O Level History: Depth Study A, The First World War — Revision Notes (Cambridge 2147)

These notes condense Depth Study A of Cambridge O Level History 2147, The First World War, 1914-18, for last-minute recall. They follow the syllabus’s four key questions – stalemate, a world war, other fronts, and the 1918 armistice – and are built for Paper 1 Section B, where you answer one three-part question (4 + 6 + 10 marks). For full explanations see the Depth Study A study guide; for exam practice see Depth Study A practice questions.

Syllabus coverage

CAMBRIDGE O LEVEL HISTORY (2147), 2024-2026 – DEPTH STUDY A

1. Why was there stalemate on the Western Front?
2. To what extent was it a world war?
3. How important were other fronts?
4. Why did Germany ask for an armistice in 1918?

Timeline

Date	Event
4 Aug 1914	Germany invades Belgium; Britain declares war
23 Aug 1914	Battle of Mons
Aug 1914	Tannenberg: Russian defeat in the east
Sept 1914	First Battle of the Marne; Schlieffen Plan fails
Oct-Nov 1914	First Ypres; siege and fall of Tsingtao to Japan
Apr 1915	Chlorine gas at Second Ypres; Gallipoli landings
July 1915	South West Africa surrenders to South African forces
Jan 1916	Gallipoli evacuation completed
Feb-Dec 1916	Verdun
31 May-1 June 1916	Jutland
June 1916	Arab Revolt begins
1 July-Nov 1916	The Somme; first tanks in September
Feb 1917	Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare
Apr 1917	USA enters the war; Canadians take Vimy Ridge
Mar 1918	Brest-Litovsk; German Spring Offensive begins (21 March)
8 Aug 1918	Amiens – “black day of the German army”
Nov 1918	Kiel Mutiny; Kaiser abdicates (9th); Armistice (11th)

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Schlieffen Plan	German plan to defeat France quickly through Belgium before facing Russia
BEF	British Expeditionary Force, Britain’s small professional army of 1914
Race to the sea	Attempts to outflank each other northwards in autumn 1914
Attrition	Wearing down the enemy’s men and resources
No man’s land	Ground between opposing trench lines
Creeping barrage	Artillery fire moving forward just ahead of advancing infantry
Convoy	Merchant ships sailing together under naval escort
Unrestricted submarine warfare	Sinking any ship in a war zone without warning
Armistice	Agreement to stop fighting (not the peace treaty)

Key question 1: stalemate – four causes to learn

1. Schlieffen Plan failed: Belgian resistance; BEF at Mons; Russia’s fast mobilisation; the Marne.
2. Defence stronger than attack: machine guns, barbed wire, artillery, railways bringing reserves.
3. Trench conditions made attacks costly and men exhausted: mud, rats, lice, trench foot, shell shock.
4. New weapons did not at first break the deadlock: gas (1915), tanks (1916), aircraft – only combined tactics worked by 1918.

Verdun vs the Somme: Verdun was a German attack to bleed France white; the Somme was an Allied attack partly to relieve Verdun. Haig debate – “butcher” (57,000 British casualties on day one) or a commander learning lessons used in 1918?

Key question 2: a world war – case studies

Case study	Remember
Indian troops, Western Front	Arrived 1914; Ypres, Neuve Chapelle; first Indian VC (Khudadad Khan)
Canadian troops, Western Front	Gas at Second Ypres 1915; Vimy Ridge April 1917
South West Africa	South African forces under Botha; German surrender July 1915
German East Africa	Indian troops at Tanga 1914; Smuts’s campaign 1916; Lettow-Vorbeck unbeaten until after the Armistice
Japan in Asia	Tsingtao 1914; Pacific islands; naval escorts protecting sea lanes
Arab Revolt	Sharif Hussein, 1916; T. E. Lawrence; Aqaba 1917; Damascus 1918

Key question 3: other fronts

• Sea: Jutland – British losses higher, but the German fleet stayed in port and the blockade went on. U-boats – the main German threat; convoys from 1917 cut losses.
• Gallipoli: poor planning, failed naval attack, Turkish defence, terrain, disease – evacuation by January 1916.
• Eastern Front: drew German troops east until Russia’s collapse; Brest-Litovsk freed troops for 1918.
• Civilians: conscription, DORA, rationing, women’s work, air raids; Germany’s “turnip winter” 1916-17.

Key question 4: why the armistice – weigh these

Factor	Evidence
US entry	Fresh troops and supplies; Allied morale
Spring Offensive failure	Losses of best troops; overstretched supply lines
Allied counter-attack	Amiens, the Hundred Days, combined-arms tactics
Blockade	Food shortages, strikes, falling morale
Allies collapse	Bulgaria, Ottomans, Austria-Hungary sue for peace
Revolution	Kiel Mutiny; Kaiser abdicates 9 November

Worked example: a (b) answer in three steps

Explain why the Gallipoli campaign failed. [6]

• Reason 1 + evidence + link: the naval attack of March 1915 failed against mines, which warned the Turks and gave them time to strengthen defences.
• Reason 2 + evidence + link: landings were badly planned – troops landed on narrow beaches below cliffs and could not advance inland.
• Reason 3 + evidence + link: Turkish defenders, well led by commanders such as Mustafa Kemal, held the heights, while heat and disease weakened the Allies.

Exam traps

• Writing about the causes of the war (not in this Depth Study).
• Calling the Armistice the Treaty of Versailles.
• Describing trenches without explaining why they caused stalemate.
• Forgetting the African and Asian case studies in key question 2.
• Giving one-sided (c) answers.

Frequently asked questions

Who won Jutland? Tactically, Germany sank more ships; strategically, Britain kept control of the North Sea and the blockade.

How many marks are the three parts? (a) 4, (b) 6, (c) 10 – 20 marks for the Section B question.

What should a (c) conclusion do? Give a clear judgement about the factor in the question compared with at least one other factor, with a reason.

Self-test

1. Where was the BEF’s first battle? Mons.
2. When were tanks first used? The Somme, September 1916.
3. Who led South African forces in South West Africa? Louis Botha.
4. Which Japanese action captured a German base in China? The siege of Tsingtao, 1914.
5. Why was 8 August 1918 a turning point? The Allied attack at Amiens broke German morale.

Official syllabus

Cambridge O Level History (2147) syllabus for examination in 2024, 2025 and 2026 – cambridgeinternational.org (Depth study A).