Warfare and British Society, c1250–present

What Warfare and British Society, c1250–present covers

Warfare and British Society, c1250–present is examined in Paper 1, Thematic study and historic environment. It covers factors driving change in warfare, c1250–present, the nature of warfare, c1250–c1500, the experience of war, c1250–c1500, case studies: the battles of Falkirk and Agincourt, the nature of warfare, c1500–c1700, the experience of war, c1500–c1700, case study: the Battle of Naseby, 1645, the nature of warfare, c1700–c1900, the experience of war, c1700–c1900, case studies: the battles of Waterloo and Balaclava, the nature of warfare, c1900–present, the experience of war, c1900–present and case studies: the Somme and the Iraq War.

The 13 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Factors driving change in warfare, c1250–presentThe three factors behind change, turning points and continuity, government decisions on recruitment, state wealth, Cardwell's reforms, weapons technology, armour and communications, attitudes in 1914 and to casualties, the pace of change, factors combining, medieval command, newspapers, army size, industrialisation, nuclear deterrence, the soldier's standing, Agincourt and the Somme compared, and the decline of the knight.Open →
• The nature of warfare, c1250–c1500Foot soldiers and their weapons, the longbow and where archers stood, the mounted knight and his cost, command by nobles and what it meant for ordinary soldiers, the schiltron and its strengths and weakness, defensive tactics, gunpowder in sieges and battle, the knight's decline, and the difference between strategy and tactics.Open →
• The experience of war, c1250–c1500How a king gathered an army, the forty days of service, scutage, commissions of array, training a knight, archery practice, the chevauchée, plunder, the burden on peasant households and purveyance.Open →
• Case studies: the battles of Falkirk and AgincourtWallace and Edward I at Falkirk, the four schiltrons, how the archers and cavalry broke them, the Scottish horsemen's flight, then Henry V at Agincourt, the narrow field, the mud, the stakes and Henry's part.Open →
• The nature of warfare, c1500–c1700Pikemen, dragoons and cavalry, the standing army and why it became possible and was feared, continuity in armies between 1500 and 1700, the matchlock musket and its drawbacks, why the musket replaced the bow, the flintlock, the pistol and the abandonment of full armour.Open →
• The experience of war, c1500–c1700Raising soldiers in the sixteenth century and the trained bands, the New Model Army of 1645 and its effectiveness and training, impressment, free quarter, requisitioning, the effect of sieges on towns, and why country people came to resent both sides in the Civil War.Open →
• Case study: the Battle of Naseby, 1645The armies of 1645, Fairfax and Cromwell, Cromwell's re-formed cavalry and why it mattered, Rupert's pursuit and looting, the fate of the Royalist foot, the captured letters and why Naseby decided the war.Open →
• The nature of warfare, c1700–c1900The changing role of cavalry, the growth of artillery, engineers and supply services, the infantry as the core, the move from musket to breech-loading rifle, rifling and the cone-shaped bullet, field guns, heavy artillery and explosive shells, railways, steam, mass production, the scale of battle and the telegraph.Open →
• The experience of war, c1700–c1900Edward Cardwell's reforms: the end of purchased commissions, short service enlistment, localisation and the end of flogging in peacetime, the meaning of professionalisation, recruitment before the reforms, billeting and requisitioning, Russell's and Fenton's reporting from the Crimea and coverage of the Boer War.Open →
• Case studies: the battles of Waterloo and BalaclavaWellington at Waterloo, the ridge, the square, Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte, waiting for Blücher, then Raglan at Balaclava, the Thin Red Line, the Charge of the Light Brigade and why the orders went wrong.Open →
• The nature of warfare, c1900–presentLogistics corps and bomb disposal units, the lasting need for infantry, the machine gun, tanks, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons, radar, aircraft and aerial support, high-tech computerised warfare and precision-guided weapons, motor and air transport, and guerrilla warfare and why it is so hard to defeat.Open →
• The experience of war, c1900–presentConscription in 1916 and the volunteering before it, national service, women in the forces in both world wars and today, the professional army, the Home Front, civil defence and evacuation, the bombing of civilians, nuclear fear, conscientious objectors in both wars, war reporting, and censorship and propaganda.Open →
• Case studies: the Somme and the Iraq WarTrench warfare and why the Western Front stood still, attrition and conditions in the trenches, the Somme bombardment of 1916 and its failure, the first day, the first tanks, Haig's role and historians' judgements, then the Iraq War of 2003, coalition surveillance technology and the insurgency that followed.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Warfare and British Society, c1250–present further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Strategy vs Tactics

  Strategy: the plan for a whole campaign. Tactics: the decisions taken in the fighting itself.

• Matchlock vs Flintlock

  Matchlock: a musket fired by lowering a smouldering cord onto powder in a pan. Flintlock: a musket fired by a spark struck from flint, needing no burning cord.

• Field gun vs Heavy artillery

  Field gun: a light piece moved with the army and used against troops in battle. Heavy artillery: large guns firing big shells over long distances at fortifications.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Which three key factors are used to explain change in warfare across the whole period?

   Model answer

   Governments and individuals, science, technology and communications, and attitudes in society.

2. 2

   What is meant by a turning point in the development of warfare?

   Model answer

   A development after which fighting was clearly different from before, such as the arrival of gunpowder weapons or the machine gun.

3. 3

   What is meant by continuity in the story of warfare?

   Model answer

   Features that stayed much the same over long periods, such as the need for foot soldiers to take and hold ground.

4. 4

   Give one example of a government decision that changed the way British soldiers were recruited.

   Model answer

   The introduction of compulsory military service in 1916, which ended the reliance on volunteers.

5. 5

   How did the wealth and taxing power of the state affect the armies a country could put in the field?

   Model answer

   A government able to raise steady taxes could pay a permanent professional army instead of relying on part-time obligation.

6. 6

   Name the individual whose reforms did most to professionalise the Victorian army.

   Model answer

   Edward Cardwell, who was Secretary of State for War.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Warfare and British Society, c1250–present revision questions

What does Warfare and British Society, c1250–present cover in Edexcel GCSE History?

13 subtopics: factors driving change in warfare, c1250–present, the nature of warfare, c1250–c1500, the experience of war, c1250–c1500, case studies: the battles of falkirk and agincourt, the nature of warfare, c1500–c1700, the experience of war, c1500–c1700, case study: the battle of naseby, 1645, the nature of warfare, c1700–c1900, the experience of war, c1700–c1900, case studies: the battles of waterloo and balaclava, the nature of warfare, c1900–present, the experience of war, c1900–present and case studies: the somme and the iraq war. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Warfare and British Society, c1250–present organised?

By the Edexcel 1HI0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.