Conflict and Tension: the First World War, 1894-1918 | AQA GCSE History (8145)
Conflict and Tension: the First World War, 1894-1918
- 93 questions
- 9 subtopics
- Paper 1
- Paper 1
Conflict and Tension: The First World War, 1894–1918 is examined in Paper 1, Understanding the modern world.
It covers the Alliance System, Anglo-German rivalry, outbreak of war, the Schlieffen Plan, the Western Front, the wider war: other fronts, Gallipoli and the war at sea, changes in the Allied Forces, military developments in 1918 and their contribution to Germany’s defeat and Germany surrenders.
Sample questions from Conflict and Tension: the First World War, 1894-1918
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The Alliance System
What was the Entente Cordiale of 1904?
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A friendly understanding between Britain and France that settled their colonial quarrels, without either side promising to fight for the other. -
Anglo-German rivalry
What did Kaiser Wilhelm II mean by Weltpolitik?
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His drive to make Germany a world power, with colonies, a great fleet and influence to match its industrial strength. -
Outbreak of war
Why was the Archduke’s visit to Sarajevo taken as a provocation?
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He paraded through the Bosnian capital on Serbia’s national day, in a province Austria-Hungary had seized from Slav lands. -
The Schlieffen Plan
Which route into France did the plan choose, and why that one?
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A wide sweep through Belgium, because the direct frontier with France was heavily fortified. -
The Western Front
When were tanks first used in battle, and how well did they perform?
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At Flers in September 1916, where they frightened the enemy but broke down or stuck fast in large numbers. -
The wider war: other fronts, Gallipoli and the war at sea
What went wrong with the naval attack on the Dardanelles in March 1915?
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Allied battleships were sunk or crippled by mines and shore batteries, so the fleet pulled back and the Turks were warned that a landing was coming. -
Changes in the Allied Forces
What was the Lusitania, and why did its sinking matter?
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A British liner torpedoed in 1915 with the loss of 128 American lives, which turned opinion in the United States sharply against Germany. -
Military developments in 1918 and their contribution to Germany’s defeat
What jobs were aircraft doing by the end of the war?
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Photographing enemy positions, directing artillery fire, and attacking troops and supply columns from low level.
The 9 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| The Alliance System | The Triple Alliance of 1882, the Franco-Russian alliance, the Entente Cordiale and the Anglo-Russian Entente, how an entente differed from an alliance, and the Moroccan and Bosnian crises. | 10 |
| Anglo-German rivalry | Splendid Isolation and why Britain gave it up, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Weltpolitik and the Kruger Telegram, the Navy Laws and Tirpitz, HMS Dreadnought and the naval scare, and the growth of the continental armies. | 10 |
| Outbreak of war | Slav nationalism and Serbia's growth, the Black Hand and Gavrilo Princip, the blank cheque, the Austrian ultimatum, Russian mobilisation, Germany's declarations of war, the march into Belgium and the Treaty of London. | 13 |
| The Schlieffen Plan | Who drew up the plan and the problem it solved, the six-week timetable and the sweep through Belgium, Moltke's changes, Belgian resistance and Mons, the Battle of the Marne and the race to the sea. | 10 |
| The Western Front | The layout of the trenches and the power of the machine gun, the creeping barrage and the first tanks, attrition as a strategy, Verdun and the Somme in 1916, and the cost of the Third Battle of Ypres at Passchendaele. | 10 |
| The wider war: other fronts, Gallipoli and the war at sea | The war of movement in the east and Tannenberg, Mesopotamia and Palestine, Churchill's case for Gallipoli, the failed naval attack and landings, the evacuation, Jutland, unrestricted submarine warfare and the convoys. | 10 |
| Changes in the Allied Forces | The Bolshevik seizure of power, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and what Russia gave up, the divisions Germany moved west, the Lusitania, the Zimmermann Telegram, unrestricted submarine warfare, and what American manpower and money brought. | 10 |
| Military developments in 1918 and their contribution to Germany’s defeat | Combined attacks and surprise bombardments, stormtroopers, the improved tank and the jobs of aircraft, Ludendorff and his gamble, the Spring Offensive and why it failed, Amiens and the Hundred Days. | 10 |
| Germany surrenders | The British naval blockade and its effects on German civilians and war production, the Kiel mutiny and the German revolution, the Kaiser's abdication and Ebert's government, the armistice signed at Compiègne and its terms, and the parts played by Haig and Foch in the Allied victory. | 10 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA GCSE History Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,889 questions with their answers.