World+War+I

This page focuses on what students most need to know about this topic in preparation for the IB exam.

1. IB Definition of Topic
For examinations 2010-16:

European diplomacy and the First World War 1870-1923
This section deals with the longer- and shorter-term origins of the First World War, its course and consequences. The breakdown of European diplomacy pre-1914 and the crises produced in international relations should be examined. It covers how the practice of war affected the military and home fronts. The section also investigates reasons for the Allied victory/Central Powers’ defeat plus a study of the economic, political and territorial effects of the post-war Paris Peace Settlement.
 * European diplomacy and the changing balance of power after 1870
 * Aims, methods, continuity and change in German foreign policy to 1914; global colonial rivalry
 * Relative importance of: the Alliance System; decline of the Ottoman Empire; Austria Hungary and Balkan nationalism; arms race; international and diplomatic crises • Effects on civilian population; impact of war on women socially and politically
 * Factors leading to the defeat of Germany and the other Central Powers (Austria Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria); strategic errors; economic factors; the entry and role of the United States
 * Post-war peace treaties and their territorial, political and economic effects on Europe: Versailles (St Germain, Trianon, Neuilly, Sèvres/Lausanne)

For first examinations in 2017:

Europe and the First World War (1871–1918)
This section deals with the shorter- and longer-term origins of the First World War. It covers the breakdown of European diplomacy pre-1914 and the crises that occurred in international relations. It covers how the practice of war affected the military and home fronts. The section also investigates reasons for the Allied victory/Central Powers’ defeat.
 * European diplomacy and the changing balance of power after 1871; imperial expansion in Africa and Asia, and its impact on European diplomacy; the Congress of Berlin and European Alliance system
 * Foreign policy of Kaiser Wilhelm II: domestic conditions that impacted on German foreign policy; its impact/influence on other countries, including Britain, France, Russia and Austria-Hungary
 * Causes of the First World War: short- and long-term causes; relative importance of causes; the Alliance system; the decline of the Ottoman Empire; German foreign policy; Austria-Hungary, Russia and Balkan nationalism; the arms race and diplomatic crises; the July Crisis of 1914
 * Impact of the First World War on civilian populations of two countries from the region between 1914 and 1918 • Factors leading to the defeat of Germany and the other Central Powers, and to the victory of the Entente Powers: strategic errors; economic factors; entry and role of the US; domestic instability in the Central Powers

Questions in Chronological Order
2002-M

QUESTION 15 How did the treaties which followed the First World War affect Europe up to 1929?

This question was also very popular. There were several solid answers, but very few good ones, principally because they were unbalanced. The majority of candidates concentrated on Versailles and ignored or skated over the other treaties. They were knowledgeable about the terms of Versailles, but in considering their impact, tended to focus on reparations and exaggerated the impact of these. The impact of the treaties on Europe was often not dealt with effectively. Some candidates ignored the date and wrote about the rise of Hitler and the outbreak of the Second World War.

2003-M

QUESTION 14. In what ways, and for what reasons, did the First World War lead to economic and social changes? Specific examples should be given from one or more European countries for the period 1914 to 1930.

This was another very popular question that was, in most cases, poorly answered. Many candidates did not see that the question began in 1914 as many answers started in 1918/9. Far too many candidates saw this question as an opportunity to discuss, at great length and rarely relating it to the focus of the question, the effect of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany. While some of this material is naturally relevant, much was not and unbalanced the candidates’ answer. The Versailles Treaty was blamed for everything - including the 1929 Wall Street Crash. Russia was another popular case study - usually without any detailed examples to support an answer. Social changes were hardly mentioned in any country, with the exception of some very general comments on the role of women post-1918. This was a very disappointing question in terms of outcome.

2003-N

QUESTION 14 Why did Germany sign an armistice with the Allies in November 1918?

This question proved to be very difficult for most of the candidates although there were some outstanding answers. Many candidates totally ignored the rapidly disintegrating internal situation in Germany in 1918 and focused generally on the course of World War 1 with some simplistic comments on the fact that the Allies were winning. While the latter certainly contributes to the reasons behind the signing of the armistice there are many other key factors which must be included. Few candidates made mention of the lengthy negotiations which had been ongoing between Germany and the USA.

2004-M

QUESTION 14 Why did Germany and her allies lose the First World War?

This question was popular but generally poorly answered. Too many candidates dwelt at great length on the causes of the War making oblique reference to the Schlieffen Plan as being the main reason why the war was lost in 1918. Other candidates totally ignored the ‘allies’ and wrote only on Germany. Only strong candidates were able to identify a number of factors and adequately explain how these contributed to defeat.

2004-N

QUESTION 12 “Although Germany was blamed for the outbreak of First World War other countries were equally responsible”. How far do you agree with this statement?

This was the most popular question on the paper and one which elicited a wide variety of responses. Weaker candidates identified the classic causes of the First World War without focusing on the role of other countries. Some candidates argued that the quotation was nonsensical as it was obviously Germany's fault that WW 1 started. The best candidates weighed the evidence carefully and made a balanced judgment based on sound evidence. This question was an excellent discriminator.

2005-N

QUESTION 14 In what ways, and to what extent, were German and Austrian policies responsible for the outbreak of the First World War?

Any question based on causes on the First World War is always very popular. Most candidates decided that all European nations bore some responsibility, hence many responses were too general, and few analysed German and Austrian responsibility in sufficient depth.

2006-M

QUESTION 16 Assess the effects between 1914 and 1921, of the First World War on the civilian population of one European country.

A rather disappointing question which led to answers which were too general and lacked specificity. Too many candidates chose this question who should not have done so.

2006-N

QUESTION 14 Analyse the factors which led to the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary during the First World War.

This question on the defeat of Germany and her allies was quite popular, and in general, quite well argued, but more depth and detail was necessary for answers to reach the top bands.

2007-M

QUESTION 9 In what ways, and to what extent, did the internal and external policies of Austria-Hungary after 1867 lead to the First World War?

Not a wise choice for most who attempted it, as it turned into a general causes of the First World War essay.

2007-N

QUESTION 14 Assess the relative importance of the long-term and short-term causes of the First World War.

Very popular and the causes of the First World War were very well known but ‘relative’ was ignored by all except the most able candidates.

2008-M

QUESTION 14. Why were the Central Powers defeated in the First World War?

Greater depth of knowledge would have improved most answers. Too many answers were on Germany and ignored other members of the Central Powers, and failed to mention the part played by colonial troops in winning the war.

2009-N

QUESTION 13

This was very popular, and there was often some very sound analysis of the long-term and the short-term factors. The main shortcoming was that the events between the assassination of the Arch Duke and the invasion of Belgium were not sufficiently linked to the long term causes of the First World War. Too often candidates wrote detailed and informed narratives of the long and short term causes of the war but which unfortunately have failed to analyse the extent to which nationalism became the main factor for the outbreak of the war.

2010-M

QUESTION 11 Evaluate continuity and change in German foreign policy between 1871 and 1914.

This question was quite popular and the Alliance system, colonialism and nationalism were the most frequent choices. The biggest weakness was the tendency to try and turn it into a cause of the First World War answer. The other major weakness was not covering the whole time period.

2011-N

QUESTION 10

This was a popular question. Some answers showed an ability to link the war to events in Russia although the vast majority struggled to make links to the war after 1918. Weaker answers tended to narrate the sequence of events often with limited detail such as vague references to defeat without naming at least one major battle, or arguing that one of the reasons Bolshevik support increased was because of the determination to make peace. QUESTION 12

A reasonably popular question with most answers addressing a number of factors which led to defeat. The greatest weakness was that the focus was very largely on Germany and the western front which is reasonable up to a point but it was a world war and the question asks about the Central powers.

2012-M

QUESTION 11 Assess the importance of Balkan nationalism as a reason for the outbreak of the First World War.

There were some good answers to this question that covered the whole period and referred to the differing importance of the alliance system as a mechanism for maintaining peace and the status quo, or as a long and short term contributor to the outbreak of war in 1914. Some answers refuted the importance of alliances and kept the question focus by arguing that the alliance system was itself a consequence of broader factors such as imperialism and nationalism. Many answers however turned this into a cause of the First World War answer which was fine to some extent but the dates were from 1871. In some cases there was discussion of the system causing the war without actually naming one alliance.

2013-M

QUESTION 12 Examine the reasons for, and the consequences of, the United States’ entry into the First World War in 1917.

This was a popular question but responses often had only a limited knowledge; many answers confine causes to the sinking of the Lusitania and consequences to the defeat of Germany. However, really good answers were able to identify a range of causes for US entry into the war including the collapse of Tsarism, which removed the last obstacle to US entry, and also considered the consequences of US entry on peacemaking.

2013-N

QUESTION 11 To what extent were the policies of Germany responsible for the outbreak of war in 1914?

This was a very popular question and better answers covered a range of factors as well as German policy. There was some good detail and some use of historiography much of which could be updated. In the best answers good knowledge was combined with analysis to reach a conclusion in weaker answers an almost straight line was drawn from the formation of the German Empire to the outbreak of war in 1914.

QUESTION 12 Assess the successes and failures of the Paris Peace Settlement at the end of the First World War.

Again, a popular question with some answers demonstrating a good in depth knowledge of the settlements as a whole and not just Versailles. The ability to discus both short term successes and failures in a balanced fashion was also evident. Many merely described the terms of the Treaty of Versailles with limited analysis except to assert that the economic terms were a major factor in Hitler’s rise to power (the end date for this section is 1923). Others took the opportunity to write an essay on the League of Nations. (The last bullet in the guide is clear on the treaties that should be studied).

2014-M

QUESTION 12

Again some very mixed responses as some candidates clearly had no idea that the “home front” was a reference to the civilian population. Instead these candidates elected to compose responses that were entirely or largely focused on the military fronts. Better responses showed good knowledge of both the German and British home fronts and were able to make pertinent comments on the contribution made to the “outcome” of the war.

QUESTION 13

There were quite a few answers to this question and some candidates showed a good understanding of the background to the peace settlements. Their responses linked the detail of the various treaties to wartime diplomatic activity and to the desire of Britain and France in particular to retain their influence in the region. Pleasingly only a few answers resorted to descriptions of problems in the Palestine mandate alone.

2014-N

QUESTION 11

Question 11 was also a popular question and one where many of the answers demonstrated a good knowledge of events especially in the first decade of the 20th century. However, many of these were not quite able to make the distinction between colonial rivalry and imperialism in Europe, with a few perceiving Austrian and Russian rivalry in the Balkans to be a suitable example of colonialism. Nevertheless, most answers attempted to make a judgment about a range of factors in causing the war including colonial rivalry.

QUESTION 12

This was reasonably well answered with candidates able to easily make the distinction between “military” and “diplomatic” errors. Some very good answers emerged, which covered all the indicative content in the markscheme.

2015-M

QUESTION 11

Answers ranged from being very knowledgeable about Europe with cogent references to all of the Great Powers to answers that allowed the emergence of Germany to dominate. From this latter type it was discerned that many candidates were unable to differentiate between Bismarck’s actions in Europe and those of Wilhelm II. Nevertheless - and pleasingly - most did responses did not stray into the first decade of the 20th century.

QUESTION 12

This was the most popular question on the paper with a huge range of answers, most of which demonstrated a sufficient range of knowledge of the key factors: militarism, alliances, outbreak of war. Analysis was often limited, undeveloped and, in some cases, based on inaccurate material; it was not Bismarck’s web of alliances that contributed to tensions but the alliances formed after 1890 – post-Bismarck. There were some errors that were repeated in many responses, for example candidates argued that Serbia wanted independence from Austria–Hungary, clearly unaware that Serbia was an independent – and expansionist – state. Many candidates referred to different historical perspectives including Taylor and Fischer but (disappointingly) very few seem aware of the latest writings on the issue, such as Clark. It is not appropriate for candidates to cite authors of more general texts such as Lee and Lynch.

3. Other Content Review Materials
Here is a detailed outline(s) and other great review materials for this unit, prepared by Shannon Leggett for her IB classes.
 * [[file:WW1-Study Guide-Leggett.doc]]
 * [[file:WW1-Timeline&Vocab-Leggett.doc]]
 * A review of the various Paris peace settlements: their terms, reception and eventual fate
 * [[file:Paris Results-Leggett.doc]]