1. true
2. false

Britain and France immediately declared war as a result of Germany’s aggression ... but then sat on their hands. The U.S. covered its eyes as best it could until 1941, when it finally plunged into the fray.

1. France
   Japan
2. USSR

When Hitler’s men invaded Poland in 1939, they had their Soviet allies helping them. But by 1941, the entire political dynamic between the Nazis and Soviets changed.

1. an atomic bomb
   a type of long-range machine gun
2. a German spy

The Allies dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, one named named Little Boy and the other, Fat Man. They still stand as the only nuclear devices ever used in combat.

1. fighter jet
   tank
2. infantry

In the summer of 1943, the month-long Battle of Kursk turned into one of the biggest tank battles ever. More than 10,000 total tanks were deployed, and Soviets ultimately triumphed over their German enemies.

1. bigger artillery
   Soldiers refused to dig trenches.
2. armored vehicles

Armored vehicles like tanks were specifically designed to surmount the challenges of trenches in WWI, and by WWII, tanks were better than ever. Trenches were still used, but not nearly as much as in WWI.

1. a major siege
   Stalin was shot in the hand.
2. atomic explosion

From early September 1941 to January 1944, the Germans laid siege to Leningrad. The Soviets refused to budge, but countless civilians died from starvation and some resorted to cannibalism.

1. He fled the scene.
   He cried, alone.
2. He killed a Japanese commander with his bare hands.

In the face of certain defeat, MacArthur hopped a plane to Australia, but he swore he’d be back. He eventually made good on his word.

1. to smash America’s army
   to destroy America’s carrier fleet
2. to ruin America’s air force

The Japanese hoped to devastate the American carrier fleet. Because without the carriers, they figured the U.S. would have no choice but to surrender.

1. The carriers were attacking Tokyo.
   The carriers were in Europe.
2. The carriers were out at sea.

America’s carriers were out at sea when the Japanese surprise attack came. But eight out of nine of America’s Pacific Fleet battleships were in the harbor — and they suffered miserably in the onslaught.

1. It was really fast.
   It relied on atomic bombs.
2. It used chemical weapons.

The German military became known for its blitzkrieg ("lightning war") attacks, in which it struck quickly and with overwhelming force, using both land and air weapons. It was a terrifying thing for Allied troops to witness.

1. “leg pulling"
   “leapfrogging"
2. “haberdashery"

The Japanese fortified chains of islands in the Pacific. Rather than take all of them one by one, the Allies used "leapfrogging," bypassing the islands that looked like suicide.

1. Italy
   Britain
2. USSR

Starting in 1940, the Soviets began deployed the T-34, a medium tank that played a huge role in the war. In desperation, the USSR manufactured around 80,000 of these tanks in hopes of stopping the Nazi war machine.

1. race car
   biplane
2. machine gun

The Italian Fiat C.4.42 Falco was a biplane that found widespread use during WWII. Though outdated, the Germans sometimes sent hundreds on night bombing missions, where the were effective in their deadly purpose.

1. “Soviet problem"
   "Jewish problem"
2. “American problem"

Hitler used his concentration camps to rid Europe of the "Jewish problem," in which millions of people (including non-Jews) were systematically murdered. The Holocaust is one of the blackest stains from a terrible war.

1. true
2. false

Given Japan’s relentless opposition, American commanders were prepared for the worst — that they’d have to invade Japan in order to end the war. It’s certain that such an invasion would have cost countless American lives.

1. Germany
   USSR
2. Japan

Germany and its researchers dumped huge time and energy into new weapons during the Third Reich era. The Germans did develop the world’s first jet aircraft and put it to use, but it was too late to turn the tide of the war.

1. Italy
   United States
2. Japan

At the Battle of Midway, America sought — and found — revenge for Pearl Harbor. They sent four vital Japanese carriers to the bottom of the sea and changed America’s prospects in the Pacific Theater.

1. true
2. false

It was the biggest order for horses since the Civil War. Even though cavalry forces were outdated, the U.S. saw fit to order 20,000 horses, just in case they might be needed to help with the fight against the Axis. Mounted units saw limited (but important) action in the Pacific theater.

1. about 500,000
   about 1 million
2. about 5.5 million

The Soviets gathered about 5.5 million troops to oppose the Nazi invasion. Given that Germany still had to hold the Western Front, too, their circumstances looked dire.

1. “Fairies of the Heavens"
   “Night Witches"
2. “The Scorned"

Desperate for man, er, womanpower, the USSR put females into combat against the Germans. The 588th Night Bomber Regiment was a group of women who flew night bombing sorties on the Eastern Front.

1. They had secret cloaking devices.
   They cast powerful spells.
2. They turned off their plane engines.

The Night Witches were clever. As they approached targets, they cut their engines, glided in silence, and then bombed the Nazis straight to the ever after.

1. a food staple
   an atomic bomb
2. a landing craft

An American company named Higgins Industries created the Higgins boat, a landing craft that made amphibious assaults much more effective. These boats were vital in both theaters of the war.

1. to assassinate Hitler
   to preach the word of God to far-flung soldiers
2. to send sensitive messages via pigeons

Sure, radio communitions were coming of age in WWII, but the Allies still used pigeons to carry messages all along the front. The Air Ministry Pigeon Section had hundreds of thousands of pigeons at its disposal.

1. true
2. false

Hitler’s God-complex and control-freak nature meant that he took directy control of the military in many situations. Generals who opposed him were often sacked.

1. true
2. false

We tend to think of WWII as a high-tech conflict, but Germany was incredibly dependent on horses. As many as eight out of 10 German combat units may have relied on horses ... even to the end of the war.

1. so it could start a huge tank battle
   so its soldiers could relax in a tropical area
2. so its bombers could reach Japan

The Marianas were incredibly important to U.S. strategy. Using airstrips there, its long-range B-29 bombers would be able to attack the Japanese mainland.

1. about 3,200
   about 7,200
2. about 45,000

It was a good thing they built a lot of them. The Soviets lost many T-34 tanks — about 45,000 — in this single war, the most tanks ever destroyed in an armed conflict.

1. He tried to have Stalin killed.
   He doubled down on the Eastern Front.
2. He threw his last efforts into the Western Front.

By the middle of 1944, Hitler knew the Eastern Front was lost. He threw all of his efforts in to one last major attack on the Western Front — the Battle of the Bulge.

1. They were annihilated.
   They were surrounded.
2. They immediately surrendered, knowing they had no hope.

When German troops mounted one last desperate offensive in December 1944, U.S. troops found themselves surrounded in Bastogne, trying to survive the Nazi onslaught amid terrible winter weather. They bent ... but then held the line in the face of overwhelming odds.

1. true
2. false

The atomic attacks were certainly a factor in the Japanese surrender. But days earlier, the Soviets had began attacking Japanese lands — and if Japan hadn’t surrendered, the huge, angry Red Army would have steamrolled the Empire’s army in no time.