History ✉️

Question 1

What were the MAIN causes of ww1?

Answer 1

Militarism -military power.
Alliances- political agreements
Imperialism- empire
Nationalism- national identity

Question 2

How did militarism cause ww1?

Answer 2

Militarism= the desire for and creation of a strong army, navy and airforce and development of new technology. Emphasis of the importance of military power created tension between Britain and Germany in the naval arms race.
Dreadnoughts were the most technologically advanced ships in the 1900s. Britain built dreadnoughts in 1906,Germany responded by building dreadnoughts; driven by a desire to make the German Empire a dominant world power .1906-1914
Dreadnoughts were stronger faster and larger than previous naval ships, well equipped for defence and attack. SUPERIOR

Question 3

what is imperialism?

Answer 3

Imperialism= the desire to own other countries and have a greater empire than other powers.

Empire= where one country owns other counties called colonies.

Question 4

How did the growth of the British empire create tension leading to WW1?

Answer 4

At the beginning of the 20th century the British empire was at its peak, the largest empire in history by population and landmass. Approximately 1/4 of the global population was owned by the British empire. 531 million
Other European powers felt threatened, rivalled and formed alliances with other countries in order to gain in strength. France, Germany and Britain fought over control in North Africa (Morocco) which created tension.

Question 5

What were the 2 opposing alliances in WW1?

Answer 5

The triple entente- France, GB, Russia

The triple alliance- Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary

Question 6

How did alliances help cause Ww1: (3 points + definition)

Answer 6

Alliances= the creation of political agreements between two or more countries to defend or attack together

1. strength
2. Attack and defence- countries in an alliance knew they would have protection or support if needed.
3. Chain reaction- assassinations set of a chain reaction where allies joined together forming the two sides of WW1

Question 7

What is nationalism and why did it cause WW1?

Answer 7

Nationalism= the creation of a strong national identity: especially important to new nations e.g. Germany and nations who wanted independence e.g Serbia
Links between nationalism and the assassination of Franz Ferdinand(short term cause of WW1)
The German Empire was founded in the early 1870s, and since had a determined desire to achieve nationalist ambitions (strong identity) which rivalled the British empire which was at its peak.

Question 8

Why did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand cause WW1?( short term)

Answer 8

The murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand set off a series of war declarations on numerous nations because of alliances that have been formed.
Franz Ferdinand was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne which opposed the beliefs of ‘the Black Hand’ and organisation which promoted Serbian nationalism. The austro Hungarian empire was trying to control Serbia which is in the Balkans (a region in Europe). Gavrilo Princip killed Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife in 1914. Chain reaction

Question 9

Why did Britain choose to ally with the members of the triple entente?

Answer 9

Russia spent lots of money on its military(around 65.5million) and France had the 2nd highest number of soldiers and colonies. France and Russia were positioned surrounding the triple alliance to impose threat.

Question 10

Why did Germany choose to ally with the members of the triple alliance?

Answer 10

Allying with Germany’s neighbouring countries created central strength. The Austro-Hungarian empire contained many Eastern European countries which accumulated a powerful body of military forces.

Question 11

Why did trench warfare develop in WW1?

Answer 11

1. To protect soldiers from attack
2. To hold an army’s position(not giving up territory)
3. To use as a base for launching attacks
4. To establish communication and supply networks (interlinking rows)

Question 12

The features of a trench:

Answer 12

Sandbags- absorbed water and impact of explosives
Trench systems were complex to create unpredictability
Dug outs- shelter in between battle and storage
Artillery shelf and firestep- developed for direct shooting

Question 13

When was the battle of the Somme and what were the main aimed for the British?

Answer 13

1st July 1916-19th November 1916

• To help the french by pushing the Germans back because German troops occupied french villages
• Help reduce the pressure on the french at Verdun

Question 14

What was achieved at the battle of the Somme?

Answer 14

The pressure on Verdun was relieved
Territory was gained, British and French gained 12km of ground.
Knowledge was gained for future plans in later battles. Improvements were made in the use of artillery and infantry tactics,
: new weapons, including tanks, began to be integrated in the British Army’s methods.
Arguably, if the battle had not been fought the outcome would have been more disastrous.

Question 15

What were the negative outcomes of the battle of the Somme?

Answer 15

In terms of loss of life and casualties it was one of the bloodiest battles in human history.
420,000 British casualties, 200,000 french casualties compared to Germany’s 435,000 casualties.
Destruction of military resources(tanks, aircrafts)

Question 16

Issues with the British plan of the battle of the Somme: (4)

Answer 16

1. The barbed wire was not cut, instead it was lifted up from the impact of the artillery firing
2. The artillery spotting aircraft were unable to spot the German artillery due to low clouds and mist (German artillery not destroyed as a result)
3. German defences that surrounded a village were not destroyed, instead the village was destroyed
4. Despite immediate casualties after the first day of battle (60,000 British casualties on day 1) plans weren’t changed.

Question 17

When was the treaty of Versailles established and who signed it?

Answer 17

28th June 1919,
(5 years after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie)
The three most powerful allies: UK, France and USA

Question 18

What were the LAMB terms of the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 18

Land- ban on Anschluss, distribution of colonies and land, some to Poland

A-armed forces (restrictions on no. men, airforce and navy) no conscription

Money- paying reparations(£6.600 billion) in 1921

Blame- “War Guilt Clause” required Germany to accept blame entirely for the outbreak of WW1

Question 19

What were the military impacts on Germany due to the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 19

Germany’s military power was greatly reduced and it was not allowed troops in the Rhineland, part of its own territory. (Demilitarised)
The army was also to be a maximum of 100,000 men compared to 4.25 million prior which left Germany vulnerable.
French and Belgian troops took raw materials and goods that were owed to them under the Treaty.
No submarines or airforce was allowed.

Question 20

What were the economic effects of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 20

Germany had to pay£6.6 billion reparations which Germans felt was to destroy their economy and starve their children.
The territory lost included many of Germany’s industries. Germany lost 16% of its coal.
Hyperinflation caused by its economy spiralling. Prices and wages rocketed.

Question 21

What were the political

Impacts of the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 21

Germans hated the Treaty because they had not been allowed to take part in the conference. Germans also hated their own politicians for signing the treaty, they were given the name the “November criminals”

Germany was not allowed to join the League of Nations which was seen as an insult, instead it was an international pariah (outsider).
Right wing nationalists who opposed the Treaty and the government tried to take over in 1920. New parties opposed the treaty which later became known as the Nazi Party (cause of WW2)

Question 22

The survival of Britain in the first year of WWII, Battle of Britain

Answer 22

June to October/November 1940
To launch operation sea lion(invasion of Britain) Hitler needed to destroy the RAF. The Luftwaffe did not destroy the RAF but it was under threat until the change of tactics (Blitz).
The RAF was not destroyed and operation sea lion was not launched. The RAF was saved by the change of tactic but the Blitz affected civilians-> fear

Question 23

The survival of Britain in the first year of WWII, Dunkirk

Answer 23

26 May - 4 June 1940
German forces advanced through France, pushing back the allies to the french coast, they faced defeat. 400,000 British french and Belgian soldiers evacuated from the North french coast on hundreds of non naval boats sailed by volunteers.

Question 24

What was the significance of Dunkirk in the war?

Answer 24

Kept Britain in the war and boosted morale as it was presented as a victory. Some see Dunkirk as a retreat as the Germans carried on and took control of France.

Question 25

What is meant by the term ‘going over the top’

Answer 25

Soldiers would receive the order to ‘go over the top’ and climb out in formation into No Man’s Land to advance toward the enemy trench. Many were immediately brought down by machine gun fire.

Question 26

What is stalemate?

Answer 26

A state where both sides cannot breakthrough against the enemy. The advances in Technology played a big role in creating the stalemate through strong defensive weaponry such as Machine Guns and Artillery, this caused ‘trench warfare’
Armies were forced to adapt their tactics

Question 27

How were tanks effective in the war

Answer 27

Tanks were developed by the British Army as a mechanical solution to the trench warfare stalemate. They were first used on the Somme in September 1916, but they were mechanically unreliable and too few in number to secure a victory.

One of the few ways that tanks were effective during the war, was that they were capable of crossing barbed wire defences, although their tracks were still at risk of becoming entangled.

Question 28

When was stalemate overcome and how?

Answer 28

the British had learned how to combine infantry assaults (men armed with rifles, grenades and machine guns) with gas, artillery, tanks and aircraft in a co-coordinated attack or ‘all arms’ approach.