History Quiz

At which of the following D-Day landing sites did the Allied troops almost meet with disaster?

"Omaha"

The three main targets in the Marianas Islands were: [choose three]

-Saipan -Guam -Tinian

The efforts to take these objectives in the Gilbert Islands shocked the American public because of the high death toll? [choose all that apply]

-Tarawa -Mankin

At the Battle of Okinawa, what two large American ships were damaged by kamikaze attacks? [choose 2]

-USS Missouri -USS Enterprise

Which of the following was a result of the Allied capture of the Rhineland? [choose all that apply]

-blow to german morale -some german soldiers were convinced that germany had already lost

Why did the Americans agree to postpone "Operation Roundup" until 1944 and concentrate on invading Italy? [choose all that apply]

-they believed an Italian campaign would be quick and easy -the believed an invasion of Italy would provide them with a way to reach Germany more quickly

What were the goals of the Wannsee Conference? [choose all that apply]

-to settle a dispute regarding using the Jews as slave labor or extermination -to develop a systematic approach to resolving the "Jewish Question"

Approximately how many Jews were victims of Germany's "Final Solution?

6 million

Who signed the unconditional surrender of Germany on May 7, 1945?

Admiral Karl Donitz

What famous scientist led others to express their concerns regarding German efforts to build atomic weapons?

Albert Einstein

The amphibious landing at __________ was an attempt to go around the Gustav Line and encircle the Germans?

Anzio

Operation "Market Garden" was a plan to take a bridge across the Rhine at

Arnhem

Who announced the surrender to the Japanese people, marking the first time his people had heard his voice?

Emperor Hirohito

What German had been given command of all the defenses on the French coast before D-Day?

Erwin Rommel

Why did the invasion at Anzio fall apart?

General Clark decided to hold and strengthen the Allied position instead of pushing to encircle the Germans on the Gustav Line

Which American military commander liberated the Philippines, announcing "I have returned!"?

General Douglas MacArthur

Who was named Supreme Commander of Operation "Overlord" at the Tehran Conference?

General Dwight Eisenhower

Once American entered the war, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that the Allies should pursue a "____________ first" strategy.

Germany

The scientists of which nation had made progress in the development of atomic weapons in the 1930s?

Germany

After the Germans retreated from Rome, they fell back to a line of defensive positions known as the

Gothic Line

In January 1944, the Allied advance was stopped just 100 miles short of Rome as they ran into a set of fortifications known as the

Gustav Line

When Franklin Roosevelt died in April 1945, who became President of the United States?

Harry S. Truman

The first Japanese city to be attacked by an atomic bomb was

Hiroshima

The invasion of this island put the Americans just 600 miles from Tokyo and provided one of the most iconic photographs of World War II?

Iwo Jima

The notorious Nazi known as the "angel of death" because of his medical experiments in the concentration camps was

Josef Mengele

On which date did D-Day for Operation "Overlord" take place?

June 6, 1944

The invasion site for Operation "Overlord" were the beaches of _________________.

Normandy

After taking the island of Iwo Jima, Nimitz's next target was _________________, only 350 miles from the southernmost Japanese home island.

Okinawa

To carry out the "Final Solution," the Germans built six camps that used gas chambers. In which country were they all located?

Poland

The convoys that brought supplies from the Normandy coast to the front lines were known as the "________ _____________ ________________."

Red ball express

What army was the first to liberate a major death camp in Poland?

Soviets

Hitler's Operation "Autumn Fog" was the key to beginning this important World War II battle:

The Battle of the Bulge

The documents formalizing the unconditional surrender of Japan were signed on the deck of the

USS Missouri

The uprising in this Polish city was the largest revolt against Nazi occupation of the entire war:

Warsaw

What were the "Auschwitz Protocols"?

What were the "Auschwitz Protocols"?

Other than the Jews, what other groups were the target of Nazi extermination attempts? [choose all that apply]

all answers (gypsies, political prisoners, christians, mentally ill)

What were the results of the Allied threat to the Italian mainland? [choose all that apply]

all answers (king emmanuel appointed badoglio to head, germany reinforced peninsula, mussolini ousted, italy joined allies)

What were the challenges to the D-Day invasion that affected timing? [choose all that apply]

all answers (needed to take place on calm water, at dawn, at full moon, at low tide)

What was the Allied reaction to their capture and liberation of the labor and transit camps in Germany? [choose all that apply]

all answers (residents brought in to tour facilities, gathered evidence, residents forced to bury bodies, shot german guards on sight)

In what ways could the Italian campaign be considered a failure? [choose all that apply]

all answers (slow advance allowing soviets to take european territory led to cold war, allies wasted time taking strongly defended positions, italian surrender meant germans defended territory, advance was so slow forced from italy were no help)

Why were individual German victories in the Soviet Union not successful in reversing the tide of the Soviet advance? [choose all that apply]

everything except germans were busy with allied invasion of spain (soviet industry producing more weapons and vehicles than germans, soviets could replace losses more easily, german military short on supplies)

Which of the following were consequences of the Marianas campaign? [choose all that apply]

everything except it forced americans to rethink their strategy (put US within striking distance of phillipines and dutch east indies, placed japanese home islands within striking distance of US B29 bombers, caused political issues for the japanese government)

Which of the following is true about the Battle of Leyte Gulf? [choose all that apply]

everything except it gave japanese confidence (destroyed japanese navy made it barely a threat, greatest naval battle in all of history, first american experience with Japanese kamikaze attacks)

In what ways could the Italian campaign be considered a success? [choose all that apply]

everything except it provided an avenue of supply for the invasion of germany (invasion knocked italy out of war, provided experience with german troops and their abilities, gave the allies amphibious warfare experience)

Once the first atomic bomb was successfully tested, what 3 options did the President have regarding its use to make Japan surrender? [choose 3]

everything except tell the japanese about the weapon (use bomb to attack japanese cities, launch traditional invasion of japan, detonate a bomb in a remote location to demonstrate power)

Which of the following were developments in military technology meant to overcome the logistical challenges of the Normandy invasion? [choose all that apply]

everything except walk on water (portable harbors, amphibious personnel carriers, systems to let tank swim on high water)

The name of the 2 atomic bombs dropped on Japanese cities in 1945 were [choose two]

fat man, little boy

Admiral Chester Nimitz wanted the Navy and Marines to conduct an "____________ ___________" campaign across the Pacific toward Japan.

island hopping

What topographical conditions made invasion of Iwo Jima more difficult than other islands?

it was a volcanic island

What was one reason why the German reaction to the invasion at Normandy slower than it should have been?

most of the German officers were away from their posts on D-Day

Why did the Germans not develop atomic weapons earlier than other nations?

some of the important scientists were Jewish and had fled to the United States

Which Allied army fought for and won the final battle for Berlin?

soviets

The tide turned in the German advance into the Soviet Union at the battle of

stalingrad

The project created to develop and build atomic weapons was code-named:

the "Manhattan Project"

Which of the following was one reason the American advance slowed in December 1944?

the Americans had outrun their supply lines and needed to wait for them to catch up

Which Allied nation was the one to liberate the city of Rome from the Germans?

the United States

What was the Japanese government's reaction to the destruction brought by the first atomic bomb dropped on one of their cities?

they asked the Soviet Union to try to mediate peace with the United States

Why did the Soviet advance halt in early 1945, although they were within 100 miles of Berlin?

they had pushed too far and needed to spend time subduing German garrisons on the Baltic

Why was it difficult for the Marines to dislodge the Japanese from the island of Iwo Jima?

they had taken refuge in fortified caves on the island

Why did American military leaders NOT want to attempt an invasion on the Japanese home islands?

they knew the Japanese would defend to the last person and casualties would be high

When German officers realized they needed to reinforce their troops at Normandy, why was there a delay?

they needed Hitler's permission and since he was asleep, they waited until he woke up

What was the Soviet response to the Warsaw Uprising?

they watched what was happening and did nothing

What was the task of the Einsatzgruppen and "Reserve Police Battalions"?

to round up Jews and execute them instead of taking them to the ghettoes

Which of the following were code names for the beaches of the Normandy invasion? [choose all that apply]

utah, omaha, juno, gold, sword