History - EOY -Chapter 1

What were the causes of world war one?

Long term:

-Militarism:countries like Britain and Germany built up powerful armies and navies;

-Alliances:The Triple Entente(Britain,France,Russia) and Triple Alliance(Germany,Austria-Hungary,Italy)

-Nationalism:strong pride and rivarly, especially in Balkans made countries aggressive.

Describe two problems facing working class in Russia controlled by the Tsar

-Lack of political rights:workers could not vote or choose leaders, so their needs were ignored.

-Poor working and living conditions:they worked 12-14 hours for low pay in dangerous factories ,which caused protests.

Why did war descend into stalemate?

-Both sides drug trenches, creating long narrow ditches for soldiers to live and fight from

-No Man’s land seperated trenches, making attacks very dangerous

-Trenches were hard to cross and well-defended ,so neither side could advance

-The muddy,harsh conditions made fighting and moving diffucult

Describe two problems facing men in trenches

-One problem was rats ,which were as big as cats.They spread diseases, ate dead bodies, and ran over soldiers while they slept, causing infections that slowed soldiers down.

-Another problem was trench foot , caused by wet and muddy conditions.This led to swelling and infections ,sometimes requiring amputation.

Why did men join the war before conscription was introduced?

-To fight alongside friends and family(e.g Pals Battalions)

-Fear of being seen as coward(e.g white feathers)

-To avenge enemy’s actions

How did home front contribute to the war effort?

-Women took on new roles ,working in factories and supporting war effort.

-Rationing was introduced to manage food supplies.

-Parts of Britain were bombed by Germans, targeting civilians for the first time.

-Some people refused to fight as conscientious objectors and there were strikes by unhappy workers.