World War I Read online

  AUGUST 10, 1920

  Turkey signs Treaty of Sèvres.

  GLOSSARY

  abdicate To step down as a monarch as a deliberate choice.

  AEF American Expeditionary Force, the U.S. troops in Europe.

  alliance An agreement between countries for their mutual help in time of war.

  Allies, the Russia, France, Britain, Belgium, Italy, the United States, and the countries that fought in support with them in World War I.

  ally A country that has formally agreed to assist another, usually in war.

  annex To take over; to add or attach territory.

  ANZAC Australia and New Zealand Army Corps.

  armistice Cease-fire.

  arms race Two or more countries trying to outdo each other by building up their armed forces.

  artillery Heavy guns.

  assassinate To murder a well-known figure, usually for political reasons.

  attrition The wearing down of the enemy.

  Austria-Hungary Empire of Austria and Hungary, joined in 1867.

  autocratic All-powerful.

  BEF British Expeditionary Force, British troops on the Western Front.

  Balkans Region between the Black Sea and the Adriatic.

  blockade Cutting off supplies.

  blockhouse Concrete shelter.

  brigade Army unit of about 1,000 men.

  bombardment Continuous heavy artillery attack.

  bureaucracy Civil service.

  cabinet Leading members of a government.

  capital Main city in a country, where government is located.

  casualty Soldier killed or wounded.

  cavalry Soldiers who fight on horseback.

  Central Powers Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria.

  colony Territory, usually overseas, seized by an empire.

  communism System of government which outlaws private ownership of property and seeks to make sure that wealth is distributed equally among all people.

  conference A high-level meeting.

  Congress U.S. formal legislative assembly, consisting of the democratically elected Senate and the House of Representatives.

  contingent Group of soldiers.

  convoy Many merchant ships travelling together under the escort of warships.

  Cossacks Tribal cavalrymen from southern Russia.

  coup Sudden attempt to seize power.

  Czar Russian emperor.

  Dardanelles The narrow strip of water between the Bosphorus and the Aegean.

  deadlock When neither side in a conflict is able to make progress.

  depleted Run down.

  depth charge Explosive device timed to go off at a preset depth to damage a submarine.

  disband To break up an armed force.

  division Army unit of about 10,000 men.

  dog-fight One-to-one combat between fighter aircraft.

  dreadnought A fast, heavily armored battleship.

  Eastern Front Battle front between the Central Powers and Russia.

  empire Many territories, often in different parts of the world, ruled by the same government.

  engagement Military battle or encounter.

  entente Informal agreement.

  fiasco Farcical disaster.

  flank The side of a military formation.

  front The place where two opposing forces meet.

  franco Referring to France or the French.

  garrison Troops in a regular base.

  Grand Fleet Britain’s main battle fleet in World War I.

  guerrillas Irregular soldiers who avoid set-piece conflicts and tend to fight free-style.

  High Seas Fleet Germany’s main battle fleet in World War I.

  Hindenburg Line German preprepared defensive line on the Western Front.

  home front Civilian support away from the battle front.

  imperial Belonging to an empire.

  infantry Foot soldiers.

  mine Naval bomb, either floating on or under the surface of the sea.

  minister Person responsible for an area of government, such as war or finance.

  monitor To keep an eye on or keep track of.

  morale The mood or spirit of a people at war.

  munitions Provisions of war, such as bullets and guns.

  mutiny To refuse to obey orders or fight.

  neutral Not taking sides in a conflict.

  no-man’s-land The narrow strip of land between two front lines.

  obsolete Out of date.

  offensive A large-scale attack.

  outflank To go around the side of.

  peninsula Area of land surrounded on three sides by water.

  prime minister Leading or chief minister, the head of government.

  province Part of a country or empire.

  Prussia Area of eastern Germany around Berlin.

  radical Wanting profound change.

  reconnaissance Searching for information about the landscape and any enemy forces on it.

  reinforcements Extra troops.

  reparations Compensation payments.

  revolution A complete, swift, and permanent change in government.

  salient Bulge in the front line that extends into enemy territory.

  salient-busting Eliminating bulges (salients) in the enemy’s front line.

  Schlieffen Plan German war plan, drawn up in 1905 and later modified, to defeat France before Russia.

  sector Part or section.

  shell A projectile fired from a gun, containing an explosive charge and/or shrapnel balls propelled by a charge, which can either be contained in the shell case or loaded into the gun separately.

  spotter aircraft Reconnaissance plane.

  stalemate Position where no side appears to be able to win; deadlock.

  strategy Overall war plans.

  theater of war Area where fighting takes place.

  torpedo Self-propelled underwater missile.

  turbine Engine driven by fan blades.

  turret Swivelling armored gun emplacement on a ship.

  U-boat German submarine.

  undermanned Without sufficient people to carry out a plan.

  unrestricted Unlimited.

  Western Front Front lines between the Allies and the Central Powers in France and Belgium.

  Zeppelin German military airship.

  FURTHER INFORMATION

  RECOMMENDED BOOKS

  Adams, Simon. World War I. DK Publishing, Inc., 2001.

  Conway, Jophn R. World War I: A Myreportlinks.COM Book. Enslow Publishers, Inc., 2003.

  Grant, Reg. Armistice, 1918. Raintree Publishers, 2001.

  Levine, Beth Seidel. When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer. Scholastic, Inc., 2002.

  MacMillan, Margaret. Paris, 1919: Six Months That Changed the World. Random House, 2003.

  Mair, Craig. Britain at War, 1914–1919. John Murray, 1989.

  Massie, Robert K. Castles of Steel. Random House, 2003.

  Ross, Stewart. Battle of the Somme. Raintree Publishers, 2004.

  Ross, Stewart. Causes of the First World War. Raintree Publishers, 1998.

  Wrenn, Andrew. The First World War. Cambridge University Press, 1998.

  RECOMMENDED VIDEOS

  The Great War, part of the multi-volume United States History Origins to 2000 DVD series, 2003.

  The Russian Revolution, 1995.

  The Shot That Started the Great War, 1997.

  World War I: Cause and Effect, 1999.

  1910s: The Modern Age Begins, 2000.

  World War I and the Interwar Years–Vol. 1, part of the Archives of War series, 1998.

  World Wars and the Quest for Order: The Early 20th Century, History Through Literature series, 1998.

  World War I Years (1917-1920), 2003.

  RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

  www.chs.k12.nf.ca/web2003/grassroots/causes_03/CAUSES2.htm.

  Explore this site to delve more deeply into causes and condition
s that led up to World War I.

  www.schoolshistory.org.uk/firstworldwar.htm

  Discover technological advances, interactional activities, other World War I links, teacher resources, and more.

  www.worldwar1.com/bioindex.htm

  Find a variety of biograpies and photographs of World War I figures.

  www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWpolitical.htm

  Obtain online history lessons, supplementary background material, and downloadable teacher resources.

  www.worldwar1.com/

  A History.com affiliate, World War I Trenches on the Web provides information on people, places, and events of the time, as well as a gallery of pictures of the war, with multiple translation services.

  wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/ww1/ww1.htm

  Download a video clip on World War I and tour the museum’s gallery, among other things.

  Note to parents and teachers

  Every effort has been made by the publishers to ensure that these web sites are suitable for children; that they are of the highest educational value; and that they contain no inappropriate or offensive material. The nature of the Internet makes it impossible to guarantee that the contents of these sites will not be altered. We strongly advise that a responsible adult supervises Internet access.

  PLACES TO VISIT

  Imperial War Museum, London.

  www.iwm.org.uk/lambeth/

  National Army Museum, London.

  www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/

  Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Flagship Building on the National Mall, Washington D.C.

  www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal206/gal206.html

  Smithsonian Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly, VA.

  www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal206/gal206.html

  USAF Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.

  www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/usafm.htm

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  The author, Stewart Ross, spent several years teaching at a variety of institutions in Britain, the United States, and Asia, before becoming a full-time writer in 1991. Since then he has published numerous books for children and adults, including Leaders of World War I and The Technology of World War I.

  INDEX

  Numbers in bold refer to captions to pictures or, where indicated, to maps.

  Africa

  armed conflict 22–23

  casualties 22

  colonial ambitions 4

  countries of 23 map

  during World War I 23

  aircraft 8, 26–27, 27

  air forces, comparative strengths of 27

  air war 25–27, 27

  Aisne River

  Hindenburg Line 47

  Luddendorff offensive 43, 45

  Marne, battle of (1914) 9

  U.S. offensive 36

  Albania 14

  Allenby, Sir Edmund 20, 22

  Allies 5 map, 14, 18–19, 24, 26, 32–33, 36, 42–50, 43, 46

  Alps 18, 34

  Alsace 6

  American Expeditionary Force (AEF) 46–47, 47

  Antwerp 49

  ANZAC 16

  Arab-Israeli conflict 20

  armistice

  AEF offensive 47

  celebration of 48

  frontlines in 1918 49 map

  Lettow-Vorbeck surrender 23

  signing of 20, 49–50

  arms race 7

  Arras

  battle of (1917) 36, 37, 37 map

  Hindenburg Line 36

  Artois 29, 31

  Australia 16, 33

  Austria 19, 50, 51

  Austria-Hungary

  Archduke Ferdinand assassination 7

  armistice (1918) 20, 49

  Balkan question 4–6

  casualties on Western front (1914) 13

  Eastern front 12, 13–15, 15, 31

  Italian front 18, 18–19, 19, 38

  navy comparative strength 24

  Russian offensive (1916-17) 34–35

  Baghdad 21

  Balfour, Lord (Arthur James) 20

  Balkans 4–6, 14–15

  barbed wire 10

  battleships 24

  Bealing, Roy 32

  Belgium 6, 6, 8, 29, 49

  Belleau Wood 46, 47

  Belorussia 40

  Bird, James 48

  Black Sea 20

  Bohemia 13

  Bolshevik Party 41

  Bosnia 4, 13

  Braunschweig (German battleship) 24

  Brest-Litovsk, Treaty of 40

  British Expeditionary Force (BEF) 33

  Brusilov, Alexei 34, 52

  Brusilov campaign 34 map, 34–35, 34–36

  Bucharest 14

  Bulgaria 4, 14, 49

  Cadorna, Luigi 19

  Cambrai 48–49

  Cameroons 22, 22

  Canada 33, 37, 45

  Cantigny 46–47, 47

  Caporetto, battle of 19, 19 map

  Carpathian Mountains 13, 35

  casualties

  Brusilov offensive 35

  on Eastern front 13

  French offensive (1917) 37

  Ludendorff offensives 43

  trench warfare 11

  on Western front (1915) 29, 31

  at Ypres 39

  Caucasus 20, 40

  Central Powers 5, 5 map, 14–16, 15, 19–20, 24, 39–40, 50

  Champagne 28, 29, 31

  Charleroi 49

  Château-Thierry 47

  China 22

  Churchill, Winston 16

  Clegg, Harold 37

  Clemenceau, Georges 50, 50, 53

  Cohen, J.I. 10

  Constantinople 16

  Coronel, battle of 25, 25 map

  cruisers 24

  Czechoslovakia 50, 51

  Damascus 22

  Danzig 51

  Dardanelles 16, 24

  depth charges 25

  destroyers 24

  Diaz, Armando 19

  Dniester River 35

  dogfights 26

  Dogger Bank, battle of 25 map

  Dual Alliance 5, 5

  Eastern Front

  casualties (1914) 13

  German offensive 31, 42

  prisoners of war 13

  Russian collapse (1917-18) 39–40, 40

  Russian offensive (1914-15) 11–13, 12, 12 map

  Russian offensive (1916-17) 34, 34 map, 34–36, 35

  Egypt 16

  England see Great Britain

  English Channel 10

  Estonia 40

  Euphrates (river) 21

  Europe

  postwar 51 map

  prewar 5 map

  Fairey F-17 (seaplane) 25

  Falkenhayn, Erich von 30–31

  Falkland Islands, battle of 25, 25 map

  Farmer, H. Mynors 17

  Finland 40, 41

  First Balkan War (October 1912) 4

  flame throwers 19

  Flanders 43

  Foch, Ferdinand 42, 43, 44, 47, 48, 52

  food riots 40

  Fourteen Points 50

  France

  armed forces comparative strength (1914) 5

  casualties at Verdun, other battles (1915-16) 28, 31

  casualties from Ludendorff offensives (1918) 43

  casualties in Africa 22

  Italian front 18

  Marne, battle of (1914) 8–99

  naval war/comparative strength 24, 24–25

  trench warfare 28

  in Triple Entente 4–5

  war plans (1914) 6

  Western front 11, 37, 42, 46

  Franz Ferdinand 7, 8

  Franz Joseph I 13

  French, Sir John 29

  Galicia 13

  Gallipoli

  British troops on beaches (1915) 17

  campaign against Turks (1915-16) 16, 16–18, 20, 28

  naval action (1915) 16 map

  withdrawal from (1916) 18

  Germany


  air war/comparative strength (1914-1918) 25–27, 27

  alliance with Italy 18

  Balkans 14

  Brusilov offensive 34

  casualties at Verdun, other battles (1915-16) 31

  casualties from Ludendorff offensives (1918) 43

  casualties in Africa 22

  casualties on Eastern front (1914) 13

  in Central Powers 4–5

  Champagne offensive 28, 28–29, 29 map

  declarations of war 8

  East Africa campaign 22, 23, 23 map

  Eastern Front (1917) 12, 40–41

  Marne, battle of 8–9, 9

  naval war/comparative strength 24, 24–25, 48, 49

  postwar boundaries 51

  prisoners of war 31, 45

  Schieffen Plan 9

  South-West Africa campaign 22

  war plans (1914) 6

  Western Front (1918) 41–42, 42 map, 43

  Great Britain

  armed forces comparative strength (1914) 5

  casualties at Verdun, other battles (1915-16) 31

  casualties in Africa 22

  casualties in Ludendorff offensives (1918) 43

  Italian front 18

  Marne, battle of (1914) 8–99

  naval war/comparative strength 24, 24–25

  trench warfare 28

  in Triple Entente 4–5

  war plans (1914) 6

  Greece 4, 14

  Grey, Sir Edward 7

  guerrilla warfare 23

  Haig, Sir Douglas 33, 33, 36, 38–39, 44, 52

  Halberstadt CL11 (fighter) 26

  Handley Page V/1500 (bomber) 27

  Hapsburg family 13

  Helles Bay 16

  Herzegovina 4

  Hindenburg, Paul von 12, 49, 52

  Hindenburg Line 36, 36, 37, 46, 49

  Holland see Netherlands

  Hotzendorf, Franz Conrad von 52

  Hungary 50

  India 21, 21

  Isonzo River 19, 19

  Italy

  Alpine regiment (1915) 18

  armed forces comparative strength (1915) 5

  campaign against Austria-Hungary 18–19, 19 map, 34

  navy comparative strength 24

  Japan 22, 24

  Jerusalem 20, 21

  Joffre, Joseph 8

  Junkers D1 (fighter) 26

  Jutland, battle of 25, 25

  Kemal, Mustafa 52

  Kerensky, Alexander 40, 41

  Kluck, Alexander von 8, 9

  Kut al Imara 21

  Latvia 40

  Le Brun, R. 38

  Lenin, Vladimir 41

  Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul von 22, 22–24

  Lithuania 40

  Lloyd George, David 50, 50, 53

  Loos 29, 31

  Lorraine 6

  Ludendorff, Erich 12, 42, 42–44, 49, 52–53