REVIEW SHEET 27  THE FIRST WORLD WAR
pp.  736-749

1. Focus Question: What events brought Europe into WWI?
Whose assassination sparked the crisis of 1914?  Who was responsible for the assassination?  Why was Austria dependent on German support before she could act against Serbia?  What type of war did Germany and Austria hope would result?  How would one characterize German policy during the July crisis of 1914?   Which groups in Russia wanted war with Austria?  Which did not, why?  Why did the German minister Bethmann-Hollweg not try to restrain Austria prior to July 30th, but thereafter sincerely tried to restrain them?  Why did Germany wait to declare mobilization against Russia until after Russia had begun to mobilize?  What action by Germany brought Britain into the war?

2. Focus Question:  What type of war did the Europeans expect and what type of war did they experience?  Why was this the case?
What type of war did Europeans expect in 1905?  Did military strategy look to an offensive or defensive war?  What advantages did the Triple Entente powers have?  What advantages did the Central Powers have?  What was the strategy of the Schlieffen Plan of 1905?  Why did it fail?  What was the result of the Battle of the Marne in September 1914?   In 1915, who won the battles in the East?  Why did Turkey and Bulgaria join the Central powers?  Why did Italy join the Entente powers?  What did Japan gain by joining the Allied Powers?  What did the British hope to obtain by attacking the Dardanelles?  What were the results?  In 1916 what were the results of the Battles of Verdun and the Somme?  Which military strategy proved most effective, offense or defense?  How did Britain break international law in its military operations at sea?  Why did Germany decide to lauch submarine warfare against the British?  What role did the German fleet play in the war?  Why did the Americans enter the war?   How did President Woodrow Wilson "sell" the war in America?

3. Focus Question: What was the fate of Russia due to WWI?
What prompted the Russian revolution?  What factors led to the fall of the Russian provisional government and the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks?  What measures did the Bolsheviks take upon coming to power?  Why did the Bolsheviks agree to such harsh terms in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?  When did the Bolsheviks finally become undisputed masters of the Russian empire?

4. Focus Question:  After near victory, Germany lost the war.  Why?  How did the peace sow the seeds for further conflict?
What military move did the Germans attempt following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?  When did the German High Command realize that "the end was imminent" and what measures did they take? Which party became the ruling party that signed the armistice that ended the war by accepting German defeat?  Why were German civilians surprised by surrender?  How many casualities on all sides were suffered during the War?   What impact did the war have of European self-confidence and belief in material and moral progress? To what extend was the old international order "dead"?

5. Focus Question:  What was the nature of the Peace Settlement at Paris? 
What obstacles existed to an "idealistic" peace without victors?  What were the varying national goals of the victorious Allies?  What appeared to be the greatest immediate threat to the international order following the defeat of Germany?  What two nations were excluded from the peace negotiations?  How was the principle of "national self-determination applied in the treaty?

6. Focus Question:  How did the peace provisions change the political and social balance of power among the European states?
Which two nations were excluded from the peace conference? Why was President Wilson willing to make concessions against his principles? What was the purpose of the League of Nations?  What were its weaknesses? What provisions were made to "weaken" Germany's ability to wage a future war against France?  What territorial settlements were reached in Eastern Europe?  How did the Allies justify the huge reparation payments demanded of Germany?  What were the chief complaints of the various powers against the peace settlements of 1919? What was the tragedy of the Treaty of Versailles?  How had WWI permanently changed the world which had been formed during the period of 19th-century European imperialism?  Why would a glance at the map in 1919 give the impression that Britain and France were stronger than ever after the war?  Why would this impression be incorrect?


 
 
 

Clause 231 (War Guilt Clause)
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Leon Trotsky
soviets
White Russians
Red Russians
Italia Irrendenta