The Historical Context
What were seen as the key long-term causes for the outbreak of World War One?
Possible Answer: Militarism, Imperialism, Nationalism, Alliances
What event triggered the outbreak of World War I in 1914?
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
What is meant by the term “trench warfare”?
Static lines of trenches with no man's land between, fought from fixed positions on the Western Front.
What was one major effect of World War I on soldiers or civilians during the war?
Possible Answers: Trench foot, shell shock (PTSD), rationing, Spanish Flu pandemic.
What does the phrase “the war to end all wars” mean?
Possible Answer: H.G. Wells' idea that WWI would prevent future wars (proven false by WWII).
How did alliances contribute to the outbreak of World War One?
Possible Answer: They created a domino effect; e.g., Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, pulling in Russia, Germany, France, and Britain via the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente.
What was the significance of the Schlieffen Plan in the opening stages of the war?
Germany's plan to invade France quickly through Belgium before turning east against Russia; it failed at the Battle of the Marne, leading to stalemate.
Name two new technologies or weapons that changed how the war was fought.
Possible Answers: Machine guns, poison gas, tanks, aircraft, submarines (U-boats).
How did World War I affect women’s roles in society?
Possible Answers: Took factory/munitions jobs; suffrage gains (e.g., UK 1918); challenged traditional gender roles.
How did World War I contribute to changes in the map of Europe?
Possible Response: Collapse of empires (Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, Russian, German); new states like Poland, Yugoslavia, etc.
In what ways did nationalism and imperialism increase tensions between the Great Powers before 1914?
Possible Answer: Nationalism fueled Slavic desires in the Balkans against Austria-Hungary; imperialism led to rivalries like the Moroccan Crises and naval arms race between Britain and Germany.
How did the war on the Western Front become a stalemate?
Possible Answer: Trench lines formed after Marne (1914); machine guns, artillery, and barbed wire made advances impossible, creating no man's land.
How did industrialisation make World War I a “total war”?
Possible Answers: Mass production of shells/weapons; entire economies mobilised (e.g., rationing, women in factories).
What were two social or economic effects of the war on European countries?
Possible Answers: Hyperinflation (Germany), Spanish Flu (50M deaths), loss of young men, debt, etc.
In what ways did the war influence attitudes to peace, remembrance, or memorialisation?
Possible Answer: Unknown Soldier tombs, Remembrance Day, pacifism (e.g., League of Nations), etc.
How did militarism shape the decisions and expectations of European leaders before the war?
Possible Answer: It glorified war and created large armies/navies (e.g., Germany's Schlieffen Plan assumed quick victory); leaders expected short wars due to conscription and arms races.
Why was 1916 such a significant year in the course of the war?
Possible Answer: Major battles like Verdun (700,000 casualties) and Somme (1 million casualties); huge losses but no breakthroughs, showing attrition warfare.
In what ways did warfare in World War I differ from earlier wars?
Possible Answers: Scale (millions mobilised), technology (gas/tanks), duration (4 years stalemate vs. quick 19th-century wars), total mobilisation.
Why did many societies experience major grief, hardship, or disruption after World War I?
Possible Answer: 16M dead, empires collapsed, economic ruin, refugees from redrawn borders.
How did World War I shape the modern world in political or social terms?
Possible Answer: Weak League of Nations, mandates, self-determination rhetoric, modernism in art., etc.
To what extent do you think the outbreak of World War I was caused more by structural tensions than by the actions of individuals in 1914?
Possible Answer: The structural impact of nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and alliances acted as a powder keg for individual triggers (e.g. the assassination of Franz Ferdinand).
Which turning point in the war do you think was most important, and why?
Possible Answers: U.S. entry (1917) for resources/manpower; or Spring Offensive failure (1918)—argue based on ending stalemate and enabling Allied victory.
How successful were new military technologies in changing the outcome of the war? Explain your judgement.
Possible Answers: Limited initially (e.g., gas/tanks caused casualties but no breakthroughs); tanks at Amiens (1918) aided Allied advance—moderately successful by war's end.
Which effect of the war had the greatest impact on societies in the years after 1918, and why?
Possible Answer: Political instability (rise of communism/fascism); or economic collapse—argue e.g., paved way for WWII, etc.
Evaluate the success of the Paris Peace Settlement in creating lasting peace after World War I.
Possible Answer: Versailles too harsh on Germany (reparations, guilt clause fueled resentment/Nazism); ignored self-determination fully (e.g., mandates, minorities); League weak without U.S.—ultimately failed as it sowed seeds for WWII, etc.