Conflict and tension, 1894-1918
Source A: A cartoon published in the British magazine Punch in August 1914
Source B: This cartoon - 'A Chain of Friendship' - appeared in
the American newspaper the Brooklyn Eagle in July 1914. The
caption read: “If Austria attacks Serbia, Russia will fall upon
Austria, Germany upon Russia, and France and England upon
Germany.”
Source C: from “Causes of World War I”,
Elana Shen, 2013
Germany created the first major alliances
leading up to WWI, which laid the foundation
for the global alliance system that would draw
every major country into war. Otto von
Bismarck, first Chancellor of the German
Empire, negotiated a series of treaties starting
in 1873, obligating various European nations to
aid each other in the event of war; this, in turn,
led opposing countries such as France and
Russia to draft their own agreements. Out of
the process came secret and open alliances
alike, giving weak countries a false sense of
confidence reinforced by their ties to more
powerful nations. As a result, when Austria-
Hungary declared war on Serbia, a tangled
chain of agreements and promises between
different countries pulled nearly the entire
world into war and caused the first instance of
a truly global conflict. But while Germany’s
creation of the alliance system and aggressive
preparation for war certainly helped to cause
WWI, Germany was not the only country to
blame for bringing it about.
Answer all four questions below.

[0][7] Study Source A.

Source A is critical of the Schlieffen Plan. How do you know?

Explain your answer by using Source A and your contextual knowledge. [4 marks]

[0][8] Study Sources B and C.

How useful are Sources B and C to a historian studying the alliance system
and their role in the outbreak of WW1?

Explain your answer using Sources B and C and your contextual

knowledge. [12 marks]

[0][9] Write an account of how the assassination of Franz Ferdinand helped

trigger the outbreak of WW1. [8 marks]

[1][0] “The main reason for the outbreak of war in 1914 was the German invasion
of neutral Belgium” [16 marks]

How far do you agree with this statement? +

Explain your answer. [4 SPaG marks]