Depth Studies A-E (Cambridge 0470): Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions. The wording below is invented for practice purposes, but the structure follows the syllabus’s own: on Paper 1, depth-study questions in Section B are three-part structured essays, split (a), (b), (c). Cambridge International holds copyright in its own papers; use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or Cambridge directly.

Related: Depth studies revision notes and the Depth Study A study guide.

In Cambridge IGCSE History 0470, Paper 1 Section B sets two questions on each of the five depth studies and you answer one. Each question is worth 20 marks: part (a) 4 marks for description, part (b) 6 marks for explanation and part (c) 10 marks for a “how far” judgement. Two questions are set below for each depth study, covering all of its key questions.

How the parts are marked

These rules follow the published 0470 Paper 1 mark schemes.

Part	Marks	How marks are given
(a)	4	One mark for each relevant, accurate point
(b)	6	Level 4 (6): explains two reasons. Level 3 (4-5): explains one reason (5 if supported by specific detail). Level 2 (2-3): identifies or describes reasons. Level 1 (1): writes about the topic without addressing the question
(c)	10	Level 5 (10): explains both sides and supports a valid judgement on “how far”. Level 4 (7-9): explains both sides (7 for one explanation each side, +1 per extra). Level 3 (4-6): explains one side. Level 2 (2-3): identifies or describes. Level 1 (1): writes about the topic

Depth Study A: The First World War, 1914-18

Question 1

(a) What happened during the race to the sea in 1914? [4] (b) Why was trench warfare so difficult for attacking armies? [6] (c) “The Battle of Verdun was more significant than the Battle of the Somme.” How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

Mark scheme. (a) Any four: after the Marne both sides tried to outflank each other to the north; they moved towards the Channel coast; each tried to reach the ports first; the Allies held the Channel ports; the line ended at the sea; the First Battle of Ypres followed; trenches stretched from the coast to Switzerland. (b) Explained reasons, for example: machine guns allowed a few defenders to cut down advancing infantry because attackers had to cross open no-man’s-land; artillery bombardments rarely cut barbed wire and warned the enemy an attack was coming; defenders could bring up reserves by rail faster than attackers could advance. (c) Verdun: German aim to “bleed France white”; huge French losses; French pressure led to the Somme being brought forward; French morale and Pétain’s “they shall not pass”. Somme: relieved pressure on Verdun; British casualties of about 57,000 on the first day; first use of tanks (September 1916); German army also badly weakened; lessons learned for 1918. Judgement on “how far”, for example: Verdun shaped the timing of 1916, but the Somme’s effect on the German army and on British tactics made it more significant for the outcome.

Question 2

(a) Describe the contribution of Japan to the Allied war effort. [4] (b) Why did the Gallipoli Campaign fail? [6] (c) “America’s entry into the war was the main reason Germany asked for an armistice in 1918.” How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

Mark scheme. (a) Declared war on Germany (1914); besieged and captured Tsingtao with British help; took German Pacific islands; Japanese navy escorted convoys and helped secure sea lanes, including in the Mediterranean. (b) Naval attack in March 1915 failed against mines and forts and warned the Turks; landings in April were at poorly chosen sites and could not advance up steep ground; Turkish defenders under Mustafa Kemal held the heights; poor planning, supplies and disease; eventual evacuation (by January 1916). (c) For: US troops and supplies arrived in growing numbers by 1918; their arrival gave the Allies a manpower advantage. Against: the failure of the Ludendorff Offensive exhausted the German army; the British blockade caused hunger; the Allied advance from Amiens (August 1918); Germany’s allies collapsed; Kiel Mutiny and revolution, the Kaiser’s abdication. Judgement on “how far”.

Depth Study B: Germany, 1918-45

Question 3

(a) Describe the Kapp Putsch of 1920. [4] (b) Why did hyperinflation occur in 1923? [6] (c) “The Weimar Republic recovered fully under Stresemann.” How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

Mark scheme. (a) Right-wing attempt to seize Berlin in March 1920; led by Wolfgang Kapp with Freikorps support; the army refused to fire on the rebels; the government fled; a general strike by workers defeated it. (b) Reparations payments drained gold and goods; the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr (January 1923) cut industrial output; the government paid striking workers by printing money; the result was a collapse in the value of the mark. (c) Recovery: the Rentenmark ended hyperinflation; the Dawes Plan (1924) brought US loans; Locarno (1925) and League membership (1926) restored status; cultural achievements. Limits: economy dependent on short-term US loans; farmers in difficulty; extremist parties survived; coalition governments remained unstable; Stresemann died in October 1929, just before the Depression. Judgement on “how far”.

Question 4

(a) What was the Night of the Long Knives? [4] (b) Why did the Nazis persecute many groups in German society? [6] (c) “Most Germans benefited from Nazi rule.” How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

Mark scheme. (a) 30 June 1934; Hitler ordered the SS to kill SA leaders including Röhm; political rivals such as von Schleicher were also murdered; it secured the army’s support. (b) Racial ideology and anti-Semitism; the aim of a “pure” national community; scapegoating for defeat and economic crisis; removing political opponents and non-conformists. (c) Benefited: unemployment fell; KdF holidays; stability after the Depression; national pride. Did not: Jews and other minorities persecuted; workers lost trade unions and wages were controlled; women pushed from some professions; loss of freedom; war, rationing and bombing after 1939. Judgement on “how far”, with a view on which period and which groups.

Depth Study C: Russia, 1905-41

Question 5

(a) What was the October Manifesto? [4] (b) Why did the Provisional Government fail in 1917? [6] (c) “The First World War was the main reason for the collapse of Tsarism in March 1917.” How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

Mark scheme. (a) Issued by Nicholas II in October 1905; promised a Duma (parliament); promised civil rights such as freedom of speech; split the opposition and helped the Tsar survive 1905. (b) It continued the war; it delayed land reform and elections; it shared power with the Petrograd Soviet; the Kornilov affair armed the Bolsheviks; Lenin offered “peace, bread, land”. (c) For: military defeats and casualties; the Tsar’s personal command from 1915; food and fuel shortages in the cities; the army’s loyalty collapsed. Against: long-term weakness of autocracy; peasant land hunger; workers’ grievances; the Tsar’s resistance to reform after 1905; Rasputin’s damage to the dynasty’s reputation. Judgement on “how far”.

Question 6

(a) Describe how Stalin removed his rivals between 1924 and 1929. [4] (b) Why did Stalin introduce collectivisation? [6] (c) “Stalin’s economic changes were successful.” How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

Mark scheme. (a) Allied with Zinoviev and Kamenev against Trotsky; then allied with Bukharin against Zinoviev and Kamenev; Trotsky expelled from the party (1927) and exiled; then turned on Bukharin and the Right (1928-29). (b) To feed the growing industrial workforce; to export grain to pay for machinery; to end the kulaks as a class; to bring the peasants under state control. (c) Successes: rapid growth in coal, steel and electricity; new industrial cities; Soviet Union better prepared for war. Failures: famine of 1932-33 with millions of deaths; fall in livestock; poor-quality goods and low living standards; terror and forced labour. Judgement on “how far”, stating the criterion used.

Depth Study D: The United States, 1919-41

Question 7

(a) Describe the problems facing American farmers in the 1920s. [4] (b) Why was Prohibition introduced? [6] (c) “Speculation was the main cause of the Wall Street Crash.” How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

Mark scheme. (a) Overproduction after the First World War; falling prices; foreign tariffs reduced exports; debts and evictions; competition from Canadian wheat; mechanisation reduced the need for labour. (b) Pressure from temperance groups such as the Anti-Saloon League; religious, especially Protestant rural, support; belief that alcohol caused crime and family breakdown; anti-German feeling during the war against brewers. (c) For: buying on the margin; share prices far above company value; panic selling in October 1929. Against: overproduction and falling demand; unequal distribution of wealth; weak, unregulated banks; tariffs reducing world trade. Judgement on “how far”.

Question 8

(a) What was the Tennessee Valley Authority? [4] (b) Why did the New Deal face opposition? [6] (c) “The New Deal was a failure because it did not solve unemployment.” How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

Mark scheme. (a) Set up in 1933 in the Hundred Days; built dams on the Tennessee River; produced hydro-electric power; controlled flooding and created jobs in a poor region. (b) Republicans and the rich saw it as too costly and “socialist”; business opposed regulation and union rights; the Supreme Court ruled parts unconstitutional, such as the NIRA; radicals like Huey Long said it did too little. (c) For: unemployment stayed high, rising again in 1937-38; only rearmament ended it. Against: banks stabilised; millions given relief work through the CCC and WPA; Social Security Act; workers’ rights in the Wagner Act; restored confidence. Judgement on “how far”.

Depth Study E: The Second World War in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, 1939-c.1945

Question 9

(a) Describe the impact of the Blitz on British civilians, 1940-41. [4] (b) Why was Germany unable to conquer Britain? [6] (c) “The Battle of Stalingrad was the most important turning point of the war in Europe.” How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

Mark scheme. (a) Night bombing of London and other cities such as Coventry; tens of thousands of civilians killed; homes destroyed and families made homeless; people sheltered in Underground stations and Anderson shelters; children evacuated; blackout regulations; morale largely held. (b) The RAF won the Battle of Britain, so Germany lacked air superiority for Operation Sea Lion; radar helped; the Royal Navy controlled the Channel; Hitler switched to bombing cities, relieving airfields; his attention turned east. (c) For: the German Sixth Army surrendered (February 1943); German advance in the East ended; Soviet confidence rose. Against: Battle of Britain kept Britain in the war; D-Day (1944) opened a second front; Allied advance through Italy; Barbarossa’s failure to take Moscow in 1941. Judgement on “how far”.

Question 10

(a) Describe the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. [4] (b) Why were the Japanese successful in the early stages of the war in Southeast Asia? [6] (c) “The atomic bombs were the main reason for the defeat of Japan.” How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

Mark scheme. (a) Surprise air attack on 7 December 1941; launched from aircraft carriers; battleships sunk or damaged; US carriers were absent; the USA declared war the next day. (b) Surprise attacks on many targets; British forces in Malaya poorly prepared and short of aircraft; Japanese troops trained for jungle warfare and moved quickly; Singapore’s defences faced the sea; the fall of Singapore (February 1942). (c) For: Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 1945) brought surrender within days. Against: island-hopping and victories at Guadalcanal and Okinawa; the US naval blockade; the firebombing of Japanese cities; the Soviet declaration of war (August 1945). Judgement on “how far”.

Frequently asked questions

How should I time a Section B answer? About 40 minutes: roughly 5 for (a), 10 for (b) and 25 for (c), including a short plan.

What turns a Level 4 (c) answer into Level 5? A judgement that answers “how far” and is supported by the explanations already given, not just restated.

Does spelling matter? Cambridge’s generic marking principles judge spelling, punctuation and grammar only where a question says they are assessed; your meaning must still be clear.