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AQA GCSE History — Conflict and Tension

Conflict and Tension 1894–1918: Build the Arguments That Reach Level 4

From the alliance system and the assassination at Sarajevo to the horror of the Somme and the punishing terms of Versailles, this topic demands precise causation analysis and sustained evaluation. Get instant AI marking on your essays.

About This Topic

Conflict and Tension: The First World War, 1894–1918 is one of AQA's conflict and tension period study options, covering the long-term and short-term causes of the First World War, the nature of the war itself, and its immediate aftermath. The topic runs from the 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance through the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, the events of the war on the Western Front, the Home Front in Britain, and the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. AQA specifically rewards students who can explain the interaction of causes — why the alliance system transformed a regional Balkan crisis into a world war, or why industrial-scale killing did not immediately produce strategic breakthrough. The most demanding questions ask students to evaluate the relative importance of long-term causes (militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism) against the immediate trigger of the Sarajevo assassination. Students are also expected to understand the experience of soldiers and civilians during the war, and to evaluate the fairness and consequences of the Treaty of Versailles.

Part of: Conflict and Tension: The First World War, 1894–1918

Key Themes Examiners Focus On

The alliance system — the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, Russia, Britain), how alliances were designed to deter aggression but instead made a localised conflict escalate into a world war, and the role of mobilisation timetables in removing diplomatic flexibility
The arms race and militarism — Anglo-German naval rivalry (the Dreadnought programme from 1906), the European land arms race, the glorification of military values in German Weltpolitik, and how militarism shaped political decision-making in the July Crisis of 1914
The Schlieffen Plan — its strategic logic (knock out France in 6 weeks before turning east to face Russia), why it failed (Belgian resistance, the Battle of the Marne 1914, Russian mobilisation faster than expected), and the consequences of its failure for the character of the war
Trench warfare and new weapons technology — the development and tactical use of machine guns, barbed wire, artillery, gas (first used at Second Ypres, April 1915), tanks (first deployed at the Battle of the Somme, 15 September 1916), and aircraft; why technology initially favoured defence over attack and produced stalemate
The Battle of the Somme (1 July 1916) — the scale of casualties on the first day (57,470 British casualties), the strategic purpose of relieving pressure on Verdun, the role of General Haig, and whether the offensive was a military failure or a necessary step in the attrition that eventually broke German resistance
The Home Front — the role of women in munitions and industry, the introduction of conscription (January 1916), DORA (Defence of the Realm Act), government propaganda, rationing, and the social changes the war accelerated
The USA's entry into the war — the Zimmermann Telegram (January 1917), unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany from February 1917, and how American entry in April 1917 transformed the strategic balance
The Treaty of Versailles (1919) — the "War Guilt" clause (Article 231), reparations set at £6.6 billion in 1921, territorial losses (Alsace-Lorraine to France, the Polish Corridor, German colonies), military restrictions, and the argument that the Treaty's harshness created the conditions for the Second World War

Common Exam Questions on Conflict and Tension 1894–1918

Q1

"'The alliance system was the main cause of the First World War.' How far do you agree? Explain your answer." [16 marks + 4 SPaG]

Q2

"'The Treaty of Versailles was fair to Germany.' How far do you agree? Explain your answer." [16 marks + 4 SPaG]

Q3

"Explain why the war on the Western Front became a stalemate by the end of 1914." [12 marks]

Q4

"'General Haig was an incompetent commander who needlessly sacrificed his men.' How far do you agree? Explain your answer." [16 marks + 4 SPaG]

Q5

"Write a narrative account analysing the key events in the July Crisis of 1914 that led to the outbreak of the First World War." [8 marks]

What Examiners Want to See

A clear causal hierarchy for the causes of war — the best essays distinguish between long-term causes (MAIN: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism) and the short-term trigger (the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914), then explain precisely how one converted the other into war through the July Crisis of 1914
Precise factual knowledge of the alliance system — not just "alliances existed" but: the Franco-Russian Alliance 1894, the Entente Cordiale 1904, the Anglo-Russian Convention 1907, the Triple Alliance obligations that brought Austria-Hungary, Germany, and (nominally) Italy together, and why Germany's "blank cheque" to Austria-Hungary on 6 July 1914 was so consequential
Specific evidence for stalemate — the failure of the Schlieffen Plan at the Battle of the Marne (September 1914), the Race to the Sea (October 1914), the development of continuous trench lines from the Channel to Switzerland, and the tactical dominance of the machine gun and artillery over infantry attacks across open ground
Balanced evaluation of Haig — acknowledge that the Somme's first day (1 July 1916) was a catastrophic tactical failure with 57,470 British casualties, but also that the 141-day offensive ground down German reserves, that Haig's 1918 Hundred Days Offensive (beginning 8 August) was one of the most successful British operations in the war, and that the "learning curve" of the BEF is a legitimate counter to the "butcher" interpretation
For Treaty of Versailles questions, compare the "fair" and "unfair" interpretations explicitly — the "unfair" case: £6.6 billion reparations, loss of 13% of German territory, Article 231 war guilt, army limited to 100,000; the "fair" case: Germany had imposed harsh terms on Russia (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, March 1918), the Allies' primary aim was to prevent another war, and the terms were less severe than Germany had planned to impose on a defeated France
Understanding of the Home Front's significance — conscription via the Military Service Act (January 1916), women's work in munitions (1.5 million women in munitions by 1918), DORA's censorship and regulation of daily life, and the social consequence of women's wartime roles as context for the 1918 Representation of the People Act
Awareness of the war's international dimensions — the Ottoman Empire joining the Central Powers, the Gallipoli Campaign (1915) and its failure, the USA's entry in April 1917 following the Zimmermann Telegram and unrestricted submarine warfare
Precision in the conclusion — do not simply list factors; instead, explain which factor had the greatest transformative effect: "The alliance system was the most significant cause because it was the mechanism by which a regional assassination became a world war — without treaty obligations, Germany would not have issued the blank cheque and Austria-Hungary would not have risked war with Russia"

Practise a Conflict and Tension 1894–1918 Question

"'The alliance system was the main cause of the First World War.' How far do you agree? Explain your answer." Write a full 16-mark (+4 SPaG) response. Include: an introduction with a clear judgement, a paragraph arguing that the alliance system was decisive (with precise evidence), a paragraph arguing for an alternative cause (militarism, nationalism, the Balkans crisis, or German aggression), a counter-argument paragraph, and a conclusion that evaluates the relative significance of all factors.

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