Systems of Alliance
In this lesson, we will learn about the different alliance systems which existed in Europe prior to 1914 and how they made a major war in Europe more likely.
Unit Overview: How far did the assassination cause the First World War?
National Curriculum
For next step we recommend the unit: Did tensions over Africa make a European war more likely?.
Lessons:
6 lessons
The Schlieffen Plan
In this lesson, we will learn about the different military plans which European nations had for war, and how Germany's plans in particular accelerated events leading to the outbreak of war.
Germany: A New Nation
In this lesson, we will learn about the origins of the German Nation State, its culture and leader in 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II. This will help us to understand why Germany was more likely to act as an aggressor in the event of a European conflict.
Imperial Rivalries
In this lesson, we will learn about the background to the First World War, for example what smaller conflicts and rivalries between European nations had set them against one and other.
Nationalism and Militarism
In this lesson, we will learn about the role played by growing nationalism and militarism in increasing the likelihood of a conflict in Europe.
What really caused the outbreak of WWI?
In this lesson, we will review the different causes of the First World War and come to a judgement as to their relative importance.
Units in History
- How "dark" were the Dark Ages?
- Why has Alfred been called "Alfred the Great"?
- How powerful was the Pope?
- How did a Norman become King of England?
- How much did England change during the Norman Conquest?
- Which sources reveal the most about medieval peasants?
- How was Baghdad connected to the wider world?
- Why did Europeans join the Crusades?
- Who lived in Crusader states?
- What can the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine tell us about who held power in the Middle Ages?
- Why did Kings struggle to rule England?
- How did the Mongols create a world Empire?
- How far did the Black Death change the medieval World?
- How big a threat was the Peasants' Revolt to the power of monarchs
- What can we learn about the medieval World from the book of Margery Kempe?
- What does the life of Mansa Musa reveal about medieval Mali?
- Who held power in medieval towns?
- How far did fear allow the Aztecs to control an Empire?
- Why have historians described 1492 as a turning point in world history?
- What was Luther trying to achieve?
- Why did Henry VIII make the break with Rome?
- In what ways did the Reformation matter to ordinary people?
- Why was the world opening up to Elizabeth I and her people?
- Why did the Civil War break out in 1642?
- In what ways was Britain turned upside down in the seventeenth century?
- How revolutionary was the Glorious Revolution?
- Who lived in 'British' America?
- Did the Enlightenment fuel the American Revolution?
- How Enlightened was the French Revolution?
- What did the French Revolution mean to Britons?
- How successful were efforts to abolish slavery in the nineteenth century?
- How far did working conditions improve over the nineteenth century?
- Why are different stories told about Britain's journey to democracy?
- Why does it matter what we call the 1857 conflict in India?
- What did British colonialism look like in the nineteenth century?
- How do we uncover the lived experience of those ruled by Empire in Africa?
- Did tensions over Africa make a European war more likely?
- How far did the assassination cause the First World War?
- What do the stories of the 'often forgotten armies' reveal about the Western Front?
- Why did WWI end in November 1918?
- What kind of peace was made in 1919?
- What were the Bolsheviks trying to achieve?
- Why did fascists gain support?
- How were people controlled in totalitarian states?
- Why did the League of Nations fail?
- When was the turning point during the Second World War?
- What was the holocaust?
- How did Jewish people resist during the holocaust?
- How did India achieve independence in 1947?
- What kind of stories can be told about the sixties?
- Who 'decolonised' in the twentieth century?
- What kind of peace was made in 1919?
- Why did Europeans join the Crusades?
- Why did the League of Nations fail?
- Why did WWI end in November 1918?
- How did Jewish people resist during the holocaust?
- How far did the assassination cause the First World War?
- How did a Norman become King of England?
- When was the turning point during the Second World War?
- How far did fear allow the Aztecs to control an Empire?
- Did tensions over Africa make a European war more likely?
- What was the holocaust?