World War 2 - Dates Trivia Quiz

Answer: September 1, 1939

Over one million soldiers poured into the country, using a method of attack called the blitzkrieg or lightning war. The German air force, tank divisions and the army smashed into Poland and swept away their poorly armed opponents.

Answer: October 6, 1939

Within a few weeks Poland ceased to exist as an independent country. It had been absorbed by the Nazi and Communist regimes.

Answer: Phony war or 'Sitzkrieg'

After Poland was conquered there was practically no fighting until the spring of 1940. Britain and France had given guarantees to Poland in 1939 but provided no practical military assistance.

Answer: Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States

The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. From the ranks of the many Allied powers (which included Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Greece, Holland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Yugoslavia), the British Empire and the British Commonwealth, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America were known, colloquially, as "The Big Three". U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to the Big Three and China as the "Four Policemen". France, before its defeat in 1940 and after Operation Torch in 1942, as well as Poland, were considered major allies.

Answer: Paris was taken

On June 13, 1940, Paris was occupied by Germany and two weeks later France surrendered. The impossible had occurred; the once powerful French army of 6 million soldiers had been captured or killed.

Answer: The Rescue at Dunkirk

Between May 27 and June 4 an incredible rescue took place; about 900 ships and boats, big and small, left England and landed on the beaches of Dunkirk to rescue the soldiers who were waiting there. Bombs dropped by German aircraft landed in the sand but did little damage. Surprisingly, the German armies had stopped advancing on Dunkirk and permitted the escape to take place.

This mistake and the brave efforts of the rescuers allowed 140 000 French and 200 000 British soldiers to escape. They would later form the core of the Allied armies that would invade Nazi-occupied Europe.

Answer: May 10, 1940

On May 10, 1940, the same day that German troops began their invasion of France, Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister of Britain. He was a natural war leader who had courage, vision, and inspired the people around him; Hitler had met his match.

Answer: December 7, 1941

On December 7, 1941, Japan launched an air raid from Japanese aircraft carriers against the US Naval headquarters at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Americans were not expecting the attack, which involved 353 Japanese fighter planes and followed the tactics of Hitler's blitzkrieg attack. Altogether 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 were injured.

Answer: May 7-8, 1945

When Russian troops entered Berlin on April 30, Hitler shot himself. On May 7 Germany surrendered unconditionally in the West and the following day to the Soviet Union. By that time it was already May 9 in Moscow. Millions of people all over the world celebrated V-E Day (Victory-in-Europe).

Answer: August 6 ,1945

On August 6, 1945, the US dropped the bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The enormous explosion destroyed half the city. 140,000 men, women, and children died immediately. Incredibly, Japan still refused to surrender and three days later a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki which killed 80,000 people. On August 15, 1945, Japan finally surrendered (V-J Day) and World War II was over.