World War I Flashcards

110929875	Failure of the Schlieffen Plan	Aug 3, 1914- Germans move toward Paris through Belgium- early Sep, are 3 miles away First battle of the mame- Sep 5-9, 1914- France victory and guaranteed failure of the Schlieffen Plan Trench warfare- defensive war- barbed wire and concrete pillboxes- 4yrs-rifles, heavy artillery, gas Eastern front- One German Army- Russians launch major offensive in Aug into Eastern Pussia Germans win Tannenburg- 100,000 Russian casualties Battle of Masurian Lakes- Russian retreat Austrians fail in Balkans- Russia and Serbia Russia takes Galicia	0
110929876	Military Stalemate	Little movement on Western, Eastern and Balkan fronts from 1915-1916 Germans concentrate on Russians -Occupy Galicia and Poland in 1915- enter Baltic frontier- indecisive victories -Russians suffer over 2 million Italy joins GB, Fr, Russ in 1915 (want land) Bulgaria joins Germ and Aus-Hung- Italian entry unimportant (just want land)- Bulgarians help Austria defeat Serbia in 1915	1
110930761	Major Military Offensives	Three(3) in 1916 Feb- Novem - Verdun -Germ effort to win war in west -indecisive - Fr lose 540,000; Germ- 430,000 Battle of the Somme- June-Sept- Brit & FR; offensive along 30 mile Somme front -British acquire 125 square miles (7 miles)- tanks used -Brit lose 400,000; Fr lose -200,000; Germ-500,00-650,000 -indecisive Brusilov offensive- June-Sept 1916- Russians attack Aus initially -German reinforcement sent -Russians pushed back -1million casualties -indecisive	2
110952183	Leadership Changes	David Lloyd George replaces Herbert Asquithas as Prime Minister of GB in 1916 Georges Clemenceau becomes Fr, premier in 1917 Germany- William II appoints Paul Von Hindenburg as Commander in Chief of German armies -wants way to win war other than land -convince William to use unrestricted Submarine warfare- designed to knock Brit out of war- domino effect Surround Brit and starve her *Very risky- U.S. supplied Britain	3
110955645	Leadership Changes (cont)	First used in 1815 - Lusitania- 1200 ppl-139 Americans- Wilson speaks- Germans temporarily stop William issues German intention of using unrestricted submarine warfare again in 1917- U.S. breaks relations immediately Zimmerman Telegraph- Germans propose alliance w/ Mexico- Brit recepted and gave to U.S. U.S. Public Opinion wants war- April 6, 1917- U.S. enters war against Germans *Hindenburg realizes only German hope for victory is in 1st months PRIOR to U.S. mobilization	4
110955646	End of the Great War (WWI)	* Germans launch one more huge offensive against Fr & Brit March 1918 With U.S. troops, Br and Fr push Germans back GErmany's allies surrender one by one -Sept 1918- Bulgaria -Oct 1918- Ottoman Empire (Turkey) -Nov 1918- Aust-Hung *German socialist party overthrown gov't & proclaim Germany a democratic republic (Weimar republic)	5
110957036	End of the Great War (WWI) (cont)	William II flees to Netherlands till his death in 1940 Nov 11, 1918- German army signs truce- Armistice(agreement for peace) w/ Br, Fr &U.S.- unofficial end of war STATISTICS- 37.5 million casualties, 8million dead, total cost =$180 billion FOUR empires destroyed: Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary & Otto. Emp Severely weakens Br & Fr- decline U.S. on European stage for 1st time *Incredible psychological scar-esp. in Brit & Fr	6