Modern history marathon... (1 Viewer)

[Amaranth_]

Fair enough. On that previous question, if you have a really solid bank of knowledge and have read widely, you could really bring a unique analysis to the table.

a similar question was posted by bedpotato earlier in the thread

 

[Amaranth_]

Omg screw you, I get a hard question. ok.

Prior to the war, women in Britain were seen as the traditional housewife in the kitchen, staying in the kitchen, and living in the kitchen never to see the light of day.
During the war, all the men were conscripted into the army (1916 onwards) or volunteered to go shoot some germans. This meant that the empty spots in the workforce left by these men which were vital to the war effort had to be filled. child labour is really slack, so women had to step in and take over the munitions, the noncombat military roles, and office jobs.
After the war, contrary to most opinions, women actually went back to the kitchen, stayed in the kitchen and lived in the kitchen.

The impact the war had on women was actually not at all significant, as their work frenzy only lasted as long as the war lasted.

Assess the notion that the failure of the Spring Offensive of 1918 was the driving factor in the German Defeat!

Whilst gradual progression into enemy territory meant that the offensive was initially seen as a success, Germany's inability to withstand allied forces, now bolstered with fresh American soldiers due to their lack of quick mobilization ultimately resulted in a halt at the river of Marne as Germany became outnumbered and out-sourced.

mention:
Falkenhayn's misjudgment and under estimation of allied forces + american swiftness in entering
even though they came within shelling distance to paris, 65Km in 7 days meant that they quickly ran out of supplies and became out-powered because of poor and rash planning and strategies resulting in a drastic decrease in morale for the soldiers + German army's already low morale following significant loss of life
Mass desertions once German soldiers found out that the British were better equipped than what propaganda suggested
In comparison to the German army, the British were the far superior equipped
German army was made up of support units - inexperienced soldiers



Assess the role of women on the home front in both Britain and Germany

 

[JT145]

The role of women on the homefront in Germany is not a syllabus requirement

Therefore I shall answer this question in regards to Britain

After the men of Britain left to fight on the Western Front a vacuum was created in employment and extra people were needed to fill vacant employment places. This task fell to the women of Britain, who left their previous domestication and low paying jobs to work either for the war effort through munitions or by ensuring that Britain would function as a nation.

David Lloyd George's appointment as munitions minister in 1916 accelerated this movement, and by the conclusion of the war 4.8 million women were employed.

Organisations such as the Royal Womens Navy and Land Army helped to support the war effort.

This was also helped through the extensive use of government propaganda which encouraged the dual role of women both as housewife but more importantly, munitions worker to help the war effort.

This in turn created a greater social respect for women as they were responsible for the majority of munitions constructed for Britain and assisted greatly in the war effort. This may have led to women's suffrage in Britain after the war however opinions are mixed; some believe that the suffrage movement was simply following worldwide trends and working class women (the majority of the 'munitionettes') were denied the right to vote.

 

[enoilgam]

I've got one, although I'm not sure if they would ask it "Account for the failure of the Schlieffen Plan".

 

[JT145]

I've got one, although I'm not sure if they would ask it "Account for the failure of the Schlieffen Plan".

I swear that's been asked already

Overasked questions include Spring Offensive and Schlieffen Plan questions

Homefront questions I like because they're challenging

Whoopee doo I forgot to ask a Q

Account for the impact of Total War and its social and economic consequences on Britain and Germany

 

[enoilgam]

I swear that's been asked already

There have been a few questions close to it in this thread, but none specifically on the Schlieffen Plan.

 

[Amaranth_]

I've got one, although I'm not sure if they would ask it "Account for the failure of the Schlieffen Plan".

Under the Schlieffen plan, Germany planned to overcome France in a rapid and unforeseen attack whilst holding off the Russian forces on the Eastern front. However, Moltkes substantial modification of the plan proved to be a critical factor in underpinning the plans failure. Moltkes view that the German troops should not pass through the Netherlands as it would serve German interests in maintaining Dutch neutrality resulted in the weakening of the hammer-swing and strengthening the hinge instead. This ultimately proved to be a disastrous miscalculation by Moltke as for the plan to have had any chance of success, the swing through Belgium was required to be rapid.

Modifications resulted in the bottleneck at Aachen and Liege which allowed Belgian and French forces to mobilise and prepare for the German raid, whilst British forces made way to Belgium


To what extent was the battle of the Somme the most significant in attempts to break the stalemate on the Western Front?

 

[enoilgam]

Under the Schlieffen plan, Germany planned to overcome France in a rapid and unforeseen attack whilst holding off the Russian forces on the Eastern front. However, Moltkes substantial modification of the plan proved to be a critical factor in underpinning the plans failure. Moltkes view that the German troops should not pass through the Netherlands as it would serve German interests in maintaining Dutch neutrality resulted in the weakening of the hammer-swing and strengthening the hinge instead. This ultimately proved to be a disastrous miscalculation by Moltke as for the plan to have had any chance of success, the swing through Belgium was required to be rapid.

Modifications resulted in the bottleneck at Aachen and Liege which allowed Belgian and French forces to mobilise and prepare for the German raid, whilst British forces made way to Belgium


To what extent was the battle of the Somme the most significant in attempts to break the stalemate on the Western Front?

Nice answer (also, nice question as well).

 

[Amaranth_]

I swear that's been asked already

Overasked questions include Spring Offensive and Schlieffen Plan questions

Homefront questions I like because they're challenging

Whoopee doo I forgot to ask a Q

Account for the impact of Total War and its social and economic consequences on Britain and Germany

missed it, was doing enoilgam's question - do mine

 

[JT145]

Cbs

I got something to do with the role of women as an 8 marker in my trial.

TY Amaranth for starting thread

 

[Amaranth_]

Cbs

I got something to do with the role of women as an 8 marker in my trial.

TY Amaranth for starting thread

nws, ill try and rescue it for the hsc later on

 

[enoilgam]

TY Amaranth for starting thread

Agreed - this was a great thread, hopefully it comes back for the HSC.

 

[Amaranth_]

Deciding to bring this thread back to life - hopefully it works again...

I'll start it off with a WW1 question

Account for the change in soldier attitudes from 1914-1918 (5 marks)

 

[BDC-96]

Deciding to bring this thread back to life - hopefully it works again...

I'll start it off with a WW1 question

Account for the change in soldier attitudes from 1914-1918 (5 marks)

The Great War, a conflict to which no precedent existed, was one which harbored a dichotic response from those on its front line, with both German and British solider's experiencing a gradual shift in their attitude. Common between belligerents was an enthusiasm in 1914, with the outbreak of war existing as an opportunity for these young men to stretch their nationalistic muscle and fight a quick war of movement. Assumptions of swiftness and delusions of victory however faded over time, with the stalemate initiated at the Marne in September 1914 affirming another factor unique to this warfare. A stagnated war of attrition would alter the collective mindsets of soliders, with the implicated trench-based warfare only further exacerbating their discontent. The conditions in the trenches, characterized by de facto structures, terrible weather, rife illness and consistent uncertainty to name a few, contributed to a culture of resentment and depression. While some fell to suicidal and depressed tendencies, many carried on with the sustained hope of the looming 'knockout blow'. Additionally the lack of harmonization between the solider stock and their commanding officers, exemplified with the notion of the french Chateau generals of the allied front, led to feelings of resentment. Overall the attitudes of solider's deteriorated in line with the progression of the drawn out and demanding warfare, moving from naive excitment, to confusion, resentment, and in the case of isolated German units, eventual mutiny.

A bit long and not considerate of source inclusion, but you get the gist.

 

[Amaranth_]

The Great War, a conflict to which no precedent existed, was one which harbored a dichotic response from those on its front line, with both German and British solider's experiencing a gradual shift in their attitude. Common between belligerents was an enthusiasm in 1914, with the outbreak of war existing as an opportunity for these young men to stretch their nationalistic muscle and fight a quick war of movement. Assumptions of swiftness and delusions of victory however faded over time, with the stalemate initiated at the Marne in September 1914 affirming another factor unique to this warfare. A stagnated war of attrition would alter the collective mindsets of soliders, with the implicated trench-based warfare only further exacerbating their discontent. The conditions in the trenches, characterized by de facto structures, terrible weather, rife illness and consistent uncertainty to name a few, contributed to a culture of resentment and depression. While some fell to suicidal and depressed tendencies, many carried on with the sustained hope of the looming 'knockout blow'. Additionally the lack of harmonization between the solider stock and their commanding officers, exemplified with the notion of the french Chateau generals of the allied front, led to feelings of resentment. Overall the attitudes of solider's deteriorated in line with the progression of the drawn out and demanding warfare, moving from naive excitment, to confusion, resentment, and in the case of isolated German units, eventual mutiny.

A bit long and not considerate of source inclusion, but you get the gist.

Nice answer man... damn

 

[BDC-96]

Nice answer man... damn

Thanks, on reflection i used 'resentment' three times which is shit but oh well.
WW1 should be the easiest section.