Mess – o – potamia (homage to Jon Stewart) in World War I

October 17, 2016
World War I took place on may different fronts, but the focus tends to be on the Western front and a few key battles here and there.   This post will focus on the Mesopotamian campaigns. As you read through this, consider the following question: How did the...

Japanese military participation in World War I

October 7, 2016
Most IBDP students have a clear understanding of Japanese participation in the peace talks after World War I.  Margaret Macmillan’s Paris 1919 very effectively illustrates Japanese goals of racial equality and great power status, and many historians look at...

First World War centennial – Africa

September 5, 2016
While most of us spend time on the role of colonialism, and the 19th century Scramble for Africa as a cause of the war, we rarely spend much time on the continent after the outbreak of war.  There is some mention of North Africa vis-à-vis the Ottoman Empire but there...

Handwriting counts in exams

July 20, 2016
With the May exam session behind us by nearly six weeks, and most exams marked by the examiners, it is time to address an important issue with regard to IB exams: your handwriting. In much of life, your ability to hand write work clearly may not seem that important,...

The Battle of the Somme

July 18, 2016
The 7th July marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme.  The British launched an attack on the German forces hoping yet again for a break through and an end to the stalemate brought on by trench warfare.  Instead, the battle lasted into...