World War One

1. World War One Source Based Assessment

2. Question 1 a) Using Source A, name TWO countries that the German Army passed through in their attempt to advance on Paris

4. Good Answers Luxemburg Belgium France Bad Answers Netherlands Lorraine Q1 a) Answers

5. Question 1 b) Using Source B, list TWO features of, or equipment used in, trench warfare

7. Good Answers: Rifle Bayonet Helmet Gas Mask Zig-zagging trench Dubious Answers: Fire step Duck Board Trenches Wrong Answers: Trench ladders Periscope Machine guns

8. Question 1 c) Using Source C, describe Haig’s response to the Battle of the Somme

9. Source C An extract from the despatch written by British Commander-in-Chief in France and Flanders, Sir Douglas Haig, and published on 23 December 1916.  The despatch (Haig's second as Commander-in-Chief of British forces in France and Flanders) encompasses the Somme Offensive of July-November 1916, in which Allied - predominantly British - forces ultimately succeeded in throwing back the German Army on the Somme, although at great cost in casualties and without attaining the breakthrough Haig especially sought. The losses entailed by the constant fighting threw a specially heavy strain on the Medical Services.  This has been met with the greatest zeal and efficiency.  The gallantry and devotion with which officers and men of the Regimental Medical Service and Field Ambulances have discharged their duties is shown by the large number of the R.A.M.C. and Medical Corps of the Dominions who have fallen in the field. The work of the Medical Services behind the front has been no less arduous.  The untiring professional zeal and marked ability of the surgical specialists and consulting surgeons, combined with the skill and devotion of the medical and nursing staffs, both at the Casualty Clearing Stations in the field and the Stationary and General Hospitals at the Base, have been beyond praise.  In this respect also the Director-General has on many occasions expressed to me the immense help the British Red Cross Society have been to him in assisting the R.A.M.C. in their work. The health of the troops has been most satisfactory, and, during the period to which this Despatch refers, there has been an almost complete absence of wastage due to disease of a preventable nature.

10. Sample Answer • Haig acknowledges that the losses encountered by the British at the Somme has been so significant that it has placed “a specially heavy strain on the Medical Services”. However, rather than focus on these losses he chooses to highlight the impressive work of Medical Servies working in the front line and also behind the front. He draws the attention of the reader to the people, their great “zeal”, who are in every way doing a wonderful job. Haig also views the almost complete absence of preventable diseases as most satisfactory. Haig’s response to the Battle of the Somme is to concentrate largely on the positive aspects of the battle.

11. Question 2 • Use Sources B, C and D and your own knowledge to describe the reasons for the development of a stalemate on the Western Front.

12. 3 Main Problems with Q2 • Students started with a narrative of the Schlieffen plan that went on for at least a page. • Students only mentioned reasons for stalemate that arose from the sources and so demonstrated little of their own knowledge. • Students treated the sources more like you do in Q3 and systematically went through the origin, motive, content, audience for the source. They focused on this rather than addressing the question.

13. A Structure for Q2 • Introduction – Demonstrate an understanding of a number of reasons for the development of stalemate. • Body – Spend a paragraph on each reason. Use sources and own knowledge specifically where appropriate. • Conclusion – Restate reasons

14. Structuring your paragraphs • P – Point • R – Reason • E – Examples (from sources and own knowledge) • R - Restate

15. 5 Reasons To Expand On • Faults in the Strategies and Implementation of the Schlieffen Plan • Problems with the implementation of Plan 17 • Tactical and Strategic Problems • Problems in communication • Role of Commanders

16. Source D At the sound of the first droning of the shells we rush back, in one part of our being, a thousand years. By the animal instinct that is awakened in us we are led and protected. It is not conscious; it is far quicker, much more sure, less fallible, than consciousness. . . . It is this other, this second sight in us, that has thrown us to the ground and saved us, without our knowing how. . . . We march up, moody or good-tempered soldiers—we reach the zone where the front begins and become on the instant human animals. All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque a novel written by an ex-German soldier, first published in 1929

17. Source E In 1914-17 the defensive had a temporary dominance over the offensive. A combination of 'high tech' weapons (quick-firing artillery and machine guns) and 'low tech' defences (trenches and barbed wire) made the attacker's job formidably difficult. Communications were poor. Armies were too big and dispersed to be commanded by a general in person, as Wellington had at Waterloo a century before, and radio was in its infancy. Even if the infantry and artillery did manage to punch a hole in the enemy position, generals lacked a fast-moving force to exploit the situation, to get among the enemy and turn a retreat into a rout. In previous wars, horsed cavalry had performed such a role, but cavalry were generally of little use in the trenches of the Western Front. In World War Two, armoured vehicles were used for this purpose, but the tanks of Great War vintage were simply not up to the job. With commanders mute and an instrument of exploitation lacking, World War One generals were faced with a tactical dilemma unique in military history. Extract from Lions Led by Donkeys? The British Army in World War One By Dr Gary Sheffield, published in 2002

18. Question 3 How useful are Sources B, C and D for an historian studying the attempts to break the stalemate on the Western Front? In your answer, consider the perspectives provided by the sources and their reliability.

19. 3 Problems with Q3 • Students do not link there otherwise very good analysis of the sources to the question of usefulness. • Students give only one reason as to why a source is reliable. A few more reasons would move their answer up a band. • Students write off sources as being useless too quickly. Sources are usually useful to an extent.

20. A Structure for Q3 • A paragraph on each source which works through the following: • Perspective and Reliability (actually use these words in your answer) – this will require you to show an understanding of origin, motive audience. • Usefulness – this will flow from your conclusions on perspective and reliability. You will also want to bring in your understanding of the content of the source at this source as this will influence your thoughts on usefulness. • Final Paragraph: • This is where you should comment on the sources as a group. How useful are they to an historian as a collection of sources. What are there strengths? What are their limitations? Is a perspective missing (country, time of writing, type of source)? What would historian not learn from these sources which you think it would be important for them to know if they were studying this topic?