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53 pages 1 hour read

John Keegan

The First World War

Nonfiction | Reference/Text Book | Adult | Published in 1999

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Index of Terms

Bolshevik

Derived from the Russian word for “large” or “majority,” it referred to the faction of the Russian Social Democrat party led by Vladimir I. Lenin. Dedicated communists, they advocated for the concept of the revolutionary vanguard, an elite that would seize power and impose Marxist principles from above, rather than the “Menshevik” (which means “small,” or “minority”) policy of social reform and developing the class consciousness of the peasantry. The Bolsheviks fulfilled their goal by seizing control of St. Petersburg in November 1917 (October in the old Russian calendar, hence the term October Revolution) and shortly thereafter pulling Russia out of the First World War. The Bolsheviks, after gaining power, no longer wanted to focus on international threats but instead turned their attention to internal, domestic ones. Russia’s withdrawal from the war proved consequential in some regards.

Salient

Also known as a “bulge,” a salient occurs when an army advances across only a portion of the enemy’s territory, leaving a noticeable projection that is then surrounded on three sides. The initial fighting in the summer and fall of 1914 would create several bulges, based on the furthest German advances or where they chose to establish defenses. Two of the most significant were at the fortress of Verdun, where the French jutted into German-controlled territory, and Ypres, which the British occupied as part of the 1914 race to the sea. Some of the heaviest fighting would occur in an attempt to either eliminate or expand these vulnerable positions. This situation of warfare contributed to the brutal, entrenched battling that would characterize the war.

The Schlieffen Plan

Named for Alfred von Schlieffen, the longtime chief of the German General Staff, this was a war plan that Germany had in the years leading up to the First World War. France and Russia signed a treaty of mutual military aid in event of a German attack, and so Germany planned for a simultaneous war against both. Under Schlieffen, and later Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, the plan envisioned a rapid thrust into Belgium and then France, encircling and destroying the French army within a matter of about six weeks. In the meantime, German forces would also deploy eastward to blunt a Russian advance, which would presumably be slower to materialize than the French’s. Tactically, the Schlieffen Plan performed nearly the opposite of its intention, with the Germans establishing a defensive position in France and Belgium while scoring a crushing victory over Russia at Tannenberg. Strategically, it locked the Germans into a two-front war for the next four years. The plan was part of the longtime efforts by Germany to militarize and established military goals and systems within the government. This led to the creation of the German war machine that fueled so much of the war.

Triple Entente/Allies, Triple Alliance/Central Powers

In the years leading up to the war, France engaged in alliances with Russia (1894) and Britain (1904); these were followed by an alliance between Britain and Russia (1907). These generally recognized a set of similar interests, especially the common threat of Germany, but they were not a formal alliance, as Britain refused to make a formal commitment to come to France or Russia’s aide. By contrast, the Triple Alliance of 1882 bound Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in a thick network of mutual obligations. With the outbreak of war, the Entente became a formal alliance, whereas the Triple Alliance broke apart with the defection of Italy to the Allies with a promise of Austrian territory. Receiving instead the support of the Ottoman Empire, the Triple Alliance became the Central Powers, in reference to their geographical position between their enemies.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

After the Battle of Jutland in the late spring of 1916, the Germans forewent any serious attempt to challenge the Royal Navy with its own surface fleet. Instead, it relied on its U-boats, or submarines, and in the early months of 1917 it adopted a policy of nondiscrimination between military and commercial vessels. This was in direct violation of the laws of war, but it was deemed necessary to cut Britain off from its maritime sources of supply. Since the United States was still trading with Britain, the policy immediately resulted in the sinking of American ships, prompting US entry into the war.

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