Causes of the First World War Practice Questions

Study Source A below, then answer the question.

Source A: From an article in a Serbian newspaper published in Belgrade in April 1909, a few weeks after Russia, under pressure from Germany, had accepted Austria-Hungary's takeover of Bosnia. The newspaper was read by Serbian nationalists.

Written for practice: not a real historical source.

Vienna has helped itself to Bosnia as a thief helps himself to another man's land. The Emperor's ministers never asked the people of Bosnia, who are our Slav brothers, whether they wished to be ruled from Vienna. They dared to act only because Berlin promised to stand behind them, and because the Turkish Empire is now too weak to defend anything. Russia, protector of the Slavs, has been insulted and can do nothing for us. Serbia is not strong enough today, but Serbia will not forget. The Great Powers must undo this theft.

Study Source A below, then answer the question.

Source A: From a letter printed in a British newspaper in March 1909, written by a member of a group campaigning for a stronger Royal Navy, while Parliament was debating how many new warships to order.

Written for practice: not a real historical source.

Britain is an island, and her people are fed from the sea. For a century the fleet has been our defence, and we have needed no friends on the Continent to keep us safe. Now Germany lays down dreadnoughts in her own yards and her leaders demand a 'place in the sun' for their empire. Every one of these new German ships makes our older battleships worthless, for a dreadnought outguns anything built before her. Four new ships a year will not answer. The government must order eight this year, and the country will pay for them gladly.

Study Sources B and C below, then answer the question.

Source B: From an editorial in a British daily newspaper, published in August 1914, written for British readers shortly after Britain declared war on Germany.

Written for practice: not a real historical source.

Germany's armies crossed the Belgian frontier on 4 August, after Belgium refused to let them pass. By treaty Britain is bound to defend Belgian neutrality, and this nation does not break its word. The Belgian army, small though it is, has held the forts of Liège far longer than the Kaiser's generals can have expected, and every hour of delay is an hour gained for France. Let no reader doubt the justice of our cause: we fight for the rights of a small nation trampled by a great one.

Source C: From the memoirs of a German infantry officer who served in the advance of 1914, published in Germany in 1924.

Written for practice: not a real historical source.

We crossed into Belgium full of confidence; the timetable allowed us no rest. The forts at Liège held us up, and behind them the roads were choked and the railways broken. At Mons the British regulars fired so fast that we believed every man had a machine gun. Day after day we marched in the heat, outrunning our supply wagons. When the order came in September to fall back from the Marne, we understood at last that France would not be beaten in six weeks, and we began to dig.