared war on _______________ in support of
Austria-Hungary.
d. August 3- Germany declared war on _______________.
3. The Great War Began
a. Schlieffen Plan
i. Created by German general ___________________________ in
1905.
ii. He believed Russia would be slow to mobilize.
iii. Thought Germans could reach Paris and defeat French in 6
weeks and then move to the eastern front to focus on
Russian forces.
iv. There was a huge refugee crisis
b. Major battles of the war
i. Battle of the Marne (September 1914)
1. ______________________________________________________
ii. Battle of Ypres (May 1915)
1. ______________________________________________________
iii. Battle of Verdun (February-July 1916)
1. ______________________________________________________
iv. Battle of Somme (July-November 1916)
1. ______________________________________________________
v. Battle of Tannenburg (August 1914)
1. ______________________________________________________
c. Trenches
i. Three main kinds of trenches:
1. _____________________________

a. The front line trench was the closest trench to

the enemy side.
2. The ________________(second) and the
_____________(third) trench were used as backups.
3. _________________ were underground rooms for
officers.
4. The land between both sides was called
_____________________.
4. Can America Stay Neutral?
a. America wanted to stay neutral because the war did not concern
them.
b. At first the war was greeted with
______________________________________.
i. _____________________ believed that the war was about
capitalism and imperialism in Germany and Great Britain.
ii. _____________________ did not want their children to see the
horrors of warfare.
c. Americans who came from other countries usually sided with the
countries they came from.
d. The war brought about many jobs to the United States.
i. The Allies needed
_____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________.
ii. The U.S experienced a _______________________ in 1905.
e. War is brought to the U.S
i. U.S began mobilizing in 1917 to ensure:
1. Allied
________________________________________________.
2. To prevent the __________________ from threatening
U.S shipping.
ii. British Blockade
1. Blockaded _____________ coast to prevent weapons
and other military supplies.
2. American ships carrying German goods did not
dispute the blockade.
3. Germany could not import food so
________________________.
4. _____________________ Germans starved to death.
5. Americans upset because this stopped freedom of
the seas then was upset with Germanys response.
f. German U-boats
i. Germany responded with _______________ (untersee boat)
(submarine).
ii. Any allied ship found around Britain would be sank.

iii. ___________________, a U-boat sank a British liner called the

___________________ off the coast of Ireland.
1. ___________________ people died.
2. ___________________ were Americans.
3. Germans said it was carrying ammunition.
4. American public opinion turned against Germany and
the Central Powers.
5. President Woodrow Wilson ruled out military
response.
iv. August 15, U-boat sank another British
liner,_______________________, killing two Americans.
v. Germany agreed not to sink another passenger ship.
vi. The U.S declares war.
vii. Germany continued submarine warfare.
viii. January 31, Kaiser, said it would sink all ships (hostile or
neutral).
ix. Wilson wanted to wait for _______________________________.
g. The Zimmerman Note
i. ______________________ was sent from the German foreign
minister to the German ambassador in Mexico but was
intercepted by British agents.
ii. Said that if war broke out with the U.S., Germany would
support Mexico in recovering lost territory in
______________________________________
___________________________________________________________.
iii. Germany then sank 4 unarmed American merchant ships
(lost 36 American lives)
iv. Russia became a representative government
5. U.S Enters the War
a. Only _________________________ men were in service when war was
declared.
b. Congress passed the __________________________________ in 1917
which required men to register with the government. Men would
then be randomly selected into service.
c. In 1918, 24 million men were registered and
____________________________ were called into service.
d. African Americans in the service:
i. _______________________ African Americans
ii. ______________________________________
iii. Excluded from navy and marines
iv. Most did not see combat
v. Had an all-black unit, 369th Infantry Regiment, that saw
more duty than any American regiment.

vi. ____________________________________________________________
were the first Americans to receive Frances highest
military honor, the Cross of War.
e. Women were not allowed to enlist but could be
___________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
f. Had to find a way to transport the men, food and equipment to
Europe.
i. Exempted ______________________________ from the draft.
ii. ______________________ the importance of shipyard work.
iii. Split up the ______________________ to maximize output
(build 95 ships on July 4th, 1918).
iv. Government took over
_________________________________________ and turned into
war ships.
g. Combating the U-boats
i. American __________________________________________
convinced the British to try the
___________________________________________.
ii. The convoy system consisted of a heavy
___________________________
___________________________________________________________.
iii. Ship losses were cut in half.
iv. Had a 230- mile barrier of mines across North Sea to keep
the U-boats out of Atlantic Ocean.
v. Only ________ out of 2 million were lost to U-boat attacks.
h. Americans brought freshness and enthusiasm to the war.
i. General _______________________ led by the American
Expeditionary Force helped stop German Advances.
j. American infantry were nicknamed _____________________ because
of the white belts they wore that were cleaned with pipe dough.
k. Modern warfare
i. Use of ___________________________________________________
ii. _________________________________________________________
iii. _________________________________________________________
iv. _________________________________________________________
v. __________________________: pilots sat in their open cockpit
and shot at each other with pistols and eventual mounting
of machine guns to planes
vi. ________________________________________________________
vii. ________________________________________________________
6. Hazards of war
a. Filth, lice, rats and polluted water (caused dysentery).
b. Inhalation of poison gas and decaying bodies
c. Battle fatigue

d. ______________________- coined during WWI to describe

complete emotional collapse
e. _______________________- toes would turn red or blue, become
numb and then start to rot off
f. _______________________- infection of gums and throat