11 mark
Which battle marked the first use of chlorine gas by Germany?
First Battle of Ypres.
Battle of the Somme.
Second Battle of Ypres.
Battle of Cambrai.
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The British Sector of the Western Front: Context (Edexcel GCSE History: The Thematic & Historic Environment (Paper 1))
Exam Questions
14 mins14 questions21 mark
What was a significant challenge during the Third Battle of Ypres?
Desert terrain.
Heavy rainfall causes waterlogged ground.
Extreme heat.
Lack of ammunition.
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31 mark
What was the main reason trenches were built during the First World War?
To create barriers between countries.
To store supplies.
To prevent the spread of disease.
To shelter troops from artillery and machine guns.
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41 mark
Who tested saline solution to prevent infection of wounds at the Third Battle of Ypres?
Harold Gillies.
Oswald Hope Robertson.
Harvey Cushing.
Edith Cavell.
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51 mark
Who discovered the three main blood groups (A, B, and O) by 1901?
James Blundell.
Reuben Ottenberg.
Karl Landsteiner.
Richard Lewisohn.
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61 mark
Which feature of a trench provided soldiers with protection and a place to rest?
A dugout.
Duckboards.
Sandbags.
A parapet.
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71 mark
How many stretcher bearers were there per battalion?
15
16
17
18
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81 mark
Why were horse-drawn ambulances problematic during the First World War?
The horses needed constant shelter from the rain and poor conditions.
Each ambulance required eight horses.
The movement of the horses on the difficult terrain shook the injured soldiers.
As the war progressed horses were needed for cavalry charges.
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91 mark
Study Source B. What is the provenance of the source?
Source B: A photograph showing a gigantic shell crater, 75 yards in circumference, near Ypres, October 1917.
The information above the source that states the nature, origin and purpose of the source.
The study of the First World War.
The letter that it has been given. This is B for this source.
The date that the source was made.
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101 mark
Study Source C. What is the origin of Source C?
Source C: A photograph of the British Men of the 8th Battalion, Border Regiment, resting in shallow dugouts near Thiepval Wood during the Battle of the Somme, 3rd July 1916. It was created by Lieutenant Ernest Brooks, an official British military photographer.
To show the structure and use of a shallow dugout during the First World War.
Propaganda for the British Army.
A photograph of the British Men of the 8th Battalion, Border Regiment near Thiepval Wood.
Lieutenant Ernst Brookes, 3rd July 1926.
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11 mark
Study Source B. How does Source B support the following inference:
‘The terrain impacted the transportation of wounded soldiers on the Western Front’.
Source B: A photograph showing a gigantic shell crater, 75 yards in circumference, near Ypres, October 1917.
Source B shows demolished buildings. Soldiers were taken to these buildings to receive treatment on the Western Front.
Source B shows a large crater. Large craters, barbed wire, mud and puddles made it difficult for stretcher bearers to recover injured soldiers on the Western Front.
Source B shows two stretcher-bearers near the crater. Stretcher-bearers suffered heavy casualties during the First World War.
Source A shows a motor ambulance. Motor ambulances often got stuck in the mud when transporting soldiers from the front line.
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21 mark
Study Source B. Using Source B and your own knowledge, why did the terrain of the Western Front cause such an issue with transporting wounded soldiers?
Source B: A photograph showing a gigantic shell crater, 75 yards in circumference, near Ypres, October 1917.
Base hospitals were created near the frontlines. Many of these were destroyed during artillery strikes, causing an issue with the chain of evacuation.
Stretcher-bearers could fall into craters. This caused more injuries for the patients that they were attempting to carry to safety.
Motorised ambulances could not be used on this terrain. The RAMC had to use horse-drawn ambulances to successfully navigate this terrain.
With craters of this size, transporting wounded soldiers quickly up the chain of evacuation would be difficult. This caused more soldiers to die from their injuries.
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11 mark
Study Source B. How helpful is Source B to a historian studying the impact of the terrain on the transportation of injured soldiers during the First World War?
Source B: A photograph showing a gigantic shell crater, 75 yards in circumference, near Ypres, October 1917.
The source is not helpful to a historian because it only shows a crater and there are no injured soldiers or stretcher bearers in the source.
The source is helpful to a historian because it demonstrates the power of artillery in the First World War.
The source is helpful to a historian because it shows the impact that artillery can have on the terrain. Artillery created craters which stretcher-bearers found challenging to navigate around.
The source is helpful because it is a picture so it shows how the craters would look on a First World War battlefield.
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21 mark
Study Source B. What is a limitation of Source B to a historian studying the issues of the terrain for transporting injured soldiers?
Source B: A photograph showing a gigantic shell crater, 75 yards in circumference, near Ypres, October 1917.
The provenance of the source does not state who took the photograph. This may make the image biased.
The provenance of the source states that it was taken in October 1917. Therefore, it does not state what the terrain was like at the beginning of the First World War. This terrain may be unusual or extreme compared to the rest of the Western Front.
The provenance of the source shows that the photograph was taken in Ypres. Other sections of the Western Front may not have been so bad which would have made the transportation of injured soldiers easier.
The photograph does not show an injured soldier. We do not know if a soldier was transported from this scene so it may not tell the historian much about transportation in these conditions.
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