The First World War killed approximately 10 million soldiers and reshaped the political map of Europe. For the Edexcel IGCSE (4HI1) History Paper 2 exam, you need to know why it started, how it was fought, and why Germany lost.
The Pearson Edexcel IGCSE History specification covers the origins and course of the First World War, 1905-18 as a Paper 2 Historical Investigation. Unlike the Paper 1 Depth Studies, this topic includes source-based questions alongside knowledge-based ones. You will be given sources you have not seen before and asked to evaluate them. These edexcel igcse history revision notes cover all five sub-topics, with source analysis techniques and practice questions designed to prepare you for exactly what the exam demands.
The alliance system and international rivalry, 1905-14
By 1907, Europe was divided into two alliance blocs. The Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, formed in 1882) faced the Triple Entente (France, Russia, Britain, formed through agreements in 1904 and 1907). These alliances were defensive in theory, but they meant that a conflict between any two powers risked dragging in all the others.
The underlying rivalries were economic, imperial and military. Germany's rapid industrial growth after 1871 threatened Britain's economic dominance. Both powers competed for colonial territories in Africa and Asia. The naval race between Britain and Germany was particularly destabilising: Germany's decision to build a High Seas Fleet (prompted by Admiral Tirpitz's Navy Laws from 1898) was seen by Britain as a direct challenge to its naval supremacy, which was the foundation of its global empire.
| Type of rivalry | Key details | How it increased tension |
|---|---|---|
| Economic | Germany's industrial output surpassed Britain's by 1900 in steel and chemical production | Created trade competition and strategic anxiety |
| Imperial | France and Britain held vast colonial empires; Germany felt excluded ("a place in the sun") | Provoked clashes in Morocco (1905, 1911) and the Balkans |
| Military | Anglo-German naval race; French and German army expansion; Russian mobilisation plans | Arms race created mutual suspicion and made war planning more rigid |
The growth of tension in Europe, 1905-14
The Balkans were the most volatile region in Europe. The decline of Ottoman power created a power vacuum that Austria-Hungary and Russia both sought to fill. The Bosnian Crisis of 1908 saw Austria-Hungary annex Bosnia-Herzegovina, provoking outrage in Serbia (which had its own ambitions in the region) and humiliating Russia (which was too weak after its defeat by Japan in 1905 to intervene). The Balkan Wars (1912-13) further destabilised the region, enlarging Serbia and increasing Austro-Hungarian anxiety.
The Moroccan Crises tested the alliances directly. In the First Moroccan Crisis (1905), Germany challenged French influence in Morocco, provoking the Algeciras Conference which sided with France and strengthened the Anglo-French Entente. In the Second Moroccan Crisis (1911), Germany sent the gunboat Panther to Agadir, provoking a war scare that again reinforced Anglo-French solidarity.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 by Gavrilo Princip (a Bosnian Serb associated with the Black Hand organisation) triggered the chain reaction. Austria-Hungary, backed by Germany (the "blank cheque"), issued an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia rejected key terms. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia (28 July). Russia mobilised in support of Serbia. Germany declared war on Russia (1 August) and France (3 August). Germany invaded Belgium (executing the Schlieffen Plan), and Britain declared war on Germany (4 August) in defence of Belgian neutrality.
The Schlieffen Plan and deadlock on the Western Front
The Schlieffen Plan was Germany's strategy for a two-front war. The plan aimed to knock France out quickly (within six weeks) by sweeping through Belgium and attacking Paris from the north, before turning east to face the slower-mobilising Russian army. It failed for several reasons: Belgian resistance slowed the advance, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) engaged the Germans at Mons, the French retreated in better order than expected, and General von Moltke weakened the crucial right wing to reinforce other sectors. The Battle of the Marne (September 1914) halted the German advance, and both sides dug in.
The trench system that developed along the Western Front stretched approximately 400 miles from the English Channel to the Swiss border. Trenches were not simple ditches but complex defensive systems with front-line, support and reserve trenches connected by communication trenches. The space between opposing trenches ("No Man's Land") was typically 100-300 metres wide, swept by machine-gun fire and defended by barbed wire.
New weapons contributed to the deadlock. Machine guns gave defenders an enormous advantage over attacking infantry. Artillery bombardments could destroy trench defences but also churned up the ground, making advance difficult. Poison gas (first used by Germany at Ypres in April 1915) caused terror and casualties but was unreliable (dependent on wind direction) and both sides developed countermeasures. Tanks, first deployed by the British at the Somme in September 1916, were mechanically unreliable and too slow to exploit breakthroughs, though they improved significantly by 1918.
The Battle of the Somme (July-November 1916) was intended to break the deadlock. The British suffered approximately 57,000 casualties on the first day alone (1 July 1916), the worst single day in British military history. By the end of the battle, British casualties exceeded 400,000, French approximately 200,000, and German approximately 500,000, for a maximum territorial gain of seven miles. The Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele, July-November 1917) produced similarly appalling casualties for minimal gains.
The question of Field Marshal Haig's responsibility remains debated. Critics argue that Haig persisted with costly offensives that gained little ground. Defenders argue that the conditions of trench warfare left limited tactical options and that Haig's forces were learning and adapting throughout the war.
The war at sea and Gallipoli
The naval war was dominated by the British blockade of Germany, which aimed to cut off supplies of food and raw materials. The only major fleet engagement, the Battle of Jutland (May 1916), was tactically inconclusive (Britain lost more ships, but Germany retreated to port and never again challenged the blockade).
The German U-boat (submarine) threat was the most dangerous challenge to Allied supply lines. Unrestricted submarine warfare, first declared in February 1915 and then resumed in February 1917, targeted all shipping in the waters around Britain, including neutral vessels. The sinking of the Lusitania (May 1915, with 1,198 deaths including 128 Americans) provoked international outrage and contributed to American hostility toward Germany.
The Gallipoli Campaign (1915-16) was an attempt to open a new front by attacking the Ottoman Empire (a German ally) through the Dardanelles strait. The aim was to capture Constantinople, knock Turkey out of the war, and open a supply route to Russia. The campaign failed: landings at Gallipoli (April 1915) were met with fierce Turkish resistance, the Allies were pinned down on narrow beachheads, and the campaign was abandoned in January 1916 after approximately 250,000 Allied casualties. It was a defining moment in the national histories of Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.
The defeat of Germany
American entry into the war (April 1917) was the decisive strategic shift. Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, combined with the Zimmermann Telegram (a German proposal for a Mexican-German alliance against the United States, intercepted by British intelligence), brought the United States into the conflict. American forces began arriving in France in significant numbers by early 1918, providing a seemingly inexhaustible reserve of manpower and material.
Germany launched the Ludendorff Spring Offensive (March-July 1918) in a final attempt to win the war before American strength became overwhelming. The offensive achieved initial breakthroughs using infiltration tactics (stormtroopers), but the advance outran its supply lines, and Germany lacked the reserves to sustain it.
The Allied counter-offensive (the Hundred Days, August-November 1918) broke through German defences using combined arms tactics: infantry, tanks, artillery and aircraft working together. Germany's allies collapsed: Bulgaria signed an armistice in September, Turkey in October, Austria-Hungary in November. The German navy mutinied at Kiel, revolution spread to Berlin, the Kaiser abdicated, and Germany signed the Armistice on 11 November 1918.
| Factor in German defeat | Explanation |
|---|---|
| American entry | Provided fresh troops, industrial capacity and financial resources that Germany could not match |
| British naval blockade | Created severe food and raw material shortages, weakening civilian morale and industrial production |
| Failure of the Spring Offensive | Germany's last gamble exhausted its remaining reserves without achieving a decisive breakthrough |
| Allied combined arms tactics | The Hundred Days campaign effectively coordinated infantry, tanks, artillery and aircraft |
| Collapse of allies | Bulgaria, Turkey and Austria-Hungary all surrendered before Germany, leaving it isolated |
| Revolution at home | Naval mutiny and civilian unrest made continued fighting politically impossible |
Source analysis techniques for this topic
Paper 2 Historical Investigation questions give you sources and ask you to evaluate them. For the First World War, common source types include:
- War poetry and memoirs. Poems by Wilfred Owen or Siegfried Sassoon provide vivid evidence of the soldiers' experience but represent a particular literary perspective. Not all soldiers shared the anti-war sentiments of the war poets; many believed they were fighting for a just cause.
- Propaganda posters and recruitment material. These tell you what governments wanted their populations to believe, not what was actually happening. Analyse the message, the visual techniques used, and the gap between the propaganda and reality.
- Photographs. Wartime photographs were often staged or censored. Official photographers had restrictions on what they could capture. A photograph of smiling soldiers does not prove morale was high; it might prove that the photographer was under orders to produce positive images.
- Military dispatches. Reports by generals such as Haig present the official military perspective. Compare them with evidence from soldiers on the ground, casualty figures, and post-war assessments to evaluate their reliability.
Practice questions
- Explain two long-term causes of the First World War. (8 marks)
- How far do you agree that the alliance system was the main cause of the First World War? You may use the following in your answer: the Balkans; the naval race. You must also use information of your own. (16 marks)
- Explain two reasons why there was deadlock on the Western Front by the end of 1914. (8 marks)
- How far do you agree that American entry was the main reason for Germany's defeat? You may use the following in your answer: the British blockade; the Ludendorff Offensive. You must also use information of your own. (16 marks)
For edexcel igcse history the origins and course of the first world war, 1905-18, the exam demands both factual precision and the ability to evaluate sources critically. The the origins and course of the first world war, 1905-18 edexcel igcse questions test whether you can use sources as evidence, not simply describe what they show. When revising igcse 4hi1 the origins and course of the first world war, 1905-18, practise two distinct skills: writing knowledge-based answers that explain causes, events and consequences, and writing source-based answers that evaluate reliability, utility and purpose. The edexcel igcse history explained approach that scores highest in this topic connects the structural causes of the war to its conduct and outcome. These edexcel igcse history notes give you the factual base; regular practice with edexcel igcse history practice questions will build the source-handling skills that Paper 2 specifically rewards.
Edexcel IGCSE History revision notes on the First World War, 1905-18: alliance system, Western Front, Gallipoli, source analysis, and exam practice.
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