Cache like history when using forms

Scenario 1
I use form and the action is another file.I use if statement to check fields that are blank and ask the user to fill it.
<form action=responsefile.php>
The problem is , when i started to use history.back(), the all fields are reset to blank. It happens when the session_start() was used. I heard the session cache function. How ?

Scenario 2
I use form and the action is self. I use if statement to check fields that are blank and ask the user to fill it. Can i do just like the above, maybe cookies or session.
<form action=<?=$PHP_SELF?>>

Thank you