WWI 3 — The Schlieffen Plan and deadlock on the Western Front
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History · 4HI1
Paper 2 | Section A: Historical Investigation
A plan built on a timetable, its failure within weeks, and four years of a war nobody had designed.
Specification coverage
Paper 2, Section A — A1 The origins and course of the First World War, 1905–18, key topic 3
Assessment objectives: AO1, AO3, AO4. Suggested learning time: 100 minutes.
Required knowledge
- The Schlieffen Plan and reasons for its failure
- The trench system, life in the trenches, new weapons and methods
- Reasons for deadlock
- Key features of the Somme and Passchendaele
- Successes and failures on the Western Front, including the responsibility of Haig
Required skills
- Explain and analyse using second-order concepts: causation, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance
- Cross-refer two sources and judge how far one supports the other (AO3)
- Evaluate an interpretation extract against your own knowledge (AO3 and AO4)
- Reach a supported judgement rather than describing events
How it is examined
- (a) 6 marks — “Describe TWO features of…” (AO1)
- (b) 8 marks — “How far does Source A support the evidence of Source B about…?” (AO3)
- (c) 16 marks — an interpretation extract, “How far do you agree with this interpretation?” (AO3 10, AO4 6)
Common mistakes
- Answering 'was Haig a butcher?' with an opinion. The question is what the evidence supports, and the specification frames it as responsibility.
- Describing trench life instead of explaining why the deadlock could not be broken.