The Student Room Group

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Reply 1

"To what extent was Operation Carthage a successful mission?".

Reply 2

Operation Carthage:
OPERATION CARTHAGE (March 21, 1945)

At the request of the Danish resistance movement, a force of RAF Mosquitos from 487, 464 and 21 Squadrons of 140 Wing, escorted by Mustangs of Fighter Command, attacked the Gestapo Headquarters in Copenhagen. The Gestapo had taken over the five storey Shell House, the pre-war H/Q of the Shell Petroleum Company. On the day of the raid it housed a large number of Danish resistance fighters who had been arrested and were being interrogated as the first bombs fell. Some prisoners were killed but 30 escaped during the bombing. Some 151 Gestapo agents and their Danish collaborators were also killed.

Although the raid was a success, a horrific tragedy occurred nearby. One of the Mosquitos, on its bombing run, struck a light mast in the railway goods yard, veered to the left and crashed in a ball of fire near the Jeanne d'Arc Catholic School. The fire and smoke from the crash was mistakenly targeted by the next wave of Mosquitos which dropped their bombs on and around the crash site. The resulting fires soon spread to other buildings and eventually engulfed the school which burned to the ground in less than two hours. Eighty-six children and ten teachers lost their lives in this tragedy and sixty-seven were injured. When rescuers reached the school cellers they found the bodies of forty-two children huddled together. They had all drowned in water from the firemen's hoses.

It was a rather interesting task to write about.

Reply 3

God knows. =/

Got a week left to write it, too. Joy.

Reply 4

Vietnam. Not really sure what about it yet. Everyone doing IB in my school has to do it on vietnam though...

Reply 5

Vietnam. Not really sure what about it yet. Everyone doing IB in my school has to do it on vietnam though...

Erm...why, exactly?

Reply 6

HMSChocolate
Erm...why, exactly?


Probably makes it easier for the teachers to check it. ... I know that my teacher didn't give me any good advice on my historical investigation on Caesar, because she didn't know anything about it. (Come to think of it, she probably wouldn't have given me any good advice whatever the topic lol :wink: .)

Anyway this is my Part A:

What were the political causes of Julius Caesar’s assassination in 44 BCE?
Julius Caesar’s assassination on the Ides of March in 44 BCE was a tumultuous event in history; it sparked civil war in Rome, and effectively destroyed the Roman Republic. A group of conspirators, called the Liberatores, headed by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius, are believed to have killed Caesar because of political motivations. This investigation aims to determine what exactly these political motivations were, by analysing the political situation in Rome prior to 44 BCE, the Liberatores’ personalities, and Caesar’s relationship with his assassinators. This historical analysis should clearly indicate why Caesar was murdered, from a political point of view. Much of the research will be from Suetonius’ history The Twelve Caesars and Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. Plutarch’s Makers of Rome will also be used, with additional resources from the Internet.

7 in history btw.

Reply 7

To what extent was the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962), put forward by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong, effective for the civilians?

When Mao Zedong entered office as the new Communist Leader of China in 1945, the country was far behind in technological advances compared to Western society. The majority of the country was still working on farms, and the educated civilians were not receiving much money from the government to further their research, as the economy of the country was in poor condition. When Mao came into power, he pondered over ways to improve the country, in all areas, the economy, the way of life for the peasants and the intellectuals, resulting in the Great Leap Forward. The aim of this investigation is to determine whether the Great Leap Forward was successful or not, and to determine if Mao Zedong was remembered positively for this plan. This assessment will analyze the perspectives of the peasants and the working class. Much of the research will be secondary source books, most of which discuss the view of an objective researcher and the failures, successes and results of the Great Leap Forward.

6 in History:smile: and a 7 on this IA

Reply 8

To what extent is the image of Marie-Antoinette portrayed by the propaganda prior and during the French Revolution true?

During the French Revolution from 1789 to 1795, Mari-Antoinette, the daughter of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, the queen of France and the wife of Louis XIV, was constantly depicted as a monster by the libellistes, from being a spy sent by Austria to a murderess, in the propaganda used to attack the monarchy and blamed her for the problems of France.
The aim of this investigation is to assess the truthfulness behind the image of Marie-Antoinette created by the contemporary propaganda prior and during the revolution. Two sources will be used for analysis and evaluation for their origins, purposes, values and limitations- The Wicked Queen- the Origins of the Myth of Marie-Antoinette by Chantal Thomas, which is an evaluation of the pamphlets about Marie-Antoinette published during the revolution by Thomas; and a biography Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser.

6 in history overall, and 7 for my IA

Reply 9

"To what extent did the Soivet failure in the Winter War lead to Hitler's implementation of Operation Barbarossa?"

Reply 10

Mine was something about the cultural impact of the French occupation on Vietnam.

Reply 11

One thing that I would recommend doing: instead of asking a question that causes you to assess all of the reasons for a particular event, take one of them and evaluate the extent to which it was a factor. This particular reason can then be placed in the context of the others in the analysis.

Good luck to those just starting out now...

Reply 12

“How successful was Willy Brandt’s “Neue Ostpolitik” in improving relations between East and West Germany and what impact did that have on German division?”

Reply 13

To what extent was the Cuban Missile Crisis a result of the U.S. deployment of missiles in Turkey?

This investigation sets out to research the opposing interpretations over the reasons for the Russian deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba. It attempts to establish the role of the US deployment of missiles in Turkey prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. It examines whether the USSR put their missiles in Cuba as a means to defend the socialist island from America or as a retaliatory act. It examines opposing views suggested by Philip Nash in The Other Missiles of October: Eisenhower, Kennedy, and the Jupiters in Europe, 1957-1963 and John L. Gaddis in We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History. It will evaluate these sources for their origin, purpose, value and limitation and will assess evidence revealed in William Taubman’s Khrushchev: the Man and His Era and transcripts of Nikita Khrushchev’s tapes in Khrushchev Remembers.

Got a 7 :smile: Good luck!

Reply 14

Only just starting, but something along the lines of:
"A comparison between the successes of the League of Nations and the United Nations in resolving political dispute" - this isn't a great example of a topic because I need to refine it a little more, and focus it. But that general idea anyway...

I would suggest choosing a topic based around what you're studing in history because then the essay becomes like revision and it improves your understanding on that topic at least. A lot of people in my class are doing their on really obscure things that has nothing to do with our history unit... which doesn't help them in the slightest.
GOOD LUCK :smile:

Reply 15

I'm so surprised that everyone is/has done it on huge and global topics. I did mine on how effeciently my local church was built.

Reply 16

"To what extent was RTLM (Radio-Television des Milles Collines) responsible for the incitement to genocide in Rwanda in 1994?"
The investigation assesses the role that Radio-Television des Milles Collines (RTLM) played in the Rwanda Genocide in 1994. In order to accurately evaluate its significance, the investigation firstly outlines the historical background of the conflict, then focusing on the RTLM itself, both before and during the genocide.
Two, the most important, sources used in the essay, “The Media and the Rwanda Genocide” edited by Allan Thompson and “Broadcasting Genocide: Censorship, propaganda and state-sponsored violence in Rwanda 1990-1994” by Article 19, are then evaluated to their origins, purposes, values and limitations.
The analysis includes the evaluation of the extent to which RTLM can be accused of being responsible for the incitement to genocide on the basis of both primary, e.g. the interviews with witnesses, and secondary sources


I received a maximum score :smile:

Reply 17

"Investigate the importance of the failure of German mobilisation towards the succes of D-Day at de Pointe du hoc on the 6th of june 1944"

Reply 18

My topic was why the UN voted to keep Pol Pot's representative in the UN rather than the Vietnam-based governments' representative in 1979 =)

Reply 19

Lilio Candidior
I'm so surprised that everyone is/has done it on huge and global topics. I did mine on how effeciently my local church was built.


What's your local church? St. Peter's basilica or something else really famous? :wink: