Cell biology flash cards
Flash cards on cell structure, organelles, plant and animal cells, bacteria, diffusion, osmosis, active transport, mitosis and microscopy for school biology.
Flash card deck20 cardsIntermediateSchool
World War I causes and key terms
Flash cards on the long-term causes, the trigger and the key terms of the First World War, from the alliance system to the Treaty of Versailles.
Free to use, edit, print and study. No account needed: your set stays on this device.
The cards, front and back
- 1Front
MAIN causes
BackA common way to remember the long-term causes:
- Militarism: building up armed forces and planning for war
- Alliances: countries promising to defend each other
- Imperialism: rivalry over colonies and empire
- Nationalism: strong pride and loyalty to one's nation
- 2Front
Triple Entente
BackThe informal grouping of France, Russia and Britain before 1914. It was a set of understandings rather than one formal military treaty.
- 3Front
Triple Alliance
BackThe 1882 alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Italy did not join the war on their side; it joined the Allies in 1915.
- 4Front
Central Powers
BackThe wartime alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.
- 5Front
Assassination at Sarajevo
BackOn 28 June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie were shot in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb. It was the trigger for the war.
- 6Front
July Crisis
BackThe month of diplomacy after the assassination. Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, declared war on 28 July 1914, and the alliance system pulled in the other powers within days.
- 7Front
Schlieffen Plan
BackGermany's plan to avoid a two-front war by defeating France quickly through Belgium, then turning east to face Russia. It failed, leading to stalemate in the west.
- 8Front
Belgian neutrality
BackGermany's invasion of neutral Belgium in August 1914 was the immediate reason Britain declared war, as Britain had guaranteed Belgian neutrality under the 1839 Treaty of London.
- 9Front
Anglo-German naval race
BackCompetition between Britain and Germany to build battleships, especially the Dreadnought class, in the years before 1914. It increased mistrust between the two powers.
- 10Front
Western Front
BackThe line of trenches from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border where British, French and later American forces fought Germany.
- 11Front
Trench warfare
BackFighting from long systems of dug-in trenches protected by barbed wire and machine guns. Attacks across no man's land often caused heavy casualties for little ground.
- 12Front
No man's land
BackThe ground between opposing front-line trenches, exposed to enemy fire.
- 13Front
Battle of the Somme (1916)
BackA major British and French offensive on the Western Front from July to November 1916. The first day was the bloodiest day in British military history.
- 14Front
Gallipoli campaign (1915)
BackAn Allied attempt to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war by landing on the Gallipoli peninsula. It failed and is central to national memory in Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.
- 15Front
Unrestricted submarine warfare
BackGermany's policy of sinking ships without warning in waters around Britain. Its resumption in 1917 was a key reason the United States entered the war in April 1917.
- 16Front
Armistice
BackAn agreement to stop fighting. The armistice on the Western Front took effect at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918, now marked as Armistice or Remembrance Day.
- 17Front
Treaty of Versailles (1919)
BackThe peace treaty between the Allies and Germany. Germany lost territory, had its military limited and was required to pay reparations.
- 18Front
War guilt clause
BackArticle 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, which held Germany and its allies responsible for the loss and damage of the war. It was deeply resented in Germany.
- 19Front
League of Nations
BackAn international organisation set up in 1920 after the war to settle disputes peacefully. The United States never joined.
- 20Front
Total war
BackA war in which a country uses all its resources, including industry, civilians and propaganda, not just its armed forces.
How to use this template
This deck covers the causes, the trigger and the most tested key terms of the First World War. It is aimed at students in middle and secondary school history and works as quick review for introductory university courses. Each front gives a term or event; the back explains it in a few sentences with the essential detail. Work through it in Learn mode first, then use Test mode so spaced repetition can focus on the terms you find hardest. The MAIN card is a good starting point for any essay on causes. Print double-sided if you want to revise away from a screen.
Tips
- Separate long-term causes (MAIN) from the short-term trigger (Sarajevo and the July Crisis). Essays usually ask you to weigh them.
- Link each alliance card to a map so you can picture the two-front problem Germany faced.
- Practise explaining one card in thirty seconds without looking. If you cannot, mark it for review.
- Note which terms are about the outbreak of war and which are about the peace. Mixing them up is a common exam mistake.
- Historians still debate how much blame each country deserves, so present the war guilt clause as a historical fact about the treaty, not a final verdict.
Make it fit
- Add cards on the home front in your own country, such as conscription or women's war work.
- For a short quiz, use only the causes and the July Crisis cards.
- Add the Eastern Front, the war in Africa or the Middle East if your course covers them.
- Turn the deck into a debate: assign each student a cause and ask them to argue it mattered most.
Updated October 28, 2026