Warfare and British Society, c1250-PRESENT | Edexcel GCSE History (1HI0)

Warfare and British Society, c1250-PRESENT

183 questions
13 subtopics
Paper 1
Paper 1

Warfare and British Society, c1250–present is examined in Paper 1, Thematic study and historic environment.

It covers factors driving change in warfare, c1250–present, the nature of warfare, c1250–c1500, the experience of war, c1250–c1500, case studies: the battles of Falkirk and Agincourt, the nature of warfare, c1500–c1700, the experience of war, c1500–c1700, case study: the Battle of Naseby, 1645, the nature of warfare, c1700–c1900, the experience of war, c1700–c1900, case studies: the battles of Waterloo and Balaclava, the nature of warfare, c1900–present, the experience of war, c1900–present and case studies: the Somme and the Iraq War.

Sample questions from Warfare and British Society, c1250-PRESENT

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Factors driving change in warfare, c1250–present

How did advances in weapons technology change the value of body armour?

Show the answer
Gunpowder weapons and later rifled firearms could pierce armour at a distance, so heavy armour was gradually abandoned.
The nature of warfare, c1250–c1500

How did the longbow change the way English commanders fought a battle?

Show the answer
They chose to stand on the defensive and let their archers break up an enemy attack before it ever reached their line.
Case studies: the battles of Falkirk and Agincourt

How did Edward I break the Scottish formations at Falkirk?

Show the answer
He pulled his knights back and had his archers shoot into the packed spearmen until gaps opened, then sent the cavalry through the gaps.
The nature of warfare, c1500–c1700

Why did the musket replace the bow even though it shot more slowly?

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A recruit could be taught to use it in weeks rather than years, and its shot punched through armour that stopped an arrow.
Case study: the Battle of Naseby, 1645

Why was Cromwell's decision to re-form his cavalry so important?

Show the answer
It let him bring his horsemen back to attack the Royalist foot soldiers in the flank while they were still fighting.
The nature of warfare, c1700–c1900

How did railways change the conduct of a campaign?

Show the answer
Troops, guns and supplies could be moved hundreds of miles in days, so armies could be concentrated far faster than by marching.
Case studies: the battles of Waterloo and Balaclava

Why did the fighting for Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte matter at Waterloo?

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These fortified farms stood in front of the allied line, broke up French attacks and swallowed troops Napoleon needed elsewhere.
The nature of warfare, c1900–present

What is meant by high-tech computerised warfare?

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Fighting in which computers guide weapons, link commanders to their forces and process information from satellites and sensors.

The 13 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Factors driving change in warfare, c1250–present	The three factors behind change, turning points and continuity, government decisions on recruitment, state wealth, Cardwell's reforms, weapons technology, armour and communications, attitudes in 1914 and to casualties, the pace of change, factors combining, medieval command, newspapers, army size, industrialisation, nuclear deterrence, the soldier's standing, Agincourt and the Somme compared, and the decline of the knight.	20
The nature of warfare, c1250–c1500	Foot soldiers and their weapons, the longbow and where archers stood, the mounted knight and his cost, command by nobles and what it meant for ordinary soldiers, the schiltron and its strengths and weakness, defensive tactics, gunpowder in sieges and battle, the knight's decline, and the difference between strategy and tactics.	16
The experience of war, c1250–c1500	How a king gathered an army, the forty days of service, scutage, commissions of array, training a knight, archery practice, the chevauchée, plunder, the burden on peasant households and purveyance.	10
Case studies: the battles of Falkirk and Agincourt	Wallace and Edward I at Falkirk, the four schiltrons, how the archers and cavalry broke them, the Scottish horsemen's flight, then Henry V at Agincourt, the narrow field, the mud, the stakes and Henry's part.	10
The nature of warfare, c1500–c1700	Pikemen, dragoons and cavalry, the standing army and why it became possible and was feared, continuity in armies between 1500 and 1700, the matchlock musket and its drawbacks, why the musket replaced the bow, the flintlock, the pistol and the abandonment of full armour.	13
The experience of war, c1500–c1700	Raising soldiers in the sixteenth century and the trained bands, the New Model Army of 1645 and its effectiveness and training, impressment, free quarter, requisitioning, the effect of sieges on towns, and why country people came to resent both sides in the Civil War.	10
Case study: the Battle of Naseby, 1645	The armies of 1645, Fairfax and Cromwell, Cromwell's re-formed cavalry and why it mattered, Rupert's pursuit and looting, the fate of the Royalist foot, the captured letters and why Naseby decided the war.	10
The nature of warfare, c1700–c1900	The changing role of cavalry, the growth of artillery, engineers and supply services, the infantry as the core, the move from musket to breech-loading rifle, rifling and the cone-shaped bullet, field guns, heavy artillery and explosive shells, railways, steam, mass production, the scale of battle and the telegraph.	16
The experience of war, c1700–c1900	Edward Cardwell's reforms: the end of purchased commissions, short service enlistment, localisation and the end of flogging in peacetime, the meaning of professionalisation, recruitment before the reforms, billeting and requisitioning, Russell's and Fenton's reporting from the Crimea and coverage of the Boer War.	15
Case studies: the battles of Waterloo and Balaclava	Wellington at Waterloo, the ridge, the square, Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte, waiting for Blücher, then Raglan at Balaclava, the Thin Red Line, the Charge of the Light Brigade and why the orders went wrong.	10
The nature of warfare, c1900–present	Logistics corps and bomb disposal units, the lasting need for infantry, the machine gun, tanks, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons, radar, aircraft and aerial support, high-tech computerised warfare and precision-guided weapons, motor and air transport, and guerrilla warfare and why it is so hard to defeat.	20
The experience of war, c1900–present	Conscription in 1916 and the volunteering before it, national service, women in the forces in both world wars and today, the professional army, the Home Front, civil defence and evacuation, the bombing of civilians, nuclear fear, conscientious objectors in both wars, war reporting, and censorship and propaganda.	20
Case studies: the Somme and the Iraq War	Trench warfare and why the Western Front stood still, attrition and conditions in the trenches, the Somme bombardment of 1916 and its failure, the first day, the first tanks, Haig's role and historians' judgements, then the Iraq War of 2003, coalition surveillance technology and the insurgency that followed.	13

Warfare and British Society, c1250-PRESENT is 183 of the 2,881 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £7

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.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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.
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.