British School of Bahrain. Department of History
Year 9 Revision Pack
Summer Exam
Dear Year 9 pupils
This revision pack is designed to help you prepare for the end of year exam that you will take one week after the half term break. This is the last chance for your teachers to assess you before you start your GCSE’s in Year 10. The exam will last 1 hour. You will be tested on your knowledge, your ability to use sources and your ability to write an essay. You should use this revision pack and your exercise book to revise effectively.
The topics that you may be tested on are as follows.
1. The Causes of World War One
2. Trench Warfare
3. Propaganda
4. The Battle of the Somme
5. The Home Front
6. How the War affected women
7. The Russian Revolution
8. Stalin’s Russia
9. The Treaty of Versailles
Some useful websites to help with revision.
www.schoolhistory.co.uk This website is designed for school students. It has revision advice as well as links to many other sites.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/ This website is designed for GCSE students but it can still be of use to Year 9 pupils.
www.schoolshistory.org.uk A good website with lots of links to sites. Click on the Year 9 section.
Your teachers and parents can offer you help and encouragement but the only person who can revise is YOU. Only YOU can show the maturity and self discipline to revise effectively over the next few weeks and get the best grade of which you are capable.
Causes of World War One
There is no one reason that caused World War One. It was a combination of different reasons that led to the war starting in 1914. Below are some of those causes.
Rivalry and competition between different countries. NATIONALISM was very important before World War One. Countries were very nationalistic (patriotic) at this time. They saw each other as competitors and rivals and wanted to gain advantage over each other. This led to an atmosphere of distrust and fear. Below are some examples
France hated Germany because in 1871 Germany had taken Alsace-Lorraine from France. The French were determined to one day get it back and gain revenge or revanchism. The Germans knew this and hated France in return.
Britain and Germany were also rivals. Both countries wanted to have a large navy. Britain was suspicious of Germany and both sides built up the size of their navies in a naval arms race. This caused both sides to fear and suspect the other.
Austria-Hungary and Russia were also rivals. Each country wanted to be the number one power in the Balkans (an area of south eastern Europe) As a result the two countries distrusted each other and this caused suspicion and fear on both sides.
Even some smaller countries were very competitive and could drag the larger countries into their arguments which could be dangerous. For example Serbia was trying to increase its power and land in the Balkans. The Serbs, with Russian support, caused trouble for Austria-Hungary.
MILITARISM Because most countries were suspicious and scared of each other they all tried to build up the size of their armies and navies. This is known as militarism. Germany, France and Russia all had huge armies and Britain, as an island, had a large navy. The bigger the militaries got the more scared everyone became so in turn they increased the size of their militaries even more. Of course this just increased the fear so the armies got even bigger and so on and so on. The rulers of the great powers nearly always wore uniforms and seemed to spend a lot of time inspecting their armies and developing newer and more powerful weapons.
Britain and Germany were involved in a naval arms race as each side built more and more war ships. The British invented a newer more powerful ship called the Dreadnought. This scared the Germans who began to build their own version. This naval race continued right up to World War One and increased fear and tensions on both sides.
Germany was so worried by being attacked by France and Russia that she came up with the SCHLIEFFEN PLAN. This was a plan to attack France and then once France was defeated to move on to Russia. It meant that if Germany did go to war she would have to attack both countries. This would make a world war more likely.
IMPERIALISM Before World War One most Europeans thought that it was good for a country to have an empire. An empire is the name for the lands and territories around the world that a country owns and controls. In 1900 Britain had the biggest empire. This policy of trying to have an empire is called Imperialism. There was great competition between the different European powers to grab land around the world, ie in Africa and Asia. This caused a lot of tension between the great powers of Europe. It also meant that if the European powers went to war then their empires would join in making the war a world war.
Germany, ruled by its emperor Kaiser Wilhelm, was particularly unhappy at how small its empire was compared to Britain or France. Germany wanted a bigger empire. France and Britain were determined to stop her. This caused a lot of tension. Germany’s desire to be a world power is called Weltpolitik.
An example of where the great powers almost came to war over Imperialism was in Morocco in Africa. France tried to take the country over but Germany stepped in to stop the French because Germany was jealous. When Britain supported France a compromise was reached and war avoided but tensions and mistrust between France and Germany got even worse. This happened in 1905 and 1911, only a few years before the start of World War One.
The Alliance System. Because there was so much fear and suspicion between the European powers they divided up into two opposing alliances. On one side was the TRIPLE ENTENTE which included France, Britain and Russia and on the other was the TRIPLE ALLIANCE which included Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Both sides feared and mistrusted the other. The Alliances actually made a war more, not less likely. For example if one country in the Triple Entente went to war against one country in the Triple Alliance all the other countries would be forced to join in which would lead to a massive world war. This is in fact what did happen in 1914. Also it can be argued that the alliances made the countries in them more confident and aggressive because they knew that they were not alone.
Problems in the Balkans. The Balkans is an area in south eastern Europe. It has always been a place of tension and rivalry. It was problems in this part of Europe that spread and helped to cause World War One. As we have already seen both Austria-Hungary and Russia both wanted to be the number one power in the Balkans. They were bitter rivals. Smaller countries such as Serbia looked to Russia to protect them against Austria-Hungary. The Serbs wanted to unite all Serbs into one country. There were many Serbs living in Bosnia which was part of the Austro Hungarian Empire and Serb terrorist groups such as the Black Hand were prepared to fight to ‘free’ their Serb brothers. In 1912 and 1913 there were wars in the Balkans. Luckily the great powers were not involved so these smaller wars did not spread. However, in 1914 both Russia and Austria-Hungary did become involved and this led to World War One.
Short Term Cause:
The Assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, June 28, 1914 by the Black Hand; Gavrilo Princip (Serbian nationalist). This was the spark that started World War One. You can see how in the time line below.
Countdown to War. Summer of 1914:
June 28: assassination of Franz Ferdinand by the Serb Gavrilo Princip
July 5: Germany issues a "blank cheque" to Austria saying they will back
Austria up whatever she does. This gives Austria the confidence to take action against Serbia
July 23: Austrian ultimatum to Serbia which Serbia refuses to accept
July 28: Austria declares war on Serbia
July 30: Russia mobilizes to help Serbia against Austria
August 1: Germany declares war on Russia
August 2: Turkey allies with Germany; German ultimatum to Belgium; France mobilizes
August 3: Germany declares war on France; invasion of Belgium
August 4: England declares war on Germany
WORLD WAR ONE BEGINS
World War One 1914-18
Why did trench warfare develop?
In 1914 German attempts to beat the French according to the Schlieffen Plan failed. At the Battle of Mons in 1914 the Germans were slowed down and at the battle of the Marne, the Germans were finally halted and pushed back by the British and French. Both sides dug trenches to protect themselves from machine gun fire and exploding artillery shells. Both sides tried to out flank each other and there was a race for the sea. However both sides were unable to break past the other and soon a line of trenches, hundreds of miles long, stretched from the English channel in the north to the Swiss mountains in the south. Trench warfare was to last until the war ended in 1918.
Why was there a stalemate? ( A stalemate is when neither side can win)
The main reason why neither side could break through and win the war was the difficulty of attacking and taking the enemy’s trench. As you can see from the diagram below it was almost impossible to successfully take an enemy trench as they were much easier to defend than attack. Machine guns and artillery shells killed most attackers even before they reached the enemy. Those who did make it across no mans land were often caught on the barbed wire and killed there. As both sides had a similar level of technology no one had a particular advantage. For four years millions of men were killed as they tried unsuccessfully to capture the enemy trenches.
LIFE IN THE TRENCHES Do not forget to revise about what it was like for soldiers to live in the trenches.
Propaganda and censorship
Propaganda is the way in which an organisation, usually a government, tries to control how and what people think. Propaganda can come in many different forms such as posters, newspapers, film, poems and songs. During World War One propaganda was used a lot to get people to support the war, to hate the enemy, to volunteer to fight and to do certain things such as not waste food etc. Propaganda may not always tell us the truth but they are an important source for historians….even if they only tell us what people at the time were encouraged to think.
Censorship is when all forms of information are strictly controlled by the government. Any information that the government does not approve of or agree with is censored (banned). During World War One newspapers, magazines, photographs and even soldiers’ letters were censored. This was to stop information falling into the hands of the enemy and to keep up morale at home by stopping people finding out the truth about the war. For example it was illegal for newspapers to show photographs of dead British soldiers.
Some examples of propaganda
This propaganda postcard shows Britain and her allies. It was designed to encourage patriotism and reassure people that Britain was not alone.
This German propaganda cartoon shows a weak and injured British soldier. It was designed to reassure Germans that Britain was weak and no match for the German army.
The Battle of the Somme July –November 1916
The Battle of the Somme is one of the most famous battles of World War One. It was a combined British and French attack against the Germans in the area of the Somme in France. Below are some notes on why the battle was fought, what happened and why the attack failed.
Why the battle was fought?
In 1916 the new top British general was a man called General Haig. He was determined to bring the war to a quick end through a massive victory over the Germans. Not only would this win the War, but Haig would go down in history as one of Britain’s greatest generals.
Haig hoped he would break through the German trenches and end the stalemate of trench warfare.
Haig also wished to help the French who were being attacked at Verdun. If the British attacked at the Somme then the Germans would be forced to give up their attack at Verdun.
Some historians have argued that Haig knew that he would not defeat the Germans in 1916. They argue that the whole point of the Battle of the Somme was just to wear the Germans down and cause them heavy casualties. He would then launch his real attack later on further north at Ypres.
The Plan
Haig’s plan was very simple. It followed the classic tactics of world War One.
· A massive artillery bombardment of the German trenches along a 16 mile front. This would destroy the German trenches and barbed wire. Most Germans would be killed. This would make it easy for the British soldiers to take the enemy positions.
· Undercover of the artillery fire the British would cut holes in their own wire for their soldiers to go through.
· The soldiers would then advance across no man’s land. They would walk, so as not to tire themselves or lose contact with each other. As all the Germans would be dead or injured this would not be a problem. The British would take the German trenches.
· Then the cavalry would follow up behind, go through the trenches and spread out behind the Germans lines destroying any German survivors.
· Victory
Why did the plan fail?
Haig’s plan failed for a number of reasons.
1. The British artillery fire was too thinly spread. It did not kill as many Germans as the British had hoped. Importantly a lot of the German barbed wire was not cut.