First World War - Causes (continued)

The Franco-Prussian War
- Prussian Victory
- Alsace and Lorraine

The threat of Russia
- Russia increasing in military strength
- The possibility of a preventative war

The Balkan Crisis and the decline of Turkey
- Turkish decline
- Nationalist uprisings
- Russia and Austria-Hungary's conflicting attempts to profit from Turkish decline

Serbian rivalry with Austria-Hungary
- 'pig war'
- Austria-Hungary annex Bosnia and Herzegovina
- German threat of force against Russia to accept Austria's annex policy
- Serbia up nationalist campaign

Growing Balkans unrest
- Balkan League
- Serbian strength
- Visit of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to Bosnia announced

The outbreak of the war (July/august 1914)
- Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
- Germany pledge Austria full military support in a Serbian invasion

The Austrian ultimatum
- Austria present Serbia with 10 demands
- Serbia accepts 9 of the ten demands
- Austria not willing to compromise, mobilise troops and declare war against Serbia

Attempts and mediation
- The role of Sir Edward Grey
- Germany's lack of co-operation
- Austria ignores attempts at peace and attacks Serbia

The Russian military response
- Partial mobilisation vs. general mobilisation debate in Russia
- Kaiser’s gives Tsar impression war could be prevented
- Partial mobilisation enacted instead of general mobilisation
- Austria declare a general mobilisation against Russia
- Russia switch to full mobilisation
- Germany declares war on Russia, France, and Belgium and send troops over the Belgium frontier

Britain enters the fray
- Britain's lack of involvement before summer 1914
- British ultimatum to Germany, Germany ignore it
- Britain declares war on Germany


TEACHING IDEA: Using some of the key events listed above (simplified) get the students to put them into three categories - 1) Long-term cause 2) Short-term cause 3) Trigger Cause

First World War - Causes

I am currently researching the different causes that have been considered as important in the build up to the First World War. So far I have looked at:

The unification of Germany
- Prussia and the Junkers
- Bismarck's early objectives

The problems in the Balkans
- Conflicting interests of Russia and Austria-Hungary
- Bismarck's attempts to reconcile Russia and Austria-Hungary
- Impact of Russo-Turkish War

The formation of the Triple Alliance
- German alliance with Austria Hungary
- The second league of the three emperors
- Anglo-Italian agreement (first Mediterranean agreement)
- The second Mediterranean agreement

Bismarck's diplomatic policies and their results
- Short term European Disability
- Franco-Russian understanding
- Bismarck and Africa

The increase in German power
- Population
- Industrial expansion
- French response
- German-Austrian Bloc

Anglo-German economic and naval rivalry
- German naval expansion
- Britain's response
- Franco-Russia alliance

The Anglo-French entente and the formation of the Triple entente
- Combine French and British opposition to German expansion
- Russo-Japanese war
- German attempts to separate Britain and France
- Anglo-Russo understanding

The Triple Alliance vs. the Triple entente
- Continued naval threat
- Russian military recovery
-Austria-Hungary threats to draw Germany into war with Russia
- Continued attempts by Germany to separate England and France
- Conflicting interests of Austria-Hungary and Italy

German domestic problems
- Working Class discontent
- Threat of German civil war
- Continued German naval expansion and the ententes response

First World War - Life in the trenches/on the Western Front

Using http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit I have found a film, a wide range of photos and short First World War footage clips that would be useful in exploring what life was like on the Western Front.


http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/education/schoolstudents/ks4 : Short Film presented by Everett Sharp on the features of trench warfare – (last clip on the page) (whole class activity – tell students to watch the short film and make notes – maybe give them a list of questions to make notes on e.g. why were the trenches not built in a straight line? Did this cause any problems?)


Photos of life in the trenches:
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/education/pathways/path/jqrjbx
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/3629?CISOBOX=1&REC=4
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/1290?CISOBOX=1&REC=5
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/3623?CISOBOX=1&REC=10
For more go to: http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/photo
(Whole activity to show what life was like; pair and share activity – gives each group/pair a different photo and ask them to write x number of comments on what they think life was like in the trenches – feedback to whole class)


A list of very short clips useful for highlighting what life was like in the trenches:
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/1837?CISOBOX=1&REC=6 (dugout)
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/1838?CISOBOX=1&REC=7 (explosion)
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/1840?CISOBOX=1&REC=10 (preparing for battle)
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/1256?CISOBOX=1&REC=1 (men advancing up the communication trench)
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/1819?CISOBOX=1&REC=8 (machine gun firing)
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/1262?CISOBOX=1&REC=10 (POWs and wounded)
For more clips go to - http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/film
(possibly create a short video of a variety of clips to give an idea of what life was like in the trenches – could be used as a teaching aid in class)


The BBC provides some useful interactive sites that could be used to explore life in the trenches: (1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/soldier/ (an interactive site to explore life in the trenches as experienced by a doctor)
(1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/survivor/ (an interactive site about a soldier's experiences and feelings about war and coming home to Britain)
(Class activity – depending on computer access – if not accessible maybe homework activity - get students to answer questions or write x number of comments on the trench life of the soldier and the doctor)

(2) http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/hq/timeline.shtml
(Interactive timeline - blue boxes highlight events on the Western Front – get Students to either create their own timeline about events on the Western Front or again answer questions that can only be answered through exploring the interactive timeline)


The BBC Learning Zone also provides a range of film clips, some of which could be used to explore life on the western front:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/
(Click on the Secondary tab, then choose History in the second column and World Wars in the third)

First World War - Poetry

I have looked at some World War One poems by a few particular poets (Wilfred Owen, John McCare and Siegfried Sassoon) and found some film clips that portray readings of some of the poems that would be useful teaching aids.

John McCare - 'In Flanders’ Field'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/hq/flanders_field.shtml (An animation)

Wilfred Owen - 'Dulce et Decorum Est'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/jeremy-paxman-on-wilfred-owen/8673.html

Wilfred Owen - 'Anthem for Doomed Youth'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/wilfred-owen-anthem-for-a-doomed-youth-poem-only/6486.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/wilfred-owen-anthem-for-a-doomed-youth-poem-only/6489.html
(Two clips - could compare the different tones/techniques used in each clip - Are there any differences between the mood of each reading? what effect does this have?)

Siegfried Sassoon - 'Trench Duty'
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/document/9855/9728 - (use as a primary aid) - some of the primary aids on this site are hard to decipher - could maybe use this introduction/starter activity - get the students to have a go at deciphering the writing in various poems)

Siegfried Sassoon -'A Soldier's Declaration' - An article written and published in the time by Sassoon (Coukd ask students to read and discuss what they think Sasson's feeling are about the war)