World History: WWI and Related Periods

Germany was excluded from the negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference and was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles under protest.

The primary peace treaty that ended World War I was the Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919.

The leaders of the US, UK, and France (Wilson, Lloyd George, and Clemenceau) were collectively known as the Big Three at the Paris Peace Conference.

The United States entered WWI in 1917 after the Zimmerman Telegram, in which Germany promised Mexico help in reclaiming lost US territory if Mexico joined the war against America. This, plus unrestricted submarine warfare, outraged Americans and led to war declaration.

Russia withdrew from World War I following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Total war is a conflict in which the participants mobilize all available resources, including the civilian population, to support the war effort.

During WWI (1914-1918), nations controlled newspapers, popular literature, and historical writings to suppress information that could harm morale or aid the enemy. Censorship, propaganda, and restricting information from the public were widespread to maintain support for the war.

World War I is often called the first mechanized war because of the extensive use of tanks, airplanes, machine guns, and motorized transport.

The Battle of the Somme, fought along the Somme River in France, resulted in over 60,000 British casualties on the first day alone.

The Battle of Verdun was one of the longest and costliest battles of World War I, fought between French and German forces.

The Western Front of World War I extended from the Swiss border in the south to the North Sea (near the British Channel) in the north.

No man's land is the historical term for the contested territory between the opposing trench lines. Other terms like kill zone are modern military jargon not specific to the First World War.

Trenches were the primary defensive fortifications used by both sides on the Western Front. While they resemble burrows, the formal military term is trenches.

The Schlieffen Plan was designed to knock France out of the war quickly by invading through neutral Belgium, allowing Germany to focus its military strength on Russia in the East to avoid fighting on two fronts simultaneously.

The complex web of mutual defense treaties and alliances meant that a localized conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia triggered a chain reaction, pulling in all major European powers.

Following the assassination, Austria-Hungary issued a series of harsh demands to Serbia, known as the July Ultimatum, which was designed to be rejected to justify a declaration of war.

Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, which served as the immediate spark for WWI.

France, Russia, and Great Britain were core members of the Triple Entente (Allies). Sweden remained neutral during the conflict.

The Central Powers consisted primarily of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. Belgium was a neutral nation invaded by Germany.

Russia positioned itself as the protector of Slavic peoples in the Balkans, which was a major factor in its support for Serbia and its rivalry with Austria-Hungary.

Alsace-Lorraine was a territory ceded by France to Germany following the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, becoming a major point of contention leading up to WWI.