How much do you really remember about WWII History?
by Jeremiah Dughouse
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The deadliest conflict in human history to date ended 75 years ago. How much do you remember and what have you learned from this horrible conflict?
1: Some historians emphasize that WWII started with which event?
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The start of WWII is usually considered as September 1st, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Some historians consider the real start of WWII to happen on July 7th, 1937 with the skirmish between Chinese and Japanese troops near Marco Polo Bridge in today's Beijing. This was a prelude to the opening of the Pacific war theater in 1941.
2: Allied forces battled the strong alliance of the Axis that was comprised of which nations?
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The Tripartite Pact between Germany, Italy and Japan signed on September 27th, 1940 in Berlin, established the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo "Axis" powers. Under the pressure and fear of German military might, a few months later Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria joined in their opposition to the Allies.
3: What period in the 20th Century is called the "Phony War"?
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UK and France declared war against Nazi Germany on September 3rd 1939. No immediate large military action followed until May 10th of 1940 when Germany attacked Belgium and two days later France. Those 8 months of relative military inactivity between adversaries are called the Phony War.
4: How many nations were involved in WWII?
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At the beginning it was Germany, Italy and Japan against the rest of the world. Soon after, the other nations proclaimed their allegiance either to the Axis powers or Allied forces led by UK, USA, France and the USSR. WWII involved over 30 nations in the most destructive period since the dawn of humanity.
5: Why did France and Britain enter the war immediately after Nazi Germany invaded Poland?
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On March 31st 1939, Britain and France signed an agreement guaranteeing the borders of Poland in the wake of uncertainties brought by the actions of Germany in Czechoslovakia.
6: Who was the main leader of the powers of Axis?
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Adolf Hitler was the initiator and main leader for a change in spheres of interests among the established colonial and industrial nations.
7: Who among the leaders of Axis powers survived WWII?
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Emperor Hirohito was spared from prosecution for war crimes and remained on the throne of Japan until his death on January 7th, 1989.
8: What was the first big battle between Allies and Axis in WWII?
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Between July and October 1940, the Royal Air Force of Britain and German Luftwaffe fought an air battle for the dominance over the English Channel and Southern England. It was the first battle in history that was fought only in the air.
9: What was Operation Barbarossa (Redbeard)?
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Operation Barbarossa was named after the 12th century Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany Fredrich I for his fight for German dominance in Europe of the time. Hitler started invading the USSR on June 22nd, 1941 which lasted until November 1941.
10: What was the first big offensive of Allies at the Pacific war theater?
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Battle of Guadalcanal was fought from August 7th, 1942 till February 9th, 1943 between US led Allied forces and Japan. It was an important victory for the Allies that established control of seaways between USA and Australia.
11: When did the United States of America declare war on Japan?
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USA declared war on Japan on December 8th 1941, one day after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.
12: What were the names of two military ships that were destroyed beyond repair in the Pearl Harbor attack?
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USS Arizona was sunk after the explosion of a bomb in the ship's ammunitions storage. USS Oklahoma was hit by several torpedoes and sunk on Battleship Row. The two ships lost 1606 sailors in addition to several hundreds on other battle ships.
13: When was D-day?
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The landing of US, British and Canadian troops on the shores of Normandy on June 6th, 1944 marked a major offensive of Allies against German troops in Western Europe.
14: What was the significance of the Battle of the Bulge?
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The last attempt of German forces to regain control of France, Belgium and Netherlands started on December 16th, 1944 and finished on January 25th, 1945. Allied forces won the decisive battle that marked the end of German military supremacy in Europe.
15: Who introduced the first jet fighter airplane into the air battles in WWII?
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Germany's Messerschmitt ME- 262 "Schwalbe" was the first aircraft with jet propulsion to enter the battle sky of WWII in April 1944. Although it had more ordinance and was faster than any aircraft in the fleets of Allied Nations, it came too late to make a real difference in the outcome of WWII.
16: What was "The Third Reich"?
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The Third Reich is the Nazis rule from 1933 to 1945. The Weimar Republic was post WWI Germany 1919 to 1933. The Second Reich or German Empire was the time from unification of Germany 1871 to the end of WWI, 1919. The First Reich was the longest, established as the Holy Roman Empire from 962 by Otto I King of Germany, till 1806 when it dissolved due to Napoleon Bonaparte's wars.
17: Who was Time magazine's man of the year in 1938?
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Although his Nazi party garnered only 3% of votes in 1928, mere 10 years later Adolf Hitler rose to become the uncontested ruler of Germany and Time magazine's man of the year in 1938.
18: What was the only nation that Germany officially declared war to?
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USA was the only nation that received official declaration of war from Germany on December 12th, 1941. All other military movement Germany performed in the style of "Blitzkrieg", where surprise was a major tactic.
19: What is the name for a traitor who collaborates with the enemy's occupying establishment?
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After WWII, “Quisling” became the synonym for a traitor who helps the enemy that occupied the country. It is named after a Norwegian army officer who organized Norway’s fascist party in 1933.
20: What was the secret code that US Marines used for communication in the Pacific war front?
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Transmitting military information using the language of Native Americans started in WWI. More than 400 Navajo Indians were employed as “Code Takers” in WWII. The Navajo language was a basis for a secret code that US Marines used for communications in the Pacific. It has never been decoded by the Japanese.
21: What military powers used poison gas in WWII during military operations?
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Only Italy in Ethiopia and Japan in China used poison gas in the battlefield. All warring nations had chemical weapons but did not use them in the field. Germany had a vast arsenal of nerve and poisonous gases but refrained from deploying because they would desolate the land and made it unsuitable for the "Blitzkrieg" (Lightning strike) tactic.
22: What nation from the Axis coalition surrendered first?
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Italy capitulated on September 8th,1943, several weeks after Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was deposed.
23: Which Axis leader died before his country surrendered to the Allied powers?
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Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin on April 30th, 1945, 8 days before the capitulation of Germany. As the main leader of Axis nations in WWII, Hitler was the only one who did not live to face the act of surrender to Allied powers.
24: What was the last major battle on the Pacific war front?
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Battle for Okinawa, that was fought from April 1st until June 21st 1945, was the last major battle on the Pacific battlefield.
25: What was the deadliest battle during WWII?
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Battle of Stalingrad, nowadays Volgograd, was the deadliest conflict in WWII and so far in entire human history with over 2 million casualties, civilians and military combatants combined. This victory of the Soviet Red Army in January 1943 was the turning point on the European battlefront. It was also the first time that the Nazi establishment in Germany admitted publicly a failure in its plan to conquer Europe.
26: Who was the five-star general in the US Army who became the 34th US President in 1953?
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Dwight David Eisenhower was the supreme commanding officer supervising the North African campaign until 1943, and the invasion of France and Germany in 1944-1945. After the war, he got into politics for the Republican party and served as the 34th President of the USA from 1953 to 1961.
27: Who had more casualties in WWII, Axis or Allied nations?
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Allied nations had about 80% of all casualties in WWII. Combined military and civilian losses of Axis forces add to about 20% in the deadliest war conflict in human history.
28: What country had the most casualties in WWII?
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Soviet Union combined civilian and military casualties during the WWII were over 27 million people. China lost about 11 million, Germany 7 million and Japan about 3 million.
29: When did WWII end?
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The official end of WWII was on September 2nd, 1945 when Japan signed unconditional surrender to Allied forces led by the United Stated of America.
30: What new super powers have inherited supremacy of European colonial nations in years after the end of WWII?
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The struggle during WWII scaled down established powers of UK and France and helped the rise of new superpowers of USA and the Soviet Union. This resulted in a new world order, cold war and a race in nuclear arms between NATO led by USA and Warsaw Pact led by Soviet Union.
