Deck 24: The First World War

Question 1

Military planners preparing for war in 1914 believed that the war would be short,limited,and decisive,basing their success on the twin ideas of:

A) careful planning and improvisation.
B) modern weaponry.
C) size and careful planning.
D) improvisation and speed.
E) careful planning and speed.

Answer 1

modern weaponry.

Question 2

Prior to 1914 Germany had developed a plan to fight a two-front war called the:

A) von Hindenburg Plan.
B) Schlieffen Plan.
C) Gotha Plan.
D) Teutonic Plan.
E) Valkyre Plan.

Answer 2

Schlieffen Plan.

Question 3

What was the public motive for Britain's declaration of war in 1914?

A) The Austro-Hungarian attack on Serbia
B) The threat posed by German submarines to the world's shipping lanes
C) The German declaration of war on France; that activated the Anglo-French alliance
D) The German invasion of neutral Belgium
E) The Russian declaration of war on Germany, which required Britain to declare war by treaty

Answer 3

The German invasion of neutral Belgium

Question 4

In the five months of the First Battle of the Somme,the total casualties totaled approximately:

A) 1,750,000.
B) 1,000,000.
C) 750,000.
D) 500,000.
E) 250,000.

Question 5

In the years preceding World War I,Europe was divided into two groups of nation-states united by treaty.Germany,Austria-Hungary,and Italy were opposed by Russia,France,and Great Britain,who were known collectively as the:

A) Three Democracies.
B) Triple Alliance.
C) Triple Entente.
D) Triple Threat.
E) Central Powers.

Question 6

What event galvanized the cause of Irish nationalism during World War I?

A) The British government's blunt refusal to consider "Home Rule" until after the war.
B) The execution of the leaders of the Easter Rebellion in 1916.
C) The founding of the Sinn Fein political party.
D) The appalling losses among Irish soldiers during the Somme offensive.
E) The outspoken support for Irish independence by the prince of Wales.

Question 7

Which weapon was considered the best bet to break the stalemate on the Western Front?

A) tank
B) submarine
C) zeppelin
D) airplane
E) machine gun

Question 8

How did the Balfour Declaration affect the postwar policies of the Middle East?

A) It scuttled the efforts to secure Egyptian independence from British rule.
B) It staked claims for British interests in the region that excluded France.
C) It guaranteed continued British control of Egypt and Trans-Jordan.
D) It proposed the terms for dividing up the defeated Ottoman Empire.
E) It gave British approval to a national home for European Jews in Palestine.

Question 9

The nations of Europe,following the assassination at Sarajevo,embarked on five weeks of what has since been characterized as:

A) "a tragedy of miscalculation."
B) "a premeditated drive to war."
C) "an example of astute diplomacy."
D) "a comedy of errors."
E) "a blind, blundering mess."

Question 10

Great Britain fought against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East where the most crucial advantage in its victory over the Turks was:

A) that the Turks were forced to rely on mercenaries to fight since they had no standing army.
B) the British superiority in arms: a new repeating rifle that the Turks did not possess.
C) the ability to read coded Turkish messages after the British cracked the Turkish military code in 1915.
D) the Turkish inability to fight on Saturdays, their holy day when no violent acts could be committed.
E) the support of various Arab peoples seeking independence from the Turks.

Question 11

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand precipitated the "July Crisis" and led to World War I because he was:

A) Tsar Nicholas II's ambassador to Croatia.
B) Kaiser Wilhelm II's youngest son.
C) the pope's ambassador to Serbia.
D) heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary.
E) Queen Victoria's youngest son.

Question 12

The German "Schlieffen Plan" envisioned a:

A) sweeping attack through Belgium to defeat the French outside Paris.
B) naval blockade of the British Isles.
C) joint attack with Austria-Hungary to punish Serbia.
D) sudden attack on Russia through what is now Poland.
E) joint attack with Italy against France.

Question 13

Which of the following best describes the British action at Gallipoli?

A) A naval victory that cleared the Mediterranean Sea of Turkish and German ships.
B) An effort to defeat the Ottoman Empire from the rear, moving up the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
C) An attempt to shore up the defense of Serbia through securing a supply line by sea.
D) A botched amphibious landing in Turkey that failed to "force" the sea route to Russia.
E) A campaign plagued by miscalculation and missed opportunities but ultimately allowing the British to capture Istanbul.

Question 14

The German army,in the early days of the war,won a stunning victory over the Russians at the battle of:

A) Verdun.
B) the Masurian Lakes.
C) the Ice at Lake Peipus.
D) Lutsk.
E) Brest-Litovsk.

Question 15

The action that brought the German plan of attack in the West to an end in September 1914 was the:

A) failure by the German quartermaster corps to keep the army supplied.
B) First Battle of the Somme.
C) First Battle of the Marne.
D) First Battle of Ypres.
E) German defeat on the Eastern Front by the Russians at Tannenberg.

Question 16

Although the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary had ethnic problems within many of its provinces,the most volatile of all proved to be within the province of:

A) Slovenia.
B) Bosnia.
C) Croatia.
D) Serbia.
E) Herzegovina.

Question 17

On June 28,1914:

A) Austria issued an ultimatum to the Serbian government.
B) Serbia rejected the Austrian ultimatum.
C) Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo.
D) Russia fully mobilized its armed forces to aid "brother Slavs" in Serbia.
E) Germany issued Austria a "blank check" to mobilize against Russia.

Question 18

The bloodiest battles of World War I occurred during 1916-1917,with the first of these being fought at:

A) Ypres.
B) Ardennes.
C) Somme.
D) Verdun.
E) Tannenberg.

Question 19

World War I saw the first use of many new weapons.One of these,poison gas,was particularly devastating due to its:

A) short- and long-term effects; having recovered, most victims had recurring bouts of sickness.
B) effects on both those at whom it was directed and those who used it.
C) physical and psychological effects.
D) effect on the civilian population close to the front.
E) effects on the surrounding environment.

Question 20

The loss of nearly 7,000 British and French soldiers killed or wounded daily in the trenches was referred to as:

A) "wastage."
B) "heroism in the mud."
C) "the price of valor."
D) "the devil's brigade."
E) "the test of wills."

Question 21

Which of the following was NOT a major element in the German collapse of November 1918?

A) A naval mutiny against the disastrous plan to attack the combined American and British navies
B) The sudden death of Kaiser Wilhelm's heir.
C) The declaration of a republic in Bavaria and socialist revolts elsewhere in the country
D) Scarce food supplies that left some Germans on the verge of starvation
E) The surrender of Austria on November 3, 1918

Question 22

The Bolsheviks were able to ultimately triumph in October 1917 under the leadership of the young,dedicated revolutionary:

A) Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov.
B) Alexander Alexandravich Kerensky.
C) Lev Denisovich Bronnstein.
D) Nicholas Alexandravich Romanov.
E) Iosep Ilyich Jughashvili.

Question 23

With so much of the male population of European countries in uniform during the war,women increasingly filled industrial positions from which they had heretofore been excluded.In Britain,these women were collectively dubbed:

A) Rosie the Riveter.
B) Sophie the Armourer.
C) Munitionettes.
D) Rockettes.
E) Angels of the Factories.

Question 24

Russia had been stunned by early setbacks in 1914,due primarily to problems of equipment,supply,and training.By the end of 1916,it had been brought to the verge of total collapse by:

A) the inability of the government to bring production up to the levels needed to pursue the war with Germany.
B) a combination of political ineptitude and military defeat.
C) the ever-growing political threat posed by the Bolsheviks.
D) the sudden death of Tsar Nicholas II.
E) failed harvests throughout Russia and the ensuing mass starvation, which also contributed to a reduction in industrial capacity.

Question 25

All of the following prompted the Russian people to revolt against their tsar in 1917 EXCEPT:

A) the horrendous loss of life in World War I.
B) living conditions that had grossly deteriorated.
C) lack of food in most areas of the country.
D) a complete loss of faith in the government.
E) the mistreatment by the tsar's family of the revered holy man, Grigorii Rasputin.

Question 26

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated his throne and thus made way for the formation of a transitional government for Russia in what is now known as the:

A) February Revolution.
B) October Revolution.
C) Peoples' Revolution.
D) Women's Revolution.
E) Glorious Revolution.

Question 27

The social changes that were forged during the war were recorded in one of the most famous autobiographies of the period,Testament of Youth,by:

A) Vera Brittain.
B) Marie Stopes.
C) Margaret Sanger.
D) Emmeline Pankhurst.
E) Millicent Fawcett.

Question 28

The second Russian revolution in 1917 was led by the:

A) Left Social Revolutionaries.
B) Bolsheviks.
C) Mensheviks.
D) Pushkinites.
E) Right Social Revolutionaries.

Question 29

Many social changes occurred in Europe as a result of World War I.Among them was the emergence of the "New Woman," an occurrence that was greeted:

A) with universal praise since it signaled the end of the division of labor by sex.
B) by all women as a good thing and by every man as a true evil.
C) by a resounding indifference on the part of most people since it affected so few.
D) with mixed reviews; many celebrated it while many grumbled about the change.
E) with welcome by most people, the notable exception being the clergy.

Question 30

One of the changes in British society after the war was the availability of birth control when the first birth-control clinic was opened in London in 1921 by:

A) Vera Brittain.
B) Marie Stopes.
C) Margaret Sanger.
D) Emmeline Pankhurst.
E) Millicent Fawcett.

Question 31

Which of the following was a consequence of the Hindenburg Plan?

A) The collapse of efforts to negotiate an early end to the war on the Western Front.
B) Negotiating a political settlement to create a German republic after the Kaiser's abdication.
C) Placing individual industrialists in charge of pricing and profits in Germany's war economy.
D) The near defeat of British and French forces by a surprise German offensive in March 1918.
E) The peace accord reached with the Bolshevik government of Russia in 1918.

Question 32

When the Bolsheviks failed to win a majority in the elections for the Constituent Assembly?

A) they agreed to form a coalition government with other parties.
B) disbanded the Assembly and ruled Russia, and later the Soviet Union, as a one-party dictatorship.
C) they asked for guidance and advice from the western democracies as to what they should do.
D) they seriously considered re-instituting the monarchy.
E) they were overwhelmed by attacking German armies and forced to abandon the revolution.

Question 33

During August 1918,the war changed momentum on the Western Front due to several factors,the most important of which was:

A) an increase in the morale of Allied frontline troops.
B) new tactics, which were first used by the French.
C) the Allies' material advantage finally coming to bear on the Germans.
D) the arrival of fresh American troops at the front in the region of the Somme.
E) the near collapse of the German army after a failed attack along the entire front.

Question 34

What was the single greatest U.S.contribution to the defeat of German forces on the battlefield in 1918?

A) The number and resilience of U.S. conscripts sent into battle alongside the Allies
B) The role of U.S. commanders, notably John Pershing, in devising a new strategy for defeating trench warfare
C) The large number of U.S. warships to the blockade of Germany
D) Massive U.S. production of ships, tanks, and planes for the Allied war effort
E) The financial support the country was able to give to the Allies both before its formal entry into the war and afterward

Question 35

Although every country fighting in World War I suffered food shortages at various times during the war,Great Britain eventually instituted control by rationing bread in 1917 primarily because:

A) of a poor wheat harvest in Australia.
B) English bakers were on strike.
C) the entire bread supply went to the army.
D) the English people voluntarily had limited their consumption.
E) of German submarine success in sinking Allied shipping.

Question 36

The Bolsheviks under Lenin attempted to gain widespread support during the summer of 1917 under the slogan:

A) "Peace and the Romanovs!"
B) "Hang the Kaiser!"
C) "All Power to the Bolsheviks!"
D) "All Power to the Dumas!"
E) "Peace, Land, and Bread, Now!"

Question 37

Which Bolshevik leader made was better known among Russian workers than Lenin during the fall of 1917?

A) Bukharin
B) Kornilov
C) Trotsky
D) Stalin
E) Zemstov

Question 38

What or who were the soviets?

A) local councils of workers and soldiers throughout Russia
B) special committees of the Duma (Russia's parliament)
C) field officers of the Bolshevik movement who directed revolutionary forces during 1917
D) non-Russian territories controlled from Moscow during the Russian Revolution
E) terrorists who eventually overthrew the tsarist government of Nicholas II

Question 39

The abdication of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in February 1917 was caused by:

A) the concerted effort of a small group of revolutionaries led by V. I. Lenin who seized the centers of governmental power in Petrograd.
B) a widespread conspiracy headed by Grigorii Rasputin that included many members of the royal family.
C) poor health exacerbated by the harsh conditions he experienced at the front lines where he was personally commanding the Russian army.
D) a loosely organized march of women demanding food, fuel, and political reform that quickly spiraled into a mass strike which the army joined.
E) Russia's unconditional surrender to Germany following the loss of over 1 million men at the battle of Tannenberg.

Question 40

Opposed to Lenin and his plan for a takeover of the Russian government was another part of the Social Democratic Party:

A) the Left Social Revolutionaries.
B) the Bolsheviks.
C) the Mensheviks.
D) the Pushkinites.
E) the Right Social Revolutionaries.

Question 41

To what does the term total war refer?

A) A commitment to defeating one's enemies and occupying their land, thus dissolving their right to nationhood.
B) The willingness to starve out military opponents through the use of blockades.
C) The willingness to use all military means to secure victory, regardless of the Geneva Convention.
D) The intense commitment of a nation's whole human and material resources to fighting.
E) Synonymously with genocide, the desire to not only defeat an enemy, but to kill every man, woman, and child.

Question 42

World War I was finally ended by the:

A) Treaty of Paris.
B) London Peace Accords.
C) Treaty of Locarno.
D) Treaty of Versailles.
E) Treaty of Westphalia.

Question 43

Who appeared at the Versailles Conference to advocate the rights of colonial peoples?

A) Ho Chi Minh
B) John Maynard Keynes
C) Albert Schweitzer
D) Woodrow Wilson
E) Kim Jong-Il

Question 44

Although Germany was subjected to many crippling provisions of the Treaty of Versailles,the most dangerous were the punitive reparations,according to the eminent British economist:

A) John Stuart Mill.
B) Bertrand, Lord Russell.
C) David Lloyd George.
D) John Maynard Keynes.
E) Alan Richard Greenspan.

Question 45

The initial German offensive was eventually blunted by the French counterattack at the Marne river.

Question 46

With the entry of the United States into the war,the U.S.Navy contributed to the war effort by:

A) nearly destroying the entire German submarine fleet.
B) reopening lines of communications with the Russians.
C) securing oil reserves in the Middle East.
D) blockading German ports.
E) developing the convoy system to deliver war material to the front.

Question 47

What were the mandates of the Treaty of Versailles?

A) Russian territories under the temporary government of anti-Bolshevik forces were recognized by the Allies.
B) Territories in the Middle East colonies were to be administered by France and Great Britain.
C) Germany and its wartime allies were prohibited from rearming.
D) Zones of Allied occupation in Germany were to be demarcated.
E) German and Ottoman colonies in the Pacific were to be administered by the United States and Britain.

Question 48

The Allied powers' extensive borrowing of funds from the British resulted in the hobbling of France as a financial power and the rise of the United Kingdom as a financial power within Europe after the war.

Question 49

Verdun was of little strategic importance but was a symbol of France's strength and morale.

Question 50

Bankers and financiers were great supporters of the war as they hoped to profit from wartime production and capture colonial markets.

Question 51

Propaganda campaigns had been used throughout the war and would make it difficult for any country to accept a nonpunitive peace settlement,as the injustices,motivations,hatreds,and atrocities of the war had been so deeply ingrained in the peoples of Europe.

Question 52

Although all countries involved in the war used propaganda to bolster the morale of their civilian population,what was one unintended consequence?

A) It increased enlistments too much and strained the abilities of all countries to arm, clothe, and train the new soldiers.
B) It pointed out the similarity of all people and caused them to work for a just peace settlement.
C) It lowered the morale of the frontline troops who were constantly reminded of home.
D) It became more difficult for any country to accept a fair, nonpunitive peace settlement.
E) It bolstered the morale of the troops in the field as well as those on the home front.

Question 53

At the Paris Peace Conference beginning in 1919,each of the so-called Big Four was represented by their political leaders,with Italy being represented by:

A) Giuseppe Garibaldi.
B) Victor Emmanuel.
C) Vittorio Orlando.
D) Enrico Caruso.
E) Giuseppe Mazzini.

Question 54

Although the German naval blockade of Britain destroyed more tonnage,the British blockade against Germany was far more devastating as it put increased demands on the German national economy.

Question 55

The term wastage refers to the routine loss of supplies and devastation of land that occurred in trench warfare.

Question 56

One of the long-lasting results of World War I was the increasingly sour and suspicious relationship that developed between:

A) France and Great Britain.
B) Russia and western Europe.
C) western Europe and the United States.
D) Italy and France.
E) the United States and Great Britain.

Question 57

Italy sided with Germany and Austria before the war and was held to this alliance despite its sympathies with the French and British cause.

Question 58

All parties in the diplomatic crisis of the summer of 1914 thought it important to make a show of force during negotiations aimed at preventing the war.

Question 59

Japan joined the war as an ally of Germany in order to gain advantages in Asia.

Question 60

Many in Europe recognized that the end of the war had brought about "a new and unfamiliar world," but no one knew the form this new world was going to take.As Tomas Masaryk stated,"Postwar Europe was a(n):

A) brave new world with such wondrous creatures in it."
B) experimental laboratory from which great things were to come."
C) graveyard with little immediate future."
D) laboratory atop a graveyard."
E) wasteland we would now call peace."

Question 61

What was the effect of the Gallipoli disaster on the war and society?

Question 62

The Bolsheviks avoided open civil war in Russia by granting land to the peasants and compensating the former landowners for their losses.However,the landowners largely inflated the loss of land and made profits on the redistribution of lands.

Question 63

What were the factors that brought about the Bolshevik revolution of October 1917?

Question 64

Why was Bosnia so critically important to the outbreak of the First World War?

Question 65

What was the effect of the war on the minorities of Europe?

Question 66

How did trench warfare differ from traditional means of warfare?

Question 67

Woodrow Wilson was the first American president to attend European peace talks while in office.

Question 68

What were the penalties to be paid by the Germans according to the Treaty of Versailles,and why were they so harsh?

Question 69

What was the role of Europe's colonies in World War I?

Question 70

How did the war change women's lives in Europe?

Question 71

The United States' public support of U.S.entry into the war in Europe was so great that over 10 million volunteers signed up for duty.

Question 72

The aims of the Bolsheviks included an end to the war,improvement in working and living conditions for the workers,and a redistribution of aristocratic land to the peasants.

Question 73

The Russian army was not only the largest in Europe,it was the best supplied due to the innovative reforms of Tsar Nicholas.

Question 74

What factors combined to bring about Germany's defeat?

Question 75

What was meant by the term total war?