2. Read Source D
- What was the nickname commonly used to describe the troops of the British Expeditionary Force?
As it says in source D the British Expeditionary Force was called the “contemptible little army” by the Kaiser but they were more commonly known as the “old contemptibles”.
- How does this source help you to reach your answer to a).
Source D helps you to get the answer for question a) because it says that the German Soldiers will “exterminate first the treacherous English and walk over general French’s contemptible little army ” which shows that it is referring to the British Expeditionary Force as they were the only British force fighting at the time.
3. Look at sources E and F.
In what ways can these illustrations be useful to the historian of the First World War?
It seems that both the sources will be useful to a First World War historian. Source F will probably be more reliable than source E because it is photograph taken in 1914 whereas source E is a painting of a situation in 1914. The reason that Source F is more reliable is that source E is an artist’s perception of an incident that may or may not have happened whereas Source F is definite evidence. Furthermore, the war artist was British and he could have portrayed the British as being more valiant or ferocious than they really were. Furthermore, this may not have happened, as there is not an artist who could capture a situation like that and include every minor detail. Source E may have just been drawn to raise British spirits or encourage civilians to join the army. These two sources may confuse a historian because sources E and F contradict each other. Source E shows the British charging while riding on cavalry and source F shows the British cavalry retreating although they are both done in the same year. However, this shows that both sources are suggesting that the British army used cavalry at the time of the First World War (or the great war). This would be helpful to a historian studying the First World War, as this was true. However, it would not be very helpful, as cavalry only existed in the First World War at the start (between 1914-1915) and a historian could interpret it as if cavalry lasted the whole war. Source F will also be quite useful to a historian because it shows cavalry retreating from possibly the battle Ypres, it is not mentioned in the source. However, cavalry did retreat from the battle of Ypres so that photograph is historically accurate and useful to a historian. However, Source F could be useful to a historian as it shows that the British soldiers using Lee Enfield rifles, which is accurate, and it would be useful to a historian. Furthermore, source F shows that the infantry fought alongside the cavalry, which was correct in 1914. This would also be useful to a historian. This shows that both sources could be useful to a historian studying the First World War.
4. Read sources H and I.
Which of the two German comments on the failure of the Schlieffen plan is likely to be more reliable? Give reasons for your answer.
Both comments are relatively reliable as they are both written at appropriate times (both sources are written around the time of the First World War). Furthermore, both sources are written by highly respected German generals. Source I seems to be more reliable because General Ludendorff was explaining the reason for the failure of the German offensive. This means that he would be willing to be truthful about the blame. Furthermore, General Moltke who changed the Schlieffen plan would be too proud to admit that it was his fault for the failure of the German offensive. General von Moltke may be highly nationalist (as Germany was a highly nationalistic country at the time) or he could be biased to his own army. Furthermore, he may be highly confident that the offensive is going well when it wasn’t really. General Ludendorff was also a German general but he would have accounted for the obvious mistakes that the German force had made. For Ludendorff this was an excuse to also show why the 1918 Ludendorff offensive failed, as his army was weak and tired after the 1914 offensive. Subsequently, as it says in source H, Moltke says that the German soldiers are too tired but he does not say why. Obviously, the reason that the German soldiers are so tired is the changed Schlieffen plan. This meant that they would be fighting harder and for longer with less troops concentrated in a single place. However, source H is written at the time that the Schlieffen plan was put into practice so it could be considered to be more reliable. However, Source I was written was written just after the war finished so it was relatively reliable. Furthermore, it was written just after the war ended so it was a perfect time to reflect on the war and it could be considered to be even more reliable. Overall, source I is likely to be more reliable than source H as it closer to the truth but it is still from a relatively reliable source.
5. “The offensive of 1914 failed simply because the German High command did not keep to the Schlieffen plan.” Do these sources show this answer to be true? Explain your answer fully.
Source A shows that if the German soldiers attacked with the original Schlieffen plan they would have gotten a lot further without being stopped because all their forces would be in the same place. This shows that source A agrees with this statement. Source B shows that a lot of the forces did not reach Paris because these forces were not concentrated and the ones that did went too far. This source shows that if they followed the original Schlieffen plan then it would not have failed. Furthermore, source B supports this statement. Source C is speaking in the future tense and General von Moltke predicts the war and he says the Schlieffen Plan is inevitable. It seems that this source disagrees with this statement because it is saying that the Schlieffen plan will work. Source D says that the German Soldiers have a single purpose, which is to exterminate the British forces. This source seems to disagree with the statement because it says nothing about the Schlieffen Plan. Source E shows that the British bravely charged the Germans. It seems that this source disagrees with this statement because it is showing that the offensive of 1914 simply failed because of the British Expeditionary force. Source F is showing that the British cavalry are retreating. This source agrees with the statement as it is saying that the British are not stopping the German offensive. Source G shows the first Battle of Ypres and shows the British holding their positions and stopping most of the Germans from breaking through. This source disagrees with the statement because it is saying that the British stopped the German offensive in 1914. Source H says that the German army is very tired and that is why it is ineffective. This shows that this source disagrees with the statement because it does not say that the German offensive of 1914 failed. Source I shows that General Ludendorff believed that the weakness of the German right wing contributed to the failure of the German offensive. This source then agrees with the statement as it is against the Schlieffen Plan because it is saying that some parts of the German offensive were too weak as a result of the Schlieffen plan. Overall, it seems that the opinions of the sources are very close to being neutral. Many sources agree that the Schlieffen plan was the only reason for the Failure of the 1914 German offensive. These sources agree with the statement. However, there are also a high number of sources that agree that the British Expeditionary Force defence (“the old contemptibles”) was the dominant reason for the failure of the 1914 German offensive. There is also a minority of sources that believe that the German Offensive did not fail. These two opinions both disagree with the statement. The sources are balanced the opinions are split three ways.
