Road to War
These four "MAIN" issues are cited as the primary causes leading up to WW I.
What are Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism?
This painful medical condition was caused by feet being submerged in cold, unsanitary water for long periods.
What is Trench Foot?
Germany used these to target merchant vessels and maintain naval blockades.
What are U-boats (Submarines)?
At the start of the war in 1914, this nation possessed the largest land army in the world.
What is Russia?
This intercepted German message proposed a military alliance with Mexico against the United States.
What is the Zimmerman Telegram?
The 1915 sinking of this passenger ship by a German U-boat killed over 100 Americans and turned US public opinion.
What is the Lusitania?
These two pests thrived in the unsanitary conditions of the trenches, with one known to feed on corpses.
What are Rats and Lice?
World War I saw the first widespread use of these two types of toxic gas.
What are Mustard gas and Chlorine gas?
This political group seized power in Russia in October 1917 and immediately sought an end to the war.
Who are the Bolsheviks?
After the armistice, this conspiracy theory emerged in Germany, claiming the army had been betrayed by internal enemies.
What is the Stab-in-the-back myth?
This German strategy aimed to avoid a two-front war by knocking France out in six weeks before Russia could mobilize.
What is the Schlieffen Plan?
This 1916 battle saw 20,000 British troops killed on its first day, making it the worst day in British military history.
What is the Battle of the Somme?
Designers viewed this new vehicle as a modern, mechanized version of the "armored knight."
What is the Tank?
In 1915, this monarch took personal command of the Russian military, essentially tying his fate to the war's outcome.
Who is Tsar Nicholas II?
This term was used for the 16,000 men in Great Britain who refused to fight due to moral or religious beliefs, many of whom were imprisoned or assigned non-combat roles
What are Conscientious Objectors?
This was the nickname given to the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), which the Kaiser allegedly called a "contemptible little army."
What are The Old Contemptibles?
General Douglas Haig earned this grim nickname due to his perceived role in the massive waste of life during the 1916 offensive.
Who is The Butcher of the Somme?
This 1916 engagement was the only large-scale battle between the main British and German naval fleets.
What is the Battle of Jutland?
The 1918 German Revolution was sparked by a naval mutiny at these two port cities.
What are Kiel and Wilhelmshaven?
This 1914 British law allowed the government to censor the press and imprison civilians without trial.
What is DORA (Defence of the Realm Act)?
Passed in 1889, this standard required the British Navy to be more powerful than the next two largest navies combined.
What is the Two Power Standard?
Following the Battle of the Marne, both sides engaged in this three-month period of mobile conflict, each trying to outflank the other to reach the coast.
What is the Race to the Sea?
This 1914 battle served as British "revenge" for their earlier naval defeat off the coast of Chile.
What is the Battle of the Falkland Islands?
This Russian General committed suicide after his 2nd Army was destroyed at the Battle of Tannenberg.
Who is Alexander Samsonov?
This "unanticipated issue" near the end of the war caused the deaths of an estimated 250,000 to 400,000 Germans and left only two out of thirteen German divisions fit for action by August 1918,
What is the Flu (Influenza) epidemic?