WORLD WAR I
MAP EXERCISE
DIRECTIONS: Read the following selection. Each boldfaced item in the selection below is accompanied by a number in parentheses. Use this number to mark each country or body of water on your map of Europe in 1914. You will get one point for each correct answer and five bonus points if you get all of them correct. (Total possible 25 points).
Great Britain did not become actively involved in World War I until (1) Belgium, a small country that claimed neutrality, was invaded by German armies on their way to(2) France, located on Belgium's southwestern border. As (3) Great Britain is separated from the northern plains of France and Belgium only by a few miles of water, she must be concerned whenever these countries are invaded. So Britain entered the war as the ally of France. Another of France's allies was (4) Italy), a southern European country whose northwestern border meetsFrance at her southeastern corner. One reason Italy entered the war on the Allied side is that she had been promised a port on the eastern side of the (5) Adriatic Sea. The country in control of the eastern side of the Adriatic Sea was (6) Austria - Hungary, which was the second largest country in Europe at this time. It was Austria-Hungary that had touched off the war when she marched into (7) Serbia, the small land locked country on her southern border in retaliation for what she claimed was Serbia's involvement in the assassination of the Austrian Archduke. Serbia's access to the Adriatic was blocked by two countries (8) Montenegro which also shared a border with Austria-Hungary. Montenegro was Serbia's early ally in the war. Montenegro's Adriatic neighbor to the south, (9) Albania, managed to stay neutral throughout the conflict while (10) Greece, located to the south of Albania, was one the 28 countries to join the war against the Central Powers. Greece's location, with the (11) Aegean Sea to her east put her in close proximity to two of the four Central Powers: (12) Turkey, directly across the Aegean, and (13) Bulgaria , at the northern tip of that sea. Bulgaria entered the war in 1915, while her neighbor to the north (14) Rumania, entered the war a year later on the opposite side. Austria-Hungary had little to fear from the small countries like Rumania, but she could not be so sure of the outcome with (15) Russia, the other country to the east. Russia, was the largest country in the world, had an "understanding" with little Serbia. It was Austria-Hungary's ally. (16) Germany which launched the attack against Russia. A few small neutral countries remained caught up in the middle of the several belligerents. One was (17) The Netherlands, which shared the boundaries with Germany and Belgium. Another nation so small it tends to be overlooked was (18) Luxembourg, which borders Belgium and France and Germany, and finally that "traditional neutral (19) Switzerland nestled away between four countries which you should know well enough if your have followed directions up to this point. Lastly, Britain's naval success was keyed by her ability to control the (20) Strait of Gibraltar which was paramount to success in the Mediterranean Sea.