Global 10
Ms Seim
Name _______________________________________________
The Great War Vocabulary List
Central Powers
The nations of Germany and Austria-Hungary, along with other nations such
as the Ottoman Empire who fought on their side in World War I.
Allied Powers
The nations of Great Britain, France and Russia, along with other nations such
as the United States, Italy, China and Japan who fought on their side in World
War I
Western Front
The region of northern France where the forces of the Allies and Central
Powers battled each other in World War I. A stalemated region that did not
change significantly during most of the war.
Eastern Front
The region along the German-Russian border where Russians and Serbs
battled Germans, Austrians and Turks in World War I. A more mobile border
than the Western Front.
Schlieffen Plan
Germany’s military plan at the outbreak of World War I, according to which
German troops would rapidly defeat France and then move east to attack
Russia.
Trench warfare
A form of warfare in which opposing armies fight each other from trenches
dug in the battlefields for protection. They are separated by a deadly region
known as No Man’s Land.
Archduke Franz
Ferdinand
Heir to the Austrian throne whose assassination by Serbian nationalists in
Sarajevo sparked the beginning of World War I.
Total War
A conflict in which participating countries devote all their resources to the war
effort.
Rationing
The limiting of the amounts of goods people can buy—often imposed by
governments during wartime, when goods are in short supply.
Propaganda
Information or material spread to advance a cause or to damage an opponent’s
cause.
Armistice
An agreement to stop fighting in war.
Woodrow Wilson
The American president during World War I. He was formerly a professor, ad
democrat, and was reluctant to involve the US in a foreign war. The League
of Nations was largely his idea.
Fourteen Points
A series of proposals in which US president Woodrow Wilson outlined a plan
for achieving lasting peace after WW1. The plan included an international
governing body and self-determination for colonies.
Self-determination
The freedom of a people to decide under what form of government they wish
to live.
Treaty of Versailles
The peace treaty signed by Germany and the Allied powers after WWI. It
blamed Germany for the war, demanded Germany pay war reparations, gave
Germany’s colonies to France and Britain, and created the League of Nations.
League of Nations
An international association formed after World War I with the goal of
keeping peace among nations.
Lusitania
A British ship sunk by German u-boats in World War I. Many American
citizens were on board and the attack helped sway American public opinion
toward joining the war.
Zimmerman note
A message in which Germany promises to help Mexico regain land in the
Southern US in exchange for Mexico’s alliance with Germany. (The message
was probably not genuine)