by Stewart Ross
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