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History Quiz - World War One: 1914-18 - Battles Of 1914 And 1915 On The Western Front (Questions)

Explore the early battles on the Western Front, from the Marne to Ypres, and see how trench warfare and stalemate emerged in 1914 and 1915.

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Fascinating Fact:

By late 1914 the Western Front had become a line of opposing trench systems. Conditions were muddy, cramped, and dangerous, with constant shellfire and the threat of disease.

In GCSE History, the battles of 1914 and 1915 on the Western Front show how mobile warfare gave way to trenches, stalemate and huge casualties as both sides struggled to break through.

Key Terms

  • Trench warfare: A type of fighting where armies face each other from long, dug out lines in the ground, protected by earth, sandbags and barbed wire.
  • No Man’s Land: The exposed ground between opposing trench lines, often filled with wire and craters, where soldiers risked being hit by enemy fire.
  • Stalemate: A situation where neither side can win a decisive victory, even though heavy fighting continues and many lives are lost.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What were the main battles on the Western Front in 1914 and 1915?

Key battles included the Marne and the First Battle of Ypres in 1914, and fighting at places such as Neuve Chapelle and the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915.

Why did trench warfare develop on the Western Front?

After early attacks were stopped, both sides dug in for protection. Machine guns and artillery made open advances very costly, so trenches became the main way to hold ground.

What were conditions like for soldiers in the trenches?

Soldiers often lived in waterlogged, dirty trenches with rats and lice. They faced cold, lack of sleep, sudden shell attacks and a constant risk of illness or injury.

Try These Related Quizzes

1. Which Belgian city held out for 12 days against the Germans' Schlieffen Plan advance, thus forcing first, alterations to the plan and secondly, its abandonment?
[ ] Namur
[ ] Brussels
[ ] Liege
[ ] Leuven
2. Which German army leader replaced Moltke in September 1914 as Chief of the German General Staff?
[ ] Falkenhayn
[ ] Hindenburg
[ ] Ludendorff
[ ] Groener
3. Who was the French commander on the Western Front at this time?
[ ] Petain
[ ] Nivelle
[ ] Foch
[ ] Joffre
4. Which Belgian town was the centre of four battles in the Great War, the second of which erupted in April 1915?
[ ] Ypres
[ ] Loos
[ ] Mons
[ ] Ostend
5. The British force that arrived in France and Belgium during August 1914 consisted of almost the whole of the regular army, and numbered about 125,000 men. By what name was it known?
[ ] The British Task Force
[ ] The British Expeditionary Force
[ ] The British Spearhead Force
[ ] The British Relief Force
6. A major battle started in Belgium in September 1915. What was its name?
[ ] Loos
[ ] The Third Battle of Ypres
[ ] Bruges
[ ] The Ardennes
7. In September 1915 British forces unleashed a new deadly weapon for the first time, which had already been used by the Germans on another occasion. What was this weapon?
[ ] Poison gas
[ ] Flamethrowers
[ ] Shrapnel
[ ] Machine-guns
8. At the end of 1915 Field Marshal French, commander of British forces in France, was dismissed. Who was his successor?
[ ] General Byng
[ ] General Haig
[ ] General Wilson
[ ] General Hamilton
9. In 1915 the new British air force came into its own. What was it called?
[ ] The Royal Air Force
[ ] The Royal Flying Corps
[ ] The Royal Air Corps
[ ] The Royal Aircraft Force
10. Which British politician was given the new post of Munitions Minister, tasked with increasing rapidly the supply of shells and other weapons to the forces on the ground in Northern France?
[ ] Herbert Asquith
[ ] Winston Churchill
[ ] David Lloyd George
[ ] Sir Edward Grey
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History Quiz - World War One: 1914-18 - Battles Of 1914 And 1915 On The Western Front (Answers)
1. Which Belgian city held out for 12 days against the Germans' Schlieffen Plan advance, thus forcing first, alterations to the plan and secondly, its abandonment?
[ ] Namur
[ ] Brussels
[x] Liege
[ ] Leuven
The Germans had expected limited Belgian resistance, so a 12 day delay helped the British army to begin to land in France, and the French troops to deploy forward
2. Which German army leader replaced Moltke in September 1914 as Chief of the German General Staff?
[x] Falkenhayn
[ ] Hindenburg
[ ] Ludendorff
[ ] Groener
Moltke was disgraced by the failure of the Schlieffen Plan
3. Who was the French commander on the Western Front at this time?
[ ] Petain
[ ] Nivelle
[ ] Foch
[x] Joffre
The French commander-in-chief led huge forces, greatly in excess of the British army
4. Which Belgian town was the centre of four battles in the Great War, the second of which erupted in April 1915?
[x] Ypres
[ ] Loos
[ ] Mons
[ ] Ostend
This town lay close to the Channel coast. The Germans tried repeatedly to reach the sea, in an attempt to prevent more British reinforcements from getting to the front
5. The British force that arrived in France and Belgium during August 1914 consisted of almost the whole of the regular army, and numbered about 125,000 men. By what name was it known?
[ ] The British Task Force
[x] The British Expeditionary Force
[ ] The British Spearhead Force
[ ] The British Relief Force
Britain - unlike all of the other powers involved in the fighting - had no conscription so her contribution was much smaller, at least in 1914 and 1915. The Kaiser referred to it contemptuously as "a contemptible little army"
6. A major battle started in Belgium in September 1915. What was its name?
[x] Loos
[ ] The Third Battle of Ypres
[ ] Bruges
[ ] The Ardennes
Even after more than a year of war both high commands could only imagine a war of attrition as a way out of the trenches and towards victory
7. In September 1915 British forces unleashed a new deadly weapon for the first time, which had already been used by the Germans on another occasion. What was this weapon?
[x] Poison gas
[ ] Flamethrowers
[ ] Shrapnel
[ ] Machine-guns
Both sides tried to deploy increasingly deadly weapons of war in the hope that this might break the deadlock
8. At the end of 1915 Field Marshal French, commander of British forces in France, was dismissed. Who was his successor?
[ ] General Byng
[x] General Haig
[ ] General Wilson
[ ] General Hamilton
French was considered to have failed, and to be lacking in fresh ideas. However, none of his possible replacements had any new ideas either
9. In 1915 the new British air force came into its own. What was it called?
[ ] The Royal Air Force
[x] The Royal Flying Corps
[ ] The Royal Air Corps
[ ] The Royal Aircraft Force
The new air force could attack from the air, and provide useful information about enemy troop deployments to assist - for example - the Royal Artillery
10. Which British politician was given the new post of Munitions Minister, tasked with increasing rapidly the supply of shells and other weapons to the forces on the ground in Northern France?
[ ] Herbert Asquith
[ ] Winston Churchill
[x] David Lloyd George
[ ] Sir Edward Grey
Newspapers like the "Daily Mail" complained that the troops at the front were being let down by the political leadership at home - particularly through the failure to produce sufficient munitions
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