- Abdicate
- To abandon or step down from power.
- Agadir Crisis
- A colonial crisis between France and Germany in 1911.
- Aggressor
- Provoker or attacker
- Air aces
- Popular term for fighter pilots.
- Ammunition
- Supply of weaponry i.e. munitions, bullets, shells.
- Amputate
- To cut off
- Anglo-French
- British and French
- Annexation
- A takeover or seizure of land.
- Anonymous
- Unknown
- Arbitration
- Negotiation
- Archduke Franz Ferdinand
- Heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was assassinated 28th June 1914.
- Archie
- Anti aircraft gun or gunnery
- Armaments
- Weaponry or munitions
- Articulate
- To make clear
- Asquith, Herbert Henry
- Leader of the Liberal Party and British Prime Minister 1908-1916.
- Attrition
- Strategy of wearing down the enemy through continual attack and pressure.
- August Madness
- The term given to describe the rush of volunteer recruits for Kitcheners Army in August 1914.
- Battle cruiser
- A lightly armoured warship.
- BE Biplane
- An aircraft with two sets of wings used mainly for reconnaissance until 1916.
- Beatty, Admiral
- Commander of the Grand Fleet's Battle cruiser Squadron. Most famous for his actions in the Battle of Jutland, May 1916, where attacked and inflicted damage on the German High before the Grand Fleet arrived. He was appointed Commander of the Grand Fleet in November 1916
- Big Four
- Sometimes called 'The Big Three' as Vittorio Orlando of Italy was sidelined by the other powers.
- Blighty Ones
- A self-inflicted wound in an attempt to get sent home.
- Blockade
- To block or prevent the import or export of supplies from a port.
- Bombardment
- A heavy assault or attack of artillery
- Brest-Litovsk, Treaty of
- A signed agreement between Russia and the Central Powers when Russia withdrew from the War.
- British Grand Fleet
- The main British naval force
- Bryce Report
- A government report documenting German atrocities against the Belgians in 1914. The report was doubted after the war, though some German violence against civilians was proved.
- Bully Beef
- Slang term for tinned meat
- Bleed France White
- The phrase was coined by General Falkenhayn as the stated aim of the Battle of Verdun.
- Business as Usual
- Phrase coined by Churchill to suggest how British society should react to the wartime situation.
- Calamity
- Disaster or catastrophe.
- Cambrai
- Scene of first successful tank battle in 1917.
- Cavalry
- Soldiers on horseback.
- Cavell, Edith
- A British Nurse serving in Belgium. Shot in 1915 having been accused of helping allied prisoners to escape.
- Central Powers
- Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey.
- Charismatic
- Charming or captivating.
- Chloride of Lime
- Used to purify water in the trenches.
- Chronically
- Extremely or acutely.
- Chumpy
- Slang term used here to refer to the ill effects of shell shock.
- Churchill, Winston
- Lord of the Admiralty at the outbreak of war, he was later appointed minister of munitions in 1917 and state secretary for war and air in 1918.
- Cite
- To quote or refer to.
- Clemenceau, Georges
- French Prime Minister
- Clydeside
- A region of industrial and civil unrest in Glasgow.
- Clydeside Workers Committee
- A workers organisation set up by a group of shop stewards to resist the Munitions Act.
- Coalition
- A unified alliance between different groups to achieve a common purpose.
- Comradeship
- Friendship among fellow soldiers
- Conciliatory
- Peacemaking or appeasing.
- Conflict
- Struggle or battle.
- Conscientious Objectors
- A person who objects to fighting for political, religious or humanistic reasons.
- Conscription
- A system of compulsory recruitment for the armed services.
- Conservative
- A British right-wing political party
- Conspiracy
- A secret plan
- Conspirators
- People who take part in a Conspiracy.
- Constantinople
- Capital of Turkey.
- Contradict
- To say the opposite of.
- Controversy
- Disagreement or dispute over something.
- Convoy system
- Merchant ships sail in groups protected by an armed naval escort. The system was used to combat threat of unrestricted submarine warfare.
- Creeping barrage
- Artillery fire from each unit advancing in stages of one line at a time.
- Dardanelles
- A narrow strip of water dividing European from Asiatic Turkey
- Daylight saving time
- Introduced in 1914 under the Defence of the Realm Act to gain an added hour of daylight.
- De Valera, Eamon
- A member of the movement campaigning for Irish independence. He took part in the Easter Rebellion of 1916. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but was later released in 1917.
- Decoy
- A dummy or imitation copy used to deceive the enemy.
- Defence of the Realm Act
- D.O.R.A. was introduced in August 1914 to give the Government more control over Civilian life.
- Delegation
- Person or people acting on behalf of others for a fixed purpose.
- Demilitarised Zone
- An area that has been demilitarised i.e. from which all military effects have been removed.
- Demobilisation
- To remove from active military service.
- Demoralise
- A loss of confidence or sense of belief.
- Derby, Lord
- Introduced a voluntary recruitment policy called the 'Derby Scheme'. British Minister of War 1916-1918.
- Desertion
- To leave or run away from.
- Deterrent
- Something designed to stop a person or people from doing something.
- Dogfights
- Term for enemy aircraft engaged in aerial combat.
- Dominate
- To have power or influence over.
- Dominion
- A country which was part of the British Empire, but had its own government.
- Dorsal Gun
- A type of machine gun found on some aircraft.
- Douai
- A town in Northern France.
- Dreadnought
- A heavily armed battleship.
- Duckboards
- A board which was laid down on trench floors and flooded fields to help stop soldiers from sinking into the muddy ground.
- Dug-Outs
- Name given to the rough living space made in a trench.
- Eastern Front
- Name given to the fighting on the German-Russian, Austro-Russian and Austro-Romanian fronts.
- Emancipate
- To set free.
- Entrenched
- To be fixed or deeply rooted in an area.
- Falkenhayn, General Erich Von
- Chief of the Imperial German General Staff
- First Aid Nursing Yeomanry
- An organisation of women recruits, who ran field hospitals, drove ambulances and worked in troop canteens.
- First Battle of Ypres
- The beginning of stalemate on the Western Front in 1914.
- Fitzgerald, Admiral Charles
- Founder of the Order of the White Feather
- Flanders
- A region of Belgium. It was the scene of the third Battle of Ypres and lent its name to the famous first world war poem 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae.
- Foch, General Ferdinand
- French General
- Forestalling
- Avoiding or averting
- Fourteen Points
- The war aims outlined by President Wilson in 1918, which he believed would promote lasting peace.
- Gallipoli
- Scene of an unsuccessful naval expedition in 1915, off the Dardanelles.
- Gangrenous
- Rotting body tissue
- George V, King
- British Monarch from 1910-1936.
- German High Seas Fleet
- The German Navy
- 'Gird up our loins'
- Be prepared for the worst, be brave
- Gotha
- A ground attack aircraft that was used to great effect on the Western and Eastern Front during the First World War.
- Great Push
- The term given to General Haig’s Somme offensive
- Grey, Sir Edward
- British Foreign Secretary during the First World War
- Guttural
- Harsh, unpleasant to hear, throaty
- Hague convention
- An agreement made in 1899 forbidding the use of poison or poisoned weapons.
- Haig, General Sir Douglas
- Commander in Chief of the BEF.
- Hawthorn Ridge
- Scene where mines were detonated on the first day of the Battle of Somme, 1916.
- Henderson, Arthur
- Labour politician
- High Command
- Name given to the decision making body of the German Army i.e. Commander in Chief and senior military officials.
- Hipper, Admiral Franz Von
- Commander of the battle cruiser squadron of the German High Seas Fleet.
- Hodge, John
- Trade Union leader
- Home Front
- The name given to the part of war that was not actively involved in the fighting but which was vital to it.
- Hydrogen
- This colourless, invisible, odourless gas was used in the Zeppelin airships. A highly flammable gas
- Idealist
- Optimist
- Ignoble
- Shameful or dishonourable
- Impenetrable
- Unable to pass, blocked
- Imperial
- Refers to all things relating to Empire or Emperor.
Term - Defintion
- Imperialism
- Control of other countries by a dominant nation
- Inauthentic
- Fake, not real
- Incendiary bullets
- A bullet that sets fire to something on impact.
- Indignant
- Angry or annoyed
- Industrial revolution
- Describes time in which Britain changed from a rural to an urban economy due to the rapid developments in technology and society.
- Inflation
- Increase or rise in price
- Influenza epidemic
- A virus that broke out in 1918. It is estimated that it killed more people than were actually lost throughout four years of fighting.
- IRA
- Irish Republican Army founded in 1858. Took part in the Easter Rising 1916.
- Jellicoe, Admiral
- Commander of the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland, he was blamed for the lack of a clear British success. He was appointed First Sea Lord in 1916.
- Joffre, General Joseph
- Chief of French General Staff. Also known as 'Papa Joffre'.
- Juno
- An old battle cruiser that was the only ship within reasonable distance of the Lusitania when she sank. She failed to pick up any survivors.
- Jutland, Battle of
- Major naval engagement between Britain and Germany, May 1916. The largest sea battle in history.
- Kitchener, Lord Horatio Herbert
- British Secretary of State for War until 1916.
- Kith and Kin
- Family members
- Labour MPs
- Parliamentary members of the Labour Party.
- Latrines
- Toilets
- Launched
- To have started or got underway
- League Of Nations
- A union of countries formed in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles to uphold peace, security and promote settlements by arbitration.
- Leaving certificate
- Introduced in 1915 to stop employers outbidding each other for the limited supply of skilled workers
- Lenient
- Easy-going or tolerant.
- Lenin, Vladimir Illych
- As leader of the Bolshevik (Communist) Party, he became leader of the country after the Russian Revolution, 1917.
- Liberal
- Liberal British political party
- Lloyd George, David
- British Prime Minister, 1916-21.
- Ludendorff, General Erich Von
- Chief of staff of the German Army he was responsible for German military decisions. After the failure of his peace offensive in August 1918 he demanded an armistice.
- Lusitania
- British passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915.
- Mannock, Edward
- Most successful British fighter pilot.
- Marne, Battle of
- September 1914, marked the failure of the Schlieffen Plan. A second battle, fought there in 1918, ended in Allied victory.
- Martyr
- Someone willing to suffer or die for a cause.
- Mediation
- Negotiation or arbitration.
- Mesopotamia
- A region of South West Asia.
- Militant
- Aggressive or combative
- Ministry of Munitions
- Established in March 1915 to address the shortage of shells.
- Mitigate
- To make less severe.
- Mobilisation
- To make ready or muster forces for military service.
- Morale
- Confidence or spirits
- Moroccan Crisis
- An attempt to split the Anglo-French 'Entente Cordiale' in 1906
- Munitionette
- Name given to woman who worked in a munitions factory.
- Munitions
- Weapons i.e. shells
- Naivety
- Innocence or gullibility
- Naval Arms Race
- Term given to the competition between Germany and Britain to out-build each other’s Navy.
- Neutral
- Does not take sides, impartial.
- Neuve Chapelle
- Battle in the Artois region of France, 10-13 March 1915.
- Nicholas II, Tsar
- Last Emperor of Russia. He was overthrown in the Russian Revolution.
- Night patrols
- Practice of keeping guard or monitoring enemy positions, by night.
- No-man's land
- The barren territory that lay between the opposing Allied and German trenches on the Western Front.
- Northcliffe, Lord Alfred
- Powerful British newspaper tycoon
- Obligation
- Duty or responsibility to
- Offensive
- An attack or assault
- Owen, Wilfred
- Soldier and celebrated war poet. He served in the First World War from 1915 until he was killed in 1918, a week before peace was declared.
- Order of the White Feather
- Group of women who handed out white feathers to non-uniformed men to shame them into joining up.
- Orlando, Vittorio
- Prime Minister of Italy 1917-1919.
- Over-the–top
- Term given to the act of climbing out of a trench and going forward into battle.
- Pacifism
- Belief that conflict should be settled by peaceful means.
- Pacifist
- Peacekeeper or anti-War
- PALs
- Name given to the men from the same town or trade who were encouraged to join up together.
- Pankhurst, Emmeline
- The famous British woman suffragist. She founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903, aimed at giving women the vote and greater social freedom. On the outbreak of World War I, she turned her powers of leadership from the suffragist movement to the war effort.
- Parson
- A member of the Clergy e.g. priest or vicar.
- Peer group pressure
- Pressure to conform or agree with the beliefs or actions of a dominant social group.
- Peninsula
- Neck of land or cape that juts out from the land.
- Pivotal
- Industries like mining, building, engineering had to be kept going to make jobs for other people.
- Poison gas
- First used as a weapon at the second Battle of Ypres. It could cause temporary blindness and suffocation.
- Portrayal
- Representation or description
- Premeditated
- Planned or intentional
- Primary Source
- First hand evidence
- Princip, Gavrilo
- A member of the Serbian Black Hand Gang, he assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, during his visit to Sarajevo on 28 June 1914
- Propaganda
- Information given to show something or someone in a biased way
- Prosecute
- To put on trial or act against
- Punitive
- To exact punishment
- Rank
- Position or level
- Rank and file
- The ordinary members
- Rasputin, Grigori
- Russian monk who exerted much influence over Tsar Nicholas II and the Tsarina.
- Ration (or rationing)
- A limited portion or allowance of food or goods
- Rawlinson, General Sir Henry
- Field Commander during the First World War and British representative on the Supreme War Council, February 1918.
- Reconnaissance
- Investigation or exploration or something
- Red Baron
- Nickname given to the famous German fighter pilot, Baron Von Richthofen
- Reparations
- Compensation or repayment
- Repudiation
- Rejection or denial of.
- Retaliation
- To fight back, revenge
- Rhineland
- An area of land extending from the northern borders of France and Western Germany
- Richthofen, Baron Von
- Famous German fighter pilot, also known as the 'Red Baron'
- River Aisne
- Place where the German Army took up a defensive position after the Battle of Marne, 1914.
- Royal Air Force
- Formed in April 1918 when the British Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service joined together.
- Rudimentary
- Basic
- Sassoon, Siegfried
- Soldier and famous poet of the First World War
- Scapa Flow
- Area in the North Sea where the British Grand Fleet were based during the First World War.
- Scheer Admiral Reinhardt Von
- Commander of the German High Seas Fleet
- Schlieffen Plan
- A strategy drawn up by Germany to avoid fighting a war on two fronts
- Schlieffen, Count von
- Chief of General Staff until 1906, he was responsible for drawing up the Schlieffen Plan.
- Schweiger, Captain
- Captain of the U-20 submarine
- Second Battle of Ypres
- April 1915. Battle in which poison gas was first used.
- Secondary Source
- Refers to a source that is not a first hand
- Shell scandal
- The term was popularly used to describe the shortage of shells at the battle of Neuve Chapelle in 1915.
- Shell shock
- Medical condition caused by prolonged exposure to the distressing experiences of trench warfare.
- Shop steward
- Elected by fellow workers as the voice of the 'shop-floor' in meetings with management.
- Sinn Fein
- Meaning 'we ourselves' in Gaelic, it is the name of an Irish political party in favour of a united Irish Republic. It became active during the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland.
- Slavic
- Term given to peoples living in Eastern European countries like Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria, etc.
- Sniper
- Hidden enemy gunman
- Somme, Battle of
- Major British offensive, July – November 1916. Biggest number of casualties suffered by the British army in a single day.
- Sopwith Camel
- A single-engine fighter aircraft introduced by the British in 1917.
- Sovereignty
- Highest power or authority
- Splendid Isolation
- Term used to describe Britain's diplomatic isolation and attitude towards foreign policy before the outbreak of the First World War.
- Stalemate
- Term used to describe the deadlock on the Western Front during the First World War.
- Stand-down
- Name given to the daily evening routine in the trenches.
- Stand-to
- Name given to the daily morning routine in the trenches.
- Strike
- A refusal to work aimed at forcing employers to accept workers' demands.
- Strike truce
- An agreement not to strike. In this context, it was to last for the duration of the War.
- Suffragettes
- Women who campaigned for the right to vote for British women.
- Sustenance
- Food and drink
- Sweated industry/ labour
- People work long hours for low pay in poor conditions
- Tactics
- Plan of action of strategy to achieve particular objective.
- Testament
- Witness, proof of
- Third Battle of Ypres
- The last great battle of attrition, 1917. More commonly known as Passchendaele.
- Tirpitz, Admiral Alfred Von
- Secretary of State and Grand Admiral of the German Navy
- Torpedo
- A self-propelled missile fired from a ship, submarine or aircraft that explodes on impact.
- Total War
- Organisation of whole countries, its people and products, to provide for the war machine
- Trade Union
- A group of employees organised to exercise some influence over the labour market.
- Trade Unionist
- Member of a trade union
- Trench fever
- An influenza-like disease spread by lice
- Trench Foot
- A rotting disease of the feet caused by overexposure to the cold and damp of the trenches.
- Trench warfare
- Form of fighting whereby two sides fight each other from opposing trenches
- Triple Alliance
- Name of the defensive alliance between Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy
- Triple Entente
- Name of the French, British and Russian partnership of the First World War.
- Trotsky, Leon
- A member of the Bolshevik (Communist) Party he became Commissar of War after the Russian Revolution, 1917 until 1927.
- Turner, Captain
- Captain of the Lusitania
- U-20
- German U-boat that sunk the Lusitania.
- U-boat
- German submarine, taken from the German 'Unterseeboat'
- Ultimatum
- Terms presented by one power (or group of powers) to another
- Unionisation
- Growth or development of Trade Unions
- Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
- Policy adopted by the German Navy to stop supplies of food and resources from reaching Britain.
- Utmost
- Greatest or furthest
- Vanquished
- To be conquered or beaten
- Vanquishers
- Conquerors or defeaters
- Verdun
- The setting of a major German offensive against the French in 1916
- Vickers Machine Gun
- The standard heavy machine gun used by the British Army from 1912.
- Voluntary Aid Detachments
- VADs, formed in 1909 to provide medical help in times of war.
- Volunteer Army
- Name given to British troops who answered Lord Kitcheners calls for recruitment.
- War fatalism
- An offhand attitude to war owing to the belief that actions are predetermined and therefore unavoidable.
- War Propaganda Bureau
- Set up by Lloyd George, August 1914 to encourage public support for the War.
- Western Front
- The name given to the stretch of land in France and Belgium between the North coast and the Swiss border that saw the bulk of the action in the First World War.
- Wilhelm II, Kaiser
- The last Emperor of Germany. He abdicated the throne in 1918.
- Wilson, President Woodrow
- President of the United States 1912-1920.
- Women's Land Army
- Established to help produce more food supplies and goods to sustain the war effort.
- Women's Auxiliary Corps
- WAACs were used to release men from administrative jobs so they could join the fighting.
- Women's Royal Air Force
- Branch of the Royal Air Force formed in April 1918. Also known as the WARF.
- Women's Royal Naval Service
- Formed in 1916, they were also known as the Wrens (or WRNS)
- Ypres
- Town in Belgium that was the scene of three major battles in the First World War.
- Zeppelin
- Large, hydrogen filled airships named after Count Alfred Von Zeppelin.
|
Articles
