Unusual Battles of History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Battle of Zappolino

The Battle of Zappolino was part of the larger conflict between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. The battle was fought between the Ghibellines of Moderna and the Guelphs of Bologna. Moderna attacked the castle of Monteveglio in 1325 and emerged victorious after one day of fighting.

Moderna forces took a bucket from the castle as a trophy. Nowadays, the popular story is that Bologna stole the bucket and Moderna began the war to reclaim it, but this is entirely false.

Answer: Battle of Shiloh

During the U.S. Civil War, the Battle of Shiloh was one of the deadliest and bloodiest battles. Tens of thousands of soldiers were killed and wounded. Because of the mass casualties, injured soldiers laid in the field for days before they could be cared for. During the night, some of the soldiers glowed in the dark, particularly around their wounds. This effect was called angel's glow because it was believed the glow was protecting the soldiers from death.

It was not until 2001, nearly 140 years later, that the presence of bioluminescent bacteria was detected in the battlefield's soil. Indeed, this bacteria killed insects and other organisms that typically infest wounds which kept the injured alive for longer.

Answer: Battle of Cajamarca

The Battle of Cajamarca occurred on November 16, 1532 on Peru. Francisco Pizarro led a force of Spanish forces in an attempt to dethrone Inca ruler Atahualpa. The Spanish were heavily outnumbered to the point that the Spanish were so afraid for their lives that the reportedly wet themselves in mass numbers.

However, Pizarro charged on the blasts of the gunpowder frightened the Incas so much that the Spanish were able to defeat them. The Incas had never encountered firearms before so the noise was a shock to them.

Answer: Guerra Grande

The Guerra Grande is another name for the Uruguayan Civil War that began in 1839. Uruguay declared its independence from Brazil in 1825 and the war was largely fought between Spanish-speaking nations of South America defending Uruguay against Brazil. During on naval skirmish, Uruguayan forces ran out of ammunition and resorted to shooting large blocks of old cheese out of their cannons.

The makeshift ammo was successful and they managed to sink a Brazilian ship by destroying its mast with the cheese cannonball.

Answer: Battle of Chosin Reservoir

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir took place in 1950 during the Korean War. American soldiers stationed in North Korea ran out of ammunition and relayed this to headquarters. The code word for ammunition was tootsie rolls but the person who took this information misunderstood and sent the soldiers actual tootsie roll candy.

However, this proved to be fortuitous as the soldiers used the tootsie rolls as putty to repair equipment by filling in holes with melted and softened candy.

Answer: Second Italo-Ethiopian War

During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Italian forces invading Ethiopia were forced to travel through large sections of arid desert. As a result, it became extremely difficult for them to carry the necessary supplies and there was no water or food on the ground for them to collect on the march.

The Italians solved this by strapping sheep and goats to parachutes and pushing them out of the sky. The sheep and goats were strapped with supplies and also provided meat when they landed.

Answer: Incident at Petrich

The Incident at Petrich is also called the War of the Stray Dog, and occurred in 1925 when tensions between Greece and Bulgaria remained high after World War I. The specific origins of the battle are unknown but it is widely believed that a Greek soldier chased after his dog after it ran across the border into Bulgaria. Bulgarian forces shot the Greek soldier dead which led to a ten-day battle that left fifty dead.

The battle was ended by the League of Nations in a rare win for the organization.

Answer: Guerre des Patisseries

The Pastry War or the Guerre des Patisseries was part of the larger First French Intervention of Mexico in 1838. The battle stemmed from an incident that happened in 1827 when a French baker in Tacubaya, Mexico had his store looted and destroyed by Mexican forces. The baker was never compensated and wrote to the French King for reparations.

Ten years later, tensions between Mexico and France escalated further and French Prime Minister Louis-Mathieu Mole demanded the reparations be paid. France led a naval blockade around Mexico and eventually Mexico paid the demand. The ensuing naval battle is also famous for being the one where Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna had his leg amputated which the received a state-honored burial.

Answer: Nika Riots

Many centuries before the dawn of soccer riots and wars, Constantinople saw a similar riot during a chariot race that saw over 30,000 people killed and half of the city destroyed. In Constantinople, the chariot teams represented political issues as well as being sports teams. The Blues and the Greens were the two most prominent teams and Emperor Justinian was a supporter of the Blues.

After a small riot after a chariot race, members of both the Blues and the Greens were arrested. One Blue and one Green sought sanctuary and a mob formed to demand they all be pardoned. Justinian refused to do so, and declared another chariot race as a distraction. However, at the hippodrome, the Blues and the Greens and their supporters joined together to riot against Justinian.

Answer: Battle of Red Cliffs

The Battle of Red Cliffs was fought in 208 AD. Cao Cao had attempted unify the Han Kingdoms but failed to conqueror the lands controlled by the southern warlords. Cao Cao's forces, though plentiful, were prone to seasickness and were not as well adept to fighting on the sea as on land. Huang Gai, one of the Southern warlords, tricked Cao Cao into believing she was surrendering. Huang Gai dispatched a fake mole to trick Cao Cao into chaining his ships together under the guise of preventing seasickness.

In reality, this the made ships harder for Cao Cao to control and much easier for Huang Gai to defeat who knocked them out in one heavy blow.