Chapter 18.

World War-I and Treaty of Versailles

Very Short Questions

Question 1: Mention the time period of the First World War.

Answer: The First World War started in 1914 AD and ended in 1918 AD.

Question 2: Why is the First World War called the World War?

Answer: It is called the World War as it was fought on land, water and in air. Moreover
armies and resources of about 86 nations were involved in the war.

Question 3: Which country declared war on Serbia and when?

Answer: Austria declared a war on Serbia on 28th July 1914 due to constant refusal of
Serbia to comply with Austrian Constitution.

Question 4: Why did Britain declare war on Germany and when?

Answer: Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914 when German army invaded
Belgium, whose neutrality had been guaranteed by Britain.

Question 5: Name the five major powers, which got involved in World War I.

Answer: The five major powers were Russia, Germany Britain, Austria and France.

Question 6: Which country opposed the French claim on Moscow?

Answer: Germany opposed the French claim on Moscow.

Question 7: Name the Single Nation States and the Imperial States before 1914.

Answer: The Single Nation States were France, Holland, and Germany.
The Imperial States were Austria-Hungry and Russia.

Question 8: What was the conflict between Austria and Serbia due to regions?

Answer: The major cause of tension between Serbia and Austria was Balken region.

Question 9: When and by whom was Russia attacked first during the World War I?

Answer: Russia was attacked by Austria-Hungary on August 6,1914.

Question 10: Which country withdrew from Triple Alliance during the World War I?

Answer: Italy withdrew from Triple Alliance and joined the war against Germany in 1915.

Question 11: What was the immediate cause of the First World War?
Answer: The immediate cause of the war was the murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
on June 28, 1914.

Question 12: What was Triple Alliance?

Answer: Germany, Austria and Italy were in Alliance in 1882, which was known as Triple
Alliance.

Question 13: Which countries comprised Triple Entente?

Or

State the rival bloc that was formed against the Triple Alliance.

Or

Name the signatory countries of the Triple Entente (1907).

Answer: England, France and Russia formed the Triple Entente.

Question 14: When was the Archduke Francis Ferdinand assassinated?

Answer: On June 28,1914.

Question 15: How many soldiers were killed in First World War?

Answer: Thirteen Million soldiers were killed.

Question 16: Which countries became more powerful after the war?

Answer: U.S.A., Russia and Japan.

Question 17: Mention the dictatorship that emerged in Europe after the war.

Answer: Nazism in Germany and Fascism in Italy.

Question 18: How many articles were there in the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer: There were 440 articles in the Treaty of Versailles.

Question 19: What was the number of war criminals of Germany who were identified?

Answer: 100 war criminals of Germany were identified.

Question 20: When and between whom was the Treaty of Versailles singed?

Answer: The Treaty of Versailles was singed on June 28, 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors at
Versaillesi in France, between the defeated Germany and the victors Britain, France and
the USA.

Question 21: When did Japan defeat Russia?

Answer: Japan defeated Russia in 1905.

Question 22: How many major powers were there at the end of the 19th Century?

Answer: England, France, Germany and U.S.A.

Question 23: Who was murdered on June 28, 1914 at Sarajevo?

Answer: Archduke Francis Ferdinand.

Question 24: Mention two causes of First World War.

Answer: (i) Imperialism and Economic competition and

(ii) Militarism and Armament race.

Question 25: What were the economic provisions of the Treaty of Versailles?

Or

How much did Germany had to pay as war reparation charges according to the Treaty of
Versailles?

Answer: The Reparation Commission fixed $ 6,000,000,000 to be paid by Germany within

a period of 30 years, and in the mean time one thousand million Pounds in cash.

Short Questions – I

Question 1: Mention two territorial conflicts between nations before the outbreak of World
War I.

Answer: (i) There was tension between France and Italy over the occupation of Tunis.
(ii) There was territorial conflict between Turkey and other European powers.

Question 2: How is the dictatorship in Germany and Italy attributed to be the cause of the
First World War?

Answer: (i) The Treaty of Versailles signed after the end of the First World War.
(ii) The War created economic and political instability in many European countries.

Question 3: What is the Sarajevo Incident? Who assassinated whom, when and where?

Answer: The Sarajevo incident is related to the assassination of the heir apparent to the
throne of Austria, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo
where they were shot dead.

Question 4: What were the conditions of the Austrian ultimatum to Serbia?

Answer: Austria asked Serbia to apprehend the criminals and hand them over to the
Austrian government. Austria also sought a ban on anti-Austrian publications, anti-Austrian
meetings and institutions in Serbai.

Question 5: How did the Sarajevo crisis in 1914 lead to the First World War?
Answer: (i) Austria saw the hand of Serbia behind the assassination of Archduke Francis
Ferdinand and served her with an ultimatum.
(ii) Due to the support of Russai, Serbia refused to accept the demands of the ultimatum.
So Austria declared a war on Serbia.

Question 6: What were the consequences of the First World War?

Answer: (i) Spread of Nationalism, (ii) Spread of Democracy,

(iii) New balance of power,
(iv) Rise of dictatorship and economic depression were the main consequences of the First
World War.

Question 7: Mention any two terms of the Treaty of Versailles signed on June 28, 1914.

Answer: (i) Germany was held responsible for effectuating World War and causing great
loss and damage. In return, it had to compensate the loss and pay an indemnity of 6600
million pounds to the victorious nations.
(ii) In order to redress the destruction caused to the coal mines of France by Germany.
France was given complete control over the rich coal mines in the Saar Basin.

Question 8: What is the significance of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

Answer: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended the war between Russia and Germany.
Germany imposed many hard terms on Russia and also occupied its prosperous and
industrial cities. Russia was to pay 6 billion Marks to Germany as an indemnity.

Question 9: What did France gain from the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer: (i) It was given full control over the rich coal mines in the Saar basin although
the area was governed by the League of Nations.
(ii) It was also given some regions of Togo and Cameroons (South East Africa).
(iii) The Armistice signed by Germany on November 11, 1918 was based upon the US
President Wilsons Fourteen Points.

Question 10: How was the outbreak of the Second World War an outcome of the First
World War?

Answer: The treatment given to the defeated nations of the First World War was the cause
of outbreak of the Second World War as the Treaty of Versailles singed after the First
World War was humiliating and torturous for many countries like Germany, Austria,
Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.

Question 11: Mention two most important clauses of the Treaty of Versailles.

Answer: (i) Germany was declared guilty of war and was compelled to pay 33 billion
dollars as war indemnity to the victor nations.
(ii) Germany had to evacuate the places she had captured dining the war.

Question 12: Which country emerged as the Super Power after the War?
 Or

The USA emerged as the Super Power after the War. Why?

Answer: (i) It ended the political isolation of the Munro Doctrine.

(ii) It was resonsible for the victory of Allied Powers and also for turning the tables against
Germany and the Axis Powers.

Short Questions – II

Question 1: Enumerate any three causes of the First World War.

Answer: (i) Bismarck’s diplomacy: After the Franco-Russian War of 1870. the German
chancellor, Bismarck used diplomatic policies to keep France isolated.
(ii) Division of Europe into two Hostile groups: On one hand there was single nation
states like France, Holland and Germany whose national identities were based on their
common language apd tradition. The Russian empire included territories populated by
Polish, Ukrainian, Turkish and Mongol populations.
(iii) Armament Race: In order to protect her colonies in Africa and a few islands in
Pacific, Germany began to build a powerful navy with a view to achieve parity with Britain.

Question 2: Discuss about the loss of life and money occured due to First World War.

Answer: During the four years of war, about 80 lakh persons were killed, 60 lakh disabled
and about one crore and 20 lakh wounded. Nearly 80 lakh people were missing.
The war proved to be very costly. The expenditure was nearly 41,000 million pounds on
the side of Allies and 15,000 million pounds on the side of Germans.

Question 3: What changes has occured in the Political map of the world after the First
World War.

Answer: (i) The old empires like the German, the Austria, the Ottoman and Russia were
shattered.
(ii) Many new states such as Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithunia, Czechoslovakia, Romania
and Yugoslavia were created.

Question 4: Discuss about the emergence of the democratic spirit after World War I.

Answer: (i) The German Emperor William II fled away and a democratic government was
set up there.
(ii) People’s Republic was set up in Russia after the Revolution of 1917.
(iii) Republic was set up in Italy too.

Question 5: What did France gain from the Treaty of Versailles.

Answer: France gained a lot from the Treaty of Versailles. Alsace and Lorriaine were
returned by Germany to them. France was compensated for the destruction of its coal
mines by Germany in 1918. Therefore she was given full control over the rich coal mines in
Saar basin, but the area was to be controlled by the League of Nations. France shared the
colonies of Togo and Cameroon with Britain. France was supposed to get 10 years of
supply of coal from Germany along with Belgium and Italy.

Question 6: Explain how the Treaty of Versailles was responsible for the outbreak the
Second World War. The Treaty of Versailles was responsible for the outbreak of World War
II due to the following reasons:

Answer: (i) The Peace Settlement at Paris was made in a spirit of revenge. The Germans
felt that too much injustice had been done to them.
(ii) The victorious powers had deprived Germany of huge tracts of its territory.
(iii) She was burdened with an immense War Indemnity.
It was impossible for a proud German race to forget the consequences of the War, which
they had lost so humiliatingly. This fuelled the rise of Nazism in Germany which adopted of
policy of aggression.

Long Questions

Question 1: What was the Sarajevo crisis?

Or

How did the Sarajevo crisis of the 1914 lead to the First World War?

Answer: On June 28,1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-
Hungary was assassinated at Sarajevo, Capital of Bosnia by the secret society called ‘Black
Hand’ or ‘Union of Death’, formed by die assertive Serbian nationalists whose aim was to
unite all Serbians into a single Serbian State.
As a result of this assassination, Austria served an ultimatum on Serbia on 23 July making
eleven demands and on 28 July, 1914 Austria declared war on Serbia, Russia started
preparation for war to support Serbia. On Aug. 1, 1914 Germany declared war on Russia,
and on August 3, on France. Germany declared war on France on August 4,1914 and on
same day Britain declared war on Germany. Thus the Serajevo crisis triggered World War I
in 1914.

Question 2: Which incident led to the outbreak of First World War?

Answer: The gun-powder of the First World War was getting ready in Europe since long
but the minder of the Austrian Archduke, otherwise a minor incident, provided the spark
which set the whole Europe ablaze. The Austrian Prince, Archduke Ferdinand was murdered
in the Bosnian capital of the Sarajevo on June 28th, 1914. The murderer was a Serbian so
Austria declared war against Serbia on July 28th, 1914.

This incident, i.e., the murder of the Austrian Archduke, had a great impact on the
different European countries. An apology by Serbia could have satisfied Austria and the
things would have settled for the time being. But different European countries had their
own axe to grind so they acted selfishly. France and Russia came to the help of Serbia. At
this, Germany declared a war against Russia. England wanted to keep aloof but when
Germany attacked Belgium, then England was compelled to join the war in order to
safeguard the Belgian neutrality and her own political interests.
Question 3: What is meant by Pan-Slav Movement? Why did it add to conflict between
Austria and Russia?

Answer: Pan-Slav Movement was a movement which was started by the Balkan States
against the Ottoman Empire towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the
20th century.
Turkey was a powerful nation during the 15th and 16th century and she had control over
the Balkan States, but the Turkish power began to decline in the 18th and 19th centuries.
As a result, Austria, Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia began to increase their influence. It
created rivalry and enmity among these nations especially between Russia and Austria.
In order to fish in the troubled waters, Russia encouraged the different Balkan States to
raise a standard of revolt against the collapsing Ottoman Empire. The Russian Czars hoped
that these Balkan States would come under their control once Turkey was ousted from
those states. It was with this aim in view that Russia started the Pan-Slav Movement
among the Balkan States. But, many areas of Austria-Hungary., were also inhabited by the
Slavs. Thus, this Pan-Slav Movement was as much a danger to Austria-Hungary as it was
to the Ottoman Empire. Thus, Russia’s encouragement to the Pan-Slav Movement greatly
estranged the relations between Russia and Austria.
When (in 1908) Austria annexed the two provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia
fanned the fire and consequently some (six) years later in 1914, a Serbian, backed by
Russia, killed Aracduke Ferdinand, the Crown Prince of Austria. This very incident
precipitated the war. Thus the First World War was the direct result of the Pan-Slav
Movement.

Question 4: Name the two military alliances formed before the First World War. How did
their formations make the First World War inevitable?

Answer: The two triple alliances formed before the First World War were:
(i) Triple Alliance: It had Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy as its members.
(ii) Triple Entente: It has Britain, Russia and France as its members.
The conflicts within Europe and the conflicts over colonies mentioned earlier had begun to
create a very tense situation in Europe from the last decade of the nineteenth century.
European countries began to form themselves into opposing groups. They also started
spending vast sums of money to increase the size of their Armies and Navies, to develop
new and more deadly weapons, and to generally prepare themselves for war, Europe was
gradually becoming a vast armed camp.
France was defeated very badly in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. After this war the
German Chancellor, Bismarck adopted such a diplomatic foreign policy as to keep France
isolated and prevented her from establishing friendly relations with any other European
country. Britain as stated above, was alarmed at the growing military power of Germany.
As early as in 1879 Germany had concluded a secret military alliance with’Austria-Hungary
called the “Dual Alliance”. It provided for mutual military assistance in case either country
is attacked by France or Russia. Italy joined it later on in 1882. Thus, it was converted into
“Triple Alliances”. Britain, Russia and France formed the Triple Entente in 1907. Thus
Europe was divided into two hostile groups. The real aims of the countries which joined
these alliances were the extension of their colonial possessions, an all-European war
almost certainly would become a world wide war.
Question 5: The outbreak of the First World War was preceded by series of incidents.
Mention any two of them.

Answer: Two incidents which preceded the First World War are given as below:
(i) Growing Militarisation: Before the beginning of the First World War there was
growing
militarisation of the European State’s. Every country feared and suspected the other and
tried to increase its military and naval strength and the size of every country’s Navy and
Army went on increasing. Most European countries made military training compulsory for
everyone. Europe was being gradually converted into an armed camp.
(ii) Clash over Morocco: In 1904 Britain and France had entered into a secret meeting
according to which Britain was to have a free hand in Egypt, and France was to take over
Morocco. The agreement became known to Germany and roused her indignation. The
German Emperor went to Morocco and promised the Sultan of Morocco his full support for
the independence of Morocco. The antagonism over Morocco, it appeared, would lead to a
war. However, the war was averted when in 1911 France occupied most of Morocco and, in
exchange, gave it many a part of French Congo. Even though the war had been averted,
the situation in Europe, with each country preparing for war, had become dangerous.

Question 6: When and why did the U.S.A. enter the First World War?

Answer: On 6th April, 1917 , the United States entered the First World War by the
following reasons:
(i) The Americans were generally more inclined towards England (and her allies) because
of their cultural and racial affinity with the English people. Hence, they joined the war in
favour of England.
(ii) The U.S.A. was the main supplier of arms and other supplies to the Allies, as such she
was bound to be implicated in the war.
(iii) Economic consideration also prompted the United States to enter the First World War
in favour of the Allies. The Allies were in possession of most of the colonies which could
give boost to the foreign trade of U.S.A.
(iv) The sinking of the U.S.A. ships, carrying the American citizens by the German U-Boats
ultimately forced the U.S.A. to join the war.

Question 7: How did Russia withdraw from the First World War?

Answer: In Russia, there broke out a Revolution in 1917. As a result of this revolution, the
Czar was ousted and the power ultimately came into the hands of Lenin and his co-
revolutionaries. The first task of the new Government was to withdraw from the war.
Russia did so because of the following reasons:
(i) Most of the revolutionaries regarded the First World War as quite useless because,
according to them, the war was being fought to satisfy the imperialistic designs of the Czar
and the other European monarchs.
(ii) The Russian soldiers were ill-equipped and as many as 6,00,000 of them had already
been killed in the War by 1917. There was no sense in continuing such a war of self-
destruction.
(iii) Russia had already suffered serious reverse in the war.
(iv) Lenin, the leader of the new Government, wanted to transform this war of aggression
into a revolutionary war in order to overthrow the Russian autocracy and the best time to
do so was this when all the powerful countries of the world were awfully busy in the First
World War.

Question 8: Explain the effects of First World War on Austria-Hungar.

Answer: Consequences of the First World War on Austria-Hungary: Austria-Hungary

was forced to sign a separate treaty (of St. Germain) with the Allies by which she had to
accept the following conditions:
(i) Austria-Hungary was broken up and two separate kingdoms of Austria and Hungary
were set-up.
(ii) Austria had to cede territories to Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Poland and was forced
to accept their independence.
(iii) Italy also gained certain territories (such as Tyrol) from Austria.
(iv) Austrian army was reduced to 30,000.
(v) Austria was also forced to pay a huge-war indemnity.

Question 9: Discuss the effects of first world war on Turkey.

Answer: Consequences of the First War on Turkey: Turkey was. also forced to sign a
separate treaty (i.e., the Treaty of Sevres) by which she forced to accept the following
terms:
(i) This treaty stipulated a complete dismemberment of the Turkish Empire. The control of
Syria was given to France while Palestine and Mesopotamia were handed over to Britain.
(ii) England also gained the control of Egypt from Turkey.
(iii) Most of the remaining Turkish territories were shared by Greece and Italy.
The Treaty of Sevres, however, could not be put into practice because there was a
revolution in Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kamal Pasha where by Turkey
regained the control of Asia,Minor and the City of Constantinople.

Question 10: Describe any four aims of the peace programme of Woodrow Wilson.

Answer: President Woodrow Wilson of America was a very peace loving man. In January,
1918, he put forward a peace programme consisting of fourteen points to end the First
World War. These points included:
(i) Discard of secret treaties,
(ii) Freedom ip the use of seas by all nations,
(iii) Reduction in armaments,
(iv) Conduct of negotiations between different states openly,
(v) Evacuation of Belgium by Germany,
(vi) Restoration of Alsace-Lorraine to France,
(vii) Creation of independent States in Europe, and
(viii) Establishment of a world organisation to guarantee political independence and
territorial integrity of different States.
Many of the above points were covered by the different treaties that were signed after the
First World War. For instance, Belgium \yas evacuated by Germany: Alsace and Lorraine
were returned to France; many small states like Poland, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Latvia,
etc. were created on [Link] of nationality, and an international organisation with the
name of the League of Nations was created to maintain the world peace.
Question 11: What were the objectives of the League of Nations? Name the organisation
formed in October 1945 with objectives similar to those of the League of Nations.

Answer: Objectives of the League: After the First World War, a world organisation,
popularly known as the League of Nations, was created in 1920. The chief aims or
purposes of this new world organisation i.e., the League of Nations were the following:
(i) To preserve peace and security in the world.
(ii) To settle international conflicts in a peaceful manner.
(iii) To promote just and honorable relations among the nations of the world.
(iv) To force its members not to resort to war.
(v) To formulate plans for the reduction of armaments.
(vi) To take economic and military action against any country.
(vii) To improve labour and social conditions in different countries. To achieve this aim, the
International Labour Organization was set up which is even now one of the specialized
agencies of the United Nations.

Question 12: Mention four pbints under the Treaty of Versailles, which affected Germany.

Answer: Consequences of the First World War on Germany: Germany was compelled
to sign the Treaty of Versailles on 28th June, 1919 and was forced to accept the following
terms which were comparatively very harsh:
(i) Germany and her allies were held guilty for aggression and hence Germany was forced
to cede certain parts of her pre-war territories to Denmark, Belgium, Poland and
Czechoslovakia.
(ii) Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France. Moreover, the Saar Valley, known for its
coal mines, was ceded to France for 15 years.
(iii) Germany had also to lose all her colonial empire which was divided among the victors.
Togo land and Cameroons were divided among France and England. German colonies in
South-West Africa and East Africa were also taken away from her and shared by England,
Belgium, Portugal and South Africa. While Japan got the Shantung and Kiau Chow in China,
New Zealand got the Samoa Island.
(iv) The area of the Rhine Valley was also demilitarized. The German army was also
reduced to 1,00,000 and she was not toJhqve any air force and sub-marines.
(v) Germany had to accept the war-guilt and she was compelled to pay a heavy sum (of
6,500,000,000 Pounds) as war-indemnity to the Allies.
Thus the Treaty of Versailles was very humiliating for Germany. So it had far reaching
effects on Germany. It led to the rise of Nazism in Germany. Its leader, Hitler violated all
the terms of this humiliating treaty (of Versailles) and plunged the world into another world
war.

Question 13: Explain how First World War brought about a changed political scenario of
the world.

Answer: The War was confined in Europe and Asia and as such the U.S. economy was not
affected by it, but it gained from the war as it was a victorious power. It made rapid
progress in the post war period as it tested its arms, ammunition and tanks. Another
country which gained from the war was Soviet Union thought it has withdrawn from the
war in 1917.
It had gained from the war since it had supported the Allies and became another Super
Power. There were 15 republics which were placed together as a union.
The economies of the Western European countries had been shattered and Soviet Union
stood on its own. The world was divided into two powers the Capitalist and the Communist
and the Western Europe Countries trying to appease them.

Question 14: Describe the reasons of the failure of League of Nations.

Answer: Following were the main reasons of the failure of League of Nations:
(i) United States of America not being the member of League of Nations: The most
powerful nation of the world did not take the membership of League of Nations. This
considerably reduced the effectiveness of the League of Nations from the beginning.
(ii) Selfishness of big Nations: Big nations of the League of Nations, who were the
Super Powers in the world were very self-seeking; this narrow attitude hindered the
generation of the . feelings of co-operation and cordiality among the member nations.
(iii) Powerlessness of League of Nations: The League of Nations had no such powers
as to get its edicts enforced.
(iv) Aggressive Policies of Hitler: Hitler, the dictator of Germany, did not care for the
objectives of the League of Nations and conquered Czechoslovakia, Austria and Maimal.
The League of Nations could not save these nations and finally, with the fall of Poland the
League of Nations collapsed.
(v) Absence of Sovereignty: The by-Laws mentioned in the Charter of the League of
Nations were so slack that any member could abandon its membership any time and
engage in war. Thus, in the absence of any sovereign power the League of Nations was
unable to take any effective action against the aggressor, and this became the main reason
behind the failure of the League of Nations.
(vi) Absence of Armed Forces: The League of Nations did not have its own Army and
hence its success was doubtful since beginning. In the absence of Armed Forces, it could
not prove to be effective.

Picture Based Questions

Question 1: Answer the following:

(i) Name the three gentlemen in the picture.

(ii) With which settlement they were associated.

Answer: (i) The three gentlemen in the picture from left are Georges Clemenceau
(France), Woodrow Wilson (USA) and Lloyd George, (U.K.).
(ii) The settlement with which they were associated is Treaty of Versailles.