How successful ...

Candidate evidence

How successful was the invasion of Normandy in 1944?

In this essay I will discuss the reasons why the Normandy landings were successful, such as Allied paratroopers capturing the crucial bridges, and reasons why they were not, such as the civilian casualties suffered.  

There are several reasons why the Normandy landings were successful. The French resistance disrupted Nazi supply lines. The paratroopers captured the bridges, which made it harder for the Germans to defend. The Allies achieved their ultimate goal of reaching Paris. 

However, there are reasons why the Normandy landings were not successful. The destruction left by the Allied bombing provided defence for the Nazis. Also, the French suffered many civilian casualties. 

Overall, I think that the Normandy landings were successful. I think this because the Allies got to their overall goal, which was to get to Paris and take back France. 

Commentary on candidate evidence

Overall, the candidate was awarded 9 marks:

• 1 mark for providing a valid introduction
• 5 marks for points of knowledge
• 1 further mark for the answer being presented in a structured way with knowledge being organised in support of different factors
• 1 mark for a conclusion with a valid judgement
• 1 mark for a valid supporting reason.

The candidate provides a valid introduction identifying relevant different factors, in this question analysing the success or otherwise of the Normandy landings: ‘In this essay I will discuss the reasons why the Normandy landings were successful, such as Allied paratroopers capturing the crucial bridges, and reasons why they were not, such as the civilian casualties suffered.’ (1 mark for outlining relevant factors)

The candidate makes five relevant points of knowledge. These are specific points of knowledge and are linked to the question by signpost sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. The points of knowledge themselves are concisely expressed and thus helpful to the candidate in gaining full credit in as efficient a manner as possible: ‘There are several reasons why the Normandy landings were successful. The French resistance disrupted Nazi supply lines (1 mark for a point of knowledge). The paratroopers captured the bridges, which made it harder for the Germans to defend (1 mark for a point of knowledge). The Allies achieved their ultimate goal of reaching Paris.’ (1 mark for a point of knowledge)

‘However, there are reasons why the Normandy landings were not successful. The destruction left by the Allied bombing provided defence for the Nazis (1 mark for a point of knowledge). Also, the French suffered many civilian casualties.’ (1 mark for a point of knowledge)

The candidate was awarded 1 mark for the answer being presented in a structured way (with knowledge being organised in support of different factors). The candidate has chosen to paragraph their response; this has helped the candidate structure their answer and be awarded a mark for an organised response.

The candidate was also awarded 1 mark for a conclusion with a valid judgement: ‘Overall, I think that the Normandy landings were successful.’

The candidate provides a reason in support of their judgement, giving a reason that is then linked to the overall outcome of the Second World War: ‘I think this because the Allies got to their overall goal, which was to get to Paris and take back France.’ (1 mark for a reason supporting the judgement)

Candidate evidence

How successful was the invasion of Normandy in 1944?

I’m going talk about the reasons the Normandy Landings were a success and the reasons the Normandy Landings were a failure. 

There are many reasons Normandy Landings were a success. One reason was that the allies had little amount of casualties, only 10,000 with 3,000 being deaths. Another reason was that the daring risk the Allies took, and the bravery it took for paragliders to do there job was very scary, but paid off and the plan almost went to perfection. 

There are also many reasons Normandy Landings were not successful. One reason was that the Americans were criticised for bombing villages when the Germans were on retreat. Another reason was that British bombed Caen on the first day which helped the Germans with having defensive cover. Another reason was British bombed Caen on the first day and killed 2,000 civilians, which was unnecessary. Another reason was many British troops in Caen weren’t trained causing attacks to not always succeed. 

Commentary on candidate evidence

Overall, the candidate was awarded 6 marks:

• 1 mark for providing a valid introduction
• 4 marks for points of knowledge
• 1 further mark for the answer being presented in a structured way with knowledge being organised in support of different factors.

The candidate provides a valid introduction which outlines relevant factors, in this question analysing the success or otherwise of the Normandy landings: ‘I’m going talk about the reasons the Normandy Landings was a success and the reasons the Normandy Landings were a failure.’(1 mark for outlining relevant factors)

The candidate makes four relevant points of knowledge. The candidate links these to the question using signpost sentences at the beginning of each paragraph.

The knowledge point on casualty figures is credited as the overall casualty figure of 10,000 is an accepted estimate. The candidate is not awarded their second point of knowledge until the end of the first paragraph because the first two points made by the candidate – the risks and bravery – in this sentence are not fully explained, relying on the marker to ‘fill in the gaps’: ‘One reason was that the allies had little amount of casualties, only 10,000 with 3,000 being deaths. (1 mark for a point of knowledge) Another reason was that the daring risk the Allies took, and the bravery it took for paragliders to do there job was very scary, but paid off and the plan almost went to perfection.’ (1 mark for a point of knowledge)

In the second paragraph, the candidate starts with a point that is not credited because criticism of the allies for bombing villages had no impact on the success of the Normandy landings. The candidate then goes on to make one developed point in two sentences on the fighting at Caen. The candidate correctly points out the disputed nature of the fighting at Caen and that some consider the casualties at Caen to have limited the success of the Normandy landings. The paragraph ends with an inaccurate point on the training given to soldiers at Caen, which being too general, is not credited: ‘One reason was that the Americans were criticised for bombing villages when the Germans were on retreat. Another reason was that British bombed Caen on the first day which helped the Germans with having defensive cover. (1 mark for a point of knowledge) Another reason was British bombed Caen on the first day and killed 2,000 civilians, which was unnecessary. (1 mark for a developed point of knowledge) Another reason was many British troops in Caen weren’t trained causing attacks to not always succeed.’

The candidate was awarded 1 mark for the answer being presented in a structured way (with knowledge being organised in support of different factors). The candidate has chosen to paragraph their response, this has helped the candidate structure their answer and be awarded a mark for an organised response.

The candidate was not awarded marks for making a valid judgement and supplying a supporting reason as they did not provide a conclusion.

Candidate evidence

How successful was the invasion of Normandy in 1944?

The League of Nations had been the idea of President Woodrow Wilson. He hoped that the League would be a parliament of nations which would settle disagreements peacefully and would take action to improve conditions for people all over the world. The League had successes and failures however.

One success was the settlement of a dispute between Sweden and Finland over the Aaland Islands. The League settled in favour of Finland. The League also attacked slave owners and freed slaves in Africa. Another success was when the League set up camps to look after Turkish refugees.

However there were also disputes that the League failed to settle. One failure was when the Japanese invaded Manchuria. The League couldn’t agree on sanctions so nothing was done to force Japan to leave Manchuria. Another failure was when the league failed to stop Italy taking over Abyssinia in the 1930s. When Haile Selassie asked the League for help, Britain and France would not take firm action against Italy.

In conclusion the League was mostly unsuccessful in pursuing its aims. It was successful in solving some small disputes and problems in the 1920s but it failed to take action against powerful countries like Japan and Italy.

Commentary on candidate evidence

Overall, the candidate was awarded 8 marks:

• 1 mark for providing a valid introduction
• 4 marks for points of knowledge
• 1 further mark for the answer being presented in a structured way with knowledge being organised in support of different factors.
• 1 mark for a conclusion with a valid judgement
• 1 mark for a reason in support of the judgement

The candidate provides a valid introduction (providing a judgement – not required at this stage) and identifies relevant different factors, analysing the success or otherwise of the Normandy landings: ‘The Normandy landings were successful to an extent. In this writing I will explain the successes and also failures of the Normandy landings.’ (1 mark)

The candidate makes four relevant points of knowledge: starting with a developed point and then two simple knowledge points. The candidate links these to the question by signpost sentences at the beginning of each paragraph.

The candidate starts with a developed point crediting the success of the allies to capturing the beaches and then towns and bridges in the surrounding area. The candidate is then awarded their third point of knowledge about the use of paratroopers to gain control of German weaponry: A big success from the Normandy landings is that allies were able to gain control of the beaches (1 mark for a point of knowledge) and also took control of some of the main bridges and roads in towns nearby. (1 mark for a developed point of knowledge) Another big success is that the paratroopers managed to land behind enemy lines where they managed to get into German bases and weaponry.’ (1 mark for a point of knowledge)

In the second paragraph, the candidate correctly points out the disputed nature of the fighting at Caen owing to civilian casualties. The paragraph ends with a point on the inadequate training given to soldiers at Caen, but it is too general to be credited: ‘The main failure was the unnecessary bombing in French towns by British soldiers this lead to many deaths of innocent civilians. (1 mark for a point of knowledge) There were also setbacks as a lot of soldiers had little training.’

The candidate was awarded 1 mark for the answer being presented in a structured way (with knowledge being organised in support of different factors). The candidate has chosen to paragraph their response. This has helped the candidate structure their answer and be awarded a mark for an organised response.

The candidate was awarded 1 mark for a conclusion with a valid judgement and 1 mark for supplying a valid supporting reason. The candidate goes beyond the assessment standard required by providing balance based on previously presented evidence: ‘Overall the Normandy landings were a success. Even although there were many civilians killed they also managed to secure the beaches and German territory.’