Can You Match the WWII Operation to the Country Where It Occurred?

By: John Miller
Image: Press Agency photographer

About This Quiz

At the beginning of Operation Overlord, Allied commander Dwight Eisenhower told his troops that “the eyes of the world are upon you.” Then, about 156,000 troops parachuted or flung themselves into waiting enemy guns in hopes of shifting the tide of World War II. Do you know where this famous attack occurred?

World War II was the scene of countless military operations, strewn all around the Earth. From the Western Front in Europe to the Pacific Theater, millions of men and women conducted the missions that ultimately helped the Allies beat back Axis aggression.

In our WWII operations quiz, you’ll man the Ma Deuce, pray you don’t see any Panzers, and sprint for cover to dodge German 88s. But do you know enough about the code names of WWII missions to survive our challenge?

More than 11,000 Allied aircraft were a part of D-Day. Many of those pilots kept watch over the biggest amphibious landing in human history. Do you know where that operation took place?

Another major operation happened in June 1941, but it was on the Eastern Front. More than 20,000 German artillery pieces took part in what turned out to be one of the biggest failed operations ever. Do you know who the Germans attacked?

Maybe you’ll triumph in the trenches. Or maybe we’ll gun you down ignominy with a fully-loaded Luger. Try our WWII operations quiz now!

The 1939 Fall Weiss or "Case White" operation took place where?

On Sept. 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and crushed the defenders. Then, the Germans sat on their hands until 1940 while the rest of the world waited in agonizing anticipation of more attacks.

A 1940 German operation called Fall Rot or "Case Red" took which country by storm?

Case Red was the operation meant to invade France… and that's exactly what Germany did. In just over a month, the Nazis managed to capture the vital Allied nation.

Operation Dynamo, better known as the Dunkirk evacuation, took place on a beach in which country?

The Nazis drove French and British troops back to Dunkirk, France, trapping the men between the ocean and German guns. Fortunately, the British sent hundreds of ships and private boats to rescue Allied men, who would later take the battlefield again.

Operation Sealion was SUPPOSED to take place in which country?

Seelowe, or "Sealion," was the proposed Nazi operation meant to invade Britain. However, Germany's inability to secure air and sea superiority meant that the Nazis never had the leverage to execute Sealion.

In December 1941, Japan executed Operation AI, a famous attack that took place where?

On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese launched Operation AI, the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan used hundreds of aircraft and dozens of ships to inflict an incredible blow to America's Pacific Fleet.

In 1942, the Allies launched Operation Torch, which invaded which area?

Britain and America teamed up for Operation Torch, which invaded parts of North Africa. It was the first large operation that the Allies launched in this theater of the war.

In 1941, the Japanese used Operation M to invade ____ and send General MacArthur scurrying for safety.

Operation M essentially stood for "misery" for American troops in the Philippines. U.S. troops couldn't slow the invaders and MacArthur fled, leaving behind troops that would wind up languishing against withering Japanese attacks.

Operation AL found the Japanese attacking which western outpost?

Operation AL found the Japanese invading the Aleutian Islands, part of Alaska. Although the islands are crazy remote, they were a strategic staging point during WWII.

The Germans targeted which country during Operation Barbarossa?

In 1941, Hitler was seething about his army's inability to crack Britain. He decided to send many of his men in the other direction -- Operation Barbarossa was meant to invade the Soviet Union.

Operation Husky was a 1943 Allied offensive that captured which island?

In the summer of 1943, the Allies were determined to capture Sicily from Axis hands. The U.K., U.S., France and Canada combined forces and drove the Nazis off of the strategically important island.

Operation Z was another name for the Japanese attack on _____.

During the planning phase, the attack on Pearl Harbor was known as Operation Z. Although the operation was mostly a success, by sheer luck, numerous vital American ships were absent from the scene… meaning that the U.S.'s deadliest naval weapons were alive and capable of future missions of revenge.

In June 1942, the Japanese used Operation MI to attack Midway Atoll, which was basically part of which country?

Midway Island is an unincorporated territory of the United States, but it was an important base of operations in the Pacific Ocean during the war. The Japanese thought they had the upper hand during Operation MI, but American intelligence turned the tables and won the critical Battle of Midway.

Operation Forager was meant to deliver American forces to which area?

Operation Forager was an American offensive meant to capture the Mariana Islands and Palau from the Japanese. The operation was ultimately successful and included one lopsided battle called the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot."

The June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord targeted which area?

Operation Overlord was one of the most important operations of the entire war. It was the code name for the Allied invasion of Normandy, the beginning of the liberation of Europe.

Operation Market Garden FAILED to penetrate which country?

In the fall of 1944, the Allies launched a massive attack called Operation Market Garden, an attempt to enter Germany. But the Allies failed to accomplish key objectives and were driven back with more than 17,000 casualties.

In December 1944, the Nazis initiated Operation Watch on the Rhine and invaded which area?

By December 1944, the Nazis were all but beaten. They gathered themselves for Operation Watch on the Rhine and managed to push back the Allies, creating a "bulge" in the front lines. The Battle of the Bulge had begun.

In 1944, Japan used Operation Fu-Go to attack which country with balloon bombs?

In 1944, Japan released thousands of balloon bombs, which drifted east to the United States. Operation Fu-Go was ineffective but marked the beginning of an age of warfare that included long-distance intercontinental attacks.

Operation Neptune referred to an amphibious attack launched in which area?

Neptune was the amphibious assault conducted by the Allies on D-Day. Neptune went wrong in countless ways but ultimately gave the Allies a route into Normandy.

During Operation Merkur, the Germans were intent on invading which island?

Operation Merkur was very nearly a major defeat for the Nazis in Crete. But in the end, they rallied enough reinforcements to take the island from British defenders.

Operation Gunnerside was involved Allied commandos conducting a raid in ______ to stop Nazi atomic bomb development.

Operation Gunnerside featured Norwegian commandos raiding a Nazi arms development facility in Norway. The successful raid delayed German bomb research by at least half a year.

Operation Flipper was an Allied assassination attempt of General Erwin Rommel, and it took place where?

In November 1941, the Allies planned Operation Flipper, which was meant to kill star Nazi general Erwin Rommel. Unfortunately, Rommel was nowhere near the area… and most of the commandos were killed during the mission.

Operation Eiche found German commandos raiding _____ to rescue Benito Mussolini from Allied hands.

In 1943, Operation Eiche was a daring raid by Nazi commandos into Italy. There, they pulled Mussolini out of Allied hands… but his rescue was only a temporary reprieve from his ultimate end.

Operation Iceberg was the American invasion of ______.

In April 1945, the Americans initiated Operation Iceberg, a long-awaited confrontation with the Japanese entrenched on Okinawa. The battle that followed became regarded as one of the most vicious fights of the war.

Operation Fortitude South was a secret Allied plan to distract the Axis from an expected invasion in which country?

Operation Fortitude South was a clever mission that confused the Germans. The ruse tricked the Germans into thinking that the Allied D-Day invasion would come at Pas de Calais in France… instead of Normandy, the real attack point.

At the end of the war, the Japanese planned Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night, biological attacks on ______.

Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night was meant to use aircraft to spread plague over the cities of California. Fortunately, Japanese officials terminated the operation just before it was to begin.

In Operation Anthropoid, Allied commandos set out to assassinate the evil Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich in which country?

In Prague, Czechoslovakia, special forces executed Operation Anthropoid, and attack on Heydrich's car. The bombing was successful and killed one of the most ruthless leaders in the Third Reich.

Operation Mo was a plan to isolate _____ from the United States.

Japan meant for Operation Mo to isolate Australia and New Zealand from the United States. Fortunately, they gave up on the plan, which would have created huge strategic problems (and probably panic) for America and its allies.

Operation Downfall was a proposed invasion of which country in 1945?

In November 1945, the Allies planned to invade Japan. Fortunately, that plan never had to happen. Japan surrendered in August after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Operation Detachment was an American plan to capture which island?

Beginning in February 1945, Operation Detachment was meant to capture the island of Iwo Jima. The month-long battle found many Japanese soldiers fighting to the death, thanks to their code of "bushido."

Operation Vengeance was an attack on Japan's Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto near which island?

In 1943, American intelligence pinpointed Yamamoto's plane near Bougainville in the South Pacific. They shot him down, inflicting a major blow to Japanese morale at a critical juncture of the war.

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