Edexcel IGCSE History: The Origins and Course of the First World War, 1905–18 — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board. Sources marked “invented” are written for this exercise and are not real historical documents. The one genuine source is attributed in full.

Related: A1 revision notes | A1 study guide

These questions practise the three skills of a Historical Investigation in Section A of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History 4HI1 Paper 2: describing features (6), cross-referencing two sources (8) and evaluating an interpretation using sources and own knowledge (16). Two enquiries cover the five key topics of Investigation A1.

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Enquiry 1 — the road to war, 1905–14

1(a) Describe two features of the naval race between Britain and Germany, 1906–14. [6]

Source A (genuine). Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary, recalling a remark he made on the evening of 3 August 1914, in his memoirs Twenty-Five Years (1925).

“The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.”

Source B (invented for this exercise). From a letter by a British journalist in Berlin, July 1914.

“Here they speak of war as a storm that must break sooner or later. Many officers seem almost relieved that the waiting is over, and the crowds on the Unter den Linden cheer the soldiers as if victory were already certain.”

1(b) How far does Source A support the evidence of Source B about attitudes to the coming of war in 1914? Explain your answer. [8]

Extract C (invented interpretation, written for this exercise).

“The war of 1914 was not an accident. It came because the great powers had spent a decade building alliances and weapons that made any local crisis a European one.”

1(c) How far do you agree with the interpretation in Extract C about the causes of the First World War? Use Extract C, Sources A and B and your own knowledge to explain your answer. [16]

Enquiry 2 — the course of the war, 1914–18

2(a) Describe two features of the Gallipoli campaign (1915–16). [6]

Source D (invented). From a British staff officer’s report, July 1916.

“The enemy’s wire was found uncut in many places. Where the guns had done their work our men advanced; elsewhere the attack was held up with severe loss.”

Source E (invented). From the memoir of a British private, published in 1930.

“We were told the guns would leave nothing alive. We walked forward in lines, as ordered, and the machine-guns opened up from trenches that should have been empty.”

2(b) How far does Source D support the evidence of Source E about the first day of the Battle of the Somme? [8]

Extract F (invented interpretation, written for this exercise).

“Germany lost the war in 1918 because its own spring offensive destroyed its army.”

2(c) How far do you agree with the interpretation in Extract F about why Germany was defeated? Use Extract F, Sources D and E and your own knowledge. [16]

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Answers and mark guidance

1(a) [6]

Any two developed features, about 3 marks each, for example: Britain’s launch of HMS Dreadnought (1906), which made older battleships obsolete and let Germany compete on equal terms; German Navy Laws and Tirpitz’s expansion of the fleet, prompting British fears and the 1909 public campaign for eight new dreadnoughts; Britain keeping a clear lead in numbers by 1914.

1(b) [8]

Support: both suggest that war was seen as a great, unavoidable turning point — Grey’s “lamps going out”, B’s “storm that must break”. Challenge: the tone is opposite — Grey expresses gloom and long-term loss, while B describes relief and cheering crowds expecting victory. Context and provenance: Grey, as Foreign Secretary, knew the scale of what was coming and wrote with hindsight in 1925; B reports public mood in Berlin, where enthusiasm was widely recorded in the first days. Judgement: limited support — they agree war was momentous but disagree on how it was felt. Top answers make specific comparisons and reach a clear judgement.

1(c) [16]

Supporting the interpretation: the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente; the naval race and the growth of conscript armies; war plans such as the Schlieffen Plan, which turned a war with Russia into a war with France and Belgium; Source B’s sense of inevitability. Challenging it: the alliances did not oblige Britain or Italy to fight; previous crises (Morocco 1905 and 1911, Bosnia 1908–09) were settled peacefully; the decisions of July 1914 — the blank cheque, the ultimatum to Serbia, Russian mobilisation — were choices; the invasion of Belgium decided British entry; Grey’s words suggest leaders who did not want war. Judgement: the long-term system made a general war possible; July 1914 decisions made it happen. Reward balanced use of extract, sources and own knowledge.

2(a) [6]

Two features, for example: the failed naval attempt to force the Dardanelles in March 1915; the April 1915 landings at Helles and ANZAC Cove, where troops were pinned to narrow beaches; the successful evacuation in December 1915–January 1916.

2(b) [8]

Support: both state that enemy defences survived the bombardment and that attacks were held up with heavy loss (“wire… uncut”; machine-guns from trenches “that should have been empty”). Difference: D reports partial success where guns had worked; E describes general failure and blames orders to walk forward. Provenance: D is an official report written at the time in cautious language; E was written in 1930, when disillusionment with the war’s leadership was common. Judgement: strong support on the causes of failure, less on its extent.

2(c) [16]

Supporting: the spring offensive (March 1918) used Germany’s best stormtroop units and left them exhausted and holding long, exposed lines; the Allies then broke through from August. Other factors: the British blockade and hunger at home; American troops and resources from 1917; improved Allied tactics combining tanks, aircraft and artillery (Amiens, August 1918); the collapse of Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary; mutiny and revolution in Germany; attrition from the Somme and Passchendaele (relevant to Sources D and E). Judgement: the offensive’s failure was the immediate military cause, but long-term attrition, blockade and American strength explain why Germany could not recover.

Where marks are usually lost

• Summarising each source separately instead of comparing them point by point.
• Ignoring provenance (who, when, why) in the cross-reference question.
• In (c), using only own knowledge and forgetting to evaluate the extract.

Source: question patterns modelled on the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1) specification, Issue 5, February 2026, Paper 2, Section A.

Frequently asked questions

How is the Paper 2 historical investigation question structured? Part (a) asks you to describe two features (6 marks), part (b) asks how far one source supports another (8 marks) and part (c) is a 16-mark judgement that uses the sources and your own knowledge.

Why was HMS Dreadnought important? Launched in 1906, it made older battleships obsolete and intensified the Anglo-German naval race.

What loses marks in the cross-reference question? Summarising each source separately instead of comparing them point by point, and ignoring provenance.

Are these real Edexcel past-paper questions? No. They are original questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History 4HI1; use them alongside the official past papers and mark schemes.