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British Field Marshals Trivia Quiz

This quiz might be a mind-bender but military buffs will find it interesting and informative. So chin up and pip-pip, old boy. Bloody good chap! Carry on!

A multiple-choice quiz by kirkepoo. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
kirkepoo

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
122,706

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
20

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
11 / 20

Plays
728

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 20

1. The first British Field Marshal was the 1st Earl of Orkney in 1736. What was his name? Hint

John Campbell

George Hamilton

Richard Boyle

Richard Temple

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Question 2 of 20

2. Who was the first member of the royal family to be promoted to Field Marshal? Hint

William, 1st Duke of Gloucester

Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn

Frederick, Duke of York and Albany

Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge

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Question 3 of 20

3. Baron Jeffery Amherst was, in effect, the commander of the British Army during the American Revolution.

True

False

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Question 4 of 20

4. Sir Arthur Wellesley was better known by his title, the Duke of where?

Answer: (One word - also a type of boot)

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Question 5 of 20

5. Field Marshal Jan Smuts was Prime Minister of what country? Hint

Australia

South Africa

Cape Colony

The Orange Free State

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Question 6 of 20

6. Lord Fitzroy Somerset gave the order that resulted in the charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War. What name is he better known by?

Answer: (One Word-1st Baron ______)

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Question 7 of 20

7. John Churchill, the Duke of Marlbourough, a brilliant general who never lost a battle, was a British field marshal.

True

False

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Question 8 of 20

8. John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne, the British Lieutenant General who lost the Battle of Saratoga in the Americaan Revolution, eventually became a field marshal.

True

False

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Question 9 of 20

9. What Marshal of France became a British Field Marshal in 1919.

Answer: (Two Words-Think of a lovable bull)

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Question 10 of 20

10. What citizen of Japan became a British field marshal in 1930?

Answer: (One Word-Think of a WWII Divinity)

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Question 11 of 20

11. This British field marshal was the commanding officer of Lawrence of Arabia. Who is he? Hint

John French

Alan Brooke

Edmund Allenby

Cyril Deverell

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Question 12 of 20

12. Lord Lucan, who had his brother-in-law, Lord Cardigan, charge the Light Brigade at Balaklava in 1854, was promoted to field marshal.

True

False

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Question 13 of 20

13. Which British field marshal, then a major in 1884, led one of the rescue attempts to save his hero, Pasha Gordon, at Khartoum? Hint

Frederick Roberts

Garnet Wolseley

Horatio Kitchener

Charlton Heston

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Question 14 of 20

14. Who was the first Commander-In-Chief, India, to serve in that position while holding the rank of field marshal? Hint

William Birdwood

Harold Alexander

Archibald Wavell

Claude Auchinleck

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Question 15 of 20

15. British Field Marshal Birenda Bir Bikram Shah Deva was King of what country? Hint

Ceylon

Thailand

Burma

Nepal

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Question 16 of 20

16. Who was the only Australian officer to become a British field marshal? Hint

Hugh Gough

Edward Blakeney

Thomas Blamey

Claude Auchinleck

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Question 17 of 20

17. What field marshal was the first officer of engineers to command a British army in the field? Hint

John Dill

Stanley Baker

Robert Napier

Edmund Ironside

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Question 18 of 20

18. Which reigning monarch was not made a British field marshal? Hint

Kaiser Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Nicholas II, Czar of Russia

Stanislaus III, King of Romania

Franz-Joseph, Emperor of Austria

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Question 19 of 20

19. How many British field marshals have there been from 1736 to 2002? Hint

138

108

128

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Question 20 of 20

20. Field Marshal Sir Neville Chamberlain invented the game of snooker.

True

False

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first British Field Marshal was the 1st Earl of Orkney in 1736. What was his name?

Answer: George Hamilton

King George II promoted him to this rank as he was the senior officer in the army. He left no male heirs.

2. Who was the first member of the royal family to be promoted to Field Marshal?

Answer: William, 1st Duke of Gloucester

As the second senior general in the army in 1793, he was promoted with two others, even though he was the first field marshal never having commanded troops.

3. Baron Jeffery Amherst was, in effect, the commander of the British Army during the American Revolution.

Answer: True

He was Governor-General of North America in 1760 and fought the French and Indians in Canada. At the time of the American Revolution, he was commanding the whole of the British Army from England.

4. Sir Arthur Wellesley was better known by his title, the Duke of where?

Answer: Wellington

He was Commander-In-Chief of the British Army three times and Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1834. He took the name of his peerage from Wellington, a small market town in Somerset. It seems that it was selected not because of any particular connection with the place, but because the name was similar to that of his family!

5. Field Marshal Jan Smuts was Prime Minister of what country?

Answer: South Africa

He first fought against the British as a Boer and then joined the fight against the Germans in WWI.

6. Lord Fitzroy Somerset gave the order that resulted in the charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War. What name is he better known by?

Answer: Raglan

Raglan was one of the few field marshals to command a British army in the field and the only one to die on active service. He contracted a disease in the Crimea.

7. John Churchill, the Duke of Marlbourough, a brilliant general who never lost a battle, was a British field marshal.

Answer: False

He died in 1716 before the rank of field marshal came into being. However, he held the highest rank of the times as Captain General and was several times Commander-In-Chief of the Army.

8. John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne, the British Lieutenant General who lost the Battle of Saratoga in the Americaan Revolution, eventually became a field marshal.

Answer: False

It was his illegitimate son, John Fox Burgoyne who became a field marshal in 1868. He was the first field marshal to come from the Corps of Royal Engineers.

9. What Marshal of France became a British Field Marshal in 1919.

Answer: Ferdinand Foch

He was appointed in thanks for his service to the Allies in WWI, an honorary and political gesture.

10. What citizen of Japan became a British field marshal in 1930?

Answer: Hirohito

This was a purely political move to improve Anglo-Japanese relations. Obviously, it did not work. The Emporer of Japan was the only field marshal to be stripped of his rank. This happened shortly after the war in the Pacific started.

11. This British field marshal was the commanding officer of Lawrence of Arabia. Who is he?

Answer: Edmund Allenby

He was Commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in 1917. He was militarily in charge of the Middle East until 1925, having to deal with various nationalist movements.

12. Lord Lucan, who had his brother-in-law, Lord Cardigan, charge the Light Brigade at Balaklava in 1854, was promoted to field marshal.

Answer: True

Despite of being removed from command for poor performance and his reputation as "Lord Lookout", he was appointed field marshal in 1887 because of his complaints about junior officers being promoted over him and his claims of seniority prevailed. George Bingham, 3rd Lord of Lucan, died in 1888 at age 88.

13. Which British field marshal, then a major in 1884, led one of the rescue attempts to save his hero, Pasha Gordon, at Khartoum?

Answer: Horatio Kitchener

Baron Kitchener of Khartoum was drowned in 1916 when the ship HMS Hampshire hit a German mine and sank off the Orkney Islands. Charles "Chinese" Gordon had long been his military idol and ideal army officer.

14. Who was the first Commander-In-Chief, India, to serve in that position while holding the rank of field marshal?

Answer: William Birdwood

Birdwood was the first officer of the British Indian Army to be a field marshal while in active employment. He also served in the Boer War.

15. British Field Marshal Birenda Bir Bikram Shah Deva was King of what country?

Answer: Nepal

He became King in 1972 and, in 1973, became the only honorary British Field Marshal ever appointed. His father, King Mahendra, was made a field marshal in 1960.

16. Who was the only Australian officer to become a British field marshal?

Answer: Thomas Blamey

Promoted to British field marshal in 1950, he clashed with the ambitions of generals Douglas MacArthur and Claude Auchinleck over WWII affairs in the Pacific.

17. What field marshal was the first officer of engineers to command a British army in the field?

Answer: Robert Napier

He commanded armies in India, China, and Ethiopia. He was created field marshal in 1883.

18. Which reigning monarch was not made a British field marshal?

Answer: Stanislaus III, King of Romania

This is an imaginary character. This example, in my humble opinion, highlights the often frivilous and ridiculous use of royal perogative to appoint field marshals which demeans the military rank. This may be one reason why Parliament abolished the rank of field marshal in recent years.

19. How many British field marshals have there been from 1736 to 2002?

Answer: 138

4 British sovereigns, 13 foreign monarchs, plus various other dignitaries, and only 38 held independent commands of any size in the field.

20. Field Marshal Sir Neville Chamberlain invented the game of snooker.

Answer: True

This not the same "Great Appeaser" who was Prime Minister of Britain just prior to WWII. This general was born in 1820 and served in the British Indian Army. He is generally credited as an originator of the billiard-table game which he called snooker. He became a field marshal in 1900.

Source: Author kirkepoo

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Lanni before going online.
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