Vocabulary World War I

1. Militarism A policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army prepared for war. Before WWI, Germany built up its navy to compete with Great Britain

2. Alliance A formal agreement between two or more nations to cooperate for specific purposes. There were 2 alliances in Europe before WWI- Triple Alliance and Triple Entente

3. Nationalism devotion and loyalty to one's own country; patriotism Nationalism caused rivalries between European countries

4. Neutrality The state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict, disagreement, etc.; to be impartial Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands were neutral during WWI

5. Stalemate A situation in which neither side can gain a clear advantage. Trench warfare, the machine gun, and landmines created a stalemate on the Western Front

6. Attrition The act of weakening or exhausting by constant harassment, abuse, or attack France vs. Germany- each tried to kill enough of the enemy and destroy enough of their equipment that the other couldn't afford to keep fighting.

7. Propaganda Information or material spread to advance a cause or to damage an opponent’s cause

8. Total War A conflict in which countries devote all their resources to the war effort Men fight, women produce weapons, food rationing; attacks on cities and civilians

9. Armistice An agreement to stop fighting The Germans agreed to stop fighting WWI on November 11, 1918 (at 11:00 AM)

10. Treaty A formal agreement between two or more states, as in reference to terms of peace Ex.- Treaty of Versailles outlined settlement terms of the war