Name…………………………………………………… Year 8 HISTORY: Term 2 1914 to 1939 March

2012 /80 + /20

1. In order to work out reasons for events happening in the past, we try to examine sources. Look at the
sources
listed below. Which ‘cause’ for war does each source show? Divide your causes into long and short term
causes.

The Kaiser told me that C

In 1914, Sir Edward Grey should
we might rely upon have made a clear statement
Germany’s full support. It that Britain would stand by
was the Kaiser’s opinions France and Russia. I insistently
that action must not be asked him to do this but he
delayed. The Kaiser refused. He could have saved
humanity from that terrible
would regret it if we did
catastrophe.
not make use of the
present situation, which B
is all in our favour. A The Kaiser recognised
HMS Dreadnought as
the 'armament of the
E
future' and the
German navy joined
Britain in the race to
create a new navy
organised around this
powerful new type of
battleship.
F
G
Identify each source description by a letter.

Source Description
Bismarck and old Kaiser had created a unified and strong Germany.
Britain would not say publicly that it would support either France or Russia
L’Enfant Terrible! – a ‘Punch’ cartoon – the Kaiser wanted an Empire.
The Arms Race – Germany (and other parts of Europe) increasing arms and armies
Diagram of the ‘two sides’ central Europe in 1917
Germany ‘pushed’ Austria-Hungary to declare war so they could fight France
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Sort the causes from 1 into ‘short’ and ‘long’ term, then give a detailed description of what each cause
was.
Sourc Short Term Cause – detailed explanation Sourc Long Term Cause – detailed explanation
e e

(14)

2. World War I began on ____th (date) ________ (month) ____ (year). It began between two groups:
Triple Alliance: Germany, ___________- _________ and __________,

Triple Entente: France, __________ and ___________.

Turkey joined the Triple ___________. __________ changed sides.
America joined the Triple _____________. Japan joined the Triple __________.
(8)
3. Alfred Graf von Schlieffen was a German field marshal and strategist who served as Chief of the Imperial
German General Staff. He came up with a daring plan which was meant to conquer Britain / France /
Belgium / Russia.
In 1914, Germany invaded Belgium. They thought Belgium would let their army march through, but . . .
King Albert of Belgium said:
“Go away old man with the big stick!” / “Belgium is a nation, not a road.” / ”Let’s burst all the dams and flood
the fields.” / ”No entry!”
What kind of deal had Britain made with Belgium?
To build a wall around Belgium / To pay any enemy to go away / To defend them / To invade
the country that invaded Belgium.
The BEF
(British Exceptional / Expeditionary / Excellent / Extra-Special Force)
is quite small – only about 70000 soldiers against 160000 German soldiers. What did the
Germans say about how the British soldiers shot their rifles?
“They’re not very good shots, are they?” / They’re shooting so fast, they must be using machine-guns.” /
“They’re not very fast, but they are shooting accurately!” / “keep your heads down!”
The German Army expected to reach Paris very quickly – so quickly that the French Army would still be . . .
In Par7. s / At the coast / In Belgium / In their barracks
Because of what happened in Belgium, the German Army was slowed down. Which armies did they end up
fighting outside of Paris?
British and Belgian. /French and British. /Belgian and French. /French, British and Belgian.
Germany also thought it would take Russia a long time to ‘mobilise’ (get their army ready to move). How
long did Russia take to mobilize?
10 days / 6 weeks / 3 months / 1 year
Now that Russia had joined the war, what did this mean for the German Army?
It would win. / It would be defeated. / There was now an Eastern and Western front. / There
would be a revolution.
6-12 September 1914: The Battle of the Marne. The combined British and French met the German forces
outside Paris. The French came close to defeat and were only saved by . .
using tanks / using machine guns / bringing 6000 reserve soldiers to the front in taxis / the Russians.
This was the beginning of entrenchment. At first the
trenches were just simply quickly dug holes in the A
ground. However, as time passed, an entire structured network was built. Look
at the diagram of the trenches. Where would ‘No Man’s Land’ be?
D B
A / B / C / D? C
The lines of trenches get longer because each army is
trying to
outrun / outflank / outdig / outcast the other.

Next, each army tries to make their trenches reach the coast because . . .
they want to wiggle their toes in the sand / they can catch fish to eat / they
can go home / they can get supplies.

By December 1914 there were lines of defensive trenches that stretched

from the Channel coast all the way to
Sweden / Norway / Switzerland / Italy,
a distance of 475 miles. No army had the strength or the strategy to
break
through such a front line. Neither side would retreat.
It was stealmeat / stealmate / stalemate / stalemeat. (15)

4. What does ‘Propaganda’ mean?______________________________ (1)

Posters were used to recruit men to join the army. Posters became the “weapon on the wall.” They worked in
several ways. Look at the posters below and answer the questions below.

 How were men encouraged to join the army? How were these posters designed to make men feel?
(1)
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
 How were women used to encourage men to join the army? What did women give men not in uniform?
(1)
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
 How was fear used? What did these posters suggest? (1)
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

5. Conditions in the trenches were extremely unpleasant and at least a third of the total deaths in this
war occurred in the trenches. Obviously, some of those deaths were from shells, sniper fire and gas
attacks. Use the images below to explain how the conditions either made life difficult or increased the
death toll. (9)
Rat and Lice Infestation

Trench Foot

Food and Water

6. The ……………………………………….. was signed in a railway carriage in November 1918. This
brought

Photo
Full Name Country and position
 What he wanted.
‘The Great War’ to an end. Now the ‘Big Three’ met in Paris to create a peace treaty. Who were the ‘Big
Three’? Where did they come from and what role/position did they hold in their country? Most
importantly, what did they want from the treaty?
(15)

7. They took over a year to decide on all the points of a peace treaty with Germany. It was called the
Treaty of …………………………….. and was signed in ………………… Although there were many
parts to this treaty, it had 6 key areas:
*Clause 231 was known as the ……………………………………… Clause. and said that Germany
___________
_____________________________________________
*Germany had to disarm. This meant they had to reduce____________________ and
_____________________________________________
*Germany had to pay the Allies £ ……………………………. This was called _________________
*Germany lost land – name 2 places they lost.
…………………………………………………………………………..…. and
_____________________________________________
*A new organization was set up called ______________________________
*What other extra information can you add? ___________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________(9)
11. After the ‘Great War’, the League of Nations was set up to try to prevent future wars happening.
THREE important countries were NOT members. In each case, explain why.
 America ________________________________________
 Germany _______________________________________
 Russia _______________________________________(3)
This organization used THREE sanctions if any country had a dispute with another. List and elaborate on each
sanction:
 Firstly, _______________________________________
 If this didn’t work, then _________________________________
 Finally,________________________________________
However, ________________________________________ (3)

Name………………………………………………. Year 8 HISTORY: Term 2 Exam 1914 to 1939

Extension Questions /25
1. Was General Haig a hero or a ‘butcher’? Haig was in command of the British
Army and was blamed for using old-fashioned and repetitive tactics rather than
adopting new strategies to end trench warfare. Write 2 sentences to sum up his
‘hero’ or positive attributes and 2 sentences to sum up hi ‘butcher’ or negative
reputation. (5)
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
2. Germany won the war on the Eastern Front. This was the last straw for the people of Russia. Could
Tsar Nicholas II have avoided a revolution in Russia? Explain your answer.
(3)
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
3. Look at th1s political cartoon about America after World War I. What point is it trying to make?
(2)

4. Several other treaties were signed by the Allies and the other defeated countries. Name TWO other treaties
and tell me what they were called, who were they with and what other decision(s) they made.
(5)
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
5. Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933. List FIVE circumstances that Hitler used to attain that position
– explain how each strengthened his position. (5)
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

6. When Hitler gained power, he passed laws to strengthen his position further. He then set about
breaking the rules enforced by the Treaty of Versailles. List FIVE things he did that eventually led to
the invasion of Poland and war. (5)
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.