The origins of the First World War
Analyse the European alliance and diplomatic system, arms competition, colonial rivalries, Balkan crises and the June–July 1914 decisions that turned a regional crisis into general war.
Section Paper 2 · Document Questions
Exam scope and assessment notes
This original lesson maps Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 key question A6 for exams in 2024–2030. 0470 uses grades A*–G; 0977 uses grades 9–1 and has limited zone availability. Cambridge states that the 2029–2030 syllabus has no significant changes affecting teaching and that resources for examinations from 2024 remain suitable. This pathway maps the shared subject content across the published 2024–2030 cycles; always use the exact exam-year syllabus, exam-series prescribed topic and centre route. StudyForA explanations, examples and practice are original learning materials, not Cambridge questions, source documents, mark schemes or grades. Paper 2's prescribed topic changes each exam series: use the exact topic for your year and series from Cambridge. Source-analysis exercises here use clearly labelled, invented practice claims and do not reproduce historical documents. Component 3 is centre-approved coursework based on a depth study and needs authentic learner work, supervision, internal assessment and Cambridge moderation; StudyForA cannot conduct, authenticate or award that coursework mark. Practice feedback is formative and is not an official Cambridge grade.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
How should you approach this question: What caused the First World War?
What you will learn
- Explain the alliance and diplomatic system, including the 1902 Anglo–Japanese Alliance, and assess how it shaped expectations.
- Explain how arms competition, colonial rivalries and Balkan developments increased or managed tension.
- Trace the June–July 1914 crisis after Franz Ferdinand's assassination and distinguish long-term conditions from decisions that triggered war.
Long-term tensions and diplomacy
The origins syllabus covers 1890–1914: the Alliance System and European diplomatic system, the 1902 Anglo–Japanese Alliance, the arms race, colonial rivalries and developments in the Balkans.
Alliances could deter opponents yet also create commitments and fears of encirclement. Naval and land arms competition and imperial crises increased suspicion, but did not make war inevitable. Explain how leaders interpreted events and still had choices.
The Balkan crisis and outbreak
Nationalism, declining imperial control and rival Great Power interests made the Balkans difficult to stabilise. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 began a crisis; decisions, ultimatums, mobilisation and alliance calculations in June–July converted it into a wider war.
Separate the assassination as trigger from the longer-term diplomatic setting. A causal explanation weighs the timing and agency of decisions rather than using a list of tensions as if each had equal responsibility.
Sources for this lesson
- Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 2024–2026 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 2024–2026 syllabus update
- Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 2027–2028 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 2029–2030 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) History 0977 · 2024–2026 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) History 0977 · 2027–2028 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) History 0977 · 2029–2030 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 qualification page
- Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) History 0977 qualification page
Pause and explain
Why does a list of long-term tensions not prove war was inevitable?
Worked example
Did the alliance system make war in 1914 inevitable?
Show the worked solution
- Explain how commitments could widen a conflict.
- Consider the system's deterrent purpose and choices made in the July crisis.
- Judge whether conditions increased risk or removed all alternatives.
Answer The alliance system could widen a conflict by linking states and increasing fear of isolation, but it was also intended to deter attack. The July crisis involved decisions and opportunities to compromise. It increased the danger of a general war without making the outcome inevitable.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Explain how the Balkan crisis in June–July 1914 escalated into a wider war.
Give me a hint
Start with one named syllabus fact, explain its effect and connect it to the question.
Compare my reasoning
- Select accurate evidence: alliances, arms competition, empire and Balkan instability heightened mistrust.
- Explain the link between that fact and the issue being tested.
- Add a second condition or limitation before reaching a short answer. A model answer follows: The assassination triggered a crisis in a region where national and imperial rivalries were already serious. Governments issued demands and took mobilisation decisions while considering allies and strategic risks. Those choices connected a local conflict to wider commitments. The explanation must identify decisions, not treat alliances as automatic.
The assassination triggered a crisis in a region where national and imperial rivalries were already serious. Governments issued demands and took mobilisation decisions while considering allies and strategic risks. Those choices connected a local conflict to wider commitments. The explanation must identify decisions, not treat alliances as automatic.
Look for these in your work
- Uses a relevant named fact
- Explains a cause, consequence or comparison
- Qualifies the conclusion with evidence
How important were alliances compared with the Balkan crisis in causing war?
Give me a hint
Choose a clear criterion for importance or success; compare evidence before you decide.
Compare my reasoning
- Select accurate evidence: alliances, arms competition, empire and Balkan instability heightened mistrust.
- Compare the strongest supporting evidence with a counterpoint.
- State which factor matters most, for whom and during which period. A model answer follows: Balkan tensions supplied the immediate setting and assassination that triggered the July crisis; alliance diplomacy shaped how governments calculated risk and support. Neither alone explains the result. A reasoned judgement explains the interaction between the trigger and the system, while recognising decisions could still have produced a different outcome.
Balkan tensions supplied the immediate setting and assassination that triggered the July crisis; alliance diplomacy shaped how governments calculated risk and support. Neither alone explains the result. A reasoned judgement explains the interaction between the trigger and the system, while recognising decisions could still have produced a different outcome.
Look for these in your work
- Selects evidence from the correct period
- Weighs more than one factor
- Makes a supported judgement
Original StudyForA practice claim (not a historical source): ‘Once countries had alliances, war was unavoidable.’ Evaluate the claim.
Give me a hint
Treat the prompt as an interpretation to test. Identify what evidence supports it and what it leaves out.
Compare my reasoning
- Select accurate evidence: alliances, arms competition, empire and Balkan instability heightened mistrust.
- Check the claim against at least two relevant pieces of contextual knowledge.
- Explain a limitation or alternative explanation; do not treat an invented practice prompt as a real historical source. A model answer follows: Alliances could widen a conflict and intensify fear, so they contributed to risk. But their effects depended on governments' choices in the July crisis; leaders could negotiate, delay or avoid escalation. The claim mistakes a pressure on decision-makers for proof that no alternative existed.
Alliances could widen a conflict and intensify fear, so they contributed to risk. But their effects depended on governments' choices in the July crisis; leaders could negotiate, delay or avoid escalation. The claim mistakes a pressure on decision-makers for proof that no alternative existed.
Look for these in your work
- Tests rather than repeats the claim
- Uses contextual knowledge to support or challenge it
- Explains a limitation and reaches a qualified conclusion
Common mistakes
- Listing causes without showing how they interacted
- Treating the assassination as the only cause
- Calling long-term tensions inevitable and erasing leaders' decisions
What can you explain now?
Why does a list of long-term tensions not prove war was inevitable?
Compare with the explanation
Which is the best distinction in a causal explanation of 1914?
Build an evidence-led answer: describe the relevant context, explain how it supports the claim, test it against another factor or limitation, and reach a qualified judgement.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Without looking, state the key question, name two syllabus facts that bear on it, and explain one limit to your first conclusion.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.