Image: U.S. National Archives / Army Signal Corps / Wiki Commons
About This Quiz
From the start of the war in 1939 until the Empire of Japan finally surrendered in 1945, the Second World War resulted in the most deaths and global devastation in human history, as it's estimated that over 50 million people were killed in the conflict. Are you an expert on the ins and outs of this deadly war? Here's a quiz where you can find out.
The after effects of World War I, along with the economic depression that hit the world in the 1930s, created the perfect breeding ground for another major conflict to emerge. In fact, the signs of the coming war were present well before the latter half of the '30s. When war finally erupted and countries picked sides, there was no turning back until one side gave an unconditional surrender. Surrender finally came in 1945, as the Allies managed a string of massive victories against the Axis Powers.Â
How much do you know about the growing conflict, the war and the aftermath of it all? Can you recall the names of the most important battles and figures from the war? Do you know how WWII changed the way battles are fought?Â
When you're ready to test your knowledge on the Second World War, give this quiz a shot and see if you can blow it out of the water.
Tensions were already high by 1939, but the conflict reached the point of no return when Germany first invaded which country?
Britain
France
Poland
Even prior to the invasion of Poland, Germany made moves to strengthen its position in Europe and prepare for a coming conflict. These moves included annexing Austria and forming an alliance with Italy and Japan. Great Britain and France watched as the future war machine built itself up.
Russia
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Adolf Hitler rose to power as the leader of which German political party?
German People's Party
The Nazi Party
Adolf Hitler rose to power in a devastated Germany that was looking for answers to their economic woes after World War I. Through charisma, antisemitism and promises of rebuilding Germany, Hitler was able to use the internal discord in the country to propel the Nazi Party to the forefront of German politics.
Centre Party
Democratic Party
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Knowing a war on two fronts could harm their cause, Germany made which agreement with Russia to not attack each other?
Treaty of Versailles
The Destroyer Deal
The Neutrality Act
The Nonaggression Pact
In the long run, Germany did not plan on sticking to the Nonaggression Pact made with Russia. However, Germany knew it had to keep Russia on the sidelines at the start of the war, particularly with the invasion of Poland and the decision to conquer France.
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What's the name of the military strategy Germany used to quickly take France, forcing an armistice agreement?
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg involved the use of motorized weaponry, such as tanks, to quickly overwhelm the opposition into surrender. The strategy was effective for Germany because they did not have the resources for a drawn-out war.
Guerrilla warfare
Siege tactics
Trench raiding
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During the Battle of Britain, the United Kingdom was saved from a full German invasion because of what?
Destroyers
Tanks
Battleships
Airplanes
Britain was on the verge of collapse in 1940, as Germany tried to press its position across the English Channel. When discussing the role of the Royal Air Force in defending Britain, Winston Churchill said, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
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The United States was launched into WWII after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, sinking how many U.S. battleships?
2
3
4
Japan launched the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 in an attempt to cripple the United States Pacific Fleet before it became involved in the war. The Japanese managed to hit all eight battleships in the harbor, sinking four of them. However, all U.S. carriers were out of the harbor at the time, saving the Pacific Fleet from complete destruction.
5
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Why did Adolf Hitler believe Germany had a right to regain land from Czechoslovakia?
There were German-speaking people there.
As Adolf Hitler sought to liberate Germans living in Czechoslovakia, Britain sent Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to negotiate a settlement as to not start another European war. Initially, the negotiations appeared to work out, and Chamberlain returned to Britain with the assurance that the German expansion would go no further. That was not the case, of course.
Germany had grown too poor.
Germany feared an attack.
Germany was overpopulated.
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To counter the British naval blockade, which country did Germany invade?
Spain
Norway
Launched under code name "Operation Weserubung," Germany's invasion of Norway was a strategic move that provided Germany with a coastline to control the North Atlantic. It also set up a buffer between Britain and Sweden, which Germany relied on for supplies of iron ore.
Russia
Switzerland
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Who led the exiled French government known as Free France?
Charles de Gaulle
Serving in World War I, where he was wounded and taken prisoner, Charles de Gaulle had plenty of military experience that prepared him for the Second World War. When France sought an armistice agreement at the start of the war, de Gaulle was one of the main opponents, encouraging his French brethren to fight instead.
Henri Giraud
Alphonse Juin
Georges Catroux
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What was the main city affected by the Blitz bombing campaign launched by the Germans?
Madrid
Moscow
Paris
London
Germany believed that a bombing campaign against Britain's most important city would hurt British morale for the war. Though the initial strikes were successful, Germany eventually had to turn to surprise night bombing, as Britain had effectively countered their attacks during the day.
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Germany, Italy and Japan signed which agreement to unite against the Allied forces?
The Dual Alliance
The Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact divided the world into two spheres of influence. Japan was given control over Greater East Asia, while Germany and Italy were allowed to take control of Europe.
The Balkan Pact
The Iberian Pact
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The German armed forces known as the Wehrmacht consisted of an army known as what?
Luftwaffe
Kriegsmarine
Heer
The Heer was the result of Adolf Hitler's policy of rearmament, which was significantly expanded with the rise of the Nazi Party in 1933. The successful rebuild of the German army was one of the reasons the country was so successful in achieving short, decisive victories early in the war.
Reichswehr
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Which country did Italy invade to start the Western Desert Campaign?
Libya
Israel
Egypt
Though there were skirmishes along the border of Egypt, both Italy and Britain played it safe at the start of the North African Campaign. However, with the surrender of France in 1940, Italy finally felt confident enough to launch an attack against the British in Egypt, though supply problems eventually halted their advancement.
Algeria
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What was the codename for the German invasion of Russia in 1941?
Operation Barbarossa
With 3 million soldiers and over 3,000 tanks, the German invasion of Russia hit the Russians by surprise due to the treaty the two countries had signed. The invasion proved costly for both sides, resulting in over 20 million deaths.
Operation Lucid
Operation Husar
Operation Wunderland
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Where did Russia achieve its first victory after the German invasion?
Moscow
Stalingrad
Though the Soviet forces in Moscow managed to hold off a German offensive against the city, it was at Stalingrad that the Russians managed to land a decisive defeat against the Germans. The victory came after the Russian winter set in, starving and freezing many of the German invaders.
Kursk
Leningrad
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Nationalism was at an all-time high in Italy under which dictator?
Joseph Stalin
Vladimir Lenin
Francisco Franco
Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini spent his younger years working as a journalist, where he promoted socialist ideas that often sought to incite violence. He eventually split from the Socialist Party and started his own newspaper, where he continued to promote the overthrow of the Italian government.
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Which U.S. general served as the supreme commander of Allied forces in Western Europe?
George Patton
Dwight D. Eisenhower
A major contributor to the Allied victory in Europe, Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of the most popular men in America when the war came to an end in 1945. Though Eisenhower opposed the presidency, he was eventually talked into running because of the demand for his leadership across the country.
Douglas MacArthur
Henry Arnold
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D-Day was one of the largest amphibious invasions, but where did it take place?
Normandy
On June 6, 1944, over 150,000 soldiers from America, Britain and Canada landed on the beaches of Normandy. The Germans had the beaches heavily fortified, but they did not know where the landing would take place, forcing German units to remain stationed elsewhere.
Sweden
Greece
Italy
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Operation Uranus was launched by which country to encircle the German Sixth Army?
Canada
Britain
France
Russia
When the German Sixth Army finally surrendered to the Russians, the bloody fighting and starvation had taken its toll, but around 90,000 German soldiers were still alive. However, of those captured, only 5,000 would make it out of the Russian prison camps alive.
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Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin met where to discuss the plan to defeat Germany in 1943?
Beijing
Washington D.C.
Tehran
The Tehran Conference gave the three great leaders of the United States, Britain and Russia the first opportunity to meet and discuss how to address both the war in Europe and the war in the Pacific. They decided that the war in Europe should be handled first, then they could focus their efforts on the Empire of Japan.
London
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During which battle did Germany launch its final major offensive campaign against the Allies?
Battle of Berlin
Battle of France
Second Battle of Kharkov
The Battle of the Bulge
In his final attempt to re-secure Europe, Adolf Hitler aimed to split the Allied army by using a surprise blitzkrieg. The initial assault was successful, but General George Patton managed to move the Third Army to Bastogne, where they staved off the German attack.
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Where did the Allies land troops during Operation Torch?
North Africa
By the end of 1942, the Soviets were being hammered hard by the German advancement into their country. In an effort to relieve their new ally, the other Allied nations landed troops in North Africa to divert German forces away from the Eastern Front.
The Philippines
Australia
Denmark
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Despite the surrender of Italy, which Italian city was still held by the Germans until it was liberated in June of 1944?
Messina
Siracusa
Rome
Italian rebels overthrew and arrested Benito Mussolini in 1943, but the Germans still held onto Northern Italy, with a particularly strong hold over Rome. When Allied forces finally took back Rome, the people of the city rushed out onto the streets to praise their liberators.
Catanzaro
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The United States managed to counter a Japanese surprise attack where in the Pacific that turned the tide of the Pacific Campaign?
The Coral Sea
The Midway Atoll
After Japan failed to crush U.S. fleet carriers in the Pacific during the attack on Pearl Harbor, they devised a plan to draw them out into open waters and launch an ambush attack. Breaking the Japanese code signaling this attack, the United States was properly prepared and sunk four Japanese fleet carriers, decimating the Imperial Japanese Navy.
The Philippine Sea
The Leyte Gulf
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Japan captured which British colony in February of 1942 to complete the Malayan Campaign?
India
Singapore
Following a two-month campaign to capture the Malayan Peninsula, the Empire of Japan finally set their eyes on Singapore, securing a victory in about 15 days. The British defeat and the surrender of around 80,000 troops was one of the most devastating losses in British history.
Hong Kong
Sarawak
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German General Dietrich von Choltitz defied Adolf Hitler by refusing to destroy which European city?
Stalingrad
Madrid
Paris
Paris was under the control of Nazi Germany for more than four years when it was finally liberated by the French 2nd Armored Division assisted by the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. Initially, there were plans to delay the liberation of the city, but General Charles de Gaulle demanded the plan be put forth or he would order the attack himself.
Athens
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Do you know the name of the battle where aircraft carriers engaged one another for the first time without either ship seeing the other?
Doolittle Raid
Battle of Leyte
Battle of Wake Island
The Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea proved that aircraft carriers would be the future of warfare, as they became the most dominant force at sea. However, during the battle, both sides missed opportunities to land critical blows against their opponent, as they were just figuring out how an air-sea battle worked.
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Who became President of the United States after the death of Franklin Roosevelt?
Harry Truman
President Harry Truman became a critical figure in the post-war era after the defeat of Germany and Japan. He was particularly instrumental in developing the U.S. policy to contain communism, even leading the country into the Korean War in 1950.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Herbert Hoover
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Multiple Allied forces were rushing to reach Berlin, but who got there first?
Russia
Joseph Stalin pitted two of his military commanders, Georgy Zhukov and Ivan Konev, against one another as they advanced to capture Berlin. The goal here was to capture Berlin as quickly as possible so other Allied nations, especially the United States, could not claim the victory.
The United States
Britain
France
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What was the name of the defensive line set up by the Germans to defend the western border of the country?
Rupnik Line
Alpine Line
The Siegfried Line
Made up of heavy fortifications, the Siegfried Line ran for more than 390 miles from Kleve in the north to Weil am Rhein in the south. The fortifications consisted of thick bunkers containing machine guns and tank traps made of concrete walls, mines and barbed wire.
The Maginot Line
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Adolf Hitler held out in Berlin as the Allies advanced, but what finally happened to him?
He was executed.
He fell ill.
He fled to South America.
He committed suicide.
Adolf Hitler held out in an underground bunker as the assault on Berlin commenced. As the city above him along with its people crumbled, Hitler took a cyanide capsule, then shot himself with a pistol.
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After which battle was the photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal of six marines raising the U.S. flag on top of a mountain?
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Iwo Jima
As the war in the Pacific was coming to an end, the United States sought to capture Iwo Jima because of the three airfields located on the island. Since the island was so close to Japan, they hoped to use these airfields to launch an invasion of the Japanese mainland.
Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Angaur
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The first atomic bomb used against an enemy was dropped on which Japanese city, inflecting severe devastation?
Osaka
Hiroshima
The devastation initially caused by dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was significant, killing over 100,000 soldiers and civilians. However, the effects from the radiation after the bomb was dropped were just as devastating, causing tens of thousands of deaths in the months to come.
Tokyo
Sendai
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Escalating tensions that would define the second half of the 20th century, East Berlin was awarded to which European power at the end of WWII?
France
Britain
The United States
Russia
The division of Berlin was viewed as the division between democracy and communism that would come to define the Cold War era. Both the United States and the USSR became the two most dominant world powers during this time.
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Which U.S. general was given control of Japan during the occupation when the war ended?
Omar Bradley
George Patton
Douglas MacArthur
Overseeing Allied forces in the Pacific, Douglas MacArthur was given the honor of accepting Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945. When the war ended, he helped rebuild the Japanese economy and establish a new constitution in the country.
Gerald Ford
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