history gcse February mock

• Effects of changing role of women in Nazi Germany:

  • Reduced involvement of women in politics, focusing on home and family to increase population
  • Change in women's roles as mothers, encouraged to have more children through incentives like loans and medals
• Effects of World War Two on the home front in Germany:

  • Introduction of rationing due to food shortages, leading to morale loss and disillusionment
  • Allied bombing causing casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and reduced production
• Reasons for the weakness of the Weimar government between 1919-1923:

  • Hyperinflation due to inability to pay reparations, leading to economic crisis and poverty
  • Constitution with proportional representation causing political instability and difficulty in decision-making
• Treaty of Versailles as a key reason for the Weimar government's weakness:

  • Imposed territorial losses, military restrictions, and financial burdens, leading to discontent and instability in Germany
• First Moroccan Crisis key features:

  • Germany's challenge to France's control over Morocco
  • Kaiser Wilhelm II's landing at Tangier in 1905 to show German interest in North Africa
  • Heightened tensions between Germany and France, disrupting the balance of power in Europe
  • Algeciras Conference in 1906 aimed to resolve the crisis peacefully
• Second Moroccan Crisis key features:

  • Agadir crisis in 1911 with German gunboat SMS Panther sent to Agadir
  • Treaty of Fez in 1911 established French protectorate over Morocco
  • Germany accepted French control over Morocco in exchange for land in the Congo
• The Balkan Wars key features:

  • Fought by the Balkan League to weaken the Ottoman Empire and expand territories
  • Significant territorial gains for Balkan states like Serbia and Greece
  • Strong influence of Balkan nationalism driving the wars
• Murder at Sarajevo key features:

  • Involvement of Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist, in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
  • Triggered World War I with Austria-Hungary blaming Serbia and declaring war
• Submarine Warfare key features:

  • Unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany in 1915 to weaken British war effort
  • Introduction of anti-submarine methods like the convoy system in June 1917
• One of the key features of the anti-submarine methods used by the British during WWI was the Q-ship:

  • First used in 1915
  • Looked like a harmless cargo vessel but carried powerful guns disguised as freight or even as cabins on deck
  • When a U-boat surfaced to search the ship, the crew would wait until the enemy was on deck, revealing the guns and sinking the U-boat
• Another key feature of the anti-submarine methods were the horned mines:

  • Large round metal containers packed with explosives
  • An explosion was triggered if a U-boat touched one
  • 20 out of the 63 U-boats sunk in 1917 were destroyed by hitting a mine, disrupting their ability to freely operate and restricting their movement
• One significant feature of the sinking of the Lusitania was the torpedo attack by a German submarine U-20 on 7 May 1915, causing a massive explosion and rapid sinking of the vessel, ultimately contributing to the United States' decision to enter the war in 1917
• Another key feature of the sinking of the Lusitania was the high number of civilian casualties:

  • The ship carried 1959 passengers and crew members, including women, children, and neutral American citizens
  • 1198 individuals drowned in the sinking, causing outrage worldwide and escalating tensions between the United States and Germany
• General Ludendorff launched the final offensive Operation Michael on 21 March 1918 to break the stalemate on the Western Front by driving west through the weakest part of the French and British lines of trenches
• During Operation Michael, German troops advanced 65 km into France, crossed the River Somme, reached the banks of the River Marne, and brought Paris within range of heavy gunfire by July 1918
• General Haig agreed to send two divisions of recently arrived Americans to join the Allies in the second battle of the Marne in July 1918, successfully preventing German forces from taking Paris during the Ludendorff Offensive
• General Pershing commanded the US First Army consisting of 500,000 men, launching an attack on the salient on 12 September 1918, resulting in the whole salient being under Allied control within 4 days, forcing the Germans to retreat
• The Allied counter-attack during the Hundred Days' Offensive pushed the Germans back on a 320km front line, back to the Hindenburg Line, resulting in 48,000 enemy troops being killed, wounded, or captured by the Allies, leading to the collapse of German morale
• The main attack on the Hindenburg Line began on 29 September 1918, and by 8 October, 4 massive offensives enabled the Allies to break through the line, forcing the German high command to accept that the war had to be ended, leading to the Armistice on 11 November 1918
• During 1923, Germany's economic position worsened due to the invasion of the Ruhr by France and Belgium, leading Hitler to see the peak of hyperinflation as an opportunity to take power