AQA GCSE History (8145): Paper 1 Section B Wider World Depth Studies — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions. The sources below are invented for practice and are not real documents or cartoons; the question types and marks follow the AQA 8145 specification’s own Section B structure (four questions, 40 marks plus 4 for SPaG). Examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: Wider world depth studies revision notes | Wider world depth studies study guide

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AQA GCSE History 8145 Paper 1 Section B sets four questions on your Conflict and tension depth study. Part 1 is a complete set for BB the inter-war years, 1918-1939. Part 2 gives questions 3 and 4 for the other four options.

Part 1: a full set on BB the inter-war years (40 + 4 marks)

Source A (invented) – A description of a cartoon imagined as published in a British magazine in 1935. A large Italian soldier steps over a sleeping figure labelled “League of Nations” towards a map of Abyssinia. The caption reads: “Don’t wake him – he might write a strongly worded letter.”

Source B (invented) – From a speech imagined as given by a League official in 1926. “In five short years the League has settled the Aaland Islands, divided Upper Silesia and stopped a war between Greece and Bulgaria. Nations now bring their quarrels to Geneva rather than to the battlefield.”

Source C (invented) – From a newspaper editorial imagined as written in Tokyo in 1933. “The League’s report on Manchuria insults Japan. It speaks of law while the Western powers keep their own empires. Japan will leave Geneva and act for herself.”

1. Source A opposes the League of Nations’ handling of the Abyssinian crisis. How do you know? Explain your answer using Source A and your contextual knowledge. [4]

2. How useful are Sources B and C to an historian studying the League of Nations? Explain your answer using Sources B and C and your contextual knowledge. [12]

3. Write an account of how events in Manchuria weakened the League of Nations. [8]

4. “The main reason for the outbreak of war in 1939 was the policy of appeasement.” How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [16 + 4 SPaG]

Worked answers

1. The cartoon shows the League asleep while Italy advances – it is not even aware of the threat; the caption mocks it for responding only with words. Context: when Italy invaded Abyssinia in October 1935, the League imposed sanctions but excluded oil, Britain kept the Suez Canal open, and the Hoare-Laval Plan (December 1935) offered Italy much of Abyssinia. A British magazine critical of the government in 1935 would have reason to mock this weakness.

2. Source B is useful for showing the League’s real successes of the 1920s – the Aaland Islands (1921), Upper Silesia (1921) and the Greek-Bulgarian dispute (1925). Its provenance – a League official in 1926 – means it is promoting the organisation, so it leaves out failures such as Vilna (1920) and Corfu (1923), where Mussolini got his way. It is useful for how the League saw itself. Source C is useful for showing why a major power defied the League: the Lytton Report criticised Japan, and Japan left the League in 1933. Written by a Japanese nationalist newspaper, it shows anger and a sense of Western hypocrisy. Together they show the League’s change from confidence in the 1920s to defiance in the 1930s.

3. Japan’s economy was hit hard by the Depression, and its army wanted Manchuria’s raw materials -> in September 1931 the Mukden incident gave the army an excuse to invade -> China appealed to the League -> the League sent the Lytton Commission, which took about a year to report -> the report condemned Japan, but no sanctions or military action followed, as Britain and France would not act -> Japan left the League in 1933 and stayed in Manchuria (renamed Manchukuo) -> other dictators saw that aggression could succeed, which encouraged Mussolini over Abyssinia.

4. Agree: Britain and France did not resist the remilitarisation of the Rhineland (1936) or the Anschluss (1938); at Munich (September 1938) they gave Hitler the Sudetenland; each success encouraged Hitler to believe they would not fight for Poland. Disagree: Hitler’s aims – overturning Versailles, Lebensraum – made expansion likely anyway; the Nazi-Soviet Pact (August 1939) removed the threat of a two-front war and was the immediate trigger; the failure of the League after Manchuria and Abyssinia destroyed collective security; the Treaty of Versailles had left German grievances. Appeasement also bought time for British rearmament. Judgement: appeasement allowed Hitler to grow stronger, but his own aims and the Nazi-Soviet Pact were the decisive causes of war in September 1939. Remember SPaG: accurate spelling of names such as Chamberlain, Sudetenland and Anschluss.

Part 2: questions 3 and 4 for the other options

BA The First World War, 1894-1918

3. Write an account of how the assassination of Franz Ferdinand led to a European war. [8]

4. “The Schlieffen Plan was the main reason for stalemate on the Western Front by the end of 1914.” How far do you agree? [16 + 4 SPaG]

Guidance: 3 – Sarajevo (28 June 1914) -> German “blank cheque” -> Austrian ultimatum to Serbia -> Russian mobilisation -> German declarations on Russia and France -> invasion of Belgium -> British declaration (4 August). 4 – the plan’s failure at the Marne, then the race to the sea; but also defensive technology (machine guns, barbed wire, artillery) and the impossibility of outflanking once the trench line reached the sea.

BC Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945-1972

3. Write an account of how the U2 incident affected relations between the superpowers in 1960. [8]

4. “The Soviet Union was more to blame than the USA for the origins of the Cold War.” How far do you agree? [16 + 4 SPaG]

Guidance: 3 – U2 shot down over the USSR (May 1960) -> the USA claimed it was a weather plane -> Khrushchev revealed the captured pilot, Gary Powers -> Eisenhower refused to apologise -> the Paris summit collapsed -> the “Thaw” ended. 4 – Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe, Cominform and the Berlin Blockade against the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, atomic monopoly and Western currency reform in Germany.

BD Conflict and tension in Asia, 1950-1975

3. Write an account of how the Tet Offensive affected the war in Vietnam. [8]

4. “The main reason the USA failed in Vietnam was the tactics of the Vietcong.” How far do you agree? [16 + 4 SPaG]

Guidance: 3 – surprise attacks on over a hundred towns, including the US embassy in Saigon (January 1968) -> military defeat for the Vietcong -> but television coverage shocked Americans -> Johnson did not seek re-election, and peace talks began. 4 – guerrilla tactics, tunnels and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, against US tactics (Search and Destroy, bombing, chemical weapons), the unpopular South Vietnamese government, and opposition at home (Kent State, the media).

BE Conflict and tension in the Gulf and Afghanistan, 1990-2009

3. Write an account of how the 11 September 2001 attacks led to war in Afghanistan. [8]

4. “The main reason for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was the issue of weapons of mass destruction.” How far do you agree? [16 + 4 SPaG]

Guidance: 3 – Al-Qaeda attacks -> bin Laden sheltered by the Taliban -> the Taliban refused to hand him over -> US/UK operation from October 2001 -> Taliban overthrown -> UN conference and Karzai’s government. 4 – WMD claims and the inspectors’ work, against Saddam’s record towards Kurds and Shia, alleged Al-Qaeda links, Western oil interests, and Bush’s war on terror backed by Blair.

Where marks are usually lost

• Question 1: no provenance.
• Question 2: evaluating only one source.
• Question 3: events listed without “this led to” links.
• Question 4: no clear judgement; spelling of key terms.

Frequently asked questions

Should I plan question 4? Yes. A two-minute plan with both sides and your judgement keeps the essay focused.

What is usefulness? What the source can tell an historian about the topic, judged from its content, provenance and context.

Official specification

AQA GCSE History (8145) specification, version 1.3, sections 3.2.2 and 4.4.1 – aqa.org.uk.