The First World War

Interactive Timeline

Life on the Western Front - an interactive decision making exercise

Causes of the First World War

The Schlieffen Plan

War Poetry

The Role of Britain in the First World war

Trench Warfare

Weapons

The Home Front

Statistics

Britain in the First World War

Key Issue: What was the part played by Britain in the defeat of Germany in the First World War?

This area is examined in Section B of paper 1 (AQA GCSE Modern World History).

Content covered:

1. The BEF
2. Trench warfare
3. Britain's contribution to the western front, using the Battle of the Somme as an example
4. New weapons - tanks and planes
5. The war at sea: blockades and Jutland
6. The contribution of the Empire troops
7. The end of the war

Introductory Notes

The British Expeditionary Force

The BEF was established by Minister for War, Richard Haldane, after the Boer War. it's purpose was to enable the British Government to respond quickly to any crisis in the world that threatened British interests. The need for the force had been illustrated in the Boer War as many of the soldiers involved had been ill equipped and lacking in training in modern warfare. By the time that the First World War broke out, the BEF was a fighting force of approximately 120,000 men.

When Germany invaded Belgium on August 4th 1914, the BEF was sent to France to prepare to halt the German advance. It was first engaged in combat at the Battle of Mons at which it was heavily outnumbered and forced to retreat. The BEF, alongside French troops, was more successful at the battle of Marne. Here the German forces were pushed back over the River Aisne, preventing the capture of Paris. as a result of the advance being halted here, the Germans did two things. Firstly, they dug defensive trenches in the Aisne valley, secondly, they tried to outflank the Allies on their northern side. This second action is commonly called the race for the sea.

Trench Warfare

Trench warfare began as a result of the German advance being halted at the Battle of the Marne. As they rushed towards the coast to try and outflank the British and French, they dug defensive ditches, bunkers and trenches to protect their positions against counter attacks. When the race for the sea failed, both sides were in a position where they needed to consolidate their positions and regroup before attempting to counter attack. Consequently, trench systems were dug by both sides. The germans dug deep trenches and reinforced many of them with concrete - they had, after all, captured enemy territory and could always use these trenches as fall back positions at a later date. The British and French initially dug shallower trench systems, as they believed that they would be able to launch successful counter offensives and begin a prolonged advance against the German forces.

Trench warfare is now synonymous with a war of attrition. The developments in weapons in the early twentieth century led to a battlefield in which the defender held the advantage. Heavy machine guns, mines and barbed wire enabled positions to be well defended against traditional assault tactics.

To complete an exercise that outlines the difficulties faced by officers in command of a section of a trench, click here.