Key Terms

• What does abdicated mean?

  Resigned from being the monarch.
• What is an alliance?

  An agreement between countries to support each other.
• What does ANZAC mean?

  Australia and New Zealand Army Corps.
• What is an armistice?

  A ceasefire, after which the terms of a treaty are negotiated.
• What is an arms race?

  When rival nations attempt to outdo each other in the size and quality of their armed forces.
• What does attrition mean?

  To wear away an enemy to the point of them collapsing.
• What is a bayonet?

  A 40-centimetre knife used for close combat.
• What does blockade mean?

  The stopping of supplies reaching an enemy country.
• Who were the Bolsheviks?

  Members of a political party that believed in violent revolution and followed the ideas of Karl Marx.
• What is conscription?

  Compulsory enlistment into the armed forces.
• What is a convoy system?

  Supply ships sailing close together in large groups, protected by warships.
• What is a counter-attack?

  When a group of soldiers try to drive back an enemy attack.
• What is a creeping barrage?

  A slow-moving artillery attack with soldiers following behind it.
• What are dogfights?

  Air battles.
• What are dreadnoughts?

  A type of battleship, larger and faster than all previous battleships used in the war.
• What is the Eastern Front?

  The 1000-mile front-line between Russian troops and the soldiers of Germany and Austria-Hungary in Eastern Europe.
• What is an empire?

  A group of nations or people ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful government
• What is a flamethrower?

  A weapon that sprays out burning fuel.
• What is a front?

  The furthest position an army has reached where the enemy is engaged.
• What is a grenade?

  A small bomb thrown by hand.
• What is a home front?

  The civilian population of a nation whose armed forces are involved in a war abroad.
• What is a hurricane bombardment?

  A short, intense artillery bombardment.
• What was the July Crisis?

  A chain of events from the assassination of Franz Ferdinand to the declarations of war by the major powers from late June to early August 1914.
• Who was the Kaiser?

  The German Emperor.
• What is a machine gun?

  An automatic gun that fires bullets in quick succession for as long as the trigger is pressed.
• What are minesweepers?

  Ships equipped for detecting and destroying explosive mines.
• What is mobilisation?

  Preparation for war.
• What is mustard gas?

  A gas which causes severe irritation and blistering of the skin.
• What is a mutiny?

  When soldiers refuse to follow orders.
• What is a nationalist?

  A person with great feeling for their nation or a person/group in a country desiring for political independence.
• What is neutrality?

  Impartiality in a conflict or dispute.
• What is no man’s land?

  An area of land between two countries or armies that is not controlled by anyone.
• What is an outflank?

  Manoeuvring around the side of an enemy.
• What is Parliament?

  A place where a country’s laws are made.
• What was a Q-ship?

  A heavily armed warship disguised as a supply ship that lured U-boats into making attacks before firing upon themn.
• What is a reconnaissance?


  The observation of an area to spot an enemy.
• What is a rifle?

  A portable long-barrelled gun used for precision shooting.
• What is a salient?

  A bulge in the frontlines that allows enemy forces to attack from several sides.
• What is shell shock?

  Psychological illness caused by prolonged exposure to the realities of warfare.
• What was splendid isolation?

  Britain’s policy of having no alliances.