Will You Be On The Winning Side Of This War History Quiz?

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War History Quiz Questions

62 Questions · 310 Plays · 1 Comment

Question 1

The U.S. tried to stay neutral during WWII, but Japan pulled them in by bombing the U.S. naval base here. Name that harbor.

  • A
    Pearl Harbor
  • B
    Sydney Harbor
  • C
    Honolulu Harbor
  • D
    South Beach Harbor

Question 2

These two powers had been allies during World War II, but became the two major superpowers in conflict during the Cold War.

  • A
    United States and Soviet Union
  • B
    United States and Britain
  • C
    Germany and United States
  • D
    Soviet Union and Germany

Question 3

The Axis powers conquered much of Western Europe, but Britain had the advantage of being an island and a strong air force. What is the name of Britain's air force?

  • A
    MI-6
  • B
    Her Majesty's Air Command
  • C
    Royal Air Force
  • D
    Regal Air Fighters

Question 4

What two cities in Japan had atomic bombs dropped on them near the end of World War Two?

  • A
    Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  • B
    Nagasaki and Osaka
  • C
    Kyoto and Tokyo
  • D
    Okinawa and Hiroshima

Question 5

How did more than half of the Japanese troops die in WWII?

  • A
    The atomic bombs
  • B
    In battle
  • C
    Suicide missions
  • D
    Malnutrition and disease

Question 6

William Tecumseh Sherman had a 'Hard War' strategy. What rules did he follow?

  • A
    Killing Civilians
  • B
    Slaughtering Livestock
  • C
    Looting Towns
  • D
    All of the Above

Question 7

The United States and the Soviet Union, formerly allies in World War Two, faced conflict in the next several decades. What was the name of this conflict?

  • A
    Cuban Missile Crisis
  • B
    Thirty Years' War
  • C
    Cold War
  • D
    Russian Revolution

Question 8

What is the only country to have ever used an atomic bomb on an enemy?

  • A
    Germany
  • B
    China
  • C
    Russia
  • D
    United States

Question 9

Who became president, and continued the escalation of the Vietnam War, after Kennedy's assassination?

  • A
    Lyndon Johnson
  • B
    Richard Nixon
  • C
    Franklin Delano Roosevelt
  • D
    Dwight Eisenhower

Question 10

The Mexican-American War contributed significantly to the debate about the legality of slavery, and which states should permit the practice. What legislation decided what to do with the acqusitions in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?

  • A
    Townshend Acts
  • B
    Missouri Compromise
  • C
    Dred Scott decision
  • D
    Compromise of 1850

Question 11

Which of the following battles was the bloodiest battle in the entirety of the Civil War?

  • A
    Battle of Chickamauga
  • B
    Battle of Chancellorsville
  • C
    Battle of Stones River
  • D
    The Battle of Gettysburg

Question 12

The Vietnam War was fought between North and South Vietnam, but was backed by many powers on both sides. Who was the major supporter of the South?

  • A
    North Korea
  • B
    The United States
  • C
    The Soviet Union
  • D
    China

Question 13

The First World War ended with victory for the United States, Britain, France, and their allies. What was the name of the treaty that ended the war, and imposed enormous burdens on the losers?

  • A
    Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
  • B
    Treaty of London
  • C
    Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
  • D
    Versailles Treaty

Question 14

The president who followed Johnson focused on retreating from the war and training the South Vietnamese to fight without American aid. Which president was this?

  • A
    Ronald Reagan
  • B
    Jimmy Carter
  • C
    Richard Nixon
  • D
    George H.W. Bush

Question 15

Throughout the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee would keep this bizarre pet with him at all times.

  • A
    Snake
  • B
    Chicken
  • C
    Turtle
  • D
    Spider

Question 16

What international body was created at the end of World War Two to try to prevent something like world war from happening again?

  • A
    North Atlantic Free Trade Organization
  • B
    United Nations
  • C
    European Union
  • D
    Warsaw Pact

Question 17

World War Two was truly a global war, dividing the globe into two blocs. What were the names of these two sides?

  • A
    Reds and Whites
  • B
    North and South
  • C
    Triple Entente and Central Powers
  • D
    Axis and Allies

Question 18

Although some fighting began earlier, the beginning of the war is generally considered September 1, 1939, when the Nazis invaded what country?

  • A
    Poland
  • B
    Austria
  • C
    Russia
  • D
    Romania

Question 19

A significant turning point in the war happened during this battle in the north-central Pacific.

  • A
    Battle of the Central-Pacific
  • B
    Battlestar Galactica
  • C
    Battle of Wake Island
  • D
    Battle of Midway

Question 20

Which country fell under Soviet influence after the war?

  • A
    Denmark
  • B
    Poland
  • C
    Sweden
  • D
    Italy

Question 21

While we'd prefer the cocktail, what was the original kamikaze?

  • A
    Grenade
  • B
    Submarine
  • C
    Suicide pilot
  • D
    Japanese anime

Question 22

What US president led the country through the Civil War, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest leaders of all time?

  • A
    Woodrow Wilson
  • B
    Theodore Roosevelt
  • C
    Abraham Lincoln
  • D
    Andrew Johnson

Question 23

World War Two is remembered in movies and television. Which of these is NOT about World War Two?

  • A
    Saving Private Ryan
  • B
    M*A*S*H
  • C
    Schindler's List
  • D
    Band of Brothers

Question 24

Oskar Schindler was a German industrialist and member of the Nazi Party. What is he famous for?

  • A
    Building war tanks
  • B
    Saving more than a thousand Jews
  • C
    Inventing nuclear power
  • D
    His industrial company

Question 25

When WWII concluded, where did the trials of war criminals take place?

  • A
    Nuremberg
  • B
    The Hague
  • C
    Berlin
  • D
    Paris

Question 26

The Cold War began after what major conflict?

  • A
    WWII
  • B
    Civil War
  • C
    WWI
  • D
    Vietnam War

Question 27

Did you know bombs had names? What were the given names of the two atomic bombs to ever be deployed in war?

  • A
    Bomb A and Bomb B
  • B
    Little Boy and Fat Man
  • C
    Opening Act and Grand Stand
  • D
    Tom and Jerry

Question 28

What was constructed in 1961, signaling a hardening of Cold War tensions?

  • A
    Great Wall of China
  • B
    Suez Canal
  • C
    Panama Canal
  • D
    Berlin Wall

Question 29

This man was the President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

  • A
    Braxton Bragg
  • B
    James Longstreet
  • C
    George Pickett
  • D
    Jefferson Davis

Question 30

Which United States president did not serve in the Second World War?

  • A
    Richard Nixon
  • B
    Bill Clinton
  • C
    Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • D
    John F. Kennedy

Question 31

The Pacific war ended when the Japanese refused to surrender, and President Truman dropped the newly-developed atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What was the name of the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima?

  • A
    Lady Southern Cross
  • B
    Spirit of St. Louis
  • C
    Double Eagle II
  • D
    Enola Gay

Question 32

Which country did the United States defeat in the Battle of Midway?

  • A
    Japan
  • B
    Italy
  • C
    Germany
  • D
    Croatia

Question 33

The conflict we call the Mexican-American War was a conflict over the ownership of what state?

  • A
    New Mexico
  • B
    Arizona
  • C
    Texas
  • D
    Louisiana

Question 34

In what year did the U.S. enter the war?

  • A
    1939
  • B
    1940
  • C
    1941
  • D
    1945

Question 35

This fort was bombarded by Southern Troops when President Lincoln refused to surrender the territory, thus kick-starting the Civil War.

  • A
    Fort Wagner
  • B
    Fort Sumter
  • C
    Fort Donelson
  • D
    Fort Henry

Question 36

Who was President of the United States when the Civil War began?

  • A
    James Garfield
  • B
    Abraham Lincoln
  • C
    Ulysses S. Grant
  • D
    Chester Alan Arthur

Question 37

Who was the leader of the Soviet Union at the beginning of the Cold War?

  • A
    Brezhnev
  • B
    Medvedev
  • C
    Khrushchev
  • D
    Stalin

Question 38

The Pacific Theater of the war took a turn when American forces defeated the Japanese in this battle.

  • A
    Guadalcanal
  • B
    Wake Island
  • C
    Midway
  • D
    Coral Sea

Question 39

One of the victors in World War One was sidelined during the treaty discussions, and ended up opposing its former allies in World War Two. Which country was this?

  • A
    Japan
  • B
    United States
  • C
    Britain
  • D
    Austria

Question 40

The Japanese invaded many parts of east Asia to create the Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere. Which of these is NOT a country that was invaded during WWII?

  • A
    China
  • B
    Cambodia
  • C
    Vietnam
  • D
    Australia

Question 41

In 1821, Mexico gained independence from what European colonial power?

  • A
    Britain
  • B
    France
  • C
    Spain
  • D
    Portugal

Question 42

In the United States, we call it the Vietnam War, but it's sometimes called the Second Indochina War. Who fought in the First Indochinese War?

  • A
    The United States and North Vietnam
  • B
    The Viet Minh and France
  • C
    The United States and South Vietnam
  • D
    The Viet Cong and Russia

Question 43

Who was the US president when the US entered the war?

  • A
    Franklin Delano Roosevelt
  • B
    Dwight Eisenhower
  • C
    Harry Truman
  • D
    Theodore Roosevelt

Question 44

Nazi officials who survived the war stood trial at:

  • A
    Versailles
  • B
    Berlin
  • C
    Nuremberg
  • D
    Munich

Question 45

Where did the Confederacy place their Capital City during the Civil War?

  • A
    Atlanta, GA.
  • B
    Richmond, VA.
  • C
    Tallahassee, FL.
  • D
    Sioux Falls, SD.

Question 46

The period after the Civil War ended was known as __________.

  • A
    Rejuvenation
  • B
    Rebuilding
  • C
    Referendum
  • D
    Reconstruction

Question 47

Japan and the Allied Forces fought using only aircraft, leading to Japan's first defeat in the war. Name history's first air-sea battle.

  • A
    Battle of the Java Sea
  • B
    Battle of the Coral Sea
  • C
    Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
  • D
    Battle of the Mediterranean

Question 48

The Vietnam War was a proxy war of what global conflict?

  • A
    The Korean War
  • B
    The Cold War
  • C
    The Russian Revolution
  • D
    World War II

Question 49

During World War II, black and white American soldiers fought in:

  • A
    Integrated units
  • B
    Segregated units
  • C
    Separate campaigns
  • D
    Separate military branches

Question 50

Which leader made a nonaggression pact with Hitler, which was later broken?

  • A
    Joseph Stalin
  • B
    Charles de Gaulle
  • C
    Winston Churchill
  • D
    Franklin D. Roosevelt

Question 51

During the War, this General led the Union to so many victories that he was nicknamed, "The Butcher".

  • A
    Abner Doubleday
  • B
    Ulysses S. Grant
  • C
    George Custer
  • D
    Robert Anderson

Question 52

Johnson increased American military involvement in the Vietnam War after it was reported American ships were attacked. What was the name of this incident?

  • A
    Bay of Pigs incident
  • B
    Straight of Marmara resolution
  • C
    Gulf of Tonkin resolution
  • D
    Strategic Defense initiative

Question 53

The Vietnam War and communist victory encouraged the rise of the Khmer Rouge, a group which committed genocide in what country?

  • A
    Laos
  • B
    Bhutan
  • C
    Thailand
  • D
    Cambodia

Question 54

General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the _______________.

  • A
    Shiloh Battlefield
  • B
    Manassas National Battlefield
  • C
    Fort Sumter
  • D
    Appomattox Courthouse

Question 55

Blood Meridian is a novel about the southwest after the Mexican-American War, when American vigilantes hunted Apaches to "civilize" the land. Who was the author of this book?

  • A
    Ernest Hemingway
  • B
    Cormac McCarthy
  • C
    Ian McEwan
  • D
    Walker Percy

Question 56

When Mexico refused an offer by the United States to purchase Texan land, the United States invaded in 1846. Who was the general, and later president, who led this attack?

  • A
    Zachary Taylor
  • B
    Theodore Roosevelt
  • C
    Abraham Lincoln
  • D
    Ulysses S. Grant

Question 57

Who attended the Yalta Conference in 1945?

  • A
    Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower, and Joseph Stalin
  • B
    Vladimir Lenin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • C
    Dwight Eisenhower, Vladimir Lenin, and Neville Chamberlain
  • D
    Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill

Question 58

What country began the Cold War allied with the Soviet Union and drew closer to the United States as time went on?

  • A
    Mexico
  • B
    Italy
  • C
    China
  • D
    South Africa

Question 59

Which country did not gain influence over a piece of Germany after the war?

  • A
    USSR
  • B
    Canada
  • C
    Britain
  • D
    France

Question 60

The European war ended with the surrounding of Hitler's bunker in Berlin in May 1945. What military achieved this?

  • A
    Britain
  • B
    France
  • C
    Soviet Union
  • D
    United States

Question 61

________ was an abolitionist who spearheaded the raid on Harper's Ferry, leading up to the Civil War.

  • A
    Harriet Tubman
  • B
    John Brown
  • C
    Gerrit Smith
  • D
    Frederick Douglass

Question 62

Known as ‘The Universal Ruler’, this great warrior led his people into becoming one of the greatest dynasties of all time.

  • A
    Alexander the Great
  • B
    Genghis Khan
  • C
    Vladimir Lenin
  • D
    King Xerxes

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