Deck 17: The First World War

Question 1

The Triple Alliance was a military alliance between

A) France, Britain, and Russia.
B) Germany, Britain, and Austria.
C) Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
D) Austria-Hungary, Italy, and France.

Answer 1

Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

Question 2

A Franco-Russian alliance, such as occurred in 1894, was regarded as almost impossible because

A) France and Russia had no common interests.
B) France stood for everything radical and Russia for everything reactionary and autocratic.
C) France had fought Russia during the Crimean War.
D) Russia was already allied to Germany.

Answer 2

France stood for everything radical and Russia for everything reactionary and autocratic.

Question 3

Great Britain's diplomatic isolation ended in 1902 with the

A) Anglo-Japanese Alliance.
B) Anglo-French Alliance.
C) Anglo-Russian Alliance.
D) entente cordiale.

Answer 3

Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

Question 4

The German "blank check" to Austria-Hungary in 1914

A) discouraged any bellicose Austrian move toward Serbia and assured Austria of Germany's . unconditional support even if it compromised with Belgrade.
B) assured the Austrians of German support and encouraged them to be firm.
C) promised to grant Austria major loans to build up their military.
D) promised financial support for an aggressive Balkan policy.

Question 5

The first major power to mobilize its army in 1914 was

A) Germany.
B) Austria.
C) France.
D) Russia.

Question 6

In 1914, the first major power to declare war against another country was

A) Germany.
B) Russia.
C) Austria.
D) France.

Question 7

Underlying causes of WWI include all of the following except

A) the alliance systems.
B) domestic crises in Russia and Austria.
C) economic and colonial rivalry.
D) the encirclement of France.

Question 8

The most deadly new weapon of World War I was the

A) airplane.
B) tank.
C) self-propelled gun.
D) machine gun.

Question 9

In their search for new allies in 1914-1915, Britain, France, and Russia

A) planned to dismember the Austrian empire.
B) agreed on a final partition of the Ottoman empire.
C) tampered with national minorities in their enemies' domains.
D) all of the choices are correct.

Question 10

Italy entered World War I on the side of the Allies because

A) Austria-Hungary attacked it.
B) the Allies promised Italy territorial gains along its borders and a share of the German and Turkish empires in Africa and Asia.
C) the French and the British threatened blockades.
D) the Germans and Austrians issued an ultimatum demanding that Italy disarm.

Question 11

During WWI, Britain's Middle Eastern policy was

A) to plan for the partition of the Ottoman empire, giving Constantinople and the straits to Russia.
B) to encourage the Arabs' hopes for independence and spur them to revolt against the Turks.
C) to support the idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
D) all of the choices are correct.

Question 12

Both World War I and World War II transformed women's lives by

A) further excluding them from public life.
B) redefining women's work and increasing their participation in national economies.
C) subjecting them to systematic labor conscriptions.
D) closing off opportunities to them in traditionally male occupations.

Question 13

Economic consequences of the war included the

A) transformation of the United States from a debtor to a creditor nation.
B) rapid price deflation, which primarily benefited professionals and those living on "safe"
investments.
C) restoration of Europe as the world's workshop.
D) inability of French agriculture to recover from the war.

Question 14

Spengler's historical theories drew attention because they

A) confirmed liberal confidence in western progress and expansion.
B) failed to explain the chaos and absurdity of World War I.
C)suggested that western civilization had fallen into decay and crisis, thus contradicting liberal confidence in western progress and expansion.
D) drew upon cyclical theories of life and death, and suggested that the west was entering its creative middle passage after its energetic youth.

Question 15

All of the following received mandates over former German colonies except

A) the Union of South Africa.
B) Italy.
C) Japan.
D) France.

Question 16

The U.S. Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles because it

A) thought the treaty's territorial provisions were too harsh on Germany.
B) did not want the U.S. to be drawn into a future war between Germany and France.
C) believed the economic provisions of the treaty were unsound.
D) all of the choices are correct.

Question 17

As a result of the 1919 Paris peace settlement, whose most general principle was recognition of the right of national self-determination,

A) minority problems and irredentism no longer troubled eastern Europe.
B) there was a general and often confusing transfer of populations to sort out the new national states.
C) discontented minorities troubled all the new states of eastern Europe, since nationalities were intermixed in many places.
D) every language group was given a homeland.

Question 18

Examine the long-range social, political or economic reasons for the outbreak of World War I. Which factor do you believe was most important?

Question 19

Describe the formation of the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. To what extent did the alliance system pave the way to war in 1914?

Question 20

Focusing on the crisis caused by the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand in June 1914, which country or countries do you believe most responsible for the outbreak of the world war?

Question 21

How did wartime European governments mobilize their home fronts? In what way did such actions require a major shift in the role of governments in many aspects of European life?

Question 22

Describe the provisions of the Versailles treaty that affected Germany did the Germans most dislike?

Question 23

How did the Paris Peace treaties affect the Austro-Hungarian empire? Be sure to look at their economic, as well as political, implications.

Question 24

Was the Versailles peace treaty a success or a failure? Why?

Question 25

What was the overall impact of World War I and the Paris peace treaties on Europe and on Europe's position in the world?

Question 26

How did British isolationism shape events at the outbreak of World War I?

Question 27

How was the U.S. drawn into World War I? Why was its involvement so important?

Question 28

How and why did World War I encourage the idea of economic equality?

Question 29

Why did World War I provoke a crisis in western culture? Describe some of the trends of cultural pessimism.

Question 30

What did Wilson hope to achieve with the establishment of the League of Nations?

Question 31

How did the new states of Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, as well as northern Bulgaria, exacerbate tension in the Balkans?

Question 32

How did non-Turkish peoples in the Balkans react to the modernizing initiatives of the Young Turks?

Question 33

Locate the areas of major fighting during World War I. Did environmental and geographical factors influence the outcome of the most significant battles?

Question 34

How did the battle of the Marne change the course and character of World War I? Why did the battle of Verdun attain a legendary reputation?

Question 35

Which countries constituted the cordon sanitaire established by the treaties of World War I? Which European powers had formerly controlled the areas constituting the cordon?

Question 36

What happened to the region previously controlled by the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I?