Conflict and Tension: First World War, 1894–1918
What's covered
Key facts
The Armistice ending fighting on the Western Front took effect on 11 November 1918.
Poison gas was used by both sides on the Western Front for the remainder of the war.
Germany's accelerating battleship-building programme under Admiral Tirpitz forced Britain into ever-larger naval spending and pushed Britain into the Entente Cordiale with France and an alignment with Russia.
Wilson's Fourteen Points (January 1918) were a just-peace programme that Versailles largely ignored — France and Britain overrode him on reparations and German territory.
The Schlieffen Plan was Germany's strategy to defeat France quickly by sweeping through Belgium; it failed at the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914.
The immediate trigger of the First World War in June 1914 was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
Germany collapsed in November 1918 because the Spring Offensive failed, Allied counter-attacks succeeded, Germany's allies (Bulgaria, Ottomans, Austria-Hungary) surrendered, the Kiel mutiny broke out, and the Kaiser abdicated.
On the first day of the Somme (1 July 1916) the British army suffered 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 killed — its bloodiest single day.
The July Crisis turned a local Austro-Serbian dispute into a world war because the alliance system pulled in each great power in sequence after Austria-Hungary's ultimatum to Serbia was rejected.
Germany sued for peace in 1918 because of failing offensives, US entry, the Allied naval blockade, and naval mutinies.
Sample questions
A taste of the 30 questions in this topic — answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
How did Russia's withdrawal from the war in 1918 affect the Western Front?
- •Britain and France abandoned the Western Front to fight the Bolsheviks in Russia instead
- ✓Germany moved troops west and launched the Spring Offensive in March 1918
- •Russia rejoined the war on the German side and helped capture Paris within a few weeks
- •The United States immediately ended the war by occupying Berlin and forcing surrender
Which new weapon was first used by Germany at Ypres in April 1915?
- •Aircraft bombing — German Zeppelins began systematic bombing of British cities
- •Flamethrowers — designed to clear Allied trenches with burning fuel
- ✓Poison gas (chlorine) — first deployed causing terror and mass casualties
- •Tanks — the Germans used armoured vehicles to break through Allied trenches
What does the acronym MAIN stand for, summarising the long-term causes of World War One?
- ✓Militarism, Alliance System, Imperialism, Nationalism
- •Military strength, Arms Race, International conflict, Neutrality
- •Mobilisation, Austro-Hungarian tensions, Italy's ambitions, Naval rivalry
- •Monarchy, Assassination, Industrialisation, Nationalism
On what date did the WWI armistice take effect?
- •11 November 1917
- ✓11 November 1918
- •28 June 1919
- •4 August 1918
By whom and when were tanks first used in battle?
- ✓Britain first used tanks at the Somme in September 1916
- •France first used tanks at the Marne in 1914 to stop the German advance
- •Germany first used tanks at Verdun in February 1916
- •Tanks were first used by the USA when they entered the war in 1917
Which two armed alliances had divided Europe into opposing camps by 1914?
- •The Berlin Pact (Germany and Italy) and the Entente (Britain, France, Belgium)
- •The Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) and the Allied Powers (Britain, France, USA)
- •The Dual Alliance (Germany and Russia) and the Franco-British Entente Cordiale
- ✓The Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia)
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