Key Players of World War I Trivia Quiz

Answer: Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy

Upon the outbreak of war Italy remained neutral, despite its alliance, and in 1915 joined the war against the Central Powers.

Answer: Entente

This was one of the problems that made the war a World War. Once one country was drawn into war, there was much pressure upon its allies to join the war as well.

Answer: powder keg

The Balkans were considered explosive because of radical nationalist movements in the area as well as conflicting claims to land with the various other countries/empires in the region. Moreover, the rapid collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the region had led to bitter Balkan wars in 1912 and 1913.

Answer: Black Hand

The Black Hand was a secret society of extreme Serbian nationalists and Pan-Slavists. It sent the student named Gavrilo Princip to Sarajevo to assassinate the Archduke. The Austrians used this as an excuse to invade the Balkans and the Germans approved and agreed to help. Serbia and some other Balkan states were protected by the Russians, so the Russians were involved.

The White Hand was Saruman's mark in the Lord of the Rings, and I made up the SPM.

Answer: Schlieffen Plan

The Schlieffen Plan did not go as smoothly as planned for a few reasons:

1. The Belgians resisted, slowing down the German advance and allowing the French more time to prepare for the invasion.
2. France fought more effectively than had been expected.
3. The Russians mobilized much faster than expected, and invaded East Prussia.
4. Britain joined the war on 5 August 1914, partly as a result of the German march through Belgium.
5. Schlieffen died before the plan was executed and the Germans did not follow it correctly, placing more troops on the France-Germany border than they should have. (Thanks to Doug_From_NZ for this info.)

The Austerlitz Plan was a plan that Napoleon used at Austerlitz. As far as I know, the other two plans don't exist.

Answer: both

I just want to say that I hope you didn't put "Both" just because it was an available choice.

The Treaty of London recognized Belgium as a sovereign state. When Germany marched its troops through Belgium to get to France, Britain felt obliged to declare war as well, especially since they were part of the Triple Entente, and Russia and France were already at war. Moreover, Britain did not want any substantial part of the coast opposite its shores to fall into German hands.

Answer: Herbert Henry Asquith

The order went:

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1905-1908)
Herbert Henry Asquith (1908-1916)
David Lloyd George (1916-1922)

Sir Edward Grey was the British Foreign Secretary from 1905-1916, and it is his name that is most widely mentioned in many accounts of the outbreak of war in 1914 and especially his statement late on August 4th, 1914, "The lights are going out all over Europe..."

This puts Herbert Henry Asquith in office at the start of WWI in 1914. Props to you if you knew that. In case you're wondering, George V was king during the entirety of WWI.

Answer: True

The Zimmerman Telegram was sent to Mexico from Germany encouraging them to declare war on the US in exchange for Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, upon Germany's victory. The British intercepted the telegram and sent it to the Americans hoping it would encourage them to enter the war (and they were right). Mexico declined Germany's offer (because they knew they could not fight the US) and remained neutral. Suspicions in the U.S. that British might have altered or even forged the telegram was dispelled when Zimmermann publicly confirmed (!) the contents in the Reichstag.

Answer: Neutral: Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark

Portugal was on the side of the Allies (but Spain was neutral). Everything else is true. Some others:

Neutral: Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands (Holland), Mexico.
Allied: Greece, Finland, Romania, Albania, Italy and the entire British and French Empires.
Central: That's it.

Answer: April 6th, 1917

July 28th, 1914 - World War I begins with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia.
May 7th, 1915 - The Germans sink the Lusitania, killing 128 Americans on board.
January 31st, 1917 - The Germans resume unrestricted submarine warfare.
March 1st, 1917 - The Germans send (and Britain intercepts) the Zimmerman Telegram.
April 6th, 1917 - US Congress declares war on the Central Powers.

The war ended on November 11th, 1918, so the US was only at war for 1 year, 7 months, and 5 days (this was less than half the duration of the entire war).