A wide range of different factors contributed to the outbreak of the First World War.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2025). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] The British navy was the most powerful in the world.
2. [1] Tirpitz passed a series of laws to increase the number of German battleships.
3. [1] In 1898 Germany began to build a large battle fleet.
4. [1] In 1906 Britain built the first dreadnought battleship which made all earlier battleships obsolete.
5. [1] Both Britain and Germany raced to build as many dreadnoughts as possible.
6. [1] The British public demanded that Britain keep ahead of Germany.
7. [1] Germany could not keep up with Britain's building of dreadnoughts and in 1910 focused more on its army.
8. [6] Level 4: Explains two reasons.
9. [4-5] Level 3: Explains one reason.
10. [5] Events in the Balkans were important because they made Serbia stronger and also increased tensions between Serbia and Austria. Serbia began to support demands for Slavic unity much more and Serb terrorist groups hit at Austrian targets. Austria was worried by the increasing strength of Serbia because there were millions of Serbs living in Austria and Hungary. This means there was bound to be trouble in the future.
11. [2-3] Level 2: Identifies or describes valid reason(s); addresses the question but does not explain.
12. [1] The 1908 crisis soured Russia's relations with Germany and Austria.
13. [1] After the 1908 crisis Serbia was determined to gain revenge on Austria.
14. [1] Serbia grew in strength over this period.
15. [1] Serb nationalism was growing.
16. [1] Tensions between Serbia and Austria gradually worsened.
17. [1] The Balkan Wars (1912–13) resulted in Turkey losing much of its land in Europe.
18. [1] The Balkan Wars led to the enlargement of Serbia.
19. [1] Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated.
20. [1] Level 1: Writes about the topic but does not address the question.
21. [1] They were important because tensions were rising, and this made it much more difficult to avoid a future war.
22. [10] Level 5: Explains both sides and supports a valid judgement on 'how far'.
23. [10] Although Austrian determination to deal with Serbia and Russian support for Serbia were major factors, the crucial development was the German 'blank cheque' for Austria. It is doubtful if Austria would have declared war on Serbia without this. Germany's promise to support Austria turned the crisis into a European war.
24. [7-9] Level 4: Explains both sides.
25. [4-6] Level 3: Explains one side.
26. [6] Austria was to blame. When Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in June 1914, Austria sent demands to Serbia that it could not possibly agree to. This was done to try and tip the situation into war. Serbia did its best to agree to most of the demands but on 28 July Austria declared war on Serbia. This brought Russia and Germany into the war. Austria was determined to go to war with Serbia to defeat it for good.
27. [6] OR I think that Germany was to blame for this. Austria was not strong enough to go to war against Serbia by itself. It provoked Serbia into war because Germany promised Austria its support. This gave Austria a free hand to invade Serbia, and if this happened then Russia would intervene to support Serbia. Without German support for Austria none of this would have happened.
28. [2-3] Level 2: Identifies or describes valid points; addresses the question but does not explain.
29. [1] Austria sent Serbia impossible demands.
30. [1] Serbia was causing enormous problems for Austria.
31. [1] Austria was determined to go to war with Serbia.
32. [1] Germany promised to support Austria.
33. [1] Russia was determined to support Serbia.
34. [1] The alliances at the time dragged all the major countries into war.
35. [1] German mobilisation caused the war.
36. [1] Britain gave Germany the impression that it would not get involved.
37. [1] Level 1: Writes about the topic but does not address the question.
38. [1] Austria was to blame but many other countries such as Russia and Germany also made the situation much worse.