Igcse history (0470) depth study part 1 the first world war 1914 1918

IGCSE History (0470)
Depth study: Part 1
The First World War 1914-1918

Objectives
1. Understanding the Great Powers of Old Europe
2. The making of quarrels
3. The Balkan Powder Keg
4. The Countdown to war

1. The Great Powers of Old Europe
1.1 Great Britain
1.2 Germany
1.3 Russia
1.4 Austria - Hungary
1.5 France

1.1 Great Britain - an island empire
● It was a small country at
start. Under Qn.
Victoria(18737-1901) . It
had become the richest
and most powerful nation
on Earth
● It had the richest
industries, most trade and
largest numbers of
colonies and the biggest
navy
Creat Br’s ruler
Name: King George V (1910-1936)
- He was shy and quiet. He spent
15 years in navy before became
king
- Unlike his father, King George
had very little power and could
not make his own laws for Br
monarch can only make laws
which have been drawn up by
Parliament
- He was too the Emperor of India n rulers of many other lands overseas
- His empire took nearly quarter of the worlds’ population

Problems
Despite being a “land of Hope and Glory”, she
also had a number of problems. The biggest
were
Ireland Home Rule : it was part of GB and was
governed from London. Irish ppl wanted to
break away from Br and have Home Rule.
Groups of protestant and Irish rebels were
armed and ready to fight and this could cause
civil war in Ireland.

1.2 Germany - A new Empire
In 1914, Germany was less
than 50 years old. Before 1870,
there were no such country,
only a collection of small states
: Prussia. The leader wanted to
expand Prussia but had to go
through series of conflicts with
its neigbour (France /
Austria). Both were beaten
and the New german Empire
were created in 1871
Germany’s ruler
Name: Keiser Wilhelm II(1888-1918)
He was King George V’s cousin but with the exact
opposite character
- He was very energetic, strong and outgoing
- He spent his youth in army and always dressed up
in military attire.
- Very charming and friendly but was often
impatient and rude
- He was jealous of Br empire and decided to grow
his colony overseas. Once he said “Germany must
have plce in the sun” and his aim was to build
world wide power

Problems
Like Britain Germany too had many problems. Many
workers were unhappy because their wages were low,
food was expensive and working conditions were bad
- Many workers joined Trade Unions and
organising strikes forcing govt to improve their
conditions. Many were joining Socialist party
which wanted kaiser Wilhelm to share his power
with parliament . They too intended to overthrow
him due to this refusal
- He did little to improve the conditions . By the
1914 one German in everywhere three supported
Socialist Party and many were actively working to
start a revolution

1.3 Russia
Russia is one of the largest country in the world but in 1900,
she was one of the poorest
- She was very rich in minerals, coal, iron ore , gold and
ect (were not much used). Having most population
living in the western part of Russia.
- Most lands in north are too cold and not suitable for
farming. She had long coastline but most ot was frozen
for half of the year making sea transport impossible
- It was an empire of many ppl each speaking a different
languages from Finns up north to caucasian in the
south , poles in the west made it hard to govern

Trans siberian railways
- The Tsar hoped that
TransSiberian railway
would provide at least part
of the answer. It was
opened in 1901 linking
Moscow with
Vladivostock (10 000 km)

Russia - Ruler and her Empire
Name : Tsar Nicholas II (1894-1917)
- A weak man and not very clever (his
political advisers too). The closest
adviser to him was Gregory Rasputin,
a monk . Rasputin had a hypnotic
power and cured his son from blood
disease ‘Haemophilia”
- He believed that he was chosen by
God as the ruler and chose to rule as
autocrat and have complete control
over his land and would not share his
power. It made him unpopular among
his subjects who believed in
democracy.
Problems
- Most russian lived n
worked in dreadful
conditions. They
worked up to 14 h/d
with very low wages
- Workers had very lil
reasons to support
Tsar
- 8/10 ppl in Russia
scraped a living by
farming small plots of
land
- When it times of heavy
weather, many died
while others lived close
to starvation.
- Like workers in town,
many were ready to
rebel against the Tsar

Russia had no overseas
colonies. But Tsar Nicolas
did want to get more land
- The major reasons
are to gain access to
sea port as south
which do not freeze
in winter. Can you
spot them in the
map?

1.4 Austria -Hungary (A patchwork Empire)
Austria-Hungary was actually a
union of 2 separate countries.
Inside it lived many different
ppl, nationalities, languages and
customs made it hard to govern
like Russia
Many Groups of ppl wanted to
be independent and wanted to
rule themselves in their own
ways

The ruler and the problems
Name; Emperor Franz Joseph (1848-1916)
At the age 84, he was the oldest of all Europe’s
leader. A quiet, serious and religious
His long lifee been a sad one, his brother
Maximilian the ruler wife been stabbed by an
assassin of Mexico been killed by rebel, his and
his brother Rudolf committed suicide.
In 1900, he was deeply upset when his nephew
Franz Ferdinand married beneath him to a
Countess named Sophie Chotek
Problems
- Many ppl hated the ruler
and govt
- Some it because only
German language is
allowed to use at schools,
newspapers, workplaces
ect.
- It led to many rebel. For
example in 1897, Czech
ppl lived in Provice of
Bochmia rioting in the
street of Prague this
reason.

1.5 France - A Republic
France was twice the size of Br and about the same size of Germany.
The land was fertile and ppl were hard-working, filled with excellent
transport system
Despite all the advantages, they stood weaker than Br or Germany.
Her farms and factories produced less and population were
shrinking.
Many ppl have lost their national pride after German beat them in
German-Franco war . She had lost 2 most important valuable
provinces to German (Alsace n Lorraine). The hared against
Germans grew intensely
France Ruler
Name : President Raymond Poincare
He was a clever man , honest and outspoken,
also cold and unsympathetic. He was born and
raised in Lorraine. The ppl of Fr respected him
but they didnt like him much

Problems
- Most of her colonies were in Africa, they were liked
bcoz they built schools, hospitals, roads an ports
but
- back in East, indo-China, Fr were not all liked,
there were often wars with groups of rebels who
wanted independence. The cost of fighting were
expensive and required many men
- Stood the strongest nation, she was beaten by
Prussia in Franco-Prussian war, causing Fr to lose
its national pride, they too lost the rich provinces
of Alsace Lorraine

2. The Making of Quarrels
2.1 The Alliance System
2.2 Planning for war
2.3 Two tests of strength
2.4 The Balkan Powder Keg

2.1 The alliance system
- 50 yr bfore, European powers were very
different from those which existed in
1914
- Br had no ties with other countries and
concentrated in building er empire
- The Emperor of Gemany, Austria and
Russia were tied together in “ Three
Emperors League “ agreement
- In 1879, Germany begin quarelling with
Russia and to secure herself from Russian
attack, Germany set stronger ties with
Austria in “Dual Alliance” agreement
which joined by Italy 2 years later making
it “Triple Alliance” in 1882
Germany - Austria - Italy France - Russia - Britain
- Three way friendship worried France and
Russia. In 1892, Franco- Russian Alliance
was created
- Br felt worried as Germany was
supporting Boers settlers who fought for
their independent from Br in Africa. In
1903, King Edward visited France to sign
an alliance of Entente Cordiale (Br+FR)
for future support
- In 1907, Br made similar agreement with
Russia building The Triple Entente

Germany kicking the Entente Cordiale rock: "Donnerwetter! It's
rock. I thought it was going to be paper." Date: 1911

2.2 Planning for war (a. The Schlieffen Plan)
Mastermind Count Alfred Von Schlieffen (Senior member of
German Army)
The plan Gr’s main enemy was Rs and Fr and this what made the
plan more difficult. If Gr fought Fr, Rswould attack Gr
on east. To protect the country, the Schlieffen would
have to split army on 2 fronts- east n west. No general
agreed on these as they have to halfen the numbers of
soldiers
Thought on
winning
Schlieffen thought Rs was big, the roads and railways
were badly built, it would take them 6 weeks to
mobilize n position themselves against Gr. Whole Gr
army would be sent to invade Fr by travelling at hi-
speed through Belgium to capture Paris within 6 weeks
. The German army would then be sent to Russia who
would still be getting ready.

2.2 Planning for war (Plan Seventeen)
Mastermind - They made many plans but threw out many
more, in 1913, General Joffree came up with
Plan Seventeen.
The plan - Fr wanted revenge against Gr for their defeat in
Franco-Prussian War. Fr Generals had planned
to win another war with Gr.
- This indeed simple plan intent to make all out
attack on Alsace-Lorraine
Thought on
winning
- Once the lost provinces recaptures, they would
cross River Rhine and head for Berlin
- Soldiers were trained to fight hard and must
move in hi-speed

2.2 Planning for attack (Other plans Br supports)
- In 1906, Br war minister Richard Haldane
agreed to help the French if w=ever there
was a war with Gr
- He formed British Expeditionary Force of
144,000 soldiers to travel quickly to Fr as
soon as war declared
- To back them up, he established Territorial
Army volunteers and set up Officers
Training Corps for older pupils at schools

2.2 Planning for attack ( Russia and Austria Hungary)
- Rs started to build up her armies in 1909
- Austrians secretly made enormous
cannons in their Skoda arm factory
- Before war was declared in 1914, the rival
alliance were already armed to the teeth
and ready to fight each other using
detailed plans for hi-speed attack
Russian super Cannon

2.3 Two test of strength ( The Tangier Crisis- Part 1)
As you see, the more they armed themselves, the more nervous and scared they became. Two serious
quarrels flared up in Morocco (North East Africa). There are great powers tested each other’s strength
- In 1905, Fr were getting ready to make Morocco one of her colony, this intention received no
objection against Italy, Br and Spain.
- But Gr had not been asked for their opinion, Kaiser Wilhelm was offended and went in Person to
Morocco’s main city , Tangier
- He then delivered the message to the Sultan saying he would stop Fr invasion, News spread all
over europe assuming there would be war btween Gr and Fr.
- In factm Kaiser Wilhelm had no intention in helping Morrocans. He was just testing French govt
to see weather they would ready for war and to see if Br (Fr allies) would come to her aid.

2.3 Two test of strength ( The Tangier Crisis 1905- Part 2)
- For several weeks Br and Fr
politicians talked anxiously but
they chose to avoid war. Instead
they would meet in a conference
- The Algeciras Conference - Br n
Fr agreed to stand together against
Gr but would not join together to
fight against Gr. Fr too would have
special rights in Morocco
Kaiser Wilhelm’s soldiers riding through the streets of tangier in
1905

2.3 Two test of strength ( The Agadir crisis 1911)
5 years later, Kaiser Wilhelm interfered again in Moroccan;s
affairs
- In 1911, Moroccan rebels attacked the town of Fez,
20,000 Fr soldiers were snt to drive them out
- Kaiser blamed fr for invading Morocco and sent a warship
(The Panther) to a small port called Agadir on Morocco’s
Atlantic Coast
- The Br govt greatly alarmed by the arrival of The Panther,
They fear of rivalry since they have installed Br Navy Base
in Gibraltar. They were told to be ready for war at sea
- At last minute, kaiser ordered The Panther warship to
leave Agadir, the race to build Dreadnaughts became even
more frantic as both countries revealed their preparation
for the next confrontation

3. The Balkan Powder Keg
Origin of Balkan
Balkan is a turkish word means “mountains” and
balkans were poorer part of Eastern Europe. Though
the land was poor n wild, the great powers were all
interested in getting control. The rivalry was so fierce
like Balkan were like Powder Keg, ready to explode.
Thats exactly what happened in summer 1914.
The changing power
It was part of Ottoman Empire but now was weak,
ppl called it ‘sick man’ and it began to loose control as
many Balkans rebelled against Turkey

3.1 Why were those countries so interested in Balkan?
Russia - wanted to get ports on the
Mediterranean Sea. This would make trade
easier, her warship too could not be bottled
up by the Black Sea. So they were looking for
opportunity to take coastal land away from
Turkey
Austria Hungary - Also wanted Balkans for
Mediterranean Port. But the bigger purpose was
bcause of the majority population are Slavs , They
wanted to break free from Austria-Hungary rule
and to merge with Serbia. Therefore, Austria
wanted to gain control over Serbia in order to
control rebellion movement
Germany - Kaiser Wilhelm wanted to build a
railway from Berlin to baghdad in Persia
where there are rich oil fields , this 4000km
route would have to go through Balkans
Italy- Wanted to gain lands on the other side of the
Adriatic Sea she could have complete control of
the Adriatic Sea

Austria vs. Serbia - claim over Bosnia and Herzegovina
In 1908, revolution by a group known as the ‘Young Turks”
caused chaos everywhere in Turkey . The ruler of Bulgaria
crowned himself king and declared independence . Many
broke away from Turkish rule and united with Greece.
Emperor Franz Joseph (Austria) took advantage by seizing
provinces in Bosnia and Herzegovina from Turkey and
made them part of his Empire
This ia a fatal mistake bcoz most ppl who live in those 2
lands are Serbs, King Peter of Serbia too claimed for it. At
this starte, Austria and Serbia is in the brink of war.

Punch cartoon
Cover of the French periodical Le
Petit Journal on the Bosnian Crisis:
Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria
declares independence and is
proclaimed Tsar, and the Austrian
Emperor Franz Joseph annexes
Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the
Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid looks
on

3.2 The First Balkan Wars
After the Young Turks revolution in 1908, Turkey grew weaker. In 1911, Italy made war on Turks.
The Balkans country now saw chances to draw Turkey out of Europe.
In 1912, Balkan League was formed between King of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro and
attacked Turkey in The First Balkan War. . Nearly half million of soldiers involved in both sides.
After 55 days of fighting, Turkey surrendered
At peace conference took place in london, Turkey gave up its empire in balkan to be shared with all 4
kings.
The 4 kings started quarrel about the share of lands. King Ferdinand of Bulgaria wanted more land
and he made war with Serbia and Greece in attempt to get it in 1913

3.3 The Second Balkan War
(Bulgaria against all)
The Second balkan war was a disaster for Ferdinand
(Bulgaria). Both Turkey and Romania joined and found
himself being attacked from 4 directions resulting 50,000
Bulgarian soldiers and lost some lands they gained after the
conference.
Serbia gained the best , King Peter doubled the size of his
country land. The Serbs living in Bosnia n Herzegovina
always wanted to be part of Serbia (same native) but right
now they are still under the Austrian Empire. Rebels and
riots grew more aggressively among serbs in Austria.
In a mean time, Ferdinand of Bulgaria grew to hate Serbia
and was set on getting revenge

3.4 The black hand and the murders at Sarajevo
The Black Hand (the plan)
- Led by Serbian Colonel called Dragutin Dimitrieve known by code “Apis”.
- Their aim was to unite all the slavs ppl and to form Yugoslavia
- Planned using terrorism and swore their lives in a secret society known as “Unity of Death”
- Emperor Franz Joseph fear the rebellion grew larger and lay fault on Serbian govt supplying the Black Hand and
sent army to prepare for war in Bosnia.
- He too made a foolish decision by posting it in newspaper about sending his nephew Archduke Franz
Ferdinand to visit military camp for inspection in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia on 28th June 1914This
announcement was a foolish ideas as 28th of June is National Day for Serbian ppl , secondly, this news give the
exact date for the visit allowing the Black Hand Gang to plan their greatest action of terror
- 3 Bosnian students living in Serbia were given bombs and guns and were taught how to use them. Their leader
was Gavrilo Princip, 19. It took them 4 weeks to prepare, 3 of em slip and cross through the border and made
their way to Sarajevo

3.4 The black hand and the murders at Sarajevo
The assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
- FF arrived in Sarajevo railway station at 9.30 am on 28 June as expected. They travelled across the city with
opened-top car.Near the riverside street, a bomb was thrown at them but it hit the car behind them as FF saw
the bomb earlier.
- When they reached town hall, FF shouted at the mayor who greet them to cancel the visit due to the earlier
incident. They turned back to the railway station and the chauffeur took the wrong turn.
- Gavrillo Princip stood there and fire few shots, one bullet in his throat and on Sophie’s stomach.
- With the blood pouring , they were taken to Bosnian Governor residence where there might be doctors. They
died soon after arrival
- Princip was caught, he tried to commit suicide by drinking poison but it didnt work. He was taken to police
station and were beaten up

4.1 The countdown to War - The results of the Sarajevo
Murder
The results of Sarajevo murders
- It led to another war in balkans, Franz Joseph and his advisers were sure that Serbian Govt have
helped the Black Hand and decided to teach Serbia a lesson . One month later ,Austrian govt sent a
telegram to King Peter of Serbia and order the Serbian government to take down Black hand
gang and other anti-austrian societies once and for all. And to allow Austrian officials to
come for further inspection .
- At the end of the letter written :
“ Austro-Hungarian govt expects the reply latest by 6 o’clock Saturday 25th July”
- King Peter had just about 48 hours to reply and if he did not agree, Austrian forces would invade his
country, he agreed with the term but would not allow Austrian officials into Serbia because it
would end Serbia’s independence
- After receiving the reply, Austrian govt broke off all relations with Serbia and made their
army ready for war. A day later, Austrian cannons started shelling Belgrade (Serbia
territory). For the 3rd time war broke out in Balkan once more

The War Spread
When the Austrian guns started shelling Belgrade, the Serbian govt asked Russia for a help. Rr
were always sympathetic towards Serbia as manny Rs were also Slavs.
On 29th July, Tsar Nicholas ordered the Rs army to prepare for war in order to help Slavs of
Serbia. He did not realize this would start countdown to the biggest war the world ever known

Past years exam question
1. What was the entente cordiale? (4m)
2. Describe the alliance system which existed among European powers before 1914 (4m)
3. Describe the colonial rivalry that existed between Germany and other powers by 1900? (4m)
4. Describe the first Moroccan crisis? (4m)
5. Describe the part played by Germany in the arms race in the early years of the twentieth century? (4m)
6. Describe the Bosnian Crisis of 1908–09.(4m)
7. Describe the naval rivalry between Britain and Germany from 1898 to 1914.(4m)
8. Describe the events of 28 June 1914 leading to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (4m)
9. Why was there a crisis over Morocco in 1911?
10. Why did the Moroccan crises of 1905 and 1911 increase tension between Germany and Britain?
11. Why did the Kaiser become involved in Morocco in 1905 and 1911?
12. Why did events in the Balkans in 1908–09 increase tension in Europe? (6m)
13. Why did the Alliance System create tension between the Great Powers at that time? (6m)
14. Why was there a ‘naval race’ between Britain and Germany?
15. Why did Britain feel increasingly threatened by Germany’s policies after 1890? (6m)

IGCSE History (0470)
Depth study: Part 2
The First World War 1914-1918

1914
1. The war plans failed in the west /east
2. The war spreads
1915
3. The Gallipoli campaign
4. Trench warfare
5. New weapons
6. Disaster on all fronts

1916
7. Verdun and Somme
8. The war at sea
9. The home fronts
1917
10. The Americans some in, the Russians go put
11. Mutiny and mud - the western front in 1917
12. Fights at sea, in the mountains and the desert

1918
13. The Ludendorff Offesnsive
14. Peace

1.1 1914 - The war plans failed in the west
a) Failure of Schlieffen Plan
-A million grey-uniformed Germans were packed into 6480 railways trains at
stations all over Germany. The trains began rolling at 3 minute intervals toward
Belgium
- Farther south, 3 great armies of French soldiers in bright blue tunic gathered
on the German border to invade the province of Lorraine.
-In the English Channel, troop ships from Britain on their way into French
ports 125, 000 khaki-clad men the Br Expeditionary Force (BEF) ready to
march cast.
- It took only 3 weeks for the war plans to go wrong. When the 1st n 2nd
Armies marched into Belgium, they met tougher fighting than expected. The
Belgian army fought bravely and slowed Gr down for 10 days in the Battle of
Liege.
b) Failure of Plan Seventeen
- At Mons, Gr were attacked by BEF. It was
so fast and accurate that the Gr thought
they were attacked by machine guns
- Meanwhile, Fr were being torn to pieces in
Lorraine. Though were attacked at high
speed(clan) and guts(cran), they were well-
defended with machine gun post. In just 2
weeks, Plan Seventeen failed miserably

1.1 1914 - The war plans failed in the west
-The Rs army attacked Gr sooner than expected so Von Moltke
(Gr commander) sent part of his armies to fight em
-This meant he had fewer men for the attack on France
-Gr soldiers that had to go on the furthest journey led by
General Von Kluck (G1) ran into difficulties when they had to
march 50km/day under hot blazing sun.
-Upon reaching France, they found themselves under attack
from unexpected direction.
-After Plan Seventeen has failed, Fr army marched back to
Lorraine to cut Gr off.

1.2 1914 - The Battle of the Marne
-By 4 Sept, Gr reached River Marne, , so close to Paris they could see Eiffel Tower in
the distance.
-The grave mistake: Moltke n Gr generals went east of Paris towards River Marne
instead of going surround Paris as planned. This gave Fr a chance to save themselves
-From Paris, on 4 Sept, Marshal Gallieni (Fr Governor) rounded up 250 taxis and use
them to send reserved fresh Fr troops back n forth to fight the exhausted Germans
- The Battle of Marne lasted a week (5 to 11 Sept) was one of the biggest war fought.
2 million man battled along 240 KM around the River
- Gr were pushed back 60KM to near River Aisne where they dug trenches and set
up machine-gun posts to defend themselves.

1.3 1914 - The race to the sea
-The Battle of Marne saved the Fr for the time being. The Fr, BEF and
the Gr all set of to north hoping to outflank each other before they
reached English Channel.
- During this ‘race to the sea, terrible battles were fought, worst of em
was Ypres.
-BEF stopped Gr from outflanking them but at appalling cost. One Br
division lost 165 of its 400 officers and 10,774 of its 12,000 soldiers.
-Neither side won the race to the sea, so they started to dig lines of
trenches lengthened so that by the end of 1914, they stretched all the
way from Flanders in Belgium to Switzerland in the south. The army
could no longer move, it was a stalemate

1.4 1914 - The Battle of Tennenberg
According to Schlieffen plan, they would delay attacked
on Russia assuming that they would have taken longer
time to prepare for war. He was wrong, Rs took only 10
days to get 4 of their armies on the march, 2 headed to
Gr, the other 2 on Austria-Hungary.
- On 19 Aug, 1st Rs army smashed into Gr and
won the battle of Gumbinnen.
- On the same day , General Samsonov led Rs 2nd
Army into Gr territory closing around the
Masurian lakes aiming to squeeze Gr between
them.At first , Rs were successful, Gr retreat in
panic

1914- The war plans failed in the east
Defeat for the Russians
- The Russian steam roller started to break down.
- Gr sent their 2 war-experienced General Hidenburg n
Ludendorff
- They saw 2 Rs army were cut off from each other from
Masurian
- lakes, huge marsh and forest area. Ludendorff immediately
took advantage of this weakness and attacked Samsonov’s
army near Tannenberg in 25 Aug. For the next 5 days, there
was a terrible slaughter
- After 5 days of fighting at Tennenberg, Rs had lost 125, 000
men n Gr 13, 000. General Samsonov was defeated, ran into
forest n shot himself
The terror was explained by Gr governor Moltke in his
speech :
“The sight of thousands of Rs driven into two
huge lakes or swamps to drown.. The cries
and shrieks of dying men and horses . The
sounds of guns and horses struggling in the
water, to shorten their agony, they turned
machine guns on themselves. 500 men on
white horses all killed n packed so closely that
they remained standing, the eyewitness
officer said this was the ghastliest sight of
the whole war.”
- Gr were loaded into railway
trains n rushed into north to
fight the 1st Rs army and
another slaughter took place

1914 - The war spreads
The Great War began as war between European but it took
only 3 weeks to spread to other parts of the world
a) Japan and Turkey join the war
- Jpn was the 1st non-european country to join the
WW1, Jpn had made alliance with Br in 1902 and now
helped her attacking Gr in Far east by quickly captures
Kiaochow, Caroline and Marshall Island
- Enver Bey , turkish ruler at first not sure to side Br or
Gr, both countries tried to win friendship by
improving turkish armed forces. Br was building the
most modern super-Dreadnought battleship for
Turkish Navy. While Turkey could be a great
advantage for Gr to attack Russia and took control of
popular trade route Suez Canal.
- Turkey finally decided to join Gr bcoz 3 days
before the war, Br decided not to give the new
ships they were building to Turkey,while Gr
offered them their own warship (Goeben n
Breslau) as replacementBr did not let Turkey to
take Gr ship, they sent 11 warship.
- to capture them and chased them through the
mediterranean sea. To speed up, stoker
shovelled coal into furnaces in the boiling
room. Raising temperature have killed 4 of
them in Goeben ship.. After a week of racing,
they reached Turkish waters. With the gifts in
hand, Enver Bey had no choice but to fight
against Rus, Fr and Br (October 1914)

b) War at sea (Admiral Von Spee vs Br Royal Navy) , (Br Grand fleet vs German U-Boat)
- Br Royal Navy was involved in sea battles in other parts of the world in 1914. In the Pacific Ocean, a German
squadron of 5 ship led by Admiral von Spee near the coast of Chile. Br ships were old n slow, only took an hour to
sink them.
- To counter , Br govt sent 7 warships to the south Atlantic. While Br ships were refuelling in Falklands islands,
Admiral von Spee squadron arrived to attack Falkland radio station. Br gave them a chase sinking 4 out of 5 ships,
2300 Gr sink and drowned included Von Spee and his sons
-On 22 Sept, 3 Br warships were sunk by a single Gr submarine (U-boat), In November, Br Grand Fleet fled from
North Sea when they saw U-Boat periscope. Resulting ppl on Br coast left undefended. PPl in Bridlington and
West Hartlepool were killed when Gr bombarded em with shell-fire

Admiral Von Spee and German u-
boat
Houses on British coast , Hartlepool
bombarded

c) War in the colonies
- Togoland in Africa was captured and an attack started on the Cameroons.
- In November, the Allies attacked German East Africa
- In the Pacific, Australians and New Zealanders (known as Anzacs) took the German colonies in
New Guinea and Samoa. Anzacs also went to Persian Gulf to capture oil wells there
- The South African conquered German’s South West Africa.
- All men from British empire were drawn into war as they were subjected under the King George
V service, Both Canada n India(sepoy) sent powerful armies to fight in France.
- The war was rapidly becoming a world-wide war

1915 a) The Gallipoli Campaign
When Turkey joined the war on Gr’s side and b’come one of the
Central Powers. Turkish navy closed the Dardanelles (narrow
strainst linking Mediterranean with Black Sea) to cut off supply
of food and arms to Russia just at the time when she needed
them.
i) Churchill’s Plan
-To help their Rs allies, Br planned a bold invasion on Turkey,
The idea of war seemed like an imaginative conception because
of the difficult position - Allies were at start, stalemate on the
Western fronts, and Rs was under attack from all Central Powers
and now the supplies are cut of by the closure of Dardanelles
By attacking Gallipoli, they could
capture Turkish capital,
Constantinople and knock Turkey
out of the war and to re-open
supply route to Russia. Churchill
too hope the neutral country near
Turkey (Greece, Romania,
Bulgaria) would join their Allies
which would allow them to
surround Austria for all-out attack.
Austria’s defeat would leave Gr
isolated and unable to fight. In
short, Gallipoli campaign would be
the beginning of the end of WW1.

Attack on Gallipoli
I- A fleet of Br and Fr shipd began the attack in Feb 1915. The Turks however had install underwater
mines blowing up 3 battleships sailed into Dardanelles. The rest of the fleet rapidly retreated.
ii- Although the Churchill’s original plan to carry out attack by Navy but the Allies decided to send
an army to Gallipoli. (Br and Anzacs troops) was gathered tgether n put uder the command of Sir ian
Hamilton. Non of em ever practice landing on enemy coast before, without any maps on enemy’s
land, the preparation on making attack was slow too.
iii- When the Anzacs finally landed on Anzac Cove on 25 April, the Turks were ready for em.
Thousands were mown down with machine guns on the beaches by the shell fire from the cliff above

iv- The Allies attacked again in August on Sulva Bay. This attack was disasterous at first . A historian (AJP Taylor)
wrote in his writing :
“20, 000 men were put ashore almost without loss, only a thousand Turks, without machine guns barred
their way, Stapford was in command congratulated the men on their success...the men were told to relax, they
went off to bathe with no Turks between them and victory”
v- When the order to advance given 2 days later, Turks returned with enforcements and halted the attackers.
Both sides dug trenches and there was stalemate. In the trenches, the allies were plagued by diseases,
insects, water shortage and hunger
vi- In Br, many ppl criticise the campaign, Sir Ian Hamilton was sacked. New commander Sir Charles Monro
realised he could never conquer Gallipoli and decided to withdraw
vii- Resulting-During the last week of 1915, all Allied soldiers evacuated Gallipoli and became the only successful
escape without losing a single life. The campaign cost 200 000 casualties on Allies and Dardanelles were still
closed to rs ships and Rs now faced the prospect of slow starvation

1915 b) Trench Warfare
Trenches were built wherever the enemy was found, no
matter what was in their way
i- The diagram shows how trench were build, it is usually 2
metres wide and in zig-zag line (so that the blast from an
exploding shell would be confined to only a small section
of the trench)
ii - First line of trench usually built with firing steps n
elbow rest to help soldiers shoot over the top, behind were
support trenches and reserve trenches. Connecting
between lines are communication trenches, also used as
blind alleys to confuse enemy in case of a successful attack.

iii - B’fore soldiers were sent over the top, the enemy trenches were bombarded with shells from heavy
guns to try to kill the front lines troops and to tear gaps in the barbed wire defending them.
iv- The very noise of shell exploding gave many men shell-shock causing, clawed mouths, coma, dazed
, deaf and become dumb.
v- When they’re not fighting, soldiers lived in miserable lives in trenches. When it rain, they often
spent days knee-deep in water or mud and this could lead to trench foot. They could stick bayonet in
it without feeling a thing. Those who unfortunate will lose their feet an the swelling cause agony and
some ended taken their own lives due to the unbearable pain.
vi - There were rats and lice, a pair of rats can produce 880 offspring in a year. Some areas big as cats
feasting on the dead corpses. Most soldiers got lice bcause they had to go without washing or
changing their clothes.
vii - In theory there are foods in trench but cooking them is difficult, a soldier might get a few hours
of sleep in the dug out.

1915 c) New weapons
i - Heavy artillery - the big guns. Both sides firing artilleries each other before starting the attack.
It has enormous power. The new howitzer shell could fire metal splinters called shrapnel over
distance of 13 kilometers. Soldiers could tell what sort of shells firing at them by the noise it
made. In 1915, 400 000 were used every month on the western fronts. Constant bombing
sounds could give soldiers shell-shock, brain damage and ear bleed.
ii- Machine guns -At first machine guns were thought unimportant by Allied generals hence, Gr
produces water-cooled machine guns like “Vickers gun” could fire 600 bullets a minute,
mowing down enemy in minutes.

iii- Tanks - were invented in 1915 by a designer of farm machinery, it began as armoured plated
tracktor moving at 6km/hour armoured with both cannons and machine-guns. For security reasons,
it was named”the tanks”. Whenit first used in battle, Gr was so scared, panich and fled. Tanks could
burst through hedges, crossing trenches, demolishing walls even snapping trees.
iv- Grenades- for close range, soldiers were trained to use bayonet and long knives. But in trenches,
soldiers prefered using grenade instead. Br used pineapple-shaped Mill Bomb while Grused stick-
shaped grenades (potato masher)
v- Gas- poison gas was another new weapon. It was first used in 22 Apr 1915 by Gr troops in the
Second Battle of Ypres. It formed green cloud gas of death through suffocation and agony.. Chlonine
gas could suffocate the lungs, phosgene gas was even worse, the effect of Mustard gas didnt show up
immediately but later body began to rot(skin blisters and eyes bulged out). Later they stopped using
gas as they built gas mask for soldiers in 1917. In Early days, soldiers breathe through cotton pads
soaked in their own urine

1915 d) Disaster on all fronts
i- The Western Fronts (France and Britain )
Fr had million of conscripts, Br had millions of volunteers through
recruitment campaign. With millions of soldiers in command, western allies
felt sure of victory. In Neuve Chapelle, Br commander ordered attack to press
regardless the loss, the attack failed however. In just 3 days, 11 000 men loss
with only a few KM square gained. The french suffered 50 000 loss near
Compiegne and won only 500 meters of land. Many allied soldiers were gassed
to death in Second battle of Ypres.In Arras, Fr loss 120 000 more man, At
Aubers, Br sent Khaki (sikh) armies and lost 300 000 men by gaining only 10
square Km lands. In September, 6 allied division lost over 108 000 men in the
Battle of Loos by machine gunners. 11 days of battle left with 60 000 Br corpse
lying on the battlefield

ii- Serbia
In central Europe, Gr decided to crush Serbia which was still holding out Autstria. King
Ferdinand of Bulgaria was tempted in gaining Serbian land. Serbia was soon under attack by 3
countries. Allies sent troops to help Serbia to Salonika in Greece (neutral). However, Greece was
not at war with Central power. Therefore Allies could only do very little fighting there. Many
Serb tried to escape death by crossing icy mountains of lbania. Over 20 000 died of exposure,
exhaustion and diseases.
iii- in Eastern Front, Russian were retreating as Gr had sent reinforcements to help Austrian
army drive them out of Galacia (captured in 1914). Russian fled nearly 300km back into their
country

iii- Italy - joined the war alongside
Allies when promised lands and
money at the end of the war. Italian
soldiers began fighting in May 1915
without much success, badly trained,
badly led and have poor equipment.
They had to cross a harsh glacier
mountains uphill before they could
reach Austrian border in Isonzo
River. They had gone through 11
battle before reaching. They suffered
heavy losses and gained only 10 KM
of ground.
Austrian mountain troops climbing over mountain pass
to surprise an Italian detachment in 1915

1916 a) The Battle of Verdun(France) Fr vs Gr
i- Stood as strongest city in France in 1915 but in 1916, the city became useless, may guns have been
taken out of the forts too help the armies in other places, most ppl in France still thought Verdun is
strongest shelter for them.
ii- Feb 1916, the Gr brought 1400 big guns to the hills around the city and at dawn 21 Feb, they
opened fire. Millions of shells blasted into the city forts, the first trench line were captured by Gr
within 2 days
iii- General Philipe Petain FR was responsible to secure Verdun from Gr attack, his main problems
were lack of supplies, men, food, ammunition and only one road was left open in Verdun. To avoid
traffic- Higher command disallowed horse cart to use the road and only available for cars (easier
supply)

1916 a) The Battle of Verdun(France)
iv- for 5 months, convoys of lorries
passes along this road which French
called “Sacred Way” sending men and
supplies into the city. By the time Gr
called off their attacks in July , big guns
have fired 23 millions shells, killing 315
000 French soldiers destroying entire
city.

1916 a) The Battle of Verdun(France)
V- The Battle was significant because it became
the longest battle fought in the entire war, it
too led to another battle Somme) as Fr
persuaded Br to move offensive elsewhere to
draw Gr out of Verdun.
The other reason why this battle is significant
is because, it showed how hard to break
through despite the vast number of men, as
long as the other side were willing to suffer
heavy losses, trench warefare was ineffective ,
other methods of war are needed.

1916 b) The Battle of Somme Br ,Fr vs Gr
i- This battle was designed to relieve pressure on French at Verdun. On the first day of the Battle of
Somme , 20 000 Br soldiers were killed and 35 000 wounded. It started with 5 days of bombardment
of the Gr trenches, it had little effect but Gr already expected this attack was coming. Br n Fr forces
dug out their front lines 12 meter deep.
Ii On 1, July, they thought bombardment had weakened Gr , General Douglas Haig sent 13 division
(200 000) soldiers over the top. On that first day of the Battle of Somme, 20 000 Br soldiers were
killed and 35 000 wounded.
iii- General Haig did not give up, he sent more troops and and same tragic stories were repeated.
Against the advice of war expert who said he did not have enough.

iii- General Haig did not give up, he sent more
troops and and same tragic stories were
repeated. Against the advice of war expert who
said he did not have enough.
iv- By the end of the battle, Br and Fr had lost
620, 000 men and Gr 450 000. The allies had
advanced only 15 Km at the farthest point.

V- Sir Douglas Haig portrayed as “ The
Butcher of Somme”- the leader of Br forces as
he sacrificed soldiers for unwinnable battle and
look at them as “Lions led by donkeys”
meaning those in power were responsible for
the loss of lives. Haig claimed with heavy
bombardment, not even rat would be alive and
ordered new troops to approch Gr trenches at
walking pace

1916 c) The war at sea (Br Grand Fleet vs Gr High Sea Fleet)
i- Scheer’s plan- There were no major Battle happened at sea in 1914 since Coronel and Falkland Island). Therefore
in 1916, there was a major changes in Gr’ naval command. Admiral von Scheer was in charge of High Sea Fleet(G)
and he was eager for action. His plan was to send a small number of his fleet to North Sea and act as bait tp Br
Grand Fleet. He followed 80KM behind act as trap when Br took bait
ii- Scheer plans was already ruined in 1914 when one Gr soldiers drowned and caught by Rs fleet. They found a
book in his pocket containing coded radio message (enigma) . They have discovered his plans in may 1916.
iii- without knowing, Scheer sent his bait on May 31st led by Admiral Hipper (Gr), using radio code, Br picked up
message n sent out Grand Fleet to meet him

1916 c) The war at sea
iv- 250 great ships steaming in high speed to North Sea. Br
forces were led by Admiral Beatty. They quickly sank both
Hipper’s(G) bait squadron ships and rest Northwards. Hipper
did not realize he was heading straight into the battle.
V- in the coast of Jutland(Denmark) the fierce battle
occurred all evening, high explosive shells ripped the armoured
ships like tin. Sailors were burnt to death of drowned as their
ships were hit. Survivors gasped in the icy sea coated in dirty oil.
In the night, Scheer’s fleet turned away and headed home.
Vi- Admiral Jellicoe commander of Br Grand Fleet did not try
to chase Scheer feared for Gr submarines nearby

Br denied that they had lost the battle. Scheer had
given up and fled home. Matter about winning a war
is a matter of opinion to make up your own mind
based on what you read.

1916 d) The war under the sea
i- The underwater battle began in Feb 1915 when Gr announced
the sea around Br are war zone and that would sink any ships
without warning. Their aim was to starve Br into surrender
by sinking the supply ships bringing food and weapons
ii- The most famous sinking ships in Br liner (Lusitania) on
7, May 1915 sailing from New York to Liverpool. Gr gave
em warning of attack because they were carrying armour n
weapons to Br. Gr Captain Schweiger in U-boat spotted
Lusitania and fired 2 torpedoes, the liner sank in 18 minutes
killing 1098 passenger and crew to the bottom of the sea

1916 d) The war under the sea
iii-Submarine attacks continued in 1916, In March a
ferry (Sussex) was torpedoed in English Channel. U-
Boat had sunk 2,371,000 tonnes of merchants
shipping
iv - to combat U-Boat, Br tried using underwater
mines and nets. Huge underwater minefields were
laid in the English Channel. To counter, Gr sent mine
sweeper to cut the mine cables under water. A
stalemate seemed to be developing at sea too.

1916 e) Home Fronts
i) War restrictions - War reduced everybody’s freedom (The Defence of
the Realm Act (Dora) allowed the govt to do almost anything they wanted.
They could take away land, censors the newspapers, arresting trouble makers
or buy goods at rock bottom price
ii) Conscriptions - The Military Service Acts of 1916 stated that all men
between 18-51 had to serve in the armed forces. Those who disagreed are
Conscientious Objectors (COs)- they believed fighting is wrong. They had
to go through court process proving themselves unable for fighting, harsh
punishment were given to encourage men to join the war. Most ppl just
thought COs were cowards.There were many COs contribute without
fighting (serve as ambulance men and won for their bravery)

1916 e) Home Fronts
iii)Food shortages - Gr and Br tried to starve each other by attacking their
supply ships at sea. By 1916, Br housewives were having to queue at
shops, prepare meatless dish. The hunger went worse in Gr, the harvest
were bad and winter was bitterly cold. For millions, they depended on
turnips, Thousands died during the terrible turnip winter.
iv) The price of war - at war the average death was 1500 men everyday.
Whole pages of newspaper filled with names of the dead.
v) Living in constant fear of shelling - Ppl on Br coast were bombarded
by Gr warship while in London were bombed by zeppelin airships and
later by Gotha aeroplanes, 1117 ppl lost their lives in Gr rain on Br.

1916 e) Home Fronts
vi) Women at war - Nuber of women went out working is
higher in munities factories, doing dangerous jobs making
shells and explosives. The acid fumes turned their skin yello
and harmed their lungs. They too began working on busses
and trams, police force, delivering coal, making machinery,
nursing and on. They were paid andhave more freedom to
dress n behave the way they chose. Before the war is over,
woman over the age of 30 were allowed to vote . this became
the first step towards gaining equal rights with men

1917 a) The Americans come in, the Russians go out
i) America joins the war - On 6 April 1917, Br Fr and Rs were joined by a new ally. USA
declared war on Gr. Before, to them war in Europe was just a distant quarrel they had not
helped to make and which had nothing to do with them. President Woodrow Wilson kept
USA neutral. Her businessmen were making huge profits by selling weapons and lending
money to the Allies . By 1917, war loans amounted 2 Billions USD. Though W.W said he
was neutral, they were actually financially tied with the Allies
ii) It wasnt only about money. Her ships in the Atlantic Ocean were being attacked and sunk
by Gr U-Boats. America had already suffered due to the loss of Lisutania, 128 victims
were American. Anti-Ger propaganda swept through America and ppl demanded the
govt to get involved

1917 a) The Americans come in, the Russians go out
iii)Within weeks, they had sunk 8 American ships through unrestricted submarine
warfare. America made a strong protest against Gr U-Boats. America’s patience ran out when
they received Zimmerman’s Telegram . Arthur Zimmerman Gr foreign minister
suggesting Mexico to make alliances with Gr. Mexico could be a threat as they could launch
attack on Southern America like Texas and Arizona. Pres. W.Wilson had no choice but to go
for war.
iv) America entry became a great boost for the Allies. She was one of the richest country in
the world. But there are problems. It could take months for America to gather men, weapons
and training them for war. Gr began a race to win before America arrived.

A Russian soldier assaults deserters in 1917. Following the February Revolution, morale in the
Russian Army reached an all-time low

1917 b) Revolutions in Russia - new ally for Germany
i) For the war on eastern front was nearly over. Rus was in revolution and her armies
closed to collapse. With Rs out, Gr could focus on fighting in Western Fronts
ii) Revolution already begun in Rs even before America enter the war. PPl dislike the
rule of Tsar Nicholas II and his Gr wife, Alexandra. They hated the strange monk ,
Rasputin who was the royal couple’s closest adviser. PPl were suffering from food and
fuel shortages
iii) Riots and strikes began in Feb and Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown. A new
Provisional Govt was set up to rule Rs in his place. They did little better than Tsar.
iv ) Communist Revolutionaries led by Vladimir Lenin staged second revolution and
overthrow Provisional Govt. Lenin announced that Russia would make peace with Gr.

1917 c) Mutiny and mud- The Nivelle Offensive
i) The The Nivelle Offensive - While Rs was seethed with Revolution, America got
ready to fight.The French new commander General Nivelle believed he know the
weakest spot of Gr trench and launch a massive attack on it
ii) Unfortunately Gr already knew, 2 weeks before the attack, Gr officer was captured
and revealed the plan. Instead of fighting, Gr simply retreat to their newly build
trenches (Hindenburg Line).
iii) 9 April, Br attacked Arras to draw attention away from Nivelle’s offensive but it has
little success. At south, Nivelle began a great offensive at the Gr trenches only to find
them empty. They were caught in the trap, machine-gunned from both sides. Nivelle
wont accept defeat instead sending more men forward killing 34 000 and 90 000
wounded

1917 c) Mutiny and mud- The Mutiny
i) General Nivelle had promised his men victory but had
failed, and now they turned against him. A mutiny began
in Fr army. Thousands soldiers (54 division) headed home.
Half of em refused to follow order . Discipline collapsed
ii) In this desperate situation, Nivelle was sacked n
replaced with General Petain. He used ruthless method to
restore discipline (court martialled and many were
sentenced to death, some were sent to prison on Devil’s
Island). And with this , he slowly gained control of his
men.
The price to be paid for
mutiny, A french soldier was
tied and about to be shot in
April 1917.

1917 d) British victories (Passchendaele) (Br vs Ger) War in
the mud
i) To draw attention away from the mutiny, Br attacked again in the North. Their target was a
hill 140 meter high at Messines (Belgium). From this hill, Gr could see everything for miles
around
ii)In secrecy, Br engineer dug 19 tunnels deep under the hill and packed them with a million Kg
of TNT detonated all at once. They explosion rattled windows as far as London (270km away).
Wiped away the hill from the face of the earth.
iii) General Haig was so pleased with this success and ordered Br soldiers to fight in Ypres, The
third battle at Ypres or often known as Passchendaele. The most horrible war

1917 d) British victories (Passchendaele)
iv) General haig started the war with 4,500 000 shells, this churned the
summer land (lil rain) into churn of mud. As they charged, they will
sink in the mud up to their waist made it hard to fight. After
sometimes, the corpse of dead soldiers and horses sunk beneath the
mud began to stink - they could smell decaying flesh 8KM away. The
land were no longer safe to fight on.
v) 400 000 Br were killed/wounded in Passchandaele and they had
won only 800 meters of mud land. It didnt end there
vi) In November , he sent 381 tanks towards the Gr trenches at
Cambrai (France) , 10 000 Gr were taken prisoners and the London
rang churches bell signing the triumph. The Gr regained quickly and
gained the loss ground

1917 e) Fights at sea against the U-boats (Br vs Ger)
i) Early in 1917, the Gr u-Boats almost win. ¼ British ship did not return once the leave Br
ports. Situation has changed when after new Prime Minister was appointed Davil Lloyd George.
He introduced the convoy system. Merchant ship shoul sail together in large groups ,
protected by Royal Navy’s destroyers. From then, 1/100 Br ships were sunk by U-
Boats. Convoy system had save Br from starvation

1917 f) Disaster in Italy (Italy vs Ger) - War in the mountains
i) Italy was fighting the hardest battle in Alps against Austria (Isonzo River). This time, Gr
interfered, they decided to chase Italian out of the Alps by sending 7 division in the Town of
Caporetto. Italian were totally unprepared and most of them dropped their weapons and run in
panick.
ii) In 10 days, They retreated 100KM behind near River Piave. 300 000 Italian men were
capture prisoners by Gr. with 2500 guns and large stock of food. The battle of Caporetto was a
great victory for Central powers and disaster for allies. For several month, tehy stayed and build
camps in River Piave gaining their strength

1917 g) The war in the desert
i) Br and Indian troops had been fighting the Turks in Mesopotamia (iraq) since 1915. The seiege
went too long and Turks surrounded them at Kut . Turks forces dispersed to fight in other places,
this gave Br chances to fight back. In 1917, Br captured city of baghdad
ii) In other part of arab country, they have risen against Turkish rulers, Colonel T,E Lawrence was
sent to inspect the situation quickly became friend with EMir Feisal (son of Arab leader). Gaining
the arab trust, they supported him alongside Br armies to fight against turkish soldiers on
Hejaz Railway (important supply route) across the desert
iii) Another Br and Australian troops led by Sir Edmund Allenby sent to fight and captured
Jerusalem, capital of Palestine (Turkish Empire)

1918 a) Ludendorff Offensive (Fr , Br , America vs Gr)
i) 21 March , G. Ludendorff bombarded Allies trenches with 6000 big guns lasted for 5 hours.
They too released deadly poison gas in the Allies trenches. It was a success, Br troops abandoned
their trench and now Gr marched towards Paris.
ii) In this crisis, the Fr and Br decided to put their soldiers onder one command general
(Ferdinand Foch) . Fr and American army acted as a single force instead of separate units.
iii) Gr had reached again on River Marne in July 1917. For the second time, Paris would fall.

iv) Ludendorff made a big mistake this
time by sending too many Gr soldiers
leaving no reserves. The hourney was
tiring (130 Km before reaching Marne)
v) general Ferdinand Foch kept so many
men in reserve, 50 000 American men
arriving in Paris every week. After 2
weeks of heavy fighting, Br sent 456
tanks in addition and German had to
continuously retreat to the Hindenburg
Line (Gr Trenches)

1918 b) Victory for Allies
i) While Ludendorff was gambling away his armies, Allies were winning victories at other fronts
against Bulgarian Army.
ii) Italian army crossed River Piave and won great victory against Austrians at the Battle of
Vittorio Veneto.
iii) Turkey was defeated at the same month Br n marched into Palestine.
iv) German at homefronts were near collapsed, thousands were dying from starvations while an
outbreak “Spanish influenza” were killing hundreds every day.Riots and revolutiosn was just in
the German’s air. Gr could no longer avoid defeat.

1918 b) Victory for Allies (the armistice and Revolution in
Germany)
v) Gr could no longer avoid defeat, Ludendorff persuaded govt to write President Woodrow Wilson
(America) to sign an armistice to end the fight. Upon discussion for the armistice, revolution broke out in
Germany.
vi)The High Seas Fleet (gr fleet)mutinied . soldiers took control of Gr ships and took over town of Kiel. At
port, it quickly turned into full scale revolutions.
vii) A politician sent letter to Kaiser Willhelm saying that army no longer taking order from him.
Politicians took matter into their own hands.
vii) 2 politicians met Ferdinand Foch in his personal railway carriage, on 11 Nov 1918. they signed the treaty
and began to cry. The treaty was harsh . they left without shaking hands. The Great war was over.

Past papers questions
1. ‘The most important reason why Britain went to war in 1914 was the German invasion of Belgium.’ How far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your answer.
2. ‘The Anglo-German naval race was the most important cause of war in 1914.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your
answer.
3. ‘The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was the main reason for war breaking out in 1914.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
Explain your answer.
4. ‘The Balkan Wars, 1912–13, were more responsible for the First World War than the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.’ How far do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
5. ‘German actions caused the First World War.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
6. ‘The Bosnian Crisis of 1908-9 did more to cause the First World War than the Balkan Wars of 1912-3.’ How far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your answer.
7. How far did problems in the Balkans cause the First World War? Explain your answer.
8. How far did the actions of Austria-Hungary cause the First World War? Explain your answer.
9. ‘It was the naval arms race that caused the First World War.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

Igcse history (0470) depth study part 1 the first world war 1914 1918

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Igcse history (0470) depth study part 1 the first world war 1914 1918